Free online RTE to GPX converter

A navigation app, GPS receiver, or GIS program may require GPX when it cannot open an OziExplorer route file. Converting the file also makes the route easier to share and inspect in software that supports the open GPX format.

What the RTE format is

In GPS navigation and mapping software, .rte commonly identifies an OziExplorer route file. OziExplorer uses this plain-text format to store an ordered route made from route points, normally including latitude, longitude, point names, and OziExplorer-specific route data. Routes are planned sequences of locations; they are not recordings of the path a receiver travelled.

.rte is not a universal GPS standard. Other navigation programs can use the same extension for unrelated route structures, so confirm the source program before converting. An OziExplorer file normally has an OziExplorer route-file header near the beginning when opened in a text editor. Renaming the extension does not convert the file.

What the GPX format is

GPX, or GPS Exchange Format, is an XML-based format for exchanging GPS data between receivers, navigation programs, fitness applications, mapping software, and GIS tools. A GPX file can contain waypoints (<wpt>), planned routes (<rte> containing ordered <rtept> elements), and recorded tracks (<trk>).

GPX is useful because it is documented, broadly supported, and not tied to one manufacturer. It normally preserves coordinates and point names during an RTE conversion, but it cannot guarantee preservation of OziExplorer display settings, map references, route styles, comments, or proprietary navigation instructions.

How to convert RTE to GPX

GPSBabel is a suitable desktop converter for an OziExplorer RTE file and runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Use its command-line version as follows:

1. Install GPSBabel from its official distribution.
2. Open a terminal or command prompt in the folder containing the route file.
3. Run gpsbabel -i ozi -f route.rte -o gpx -F route.gpx, replacing the filenames or paths as necessary.

The -i ozi option selects OziExplorer input, -f specifies the source file, -o gpx selects GPX output, and -F specifies the destination file. In the graphical interface, select OziExplorer as the input format, choose the .rte file, select GPX XML as the output format, specify an output filename ending in .gpx, and start the conversion.

For conversion without installing software, upload the file to 101convert.com, select GPX as the output format, and download the result. This option depends on the service recognizing the particular RTE variant; an unreadable or non-OziExplorer RTE file should be opened and exported by the program that created it.

Quality and compatibility limits

The normal result is a GPX route, not a track. A route contains selected route points and does not describe every position along a travelled path. If the destination requires a breadcrumb trail, use an OziExplorer track file such as .plt, or create a track in mapping software before exporting.

Before transferring the GPX file to a receiver, open it in the target application and check the point order, route shape, coordinate positions, and datum interpretation. Some devices recalculate routing between points instead of following the original planned path, and some accept GPX tracks but not GPX routes. Optional fields, turn instructions, folder structure, comments, and styling may be dropped because GPX applications support different subsets of the format.