Data field: Flexirunner

I made a custom data field for myself, and then I found out I had to upload it to the store to be able to use settings in the Android GC app. So this thread is to support that, any questions/problems/comments, etc., let me know.

Flexirunner

https://apps.garmin.com/en-US/apps/ce1e0b46-7c83-4ddb-9d48-c93edadabe3d

Flexirunner is (yet another) all-in-one data field, for use in a single field layout. It is designed for running, with a native look and feel.
It shows time, distance, number of laps, heart rate, pace, and cadence. It also measures running economy (http://fellrnr.com/wiki/Running_Economy), and records this and energy expenditure (https://www.firstbeat.com/en/science-and-physiology/energy-expenditure/) into the FIT file, for later display on Garmin Connect.

Please see the page in the Connect IQ app store (above) for the list of features and screenshots (to avoid re-posting the same thing here).

I have tested this field with my FR235, but it should perform identically on the FR230, FR630, FR735XT. Since version 5, Flexirunner is now also compatible with FR920XT, Fenix 3 & HR & Chronos, vivoactive & HR!
Since development is primarily focused on me having an FR235, the layout is currently most optimized for the semi-round watches.

Donations
If you use & like this data field and you're feeling generous, donations are gratefully accepted (but not obliged) here (give what you feel!): https://www.paypal.me/imgrant

Source code
The source code for Flexiruner is freely available on Github: https://github.com/imgrant/FlexiRunner
You can also raise issues there.

Acknowledgements
The Flexirunner icon incorporates elements by Freepik (http://www.freepik.com) from www.flaticon.com, which are licensed by Creative Commons BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).

IMGrant over 8 years ago

I have made some modifications to an earlier version of flexirunner to show speed rather than pace ...

Just to add, if you are using a version of Flexirunner that you have modified yourself and sideloaded onto your device, you will probably not see the additional graphs and data (for economy or energy expenditure) on Garmin Connect – for this to work, the app has to be from the Connect IQ store, not sideloaded (even if the app ID still matches mine, you will have compiled it with a different developer key, so I wouldn't expect it work, although who knows...).

webvan over 8 years ago

This looks like a great field that I'll be installing right now ;-) I've been using the excellent RunnerWindowFR since the Spring but it doesn't handle laps (not available in CIQ at the time of course) so will try yours as a second screen when running laps.

What is "Run.Pace" as opposed to "Average Pace"? Is it something like elapsed vs actual time ?

IMGrant over 8 years ago

What is "Run.Pace" as opposed to "Average Pace"? Is it something like elapsed vs actual time ?

'Run. Pace' is your (average) moving or running pace – it filters out time spent stopped or walking.

Think of it like this:

Average pace = distance / timer time

Running pace = distance covered whilst running / timer time whilst running (where 'whilst running' means excluding time or distance walking)

If you never stop and are always running (no walking), or if you stop the timer manually whenever you stop or walk, then, in theory, running pace should equal average pace.

webvan over 8 years ago

Thanks.

So I tried it in Screen 2 (Screen 1 has RunnerWindowFR) and unfortunately when I press the lap button it crashes and goes to the "ConnectIQ" warning screen. Reselecting it as a field brings it back but crashes again when lap is pressed. Maybe the FR235 can only handle one complex DF at the same time ?

EDIT - ah it has stopped crashing after I selected RunnerWindowFR in the second screen by accident and then went back to Flexi, odd, will keep an eye on it.

EDIT2 - could there be an option to show the last lap time bottom left ?

IMGrant over 8 years ago

Thanks.

So I tried it in Screen 2 (Screen 1 has RunnerWindowFR) and unfortunately when I press the lap button it crashes and goes to the "ConnectIQ" warning screen. Reselecting it as a field brings it back but crashes again when lap is pressed. Maybe the FR235 can only handle one complex DF at the same time ?

EDIT - ah it has stopped crashing after I selected RunnerWindowFR in the second screen by accident and then went back to Flexi, odd, will keep an eye on it.

Hmm, sounds odd but if it happens again please let me know. I don't have trouble with lapping myself, or in the simulator, so difficult to troubleshoot without further information. I can give you a debug version which writes to a log file on error.

There's a 16 kB memory limit per data field, so running two complex data fields shouldn't be a problem, as they both have their memory limits.

EDIT2 - could there be an option to show the last lap time bottom left ?

Yes, you can configure the bottom two fields, the timer, distance and cadence/economy fields, and choose Rounded Pace or not. To do this, either use Garmin Express or the Garmin Connect Mobile app to access settings for the data field. Let me know if you don't know how to do that.

webvan over 8 years ago

Thanks but like I said I've been using complex DFs for a while now ;-) I was actually suggesting "Last Lap Time" as it is I'm seeing an option for "Last Lap Pace" ?

On the CIQ error I'll see if it happens again. It did it again once after I configured new fields, but not after that.

IMGrant over 8 years ago

Oh I see, sorry, didn't pay enough attention.
No, the bottom two fields only show pace metrics. You can display last lap time in the timer field top left, but I presume you ask because you want to see your last lap time in addition to the normal timer?
I'm open to considering new features, but there is very little memory headroom for implementing things (currently peak memory usage is 15.8 kB, out of the 16 kB limit).

webvan over 8 years ago

Yes that's it, you know when you're at that point in your session when you tend to forget things ;-)

The 16Kb limit is for used RAM or also applies to settings ?

Maybe the moving lap options could be removed as presumably if you're running laps you're not stopping ?

IMGrant over 8 years ago

The 16Kb limit is for used RAM or also applies to settings ?

The 16 kB memory limit applies to the whole data field; storing a value such as a choice from a list and also adding logic such as 'if setting = a then do this, else if setting = b do that' consumes memory.

Maybe the moving lap options could be removed as presumably if you're running laps you're not stopping ?

You can't leave them in with a conditional 'if using lap time then I don't need moving lap options' because that still uses memory; to save memory you have to remove stuff completely. I am loathe to do that with things that I use myself, such as the moving paces. These are also things that cannot be replicated by built-in data fields, e.g. I already just removed elapsed time though, since I don't use it myself and if you want it you could add it via the built-in field (which then doesn't consume a Connect IQ slot).

mickrobin over 8 years ago

FiT Recording

Hi. just to report IQ graphs are showing up just fine now :)

Reinstalled a couple of times (dont know if that did the trick or was something else)