Using Cruisetracks

This page covers:

Displaying cruisetracks

The Cruisetrack window uses the map projection as specified on the Mapping page of the EV File Properties dialog box. For information about map and data projection, refer to About mapping and projections.

Displaying a GPS fixes cruisetrack

To display a GPS fixes cruisetrack:

  1. On the View menu, point to Cruisetrack.
  2. If your EV file contains multiple filesets, point to the fileset that contains the required position variable.
  3. Click the name of the position variable, e.g.,  position GPS fixes.

      - or -

  1. Display the Dataflow window.
  2. Double-click the required position variable.

      - or -

On the Filesets window, select a position GPS fixes variable and click Cruisetrack.

Notes:

  • If the cruisetrack appears erratic and does not accurately represent the path of the logging vessel, you may wish to apply different processing and/or smoothing settings. See Processing and smoothing cruisetracks for more information.
  • If you want to view more than one window of the same cruisetrack, hold down the Ctrl key when opening additional instances.
  • Start/end markers on cruisetracks: the black square marks the first fix in the underlying track and the black circle marks the last. If the time slider excludes either end, that marker is hidden.

Displaying a bottom points cruisetrack

To display a bottom points cruisetrack, do one of the following:

  • On the View menu, point to Cruisetrack, and then click a bottom points variable.
  • On the Dataflow window, right-click on a bottom points variable icon then click Cruisetrack.

The bottom points may be displayed in an alongtrack or points style. The Classes page of the Variable Properties dialog box allows you to modify class characteristics and the bottom points table Class list allows you to change a bottom point's class.

Displaying an alongtrack display cruisetrack

An alongtrack display is a color-coded line or bubble that represent time series values. The Bubble display uses both the color and area of the bubble to represent a time series value. Alongtrack Display settings are available for time series variables that are connected to a platform, that in turn, is connected to a GPS variable. Such time series variables may be created while processing or analyzing your data, and may be listed alongside the list of fileset GPS variables under the View menu, Cruisetrack option.

Examples of alongtrack line and bubble display in Echoview

Figure 1. Examples of alongtrack line and bubble display. The grid interval for the Sv, single target and center of mass calculations is 50 pings. The time series include:

  • time series of Sv Maximum values
  • time series of center of mass values
  • time series of a best bottom candidate virtual line
  • time series for the TS of single targets.

Supported time series variables include:

To configure an alongtrack display:

  1. Create the virtual line or the time series.
  2. Display the time series graph. Find the minimum and maximum values and note any patterns in the time series that may guide the choice of color scheme.
  3. Under the View menu, Cruisetrack, select the time series to display.
  4. On the Cruisetrack window, right click and on the Shortcut menu select Time Series Properties.
  5. Click the Alongtrack Display tab.
  6. The Data display section configures the choice of alongtack line or alongtrack bubbles. You may need to experiment with the minimum and maximum bubble diameters to optimise the visibility of the bubbles and minimize bubble overlap. The grid for the data calculations can be specified on the operand variable or in some time series variables, an override for the operand grid is avaialble.
  7. The Data colors section specifies the minimum value and value range of the selected color scheme. Use the information from the step 2 graph observations to guide your choice of values and color scheme.

Notes:

  • If the alongtrack display appears erratic and does not accurately represent the path of the logging vessel, you may wish to apply different processing and/or smoothing settings. You will need to apply these settings to the GPS fixes cruisetrack that is linked to the same platform as the variable from which the alongtrack display was created. See Processing and smoothing cruisetracks for more information.
  • To display the alongtrack display cruisetrack with a white background (e.g., for clearer printouts) press the Y key to switch to the alternate color scheme. If the alternative color scheme does not have white background you can create a custom color scheme using Echocolor.
  • To view more than one window of the same cruisetrack, hold down the Ctrl key when opening the additional instances. Or use the Copy - Time series operator; note that the output virtual time series for interval analysis operands is a one-time copy with limited properties.
  • A message that can appear is 'No valid GPS found for this alongtrack display'. This indicates that the position variable for the Position source of the Position page of the Platform Properties dialog box does not overlap in time with the cruisetrack you want to show as an alongtrack display. If you can, select a more suitable position variable.
  • An empty transect group returns a null analysis (the track is black). For further information refer to Transects and analyses.

Displaying a 3D cruisetrack

To display a 3D cruisetrack within a scene:

  1. Click Scene properties on the Shortcut menu (right-click).
  2. On the Objects page of the Scene properties dialog box, select Cruisetrack
  3. Click Ok.

Note: You can use a 3D cruisetrack to control scene animation.

Zooming

Zoom actions are available through the: Zoom controls, the mouse wheel, the Zoom toolbar, keyboard shortcuts and the View menu.

To zoom in on a cruisetrack, use the mouse wheel, Zoom toolbar or the following keyboard shortcuts:

  1. Make a selection around the area you wish view in more detail (click and drag).
  2. Do one of the following:
  • Press the S key.
  • On the Shortcut menu (right-click), click Zoom In.

To zoom out, do one of the following:

  • Press the W key.
  • On the Shortcut menu (right-click), click Zoom Out.

To unzoom (return to the default zoom setting), do one of the following:

  • Press the U key.
  • On the Shortcut menu (right-click), click Unzoom.

