Please bring back the previous compass behaviour

[ratti]

Describe the idea (required)

• "Tap on compass" to switch orientation mode is basically standard for every map related app
• "Allow users to rotate a map just by doing it“ is basically standard for every map related app

Tell us about the expected behaviour (required)

• Tapping on compass icon cycles through orientation modes
• turning the map with two fingers is always possible and lock the map in that angle

Tell us about alternatives you've considered (required)

This is a standard behaviour. It is well known. It became standard for a reason. Let's not invent stuff.

Context (optional)

I wonder why this was changed. There is absolutely no advantage, nothing is optimized, no issue is fixed - it just became “different“ from any other app: Geocaching, three different hiking apps, some OSM tools, GoogleMaps, some peak-finder tools, two “historic maps“ apps - absolutely every app on my phone uses a single tap to the compass for orientation functionality.

I even deleted all my data to “fix that bug“ after the update. I am pretty sure no new user will find that functionality of double- and long-taps.

[dmpr0]

Hello! We've tested several maps apps, and most of them offer two compass modes: North Up and Compass Directions. In those apps, a single tap on the compass usually sets the map to North Up.

Here's how our app works:

• Single tap: Rotates the map to North Up.
• Double tap: Switches map orientation.
• Long tap: Opens a list of map orientations.
• Disable map rotation for North Up mode.

So, a single tap on the compass in OsmAnd now rotates the map to the North. If the map orientation is manually specified, it will stay oriented to the North; in other modes, it will return to its original orientation in a few seconds.

Google Maps	Waze	Mapy.Cz	Sygic

[photoalex]

I actually like this behaviour! So no! Dont bring it back xD I allways keep north up regardless if I'm following a course with a vehicle or otherwise, so being able to lock north up is very welcome for me personally. I like to think it trains my ability to know where I am in the world..

[KiloHotl]

I'm talking on behalf of a thousands of bikers who use OsmAnd for ride a motorcycle using Bluetooth controllers, and something that I miss is the keyboard shortcut to change the orientation mode. Is possible to bring it back or make it available on custom button? Thanks in advance.

[ratti]

Check GoogleMaps. There is no “locking“, you can turn the map whenever you want, and a single tap resets it. One hand, one finger. Same with other apps. Why “lock“ or “disallow“? When you don't want to turn the map, then don't turn it. And even if you accidently turned it, simple tapping brings you back. And why taking away modes from easy accessing them?

The new behaviour forces me to use the phone with two hands to make more complex stuff like double-taps or holding-then-confirm-a-form.

The old way was super easy. Tap until you are wherever you want to be. I mean, hey, after changing the behaviour immediately three bug reports popped up saying “it's broken“.

At least make it configurable. For me it makes one-hand-usage very uncomfortable while hiking. I don't want to focus on the screen too much and select radio buttons — I currently stumble over tree roots and need it simple, and I need every mode easy accessible for different situations (like: COmpass mode, when I am on a crossing with 6 ways I can't identify on the map immediately)

[vshcherb]

I think there is confusion here, locking was a bug introduced in 4.8.4 and fixed in 4.8.6. Changing orientation modes is possible by long tap.

So there are 2 issues going on and it confuses - 1 fixed and 1 has workaround

[ratti]

Hello @vshcherb , can we reopen this? I got the update to 4.8.6 some hours ago, so I could re-investigate this topic.

What doesn't work (as I would expect):

• The app is in mode “north on top“
• I rotete the map with two fingers

(my) expectation:

• Osmand switches to rotation mode
• Map is rotated

That's what I meant with “basically every map app is doing this“: From my experience there is no other app that works like “No, I will ignore your gesture, until you switch to a special dont-ignore-me-mode“. Standard gestures like pinch, scroll, rotate,… should IMHO always work as expected.

