Routemaster GPS format: .rte

.rte format is a recursive XML format for GPS tracks.

By convention the first line reads

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no" ?>

This specifies the character coding, which is the XML default anyway. I don’t suppose anything will go wrong if it is omitted.

The second line may read:

<!-- https://www.routemaster.app/rte.html -->

This is a comment which will refer any casual visitor to the present page.

The ‘document element’ – i.e. the root of the XML parse tree – is ‘<route>’. So the file will look something like this:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no" ?>
<!-- https://www.routemaster.app/rte.html -->
<route>
  <name>Land’s End–JOG</name>
  ...
</route>

The extensibility of XML allows software to add tags and attributes not recognised by the official definition. A couple of the tags used by routemaster should be seen in this light. I shall probably cut back on them.

The attribute type is commonly used in .rte format; a tag’s attributes and elements (i.e. its subordinate tags) may vary according to its type. For instance a route may have type ‘index’, and may then have elements not expected in a route of default type.

On this page, documentation applying to ‘route[index]’ refers to routes of type ‘index’ whereas documentation of ‘route[]’ refers to routes of default type, i.e. with no type specified.

type      meaning      elements
–   A sequence of points to be taken in order. pt, name, desc, stars, stats, info, index, gallery, srcid, optimised, imgdef.
geo   A list of unordered points.
index An unordered list of tracks. route[], route[geo], route[index], name, img, stars, stats, info, index, gallery, tracklink.
metaindex An unordered list of indexes. route[index], name, img, stats, info, gallery, tracklink.
segments A sequence of tracks to be taken in order. route[], name.

If a route of type ‘geo’, then all of its points are handled as being themselves of type ‘geo’.

<route type="index">
  <name>Long distance rides</name>
  <route>
    <name>Land’s End–JOG</name>
    <pt... />
    ...
  </route>
  <route>
    <name>C2C</name>
    <pt... />
    ...
  </route>
</route>

The most important component of a route is its points, but first we will describe the tags supplying additional information.

Name of the route (utf-8), included as a text element, as shown above.

Route description as a text element (often a cdata).

type meaning
utf-8 Plain text.
routemaster A simple markup used by routemaster containing a few HTML tags and one additional feature, namely additive links.

<route>
  <name>Land’s End–JOG</name>
  <desc type="utf-8">A ten-day ride.</desc>
  ...
</route>

A quality rating for the route, given as an integer in the range 1–5 in a text element. ‘5’ is best, ‘1’ least good. Rating absent means no rating given.

<route>
  <name>Land’s End–JOG</name>
  <stars type="1-5">3</stars>
  ...
</route>

An image associated with a route or point.

type meaning
– A URL (or pair of URLs at different resolutions) for a single image.
pix The names of one or more images defined in a pix photo list, which in turn is included under an imgdef tag.

If the default type is used, the img tag has the following attributes:

attribute meaning
width pixel width of the image.
height pixel height of the image.
scale scale factor for the resolution of the second image URL if two are given.
stars ‘*’ if the image is particularly good.

When routemaster creates a metaindex from individual indexes, it associates with each index the starred images it contains.

<route type="index">
  <name>Lago Maggiore</name>
  <gallery title="Lake Maggiore mountain biking 2023">
    https://www.masterlyinactivity.com/maggiore/pix.html
  </gallery>
  <route>
    <name>Monte Nudo</name>
    <date>Sun Sep 03 2023</date>
    <stars type="1-5">3</stars>
    <img width="196" height="140" scale="2.5">
      https://www.masterlyinactivity.com/maggiore/images/nudoview@t.jpg
      https://www.masterlyinactivity.com/maggiore/images/nudoview@0.jpg
    </img>
    <img width="140" height="196" scale="2">
      https://www.masterlyinactivity.com/maggiore/images/nudopath@t.jpg
      https://www.masterlyinactivity.com/maggiore/images/nudopath@h.jpg
    </img>
    <img width="140" height="196" scale="2.5">
      https://www.masterlyinactivity.com/maggiore/images/nudoleafs@t.jpg
      https://www.masterlyinactivity.com/maggiore/images/nudoleafs@0.jpg
    </img>
    ...
  </route>
</route>
...

<route>
  <name>Monte Carza</name>
  <stars type="1-5">5</stars>
  <imgdef type="pix">
    https://www.masterlyinactivity.com/maggiore/list.xml
  </imgdef>
  <pt lat="46.01926" lon="8.68277" h="232" t="2023-09-07T07:14:36.000Z">
    <img type="pix">stambecco</img>
  </pt>
  <pt lat="46.01956" lon="8.68353" h="232" dt="22.000"/>
  ...
  <pt lat="46.02308" lon="8.68143" h="266" dt="2.000"/>
  <pt lat="46.02302" lon="8.68098" h="271">
    <img type="pix">moggie</img>
  </pt>
  <pt lat="46.02297" lon="8.68053" h="275" t="2023-09-07T07:28:13.000Z"/>
  ...
</route>

Information enabling an application to create images from the entries supplied wit <img> tags. At present it is defined only for the attribute ‘pix’, in which case it supplies the URL of a pix photo list, as illustrated in the preceding example.

The URL of a track. This is needed in indexes in order to be able to link to the individual tracks and in metaindexes in order to link to the indexes.

<route type="index">
  <name>Long distance rides</name>
  <route>
    <name>Land’s End–JOG</name>
    <tracklink>
      https:// ... /lejog.rte
    </tracklink>
    <pt... />
    ...
  </route>
  ...
</route>

The stats field contains a synopsis of a route for display in an index, or of an index for display in a metaindex. It has a rigid text format, exactly as in the examples which follow, except that different words may be used in different languages, which isn’t very helpful. (My own parsing code ignores the words and breaks out the numbers looking at the punctuation and units.)

