Top Customer Issues


  • General Questions
  • I don't own a GPS. Can I still use HoudahGeo?
    Yes!

    Images may be geocoded using Google Maps from within HoudahGeo. Just drag the map marker to the appropriate location. You can also enter the latitude, longitude and altitude information manually for each image.

    NEW: Geocode using Google Earth! This is the ultimate level of convenience (short of using a GPS). HoudahGeo gives you a floating window shown above the Google Earth interface. Navigate your images using the arrow buttons: no need to switch back and forth between HoudahGeo and Google Earth!

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  • Does HoudahGeo support RAW files?
    HoudahGeo supports JPEG as well as many RAW image file formats.

    HoudahGeo may read all the same file formats as Apple's iPhoto and Aperture.

    For writing EXIF, XMP & IPTC tags, HoudahGeo relies on Phil Harvey's excellent ExifTool. You may check this list for file formats ExifTool can write to.
    Please use the demo version of HoudahGeo to try with actual files from your camera.


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  • Limitations
    If you want to keep geocoded images on archive, the recommended workflow is to geocode images prior to importing the image into a photo library like iPhoto or Aperture.


    iPhoto caches EXIF information upon import. Later changes go unnoticed. Moreover iPhoto may lose GPS information when duplicating photos for editing.

    Aperture is very protective about the images it manages. It is focused on non destructive editing. It doesn't give access to original images for tagging.


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  • Known issues

    Pentax PEF files


    EXIF tagged PEF files fail to display correctly in HoudahGeo as well as in many other applications. They will however open in Pentax's software or Adobe Photoshop.

    Canon CRW/CIFF files


    Canon RAW files do not support GPS related IPTC of XMP tags. Thus these files cannot directly be written to. You may however create XMP sidecar files. Canon CR2 files on the other hand are fully supported.

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  • Can you help me get started?
    Sure. There is a quick start guide included with the built-in Help.

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  • Will there be a Windows version?
    HoudahGeo is a Mac program at heart. Houdah Software specializes in quality Mac software. Consequently no Windows version is planned.

    Let this be another good excuse for switching to the Mac. Not that you needed any.

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  • Can you recommend a me GPS device?
    There exits a wide variety of GPS devices conceived for many different uses. It is a good idea to assess your needs and buy the receiver that matches those.

    For the use with HoudahGeo, you need a device that has a track logging feature. This is available in most handheld receivers. Car navigation devices however usually do not have this ability.

    You should also make sure that the device has the ability to export GPX or NMEA track log files. This may be done using software provided with the device or with third party software like HoudahGPS or LoadMyTracks.

    • Our preferred track logger is the Wintec WBT-201. HoudahGeo supports connection to the Wintec WBT-201 using both USB and Bluetooth. This device is matchbox sized so you can always have it with you. It has a pretty large memory. Battery lasts for about a day and can be recharged via USB.

    Device settings may be configured using the vendor's Windows application or using the open source GTK-Rays-2 tool.

    • A favorite among many users is the Sony GPS-CS1 . The Sony device works much like a USB pen drive. It mounts on your desktop. You just need to point HoudahGeo to the .log files on the drive. (Requires Mac OS X 10.5.3)

    • Future versions of GPSBabel (and thus HoudahGeo & HoudahGPS) will support the GlobalSat DG100 as well as the i-Blue 747.

    • We hear also good things about the Amod AGL3080.

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  • What are the requirements?
    HoudahGeo requires Mac OS X Tiger 10.4.8, a digital camera and optionally a GPS device.

    Internet access and Google Earth are needed for some tasks.

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  • Specific Questions
  • What is geocoding?
    Many people use the terms geocoding, geotagging and gereferencing interchangeably. Within HoudahGeo we refer to the process as geocoding.

    If you were to distinguish the 3 terms, you might consider the following definitions:

    - georeferencing: act of assigning a geographical location to a photo (steps 1 & 2 in the HoudahGeo workflow)
    - geocoding: encoding geographical data within an image file (EXIF/XMP export)
    - geotagging: attaching geographical data as tags to a file (done as part of Flickr! upload)

    HoudahGeo has got all bases covered. It is your one-stop georeferencing, geocoding and geotagging solution for the Mac. Moreover it exports to Google Earth. This process falls out of scope for the above three terms.

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  • What is GPX?
    GPX (GPS eXchange Format) is an XML based format designed for transferring GPS data between GPS devices and software applications.

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  • What is NMEA?
    NMEA 0183 (or NMEA for short) is a standard protocol, used by GPS receivers to transmit data. It has been defined by the US based National Marine Electronics Association for communication between marine electronic devices. In the context of HoudahGeo it is used as an alternative to the more widely used GPX format.

    The popular Sony GPS-CS1KA device is the most prominent example of devices which use NMEA rather than GPX to store track information. HoudahGeo supports both formats and thus works fine with devices from many manufacturers including Garmin, Magellan and Sony.

    The Sony GPS-CS1KA is however said to have trouble mounting on PPC Macs. This is appears to be a bug in Mac OS X which does not affect Intel Macs. On PPC Macs you might have better luck accessing the track logs using a third party tool, like LoadMyTracks, which does not appear to rely on the system's ability to mount the device as a drive.

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  • What is EXIF?
    EXIF (Exchangeable Image File Format) is a file format which allows for the storage of metadata (such as the GPS coordinates) within an image file. Many digital cameras store images as EXIF format JPEG files.

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  • What is XMP?
    The Adobe Extensible Metadata Platform (XMP) is a standard for processing and storing standardized and proprietary metadata. XMP data may either be embedded in a file or come as XMP sidecar file.