(I also very much miss single tap on compass, double- and long-tap are very inconvenient when using only one hand, and IMHO the “usual and expected way of using“ has been deactivated here to avoid rarely accidentally input mistake)

[DmitryAlexei]

@ratti we had huge amount of requests to "fix north" (see issue and similar)

[ratti]

That's sad, because I really don't see why a “fixed north“ mode should exist at all. For what?

Map-related apps usually allow rotation permanently, and I always saw the compass click as “reset free rotation to 0°“ not as a real mode. I don't see a use-case to disallow users to rotate (again: If you don't want to rotate the map, why are you rotating it? Just don't?)

Can we then at least have a setting to remove modes? I would rather remove “fixed north mode“ from the UI completely and set “free rotation“ as standard.

[pebogufi]

There is a setting "manually rotated", why don't you use that ?

[ratti]

why don't you use that ?

I use that, but now it has lost it's “reset“ functionallity. I have two “broken“ modes now: The “rotate free“ mode doesn't have a “reset“ anymore. And the “resetted map“ (a.k.a. “fixed north“) has no turning gesture anymore. With the previous method we had both combined.

I guess it makes sense to describe my favorded usage here:

When hiking, from crossing to crossing I turn the map to the degree I want to see — often where I'm heading to, sometimes I plan the next few kilometers. I don't like the automatic mode that's permanently turning and moving. I do that just manually, I come from here and go to there, all fine.

At some point it's not only a question of “taking the most beautiful path at the next crossing“. It's about “OK, I should now slowly head back to my car, and I have no clue where I am and which direction I am heading to“. Then I press the compass, the map resets, I know where I am and start to rotate manually again.

Long term said short: When you see people hike with a paper map, they usually turn it manually. And when they got lost, the check against their compass. We don't have that anymore now.

Sorry for sounding a bit annoyed, but I am a OsmAnd user for ages , and we had it working that way “like forever“, and now it's — "snap" — taken away because 3 people complained. I wouldn't be so annoyed if it were just a rejected feature request, but breaking an existing feature is just… hm.

[sonora]

For some 10 years or so, OsmAnd had allowed to rotate the map simply by twisting your fingers. But if the initial map orientation was North, you had to overcome an initial twist threshold to trigger the map following your fingers, which protected from accidental rotation when pinch-zooming with North up.

I think there were few complaints about that until we changed the strategy (first reducing the threshold to zero, then re-adjusting it, then finally trying to fix by a separate "North" mode etc...) (History see https://github.com/osmandapp/OsmAnd/discussions/16836)

I wonder if the original strategy would again suit everybody's need ...? I never quite captured why we abandoned it... :wink:

[ratti]

I wonder if the original strategy would again suit everybody's need ...? I never quite captured why we abandoned it...

That sounds great.

I can wild guess what happened (I am working in the software dev business also): There have possibly been a lot of “improvments“ on “details“. But sometimes the big picture gets lost. When parts of the improvements don't match anymore, the minor improvements don't add up to a better feature, but to a messy puzzle of non-matching parts instead.

I mean… look what we have: We have FOUR view modes, we have tresholds and sensivity and restrictions and automatisms and whatever.

If this were a super complex topic I could understand that, however, basically in every other app this is a nobrainer. I do geocaching, hiking, drive a car, I am a contributor for OSM, and I can't think of an app that has issues (or annoyances or whatever) regarding that rotation topic. And apps like map editors for OSM are definitely not less complex compared to OsmAnd.

So, I totally agree with you: Why didn't we stay with the easy, “everybody's doing it that way“ mode?

[scaidermern]

why don't you use that ?

I use that, but now it has lost it's “reset“ functionallity.

A single tap on the compass resets the rotation to north is up.

[ratti]

A single tap on the compass resets the rotation to north is up.

It doesn't do that for me. It resets to north, yes, but additionally I I can't turn the map anymore. No matter how careful I try to rotate, it's just tilting the map. Only after having once tilted back and forth I then can rotate the map again, starting a new gesture.

EDIT: Sometimes it's working that way, sometimes not. I don't find a logic how to provoke or avoid it.

