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ccWay User Guide

Preliminary notes

ccWay's personalised settings are the subject of specific help pages. Before contacting technical support, please read all the help pages and consult the FAQ and theversion history. Please send your questions only to assistance@centcols.org.

Principles

Application

ccWay is a Web utility that extracts a group of passes (sometimes called point cloud) from the Cent Cols catalogues according to the criteria of your choice, and which produces several types of common geolocation files as output. You can then use the output files in your favourite geolocation software, such as Google Earth, MapSource, Carto Exploreur and many others. ccWay is not specifically designed for GPS receiver users. The files produced by ccWay can be used to plan your outings and trips on maps, to get a 3D view of a group of passes on Google Earth, and for many other uses limited only by your imagination. Of course, some of the files produced by ccWay can be used to load the passes extracted onto your GPS, using the utility specific to your device.

Country

The catalogues of more than thirty countries are currently available, and other countries will be added in the future. You can also make cross-border selections, enabling you, for example (see opposite), to combine the passes of French Lorraine and German Palatinate on the same Google Earth view:

Geographical selection of passes

Passes can be selected according to four criteria:

1. On an interactive map, by defining a polygon encompassing the region you are interested in.
2. By first-order administrative subdivision (e.g. Region in France or Spain) or second-order administrative subdivision (e.g. Department in France or Province in Spain).
3. By map number or name (e.g. IGN or Michelin in France, OFT or Michelin in Switzerland, etc) - up to 4 map series per country can be used.
4. The whole country, or the whole of Europe.

Filtering the selection

Once you have made your selection, you can filter (restrict) the passes that will be extracted by this selection: by altitude range (e.g. to extract only those over 2000 m), by pass category (e.g. if you are only interested in road passes, cycle passes or passes that are easy to push). Finally, you can ask the system to extract only the passes you have not yet climbed, those you have already climbed, or both; to do this, you must first upload your list of climbed passes to the Settings page (see below). In all cases, the geolocation files generated by ccWay differentiate between the various categories of pass, "< 2000 m" from "≥ 2000 m", and passes already climbed from those yet to be climbed.

Types of files produced

ccWay can currently produce three types of output file: GPX (universal) with or without Garmin extensions, KML (Google Earth) and Carto Exploreur internal (France only). These formats can be used directly by a wide range of software, or converted for other purposes using a number of free online utilities. Other formats will be added to ccWay as time and demand permit. The files resulting from your selections are immediately downloaded to your browser.

100% online

ccWay works completely online. You don't have to provide it with any catalogues or install any software on your computer. Of course, you must have previously installed the geolocation software(s) that can process the files produced by ccWay.

Visitor mode and member mode

ccWay operates in two modes visitor and fashion member. In visitorIn order to avoid giving away our catalogues for free to any visitor who uses ccWay, the files only contain the pass codes; you cannot change your display preferences and other settings, and the utility will not differentiate between the passes you have climbed and those you have yet to climb; the default settings are used.

In member log in to the Members as a Club member. From then on, you can change your preferences and save the passes you have climbed; for the catalogues you have purchased, ccWay will produce much more extensive files, with pass names, access and so on. Passes from catalogues you haven't bought will be treated as if you were in visitor. To get the most out of ccWay, we strongly recommend that you use it in Member.

Instructions for use

These brief instructions explain the basic use of ccWay. Each section of the utility also includes a help page, which can be accessed by clicking on the which accompanies most sections. Please use them for more details.

ccWay is a web page containing several sections with variable content depending on the country and some of your choices. These sections are shown in the image on the right:

1. Identification. In this section you can log in to ccWay by clicking on the green button

   

   mode, you can switch from visitor mode member. You can then change your personalised settings by clicking on the "settings" button.

