AlpineQuest & OfflineMaps

I do a lot of map source changes and frequently get "Out-of-bounds map" messages, which offer to "slide the map view to a covered area."

Sometimes (e.g in the "USA TOPOSM MAP" set) it slides to a point where no map tiles are actually available, resulting in a blank screen.

It looks to me that this is because the "slide" is going to a midpoint derived from the "outline" in the .AQX file, whether or not this point has tiles available.

My suggested solution is that instead, the "slide" go to the point designated as "preview-location" in the .AQX file. This is easily checked for validity, and could even be modified to a personal preference by those of us disinclined to leave well-enough alone. (If the preview location is missing or has an error, the midpoint could still substitute.)

Would this be a problem for anyone?

Hi,
Yes you're absolutely right, when not specified otherwise the application will compute a map "default location" from the outline.
It does work fine for most maps but not for those with particular shapes (which is the case for the USA when you include Alaska and Hawaii).
Instead of the preview location, you can use this dedicated field: Having a separate tag allows you to have a nice looking location for the preview and a useful location for the default location.

PS: I've update the online of the USA TopOSM map to only include continental US (as this map does only cover it), the default location computed from the outline is now pointing to a correct location. Thanks for the report.