This might be be a bug? First gesture after resetting makes OsmAnd behave like in fixed-north-mode often, but not always?

So, here in details:

• I am in free rotation mode
• I tap on compass, map is set north-on-top
• I can't rotate the map, it just tilts
• 2nd try, now I can rotate the map
• Playing around: It's not happening anymore
• Playing around more: Ups, now it's happening again

Anyway, I'm still begging to have the option to completely get the former behaviour back. For me it was perfect, now it's a mess. I really don't want to double- or long-tap or swish something. It's there, press it, function, done. Why hide function?

[vshcherb]

@DmitryAlexei

[vshcherb]

Threshold should be removed

[vshcherb]

There is an ongoing task to remove threshold that's probably left after refactorings. Map should rotate freely

[Dollarius]

Thank you, thank you, thank you for finally disabling rotation on North Up mode!!! This has been my single biggest issue with the app: whenever the phone is put in a sweaty pocket (when cycling or trail running), the map would accidentally be rotated and I would get so confused with the map, without noticing it. I like to have my map ALWAYS oriented North and this is now possible: I am so happy! Thank you developers!!

https://github.com/osmandapp/OsmAnd/pull/17981

[sbr61]

As I prefer a different orientation mode depending on the profile, I like the fact that it is now less likely to change the mode accidentally (as we need to double-tap or long-tap to switch modes), although a temporary override is still possible (by rotating the map with two fingers or by short-tapping the compass button). However, it is not very helpful that the temporary override lasts only one second (or less). Instead, a manual action should be required to end the temporary override.

In more detail, I would prefer the following behavior:

• Temporary changes to the map orientation as described below should never change the map orientation mode itself.
• In Manually rotated mode:
  • A short tap on the compass button should temporary rotate north up until the compass button is tapped again (restoring the rotation angle before the first tap), or until the map is rotated manually (setting a new rotation angle).
• In Movement direction mode:
  • After manually rotating the map, the rotation angle should temporarily be kept until the compass button is tapped (resuming movement orientation).
  • Except when movement direction mode has already been temporarily overridden, a short tap on the compass button should temporary rotate north up until the compass button is tapped again (resuming movement orientation).
• In Compass direction mode:
  • After manually rotating the map, the rotation angle should temporarily be kept until the compass button is tapped (resuming compass orientation).
  • Except when compass direction mode has already been temporarily overridden, a short tap on the compass button should temporary rotate north up until the compass button is tapped again (resuming compass orientation).
• In North is up mode:
  • A temporary override should not be possible in this mode. (Instead, you could temporarily switch north up in Manually rotated mode.)
• In any mode, the icon on the compass button should not change (just rotate) during a temporary override.
• When explicitly switching to a different orientation mode (by double-tapping or long-tapping the compass button), any temporary override described above should be canceled.

With such a small change, the behavior would still follow the 4 points @dmpr0 described and would cover @Dollarius's and (at least some of) @ratti's use cases.

[a-0-dev]

I was also puzzled about the new behaviour and find it annoying, but I think I can get used to it.

However, I desperately need to be able to switch back to movement direction during a navigation. Right now, once I switched to north-up (to check the route or something) the compass button disappears, so I have to go to the settings with 4 taps or so and switch it back. That is absolutely pointless, since 80% of the time I'm navigating with OsmAnd, I want the map to be rotated in movement direction.

So, to relieve the stress on this topic, could you at least enable the rotation mode button (compass button) permanently so one always has access to switching rotation mode?

[sbr61]

@a-0-dev , you can bring the compass button back for a few seconds by tapping the profile button and then tapping the map above the Configure map settings.

Or goto the Configure screen settings for your profile, and under Default buttons select Compass and then Always visible.

[alex-osm]

https://github.com/osmandapp/OsmAnd/commit/f8798f3a5d2571ef31b6b1336ea9b312446b44fd

[vshcherb]

Threshold is removed for free rotation mode