   

   (Details) or close your session by clicking on the red button

   

   at the top right of the page. In member your name and membership number appear in this section. Once you are logged in, you can move from country to country without logging in again, until you log out or close your browser.
2. Country. Here you select the catalogued country you want to use for your pass extraction. By default, a Google Maps map (section 6) centred on the country in question appears at the bottom of the page. The geographical selections (section 3) vary from country to country. The 'Europe' selection (flag

   

   ) allows you to make cross-border selections on the Google Maps map.
3. Geographic selection. (Details) Here you select the geographical area from which you want to extract your collars. You have 4 choices per country:
   • Cartographic selection by drawing a polygon encompassing the region of interest with the mouse (section 6).
   • Administrative selection at 1 or 2 levels depending on the country. For example, Region or Department for France, Canton only for Switzerland. On one level, you can make multiple selections (e.g. the cantons of Valais and Vaud for Switzerland).
   • Map selection for 1 to 4 types of map. Selection is made by map number or name. You can make multiple selections for a given type of map (e.g. Michelin maps 333 and 334). Please note that there is a technical limitation whereby a pass is only recorded on one map per series. So if two maps in the same series overlap and include a pass, the pass will only be found once. Example: Ore Gap (GB-ENG-0776) is on the Landranger 89 and Landranger 90 maps but only appears under the Landranger 89 filter.
   • The whole country.
4. Filters. (Details) These filters restrict the geographical selections made in section 3 :
   • Include passes already climbed, to be climbed or both. Only available in Member and if you have downloaded the list of passes you have already climbed from the Settings page. Climbed and unclimbed passes are represented differently in the geolocation files. By default, both types of pass are included.
   • Altitude ranges. This filter allows you to limit the altitude of the passes extracted. For example, you can limit your extraction to passes over 2000 metres by entering 2000 m in the minimum box. By default, all passes are included.
   • Categories of passes. These correspond to the "degrees of difficulty" in the catalogues, and are slightly different from country to country. You can make multiple selections, or use the shortcuts tick all or uncheck all. By default, only road passes are included.
5. Output format. (Details) Choose here the output format required by the software you want to use. Currently, GPX (universal, with optional Garmin extension), KML (Google Earth) and Carto Exploreur 3/3D internal formats are available. Other formats will be added later. Finally, click on the "Generate and download" button.

   

   to produce your personalised collar file.

Note that before using this button, your selections and filters must be specified according to your criteria. Your file will be output on a separate page or tab (depending on your browser) and you will then have the choice of saving it to your hard drive or launching the corresponding application (e.g. Google Earth). The layout of the file depends on your browser and its security settings, not on ccWay. The main ccWay window, where you made your selections, is always present, and you can return to it immediately, make a few adjustments, and regenerate another file without restarting ccWay (unless you change the country).

Map selection on Google Maps. (Details) This section only appears if you have chosen the option Map selection in the Geographic selection (This consists of a Google Maps map which opens by default centred on the country of interest. You can then zoom in on the region of your choice using the standard Google Maps controls. To speed up your zoom, you can centre the map on a location, for example "Rémuzat", "Ripoll" or "Sion" (without the inverted commas) by clicking on the "Search" button. You then draw a polygon on the map around the region of interest, by clicking on each new point forming the polygon. Opposite is a selection in Switzerland defined by a polygon of 4 points, which will limit the extraction to the passes included in this polygon. A search on the town of Visp has zoomed the map to the region of interest.

To summarise, here are the steps involved in producing a geolocation file with ccWay. You only need to log on once per session. Changing the settings and saving your passes is done only rarely.

Technical requirements

ccWay has been tested on all the main browsers installed on desktop computers, in particular :

• Mozilla Firefox versions 12.0 to 44.0
• Google Chrome 18.0
• Opera 11.64
• Safari 5.1
• Internet Explorer 8.0 and 9.0

The utility should normally continue to work on more recent versions of these browsers. On older versions you're in tricky territory and we won't be able to help you, so make sure your browser is in the list above before contacting technical support. With the exception of Internet Explorer, all other browsers are free and can be installed in a few clicks - so there's no reason not to have the most recent version, especially for security reasons.

ccWay has not been tested on tablets and mobile phones. No technical support will be provided for use on these devices.

As mentioned above, you must also have installed and mastered the geolocation or mapping software that can process the files produced by ccWay, whether MapSource, CompeGPS, CartoExploreur, Google Earth or others. The club will not provide any technical assistance on the use of this software.