Notes:

  • Other navigation is also possible using Cruisetrack keyboard shortcuts.
  • Map views enforce a maximum zoom level. If a zoom action (mouse wheel, menu, or selection zoom) exceeds this limit, Echoview prevents the zoom and may show a warning.
  • If the current track area is too small to display at the maximum zoom, Unzoom snaps to the nearest valid view (track extents) rather than exceeding the zoom limit.

Panning

Panning in the cruisetrack or alongtrack windows is available in the following ways:

  • Click the Pan tool Pan tool, click and drag.

- or -

  • Press the Spacebar, click and drag.

- or -

  • In Rectangular selection mode, click the mouse wheel and drag.

Synchronizing cruisetracks and echograms

Echoview allows you to synchronize any open echogram windows with a selected cruisetrack position.

To synchronize echograms to a cruisetrack position:

  1. Bring the cruisetrack into focus.
  2. Point to a position on the cruisetrack.
  3. On the Shortcut menu (right-click), click Synchronize.

Auto-synchronizing cruisetracks and echograms

To display a crosshair on a cruisetrack which is synchronized with your echogram navigation, you can add the cruisetrack to an auto-synchronized group. See Auto-synchronization.

Note: The Media window can also be a member of an auto-synchronized group.

Mouse pointer duplication

Echogram navigation: Mouse pointer duplication

Keeping the latest fix in view when live viewing

Cruisetracks can be displayed while live viewing. To keep the end of the cruisetrack in view, click Follow latest fix on the Shortcut menu (right-click).

Define and integrate a region

Regions may be created and displayed in Cruisetrack, Alongtrack and Bottom classification display windows.

Define a region

Use the Define Region feature when the cruisetrack/alongtrack window and the echogram window are displayed side by side. This allows you to use both hydroacoustic and cruisetrack information to make analysis decisions.

To define a region on an echogram from the cruisetrack window or alongtrack window:

  1. Bring the track window into focus.
  2. Click the Vertical band tool .
  3. Point to a start position on the track, and use the left mouse button to click-and-drag to a stop position. Release the button to make your selection.
  4. Point to the highlighted selection, and on the Shortcut menu (right-click), click Define Region.

The Vertical band tool makes a selection on a track which extends the entire depth of the echogram at a defined time/GPS position. The selection is displayed as a region which follows the track. The selection starts at the nearest good GPS fix to the click of the mouse button and ends at the nearest good GPS fix to the release of the mouse button. The assigned region type and class default to those last used. Further changes can be made using the Region browser.

Edit

Select the Region edit tool and Nodes to edit the region nodes.

Notes:

  • Region shortcuts for the cruisetrack or alongtrack windows are available.
  • Regions on cruisetrack windows use GPS times.
  • Regions on alongtrack windows use ping times.

Displaying map or waypoint data

To display supported map or waypoint data with cruisetracks, see Adding map or waypoint files. These files can be overlaid on both WMTS and WMS background maps.

Displaying map backgrounds (Web Map Services: WMTS/WMS)

WMTS (Web Map Tile Service) maps offer high-performance tiled imagery, while WMS (Web Map Service) maps provide layer-based map rendering on request. WMTS maps load faster but do not support layer selection; WMS maps support layers and precaching but may be slower to display.

Note: Projection and map source affect rendering and performance; coordinate readouts remain in latitude/longitude.

To display a WMTS or WMS map as a background in a cruisetrack window, refer to the relevant instructions in:

Note: WMTS maps are not precacheable in advance, but tiles are cached locally once viewed. WMS maps can be precached using the Precache Maps dialog box.

Area of a rectangle or polygon

Under a cruisetrack or alongtrack window, the area of a rectangle (Rectangle tool) or polygon (Polygon tool) is displayed in panel 1 of the Echoview status bar. The area calculation uses a Cartesian coordinate system, and is only valid for relatively small areas.

Alongtrack length of a vertical selection or region

Under a cruisetrack or alongtrack window, the length of a vertical selection or an alongtrack region is displayed in panel 1 of the Echoview status bar. Distances are calculated using the associated GPS variable.

Time slider

The Cruisetrack window includes a time slider at the bottom of the window. It limits the visible portion of the track to a selected time range. By default the entire time extent is selected.

You can adjust the visible window by dragging the start and finish sliders, or reposition the entire window by dragging the center section. The earliest and latest possible slider positions are the first and last measurements in the dataset. Sliders move freely and are not snapped to exact measurement times. Only measurements with timestamps inside the selected range are displayed. If no measurements fall within the range, the Cruisetrack window may appear empty until you widen or reposition the slider.

When the slider is used, only positions and graphics inside the time range are drawn. Content outside the range is not displayed. Items that cross the window limits (such as regions and transects) are clipped to the nearest visible good GPS fixes.

During live viewing, if the finish slider is set at the end of the data the window will follow new data as it arrives. If the finish slider is not at the end, the time window remains fixed while new data is appended.

If a synchronization request from another window refers to a time outside the slider’s current window (but within the data bounds), the crosshair in the Cruisetrack view will move to that time even if it is off the visible track. The slider window does not adjust automatically.

Notes:

See also

About Cruisetracks
About WMTS maps
About WMS maps
Map and waypoint files
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Echoview Help file 16.0.186 for Echoview 16, 14 February 2026

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