from Purple Pen to Google Earth?

[JDN]

Is it possible to export a file of control locations from Purple Pen that can be opened in Google Earth? If so, how?

[Peter Effeney]

If you have a course set in PurplePen using a geo-referenced map as the background map, PurplePen will have geo-coordinates for each control site.

In this case, you export a GPX file from PurplePen and then you can use a utility from Daniel Widman: https://tools.widmann.ca/ to convert the control locations into a KML file.

Alternatively you can export an IOF XML v2.0.3 file and use a function at o.utils: "Convert Georeferenced IOF XML Course File to KML Course Files (in a Zip file)".

If you have set a course in PurplePen and the background map is not geo-referenced, for example a PDF version of the map, then PurplePen won't have coordinates for each control.

If this is your situation, and you also have a KMZ version of the map, export your course(s) as IOF XML v2.0.3. This file will just contain x and y positions on the map page for each control, but combined with the geo-location information in the KMZ file, you will be able to determine the geo-location of each control.

To do this there is another function at o.utils: "Convert Un-Georeferenced IOF XML Course File to KML Course Files (in a Zip file) using a matching KMZ file to provide the geo-referencing".

Converting courses set in Orienteering Course setting software (eg PurplePen or OCAD) to KML format allows the file to be opened in Google Earth to see precisely where the controls are positioned on a "real-world" satellite image ... and this allows adjustments to be made.

[JDN]

Thank you. I've managed to export the Purple Pen controls to a GPX file and discovered that I can open this directly in Google Earth, then "save place as" a KML file.

[Robyn Rennie]

This may work but depends on how you have numbered your start, finish and other controls. MapRunF relies on a start called S1 and a finish called F1. Sometimes purple pen exports the controls as 1 (31), 2 (32) etc which MapRunF also doesn't like.

Daniel's utility mentioned above cleans all this up and produces KML which is exactly what MapRunF is expecting.

[SROCMapper]

Not that the converter at o-utils only works for UTM / WGS 84 files. No good if your map is using your local coordinate system.

[Peter Effeney]

Yes - there are lots of convertors of different Coordinate Ref Systems, so I didn't think it necessary to replicate that functionality.

Anyway I should move to IOF XML 3 - which moves away from UTM to Lat/Lng and so pushes the different coordinate systems back into the source systems.... to produce Lat/Lng.

If you export your course from PPEN as GPX that forces it to convert to Lat/Lng.... and then convert GPX to KML (you can find online converters).
Peter