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  • Is HoudahGeo's EXIF / XMP / IPTC writing lossless?
    Yes. When metadata is written to files, none of the image data or quality is lost.

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  • When should coordinates be negative?
    Latitude values that are south of the equator are negative. Longitude values that are west of Greenwich England are negative. Consequently locations in South America have both a negative latitude and negative longitude.

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  • How do I ensure the camera's clock is accurate?
    1. Decide on a time zone you will use over the course of the project. Typically this is either your home time zone or a time zone you travel to.
    2. Set you GPS device to display time in the chosen time zone.
    3. Start setting the time on you digital camera.
    4a. If your camera allows for setting seconds to zero, do so when the clock on the GPS device jumps to the next minute.
    4b. Otherwise set the time on the camera to the next full minute. Save the newly set time at the very moment actual time on the GPS device catches up.

    In order to be able to geocode images from a GPS track log, it is important that the camera clock is accurate. It is even more important that the camera clock is not modified over the course of a project.

    Once you start working within HoudahGeo, you should check the camera's clock against the GPS clock. You can now specify the exact clock error.

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  • What is a track with no time information?
    You may see a warning message upon importing track logs that states that one, several or all of the tracks imported lack time information. That is they are made of a series of points for which the coordinates are known, but the time when they were recorded is not.

    On Garmin devices this happens if you "save" a track. It is then stripped of time information and becomes useless to HoudahGeo.

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  • GPS device connection
  • How do I use HoudahGeo to download tracks from my GPS device?
    From the "Geo" menu select "Load GPS Data from GPS device".

    First, you need to select the type of your device (Garmin, Magellan or Wintec). Next, select the port used to connect to your device. A device name is also required. However, HoudahGeo provides sensible defaults. You will probably not need to modify this value. Situations where you need to select an alternate value include:

    - Use of a serial-to-usb from a brand other than KeySpan or simultaneous use of several such converters
    - Use of custom serial device name during pairing of a Bluetooth device
    - Use of a native serial port (e.g. on a PCI card)

    Note: Serial devices connect using a serial-to-usb converter may show up either as USB or serial device. Please check both options.

    Now click the "OK" button.


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  • Why is the "OK" button disabled?
    The "OK" button is enabled only when there is a reasonable chance for the device to be available. E.g. the device name should match the name of a known device.

    For USB devices with a "usb:" device name, the "OK" button is enabled only once the device is plugged in.

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  • How do I set up a device for Bluetooth connection?
    First, make sure Bluetooth is enabled both on your computer and on the GPS device.

    Using "System Preferences", you will need to pair the device with your computer before first use. In the pairing process, you will get the opportunity to specify a serial device name. It is recommended you use the suggested default value.

    You may now address the device in HoudahGeo by the above specified name.

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  • How do I set up my Wintec WBT-201 for USB connection?
    In order to use the USB connection of your Wintec device, you need to install an appropriate driver. You may get that driver from Silicon Labs. The Wintec device will be known to HoudahGeo by the name of "SLAB_USBtoUART".

    Note: We don't know if the same driver can work with earlier Wintec devices. Please report back if you get a chance to try such a setup.

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  • How do I connect to a device using a serial-to-usb converter?
    Serial-to-usb converters require the installation of a driver provided by the converter's manufacturer. The driver decides of the name by which HoudahGeo will see the device. E.g. for the KeySpan converters the name to use is "KeySerial1".

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  • Troubleshooting
  • Why does HoudahGeo export only 3 images?
    Did you purchase and load a license file? In demo mode all export functions are limited to 3 images per project.

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  • Why can't iPhoto / Aperture seen my EXIF tags?

    iPhoto


    iPhoto apparently caches EXIF information upon import. Later changes go unnoticed. Moreover iPhoto may lose GPS information when duplicating photos for editing.

    Aperture


    Aperture hands out preview copies rather than original photos. Geocoding these unfortunately has no influence on the originals on file in Aperture. It is not a good idea to re-import EXIF tagged images back into Aperture to replace existing photos. Indeed the copies handed out by Aperture are of reduced quality.


    If you want to keep geocoded images on archive, the recommended workflow is to geocode and tag images prior to importing the into a photo library like iPhoto or Aperture.


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  • Why couldn't some of my images be processed?

    Do your photos have EXIF time stamps?


    A photo must have a valid EXIF time stamp in order to georeference it from a GPX track log. If it has one, it will display in the main image list. Remedy: Either manually enter a timestamp or geocode manually using Google Maps.

    Was the camera clock set correctly?


    HoudahGeo relies on the camera clock working consistently over the course of a project. If your camera clock was consistently off by a certain number of seconds, you may input this clock error when importing the first image into the project.

    Remedy: If the clock error has changed over the course of the project you will need to manually edit the timestamps.

    Was the time zone configured correctly?


    HoudahGeo inquires about the camera time zone when importing the first image into the project. You need to provide accurate information. Typically this is either your home time zone or the time zone you travelled to.

    Remedy: Start a new project and enter the correct information.

    Do the photo times fall within the time frame of the track log?


    In order to geocode a photo, its timestamp must fall between the time of two consecutive track points in a given track log segment. Photos taken outside the time span covered by the track log can thus not be geocoded. If you expect the photo to fall within the correct time frame, you may want to double check the camera time zone and clock error settings.
    Remedy: Either anually enter coordinates or geocode manually using Google Maps.

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  • Why doesn't Flickr see GPS coordinates?
    In order to fully benefit from uploading geocoded images to Flickr, you need to enable the "Import EXIF location data" option in your Flickr privacy settings.

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  • There's no altitude information. Why is that?
    Not all GPS devices record altitude.

    You may however enter altitude values manually.

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HoudahGeo - Photo Geocoding