GPSBabel is a cross-platform,
free software
Free software or libre software is computer software distributed under terms that allow users to run the software for any purpose as well as to study, change, and distribute it and any adapted versions. Free software is a matter of liberty, no ...
to transfer routes, tracks, and waypoint data to and from consumer
GPS
The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite sy ...
units, and to convert between GPS data formats.
GPSBabel Supported formats
/ref> It has a command-line
A command-line interpreter or command-line processor uses a command-line interface (CLI) to receive commands from a user in the form of lines of text. This provides a means of setting parameters for the environment, invoking executables and pro ...
interface and a graphical interface
The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inste ...
for Windows, macOS
macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac computers. Within the market of desktop and lapt ...
, and Linux users.
GPSBabel is part of many Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, w ...
distributions including Debian and Fedora, and also part of the Fink and Homebrew systems for getting Unix software on macOS.
Applications
Many contributors to OpenStreetMap use GPSBabel to convert GPS track data from proprietary formats to the GPX format OpenStreetMap requires.
GPSBabel is popular in the Geocaching
Geocaching is an outdoor recreational activity, in which participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called "geocaches" or "caches", at specific l ...
community because it enables people with incompatible GPS units to share data.
Geographic information system (GIS) applications such as QGIS
QGIS is a free and open-source cross-platform desktop geographic information system (GIS) application that supports viewing, editing, printing, and analysis of geospatial data.
Functionality
QGIS functions as geographic information system (GIS ...
and Grass
Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns a ...
use GPSBabel for many import and export operations and processing.
Photographers frequently use GPSBabel for geotagging
Geotagging, or GeoTagging, is the process of adding geographical identification metadata to various media such as a geotagged photograph or video, websites, SMS messages, QR Codes or RSS feeds and is a form of geospatial metadata. This data u ...
images, associating location with photographs. This relies on GPS data loggers, either external or internal to the camera.
GPSBabel enables owners of many different brands of GPS units to view their GPS data in several popular consumer map programs, such as Google Earth and Microsoft Streets & Trips.
Notes
References
* "GPS Running Log", ''Make Magazine'', vol. 7, pp. 117–118.
Further reading
*
*
External links
* {{official website
* GpsPrune can also act as a frontend
Free GIS software
Free software programmed in C
Satellite navigation software
Free software programmed in C++
Software that uses Qt