Nextcloud Maps on /e/

Using /e/OS Applications
1

Hello everybody !

A couple of days ago, Nextcloud announced the Maps application on their cloud.
Here is the github link to it.

To quote them:

  • :world_map: Beautiful map: Using OpenStreetMap and Leaflet, you can choose between standard map, satellite, topographical, dark mode or even watercolor! :art:
  • :star: Favorites: Save your favorite places, privately! Sync with GNOME Maps and mobile apps is planned.
  • :compass: Routing: Possible using either OSRM, GraphHopper or Mapbox.
  • :framed_picture: Photos on the map: No more boring slideshows, just show directly where you were!
  • šŸ™‹ Contacts on the map: See where your friends live and plan your next visit.
  • :iphone: Devices: Lost your phone? Check the map!
  • :wavy_dash: Tracks: Load GPS tracks or past trips. Recording with PhoneTrack or OwnTracks is planned.

Since /e/ cloud is basically based on Nextcloud, we could see a fantastic opportunity here to use this tool to get an /e/maps ā€œmoduleā€.

Could it be possible to pin it on /e/'s roadmap?
It could be a good option to have it as a PWA on the phone for instance.

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2

I have just downloaded and activated in my personal NC. Very nice and fast. Good find :+1:

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Looks interesting. @harvey186 can you share the details of how the features work on your NextCloud instance. It should be an interesting addition to e.cloud

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I just installed it on a test server. Some observations:

  • tiles are loading pretty slowly, no comparison to google maps
  • tiles are actually loaded directly from www.openstreetmap.org, they might not be very happy to provide bandwidth for all our users
  • some errors shown after opening maps: Media scan was not done yet. Wait a few minutes/hours and reload this page to see your photos/tracks. Failed to load contacts

Here is an issue for storing map tiles in Nextcloud: https://github.com/nextcloud/maps/issues/12

So I dont think this is quite ready for production yet.

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5

On my nc the maps load is fast. No error . Routing i havenā€™t tried jet, because a server backup is running.

Open street map is fine for all googlefree users.

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I havenā€™t tried nextcloud maps so far, but talking about maps, what would you think of qwant maps ? the server part seems opensource

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So far itā€™s in beta version.
And Qwant is well known to be a company that loves to postpone its projectsā€¦ Sometimes for years.
They donā€™t seem to be as serious as Nextcloud is. So, and only for these reasons, I wonā€™t bet on them.

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8

I stuck with routing. I canā€™t find a way to activate routing and OSM as routing provider :pensive: The documentation is very :-1:

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Letā€™s hope it will improve with time.

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is it possible to alphatest this on an Android phone, eg by downloading as an apk>?

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Iā€™m on the way to test it. But still have trouble with routing setup

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Any chance youā€™d be able to document the process? :slight_smile:

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I will do my very best :wink:

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is it possible for me to test this on an Android phone, eg by downloading as an apk>? (thatā€™s about as far as my technical skills goā€¦)

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I donā€™t think so.
You need to install it on an already running Nextcloud server. :slight_smile:

So I guess, if you donā€™t have a nextcloud, like me, just wait for the documentation to be released :slight_smile:

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OK, I have tried everything, but I donā€™t get the routing working. I have asked in nextcloud community, but no answer.

So my result is: Having OSM on my server and access via phone web browser works fine and is a nice feature. But without routing it makes no sense.

Hope sometimes there will be a better documentation how to setup the routing. Than I will try it again.

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17

Thank you for the test.

I think a good map app is one of the top 5 thing to have in an OS.
So I look forward to any kind of possibilities for /e/ā€¦ :slight_smile:

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18

Is anyone familiar with a way in which I could test/pilot nextcloud maps? Iā€™m quite interested to try it out

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