What's new in Nearby Explorer™ for iOS¶

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Version 1.42.00, August 2020¶

• Fixes a rare crash that occurs when using OpenStreetMap as the search provider.

Version 1.41.00, July 2020¶

• Added Approaching intersections to the online version using OpenStreetMap. Note: Adding the Approaching Streets option required a new internal map structure, therefore, the app will need to update any download maps for the feature to work correctly.

• Added performance improvements to search results

Version 1.39.00, May 2020¶

• Fixes a crash experienced by some users when choosing the Adjust Speech option in Settings.

Version 1.36.00, February 2020¶

• Adds new options for Pedestrian mode when using Valhalla as the routing engine. You may now choose to include pedestrian pathways, and to avoid alleys.

• Displays measurement units in Metric by default for new installations if the iOS language is not set to English U.S.

• Improves error handling when a transit map fails to download.

Version 1.35.00, December 2019¶

• Adds support for the new VoiceOver triple-tap in iOS 13 to open context menus.

• Adds Italian language support, thanks to a generous donation from NVApple.

• Adds a setting to control whether street numbers are expected to be before or after the street name to better support international addresses.

• Adds City Search to the Online version. You can search for a city by typing the city name, a comma, and the state/region.

• The Country and State fields are now accurate when using OpenStreetMap as the Address Provider.

• The distance to the U-turn is now included in the, "Make a U-turn" instruction when using Turn-By-Turn Guidance.

• Fixes a bug where the desired routing engine was not always used after changing it (full version only.)

• Improves Pedestrian Mode when using the Valhalla routing engine.

• Fixes a rare crash which could occur when changing Route settings while a route was active.

Version 1.33.00, October 2019¶

• Adds Turn-By-Turn Guidance, using the Valhalla routing engine. This version of Turn-By-Turn Guidance requires a network connection to generate a route, or to list directions to a place. Turn-By-Turn Guidance is supported in the following regions: North America, Central America, Europe, Russia, Australia and Oceania, India, and Sri Lanka.

• Rearranges items in Settings to make more commonly used items more easily accessible.

• Fixes a bug where it was possible to select disabled items in the Settings tab.

• Fixes a bug where speech synthesizers for certain countries were not listed when the phone language was set to the desired country. English voices were shown instead.

Online Version 1.32.00, October 2019¶

• Adds support for the new Dark Mode in iOS 13.

• Adds the ability to manage Siri Shortcuts from within the app.

• Fixes a crash which could occur when running on iOS 13 or later related to audio handling.

Version 1.30.00, September 2019¶

• Adds support for sharing favorites. You can share favorites between Nearby Explorer and Nearby Explorer Online, or share them with other applications, such as Mail, to send them as an attachment.

• When using OpenStreetMap as the Search Provider, the category of the POI is now reported when it is available.

• Fixes a crash which occurred when attempting to open contacts from the Favorites view when at least one contact had no name.

Version 1.29.00, August 2019¶

• Adds Siri Shortcuts which let you save your current location as a favorite and pause or resume the app. Once you have saved your current location as a favorite or have used the Pause or Resume option on the toolbar in the Home screen, these shortcuts will be available in Siri Settings. This feature works only with iOS 12 or later.

• Adds the ability to save favorites as POIs to OpenStreetMap (OSM), or edit existing OSM POIs. You can also request removal of POIs from OSM which are out of date.

• You can now opt in to send anonymous usage statistics to help us improve Nearby Explorer. This information will be used to identify trends and usage patterns, and by doing so, improve the quality of the product and the services it offers. The gathered anonymous data is kept confidential and will be used strictly to enhance the user experience. If you agree to participate in this program, we will collect information on how you use and configure Nearby Explorer.

• Adds the "Take Indoor Explorer Survey" option to the Settings screen.

• Allows saving contacts as favorites in the Online version.

• Reports when all OpenStreetMap downloads have completed.

• Fixes a bug where Geobeam would stop working in Indoor mode if you changed levels while using it.

• Fixes a bug where characters from some languages were not displayed properly when using OpenStreetMap as the Address Provider.

Version 1.27.00, December 2018¶

• Brings back support for Foursquare as a search provider.

• Corrects a problem where context menus were not automatically spoken when using iOS 12.1.1.

Version 1.26.00, December 2018¶

• Adds two new items to the Home screen, Description and Blind Description. These items are only used when OpenStreetMap is the Search Provider. These fields display information from OpenStreetMap which is tagged with the names Description and Blind Description. While these descriptions are relatively rare at this time, they can be used either to complement a POI, or to give information about a point on the map which is not a POI.