<route type="index">
  <name>Long distance rides</name>
  <route>
    <name>Land’s End–JOG</name>
    <stats type="routemaster">
      Distance 1263.2km; ↑10397m ↓10408m; altitude 2-752m
    </stats>
    <pt... />
    ...
  </route>
  ...
</route>

<route type="metaindex">
  <name>Around Britain</name>
  <route type="index">
    <name>Scotland</name>
    <stats type="routemaster">7 routes; 257km; ↑5262m</stats>
    ...
  </route>
</route>

Further information about a route or set of routes. The text content is a URL. A title may also be provided.

<route type="index">
  <name>Long distance rides</name>
  <route>
    <name>Land’s End–JOG</name>
    <info title="My long ride">
      https:// ... /lejog.html
    </info>
    <pt... />
    ...
  </route>
  ...
</route>

A higher level index or metaindex containing the route or index itself. The user will be given a link to view this higher index in routemaster. The text content is a URL, which may be relative to the track containing it (or may of course be absolute). A title may also be provided.

<route type="index">
  <name>Long distance rides</name>
  <index title="Rides in the UK">UKrides.rte</index>
  <route>
    <name>Land’s End–JOG</name>
    <pt... />
    ...
  </route>
  ...
</route>

A photo gallery pertaining to a route or set of routes. The text content is a URL. A title may also be provided.

<route type="index">
  <name>Long distance rides</name>
  <route>
    <name>Land’s End–JOG</name>
    <gallery title="Lejog photos">
      https:// ... /lejogpix.html
    </gallery>
    <pt... />
    ...
  </route>
  ...
</route>

The date on which a route was ridden. A text string.

<route type="index">
  <name>Lago Maggiore</name>
  <route>
    <name>Monte Nudo</name>
    <date>Sun Sep 03 2023</date>
    ...
  </route>
  ...
</route>

The name of the original recording of a GPS track. A text string. This is used by routemaster to keep track of the original FIT file from which a .rte file with a meaningful name has been produced.

A text string in a rigid format used by routemaster to avoid re-optimising an already optimised track.

<route>
  <name>Monte Carza</name>
  <optimised type="routemaster" from="10788" to="663"
             tol="15" maxsep="95" wppenalty="700" vweight="1.0"/>
  <pt lat="46.02008" lon="8.68385" h="232" dt="24.000"/>
  ...
</route>

A pt is a point on a route. By default points belong in the order in which they are given; a point which does not belong to a sequence may be given geo as its type attribute. Surveyors produce points of type geo; mountain bikers produce points of default type.

The following attributes are also available:

attribute meaning observations
lat latitude (°) obligatory
lon longitude (°) obligatory
h altitude (m) optional
t time optional; a standard UTC date field
dt time difference (s) optional; the time advance from the previous point.

The dt field allows a more compact style than is obtained by providing a date stamp for every point. It is an error to specify a dt unless the date/time of the preceding point is determined, either as a timestamp or relative to its own predecessor.

You should not invent times for completeness. If you don’t know the time of passing a point, leave it out.

Only one element is defined for points, namely the img as described above for routes.

<route>
  <name>7 Termini</name>
  <imgdef type="pix">
    https://www.masterlyinactivity.com/maggiore/list.xml
  </imgdef>
  <pt lat="45.98191" lon="8.74084" h="129" t="2023-09-04T07:48:50.000Z"/>
  <pt lat="45.98164" lon="8.74110" h="129" dt="7.000"/>
  <pt lat="45.98123" lon="8.74123" h="129" dt="11.000"/>
  <pt lat="45.98114" lon="8.74161" h="129" dt="7.000"/>
  <pt lat="45.98086" lon="8.74168" h="127" dt="11.000"/>
  <pt lat="45.98080" lon="8.74183" h="126" dt="4.000"/>
  <pt lat="45.98095" lon="8.74226" h="127" dt="17.000" label="Right" caption="Ciclovia"/>
  <pt lat="45.98020" lon="8.74276" h="127" dt="22.000"/>
  ...
</route>

Notice that the time increments are all whole numbers of seconds. This is how they are recorded on a Garmin; decimal fractions are permitted in .rte format.

type	meaning	elements
–	A sequence of points to be taken in order.	pt, name, desc, stars, stats, info, index, gallery, srcid, optimised, imgdef.
geo	A list of unordered points.
index	An unordered list of tracks.	route[], route[geo], route[index], name, img, stars, stats, info, index, gallery, tracklink.
metaindex	An unordered list of indexes.	route[index], name, img, stats, info, gallery, tracklink.
segments	A sequence of tracks to be taken in order.	route[], name.

type		meaning
utf-8		Plain text.
routemaster		A simple markup used by routemaster containing a few HTML tags and one additional feature, namely additive links.

type		meaning
–		A URL (or pair of URLs at different resolutions) for a single image.
pix		The names of one or more images defined in a pix photo list, which in turn is included under an imgdef tag.

attribute		meaning
width		pixel width of the image.
height		pixel height of the image.
scale		scale factor for the resolution of the second image URL if two are given.
stars		‘*’ if the image is particularly good.

attribute	meaning	observations
lat	latitude (°)	obligatory
lon	longitude (°)	obligatory
h	altitude (m)	optional
t	time	optional; a standard UTC date field
dt	time difference (s)	optional; the time advance from the previous point.