Once a user has defined a .tqz file with some annotated landmarks, they can send it to an iOS device in a variety of ways. The simplest way is either to attach a copy of the tqz file itself or copy a link to the URL from which it can be downloaded into an email which is then sent to an account which can be read on the iOS device. The following screenshot shows an email which has both an attached .tqz file and a download link for the same file on an iOS device which has the Trailer application installed:
The trail (.tqz file) can be installed either from the link or the attachment. If the user clicks on the link, it will be opened in Mobile Safari, and a window like this will appear:
Click on the 'Open in "Trailer"' button at the top of the screen and the trail will be loaded into the Trailer application.
Alternately, the trail can be loaded by clicking on anywhere in the rounded rectangle near the bottom of the email screen which represents the attached file. In this case, the following screen will be displayed:
From this screen, the user must press the icon in the top right corner to bring up a list of actions, which should include 'Open in "Trailer"':
Regardless of whether the .tqz file was opened using a link or an attachment, when the 'Open in "Trailer"' button is pressed, the Trailer application should either resume from the background (if already running) or be started up. If the application is resumed, it will display whatever screen was displayed when it was last in the foreground. If the application needs to be started up, the following welcome screen will be displayed.
From this screen, the user can select the 'Trails' tab at the bottom of the screen to display a list of trails (.tqz files) held in the device:
If the user clicks on the blue arrow icon on the row for 'London (UK)' the app will display the map, with green circles marking off each of the zones defined when the .tqz file was created:
If the user clicks on the any of the green circles, a marker will be displayed which contains the name and (if defined) address of the landmark at the centre of the zone. If the definition of the zone includes a message or a URL associated with the landmark, there will be a blue arrow (disclosure) icon on this marker (as in this case):
If the user clicks on the disclosure icon on the marker, the application will display the message or URL:
The marker for a zone will only show an address if one is defined in the .tqz file.
If there is no URL or message for the zone, the marker will not show the blue disclosure icon.
If there is no URL or message for the zone, the marker will not show the blue disclosure icon.
It is possible to define a zone with no name or address or URL or message, in this case there will be no pop-up marker if the zone'z green circle is tapped. There is no example of this in this particular trail.
If the user is physically exploring the area covered by the .tqz map, their location will be shown on the map as a blue dot (similar to what appears on the Apple Maps application). If the user enters one of the zones on the map while the application is running in the foreground (and not locked), the map will automatically zoom to focus on the zone entered. If the user puts the Trailer application into locked state or into the background while a map is displayed, the application will monitor the user's location and will attempt to send the user a local notification (with alert sound) if they arrive in any of the zones in the displayed map. This location monitoring behaviour will automatically turn off 60 minutes after the last time the application is used in the foreground, in order to save the battery of the iOS device.
The present version of the iOS application is built for the iPhone and iPod Touch screen dimensions. This version can run on the iPad but does not make full use of the available screen dimensions. I am presently working on a new version of the application which will be a universal application and makes use of the native screen resolution when run on an iPad. When this version is ready I will release it as a free upgrade of the present iPhone/iPod only version.
