An Introduction to Prune
Snip and Clip
© Aleksandr Ugorenkov
Have more fun with your GPS data with this easy-to-use Java-based tool.
Pretty much any device with a GPS receiver can save GPS data as GPX files. But what are these files good for? Quite a lot, provided you have a nifty tool like Prune [1]. This application looks deceptively simple, but it packs some rather useful features that can help you get the most out of your GPX files.
Configuring Prune
Prune itself doesn't require any installation. Because the application is written in Java, the only mandatory requirement is the Sun Java Runtime Environment. Prune is distributed as a ready-to-use .jar archive, and you can run it by either double-clicking it or using the java -jar prune.jar command in the terminal. Before you do that, though, you might want to install a few additional packages to extend Prune's default functionality. For example, to enable real-time 3D display of GPS data, you should install the Java 3D libraries [2]. To install the libraries, download the .bin installer and follow the instructions in the README.TXT file.
Another useful addition is the ExifTool utility for handling Exif data in JPEG image files. Prune uses this tool to write geotags to the correlated photos. The ExifTool utility is available in the repositories of many popular Linux distributions, so you can install it with the use of your distro's package manager.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
Linux Kernel 6.17 is Available
Linus Torvalds has announced that the latest kernel has been released with plenty of core improvements and even more hardware support.
-
Kali Linux 2025.3 Released with New Hacking Tools
If you're a Kali Linux fan, you'll be glad to know that the third release of this famous pen-testing distribution is now available with updates for key components.
-
Zorin OS 18 Beta Available for Testing
The latest release from the team behind Zorin OS is ready for public testing, and it includes plenty of improvements to make it more powerful, user-friendly, and productive.
-
Fedora Linux 43 Beta Now Available for Testing
Fedora Linux 43 Beta ships with Gnome 49 and KDE Plasma 6.4 (and other goodies).
-
USB4 Maintainer Leaves Intel
Michael Jamet, one of the primary maintainers of USB4 and Thunderbolt drivers, has left Intel, leaving a gaping hole for the Linux community to deal with.
-
Budgie 10.9.3 Now Available
The latest version of this elegant and configurable Linux desktop aligns with changes in Gnome 49.
-
KDE Linux Alpha Available for Daring Users
It's official, KDE Linux has arrived, but it's not quite ready for prime time.
-
AMD Initiates Graphics Driver Updates for Linux Kernel 6.18
This new AMD update focuses on power management, display handling, and hardware support for Radeon GPUs.
-
AerynOS Alpha Release Available
With a choice of several desktop environments, AerynOS 2025.08 is almost ready to be your next operating system.
-
AUR Repository Still Under DDoS Attack
Arch User Repository continues to be under a DDoS attack that has been going on for more than two weeks.