Geo Export plugin for Data Loggers

Latest version: 5.0.1 build 1126. November 28, 2025.

The Geo Export module is designed for technical professionals who need to convert live coordinate data into standard geographic track files. It creates KML, GPX, GeoJSON, GML, and related formats from incoming GPS or other coordinate streams in real-time. The module works especially well together with Advanced NMEA Data Logger, GPS Tracker Data Logger, Advanced Serial Data Logger, and Advanced TCP/IP Data Logger. These loggers can provide coordinates, timestamps, and supplementary attributes, which can be saved as map-ready tracks and waypoints without the need for additional manual processing.

In many projects, this module is used to process coordinates from a GPS tracker or NMEA receiver over a serial port, TCP connection, or some other method. For example, a GPS receiver on COM1 can provide latitude and longitude, and a PLC on COM2 can provide process data. Advanced Serial Data Logger can parse both streams, while the Geo Export module uses the parsed coordinates and timestamps to generate KML or GPX files. As a result, the same track file can show both the route of a vehicle and the associated sensor values at every point along the route.

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The key advantage of the Geo Export module is its ability to create several output formats at once. You can generate a Google Earth KML track file, a GPX route file, and a GeoJSON track for a web map from the same incoming data. The module can also rotate files on a schedule. For instance, you can start a new file daily at midnight or hourly. This rotation is controlled by the file name format and timestamp pattern that you define in the configuration.

The module is not limited to GPS tracking applications. Any device that produces coordinates, such as a survey receiver, AIS ship tracking system, or custom hardware. As long as the parser provides latitude, longitude, and a DATE_TIME_STAMP parser variable, the module can build track points. Adding attributes like height, direction, name, description, and icon to each point is optional, but it can make the tracks more useful in mapping programs like Google Earth, QGIS, or custom web map viewers.

Supported GEO file formats

The Geo Export module supports several widely used geographic data formats. This allows you to choose the best format for your visualization or integration target:

Google Earth KML (waypoints) for discrete point logging, such as stops, events, or alarms.
Google Earth KML (tracks) for continuous movement history, for example, vehicle or asset tracking.
Google Earth KML (polyline) for simple line geometries without per point attributes.
GeoJSON for modern web map applications and REST APIs.
GPX for GPS devices, sports tracking applications, and navigation tools.
OpenGIS GML for GIS platforms that require standard geometry in XML.

In a factory monitoring scenario, Advanced Serial Data Logger receives data from two ports. COM1 carries NMEA coordinates from a roof-mounted GPS. COM2 carries production metrics from a controller. The software logger parser merges these streams and provides coordinates and a DATE_TIME_STAMP along with process values. The Geo Export module creates a KML waypoint file where each placemark includes the current production value in the description. This lets engineers correlate machine performance with geographic position, for example, when a mobile machine operates on a large site.

Integration Example with Advanced Serial Data Logger

In this example, Advanced Serial Data Logger receives two streams:

COM1: NMEA 0183 sentences from a GPS receiver.
COM2: ASCII records from a sensor unit.

The logger parser extracts these combined fields per record:

DATE_TIME_STAMP (DateTime)
LAT (latitude in NMEA, string)
LON (longitude in NMEA, string)
SPEED (numeric, km/h)
EVENT_CODE (text)

A sample parsed record at 2025-01-02 08:00:00 looks like:

DATE_TIME_STAMP = 2025-01-02 08:00:00
LAT             = 4322.058, N
LON             = 07948.483, W
SPEED           = 54.3
EVENT_CODE      = NORMAL

Geo Export configuration:

Format of coordinates in source data: NMEA, string.
Latitude value: parser variable LAT.
Longitude value: parser variable LON.
Date/Time Stamp: parser variable DATE_TIME_STAMP.
Name entries: "Speed" mapped to SPEED.
Description entries: "Event" mapped to EVENT_CODE.

Resulting KML waypoint snippet:

<Placemark>
  <name>Speed - 54.3</name>
  <description>Event - NORMAL</description>
  <Point>
    <coordinates>-79.808050,43.367633</coordinates>
  </Point>
  <TimeStamp>
    <when>2025-01-02T08:00:00Z</when>
  </TimeStamp>
</Placemark>

The user can open the resulting KML file in Google Earth to see waypoints along the route, with names showing speed and descriptions showing the event code at each time.

Key features

Real-time creation of KML, GPX, GeoJSON, and GML track and waypoint files from logger data.
Support for NMEA string, NMEA numeric, and standard numeric coordinate formats.
Flexible file naming with hourly, daily, or monthly rotation and custom timestamp patterns.
Configurable mapping of parser variables to timestamps, coordinates, altitude, direction, and descriptive text.
User-defined styles for KML and other formats to control icons, colors, and visual appearance.
Integration with Advanced Serial Data Logger, Advanced TCP/IP Data Logger, and our other data loggers.

Summary

The Geo Export module converts live coordinate streams into ready-to-use KML, GPX, GeoJSON, and GML files. It works with Advanced NMEA Data Logger, GPS Tracker Data Logger, Advanced Serial Data Logger, and Advanced TCP/IP Data Logger to provide a complete data processing workflow. With support of multiple formats and flexible attribute mapping, the module reduces manual processing of GPS data and improves the accuracy of location based analysis. It is suitable for vehicle tracking, industrial monitoring, surveying, and any application where you need reliable conversion from raw coordinates to standard geographic file formats.

Download | PDF manual