• Adds the Update Map button to the toolbar. This button updates the onboard OSM map for the current region if a map is available. This feature is most useful when using the Indoor Explorer feature to ensure you have the latest map for a supported building.

• Adds the Move Less and Move More buttons to Navigation mode. These buttons change the movement distance for the navigation buttons, instead of always moving 20 yards.

• No longer reports the distance to an object when that distance rounds to zero.

• Fixes a crash which could occur when using OpenStreetMap as the Address Provider, and moving off of land.

• Adds support for KST beacons to the Ad Hoc Beacons feature.

• Clears Approaching Street information when entering Indoor mode.

• Fixes a bug in the Map View where zooming the map usually paused nearby updates.

• Fixes a bug where the prompt to rate the app commonly appeared at startup when running on iOS 12.

Version 1.24.00, August 2018

• Removes the ability to share favorites and remove shared favorites from Google Places. This activity is no longer supported by Google Places.

• Speaks the status of an item on the Home screen immediately when turning the item on.

• Improves accuracy of clock face reports.

• Fixes a bug where cities supported by the Transit feature no longer worked.

• Fixes a bug where the Address Provider would stop working if using OpenStreetMap and updating the active map.

Version 1.23.00, July 2018

• Adds support for getting transit directions with Moovit. You may also long-press the Transit button on the Home screen to show nearby transit stops by Moovit. Moovit is also automatically used if you are in a city which the Transit feature does not support.

• Fixes a bug in the Map View where the app would sometimes open in the paused state when not running VoiceOver.

• Adds toolbar items to the Map View which are present in the toolbar for the Home screen.

• Stops calling online search services when the Nearby item is turned off. This cuts down on unnecessary usage of online resources, and saves a little data and battery power as well.

• Improves support for indoor venues which are mapped in OpenStreetMap but do not use beacons.

• Removes support for Foursquare.

Version 1.21.00, April 2018

• Corrects an issue where information, such as the street name, was unnecessarily repeated when using Google as the Address Provider.

• Adds a message to the OpenStreetMap manager indicating that changes will be applied when you back out.

• The Level button is now available any time the search provider is set to OpenStreetMap, unless the app is in Indoor mode.

• POIs on level 0 of a building are now included in OpenStreetMap search results when no level is specified. This opens the possibility of using the app in buildings which have some GPS reception, and are mapped in OpenStreetMap.

• Adds support for beacons made by EM Microelectronic and FEASYCOM to Ad Hoc Beacon mode.

Version 1.20.00, March 2018¶

• adds a tree-like control to the OpenStreetMap Manager for selecting regions from different continents and countries.
• Adds England to the available OpenStreetMap maps.
• Displays and speaks a download message when starting to download any OSM map. This lets you know if map(s) are being updated automatically.
• Includes a delay when using the Radius buttons on the toolbar which should improve the chance of VoiceOver and Nearby Explorer's speech not walking over each other.
• Fixes Help to point to the new location for the manual.
• Fixes a bug where the toolbar icons for Geobeam and Compass Mode did not always indicate the correct state at startup.
• Adds a background color to the navigation buttons in Virtual Navigation mode, making them look more like buttons.
• It is now necessary to use the Close option from any context menu to close the menu when not running VoiceOver. Before, touching outside the menu would close it, but this often resulted in accidental closure of the menu when attempting to choose an item.
• Adds the default UUID for the BlueUp - BlueBeacon Maxi for use with Ad Hoc Beacons.

Version 1.19.00, February 2018¶

• Improves the Map View, allowing live updates while moving.
• The Map View is now the active tab when starting the app without VoiceOver running.
• Improves intersection detection on streets with many intersections.
• Adds improved control over which OpenStreetMap maps are installed, and when they are automatically updated.
• Includes the short name of the next vehicle in the Transit Stops view.
• Renames the Beacon Report feature to Mapped Beacon Report, and moves it to Settings. Mapped Beacon Report is off by default, so you will need to turn it on if you wish to collect beacon reports.
• Changes Geobeam functionality in Indoor mode. Now, when pointing in the landscape orientation, your current location is not updated, allowing you to get a better sense of where you are in relation to nearby POIs.
• Improves Indoor mode.

Version 1.17.00, December 2017¶

• Adds support for Ad Hoc Beacons. The Ad Hoc Beacons feature brings simple beacon functionality to everyone, as it works with most major beacon manufacturer's default beacon settings. While the Ad Hoc Beacons feature is not as powerful as the Indoor Explorer feature, it makes setting up simple or temporary venues possible.
• Adds the ability to control the type of prompt given for a navigation instruction to Route Settings. One can choose a beep, a vibration, both a beep and vibration, or neither.
• Adds more U.S. maps from OpenStreetMap.
• Fixes a bug where OpenStreetMap regions did not always indicate their correct on/off state.
• Includes the current building level in the app title when in Indoor mode.
• Removes information about the nearest street, city, etc when in Indoor Mode.

Version 1.16.00, December 2017¶

• Rearranges the buttons at the bottom of the Home screen, making Search the first button on the left instead of Streets.
• Adds dynamic discovery of OpenStreetMap maps. This removes the need to update the app just to get newly added maps.
• Adds tooltips for the toolbar at the top of the Home screen. To learn the function of a toolbar icon when not using VoiceOver, simply long-press and release the icon.
• Adds Texas to the available OpenStreetMap maps.
  *Adds a message when the network becomes connected or disconnected. If the network is disconnected upon starting the app, the network state is reported immediately.
• Fixes a bug where long-pressing the navigation buttons in Virtual Navigation mode did not move anywhere.
• When in Indoor mode, the app title of the Home screen becomes, "Indoor Explorer."
• Adds the Beacon Report feature to assist with debugging beacon installations. This feature is found on the context menu for any item on the Home screen.
• Improves the visibility of popup messages which are displayed through the app.
• Improves the visibility of the progress indicator which is shown when downloading maps for OpenStreetMap.
• Improves Indoor Explorer mode to support beacons using different UUIDs which are close together.

Version 1.12.00, October 2017¶

• Improves the visibility of the progress bar which is shown when downloading transit and OSM maps.
• Improves indoor support

Version 1.11.00, September 2017¶

• Changes the name of the onboard maps from "Onboard" to "NAVTEQ." This change was made because maps from OpenStreetMap are also stored onboard.
• Fixes some instances of duplicate transit times.
• Adds the Heading to the items which are repeated when shaking the device.
• Adds the Rate This App button to the Settings tab.
• Adds the Send Feed back button to the Settings tab.
• Adds the Privacy button to the Settings tab.
• Adds the Credits button to the About dialog.
• Adds the following states to OpenStreetMap support: Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Wisconsin. Because of this change, it is necessary to remove (turn off) any OpenStreetMap maps you are using, then reinstall them by turning them back on again.
• Improves progress reporting for OpenStreetMap downloads.
• Clarifies the setting which allows Geobeam and Compass functionality when the app is in the background to indicate that the Shake To Repeat feature is also effected by this switch.
• Improves indoor support.

Version 1.06.00, July 2017¶

• Adds indoor support for selected venues.
• Adds OpenStreetMap as an address and search provider. Maps are currently only available for selected areas. All OpenStreetMap data are stored onboard.
• Adds radio buttons to the Search view for easier selection of the search provider.
• Sets accessibility focus properly in the Transit Stops view when backing out of the Routes view.
• Increases the number of intersections supported in an attempt to correct the occasional missing intersection.
• Adds a switch to Settings to control the expansion of street and city abbreviations.
• Adds a switch to Settings to control distance rounding.
• Ads a switch to turn off indoor support.
• Doubles the amount of force required to trigger a shake on iPad.

Version 1.05.00, May 2017¶

• Updates the onboard maps to the first quarter of 2017.
• Splits the onboard map into two separate maps -- one for the United States and one for Canada. The combined map may still be used if desired.
• Adds map download progress to the report you get when shaking the device.
• Improves support for roundabouts. The street name on which to exit is now given, and when walking, the direction the exit street heads is also given. The exit announcement should also trigger earlier in small roundabouts.
• Adds a setting to set the turn-by-turn destination as the Watch when selecting a new destination.
• Adds the Neighborhood item to the Home screen. This item is always empty when using onboard maps in the US, but other address providers will use it. As a result of this addition, all Home screen items will be unhidden. You will need to hide items again which you do not want to see.
• Uses the correct vehicle type for transit stops.
• Adds clock face support to the Watch point.
• Fixes an issue where the states of certain options were reported incorrectly in Settings.
• Fixes a bug where contacts with no type displayed "null" for the type.
• Geobeam, Compass mode, and Shake to Repeat all now default to off.

Version 1.04.00, February 2017¶

• Adds Google as an address provider.
• Adds a search box to the Favorites view.
• Adds the Change Address item to the context menu for a favorite.
• Adds a switch to settings for including numbers in the directions list.
• Condenses the information at the top of the directions list into one cell to make navigation much quicker.
• The radius set on the Home screen is now respected when using the onboard maps as the Search Provider. The maximum radius permitted for the onboard Search Provider is 0.5 miles, however.
• Uses more common names for streets. This effects the street name in the Home screen, approaching streets, and street names given in Guidance and Directions.
• Adds an item to the Street Name context menu to enable reporting of alternate street names.
• The names of the currently active Address and Search providers are now shown in Settings.
• When selecting Virtual Go To, the Virtual Navigation pad is automatically opened.
• Fixes a bug where some intersections were missing when using the Approaching item or the Streets view.
• Corrects a problem where portions of Portland, Oregon were reported as Lake Jeanclia.

Version 1.03.00, December 2016¶

• Adds the Shake To Repeat feature. Shake the phone when at the Home screen, even when locked, to repeat the last nearby information. This feature may be turned off in Settings.
• Adds the Transit Feed Manager to settings to allow one to delete unwanted transit feeds, and to disable automatic transit feed updating at startup.
• Adds the Frequent Updates option to the context menu for Approaching Streets. When Frequent Updates are turned off, at most two announcements are given; one after passing through the previous intersection, and another when very close to the next intersection.
• Reduces the number of Guidance messages given when driving.
• Clears the search results in the Search View when typing in the search field.
• Adds the route type, Driving or Pedestrian, to the top of the Directions view.
• Places the Streets, Search, Favorites, and Transit buttons under the navigation pad when using Virtual Navigation.
• When saving a favorite on an unknown street, the favorite no longer contains the address, "0 Unknown."
• When on an unknown street, the street number is now blank instead of 0.
• Fixes the occasional running together of messages spoken by self voicing.
• When in Canada, we now use "Province" as the title for the "State" field.
• Fixes a rare crash that could happen when traveling in an area where search results have been saved as favorites.

Version 1.02.00, November 2016¶

• Adds support for contacts. Accessed from the Favorites view, the Contacts view presents contacts which have addresses in a list and offers a context menu for performing useful operations on them.
• Adds the ability to hide unwanted Home screen items. Choose Hide from the context menu for any item. To switch back to viewing all items, choose the Show All toolbar item.
• Adds the ability to share a favorite on Google Places. Search results from Google Places which are private to Nearby Explorer can also be deleted from Google Places.
• Adds an option to Route Settings to include alternate street names for streets announced in Guidance and shown in the directions list. This option is on by default.
• Adds the Add button to the Favorites view to create a new favorite at the current position.
• Adds the Move To Here option to the context menu of the Favorites view to move the selected favorite to the current location.
• Adds a number before each instruction in the directions list.
• Adds the Copy button to the directions list to copy the directions to the clipboard. The directions may then be pasted in the app of your choice for texting, mailing, etc.
• Adds the ability to call the phone number or visit the website of a search result or favorite.
• Permits entering the entire state name as well as just the state abbreviation when searching for cities.
• When changing the radius from the Search View toolbar, the new radius is now spoken.
• Pedestrian mode is now the default for guidance to a destination.
• Changes the reporting of distances using feet to have a resolution of 20 feet instead of 60 feet, making these announcements more accurate.
• Fixes a bug where the Transit Routes view did not update when switching days if there were no routes for the current day.
• Fixes a bug where the same street names were sometimes repeated when using Compass mode.
• Disables the Follow Roads switch on the Virtual Navigation pad when the address provider is not set to Onboard.
• The setting, "Allow Geobeam and Compass when app is in the background" now defaults to on.

Version 1.01.00, September 2016¶

• When getting guidance to a location, rerouting now works if you go off-route when using Apple as the address provider.
• Approaching intersections are now reported more promptly when using Apple as the address provider.
• Changes approaching intersection handling to address skipping to the next intersection before crossing the current one, and to report the next intersection with more precision.
• Improves the situation where some intersections are not shown when using the Approaching item or the Streets view. We acknowledge that there is more work to be done in this area.
• Changes the way nearby transit stops are reported. Now, the direction of the vehicle is given first, followed by the time and route name information.
• Changes the following context menu items for search results, favorites, and transit stops:
  • Get Directions becomes List Directions
  • Set As Destination becomes Turn-By-Turn Guidance
  • Go To becomes Virtual Go To
• Changes some default settings as follows:
  • The Country item is off
  • The Nearby Position item is off
  • The number of nearby places to announce for one location is now 1 instead of 4
  • The search radius is now 500 yards
• Adds the Clear Text button to all edit fields.
• Fixes a bug where the nearby place could be repeated indefinitely.
• Fixes a bug where distant favorites were not announced when using the onboard search provider.
• Fixes various crashes related to using certain features before the onboard maps are downloaded.
• Changing the search radius from the toolbar now kills speech.
• The "Show More Stops" button in the Transit view was renamed to "More Stops."
• Fixes a bug where the Transit view was always empty on the very first use.
• Hides the keyboard in the Search view when the context menu is opened.

Version 1.00.00, August 2016¶

Initial release.

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