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Wikivoyage:WikiSherpa

From Wikivoyage

As of October 2016, this application no longer appears in the Android or iPhone app stores and the website has gone offline

WikiSherpa was a free Wikivoyage-gateway app for Android and iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch devices, created by (WT-en) Jon Evans. It could be used to download an arbitrary number of Wikivoyage pages for offline reading, to plot Wikivoyage listings on a map, to download and view OpenStreetMap maps while offline (with Wikivoyage listings shown), and to edit Wikivoyage while offline. Users could also download a complete snapshot of Wikivoyage (and its associated Wikipedia pages) to their device for offline use, if they so desired.

The WikiSherpa server also allowed users to plot Wikivoyage listings atop Google Maps in any standard web browser.

Features included:

  • Search for and download any number of Wikivoyage pages to a device.
  • (In many cases, the Wikipedia page for a destination is also included.)
  • Automatically download subpages (regions, districts, etc.) as well.
  • Identify and download pages with listings near any given location.
  • View geolocated listings (those with either a defined lat/long or a geocodable address) on a Google Map or OpenStreetMap within the app.
  • Filter maps and/or catalogs by category (Eat, Drink, Sleep, Buy, etc.) or via a search.
  • View downloaded pages either as a flat list or a hierarchical iTunes-like tree.
  • Search downloaded pages.
  • Download OpenStreetMap maps for subsequent offline use.
  • Option to cache images in downloaded pages as well for subsequent offline use.
  • View downloaded pages, maps, and images while offline.
  • View downloaded pages in a hierarchical iTunes-like interface or on a single screen.
  • View a catalog of all downloaded listings for a destination and its subpages.
  • Get Flickr, Google, Yelp and TripAdvisor info for listings.
  • View Foursquare listing information, where available
  • Edit sections and listings. If offline, edits will be uploaded to Wikivoyage when the app is next launched.
  • View app announcements.
  • Send messages to nearby app users, and/or read messages they have posted.
  • (on WikiSherpa.com) Search for Wikivoyage pages and map their geolocated listings in a browser.

The free version of the app displayed ads if the device is online. A paid version, called WikiSherpa+, was available; this version had no ads.

The app had approximately 15,000 active users, roughly evenly distributed between Android and iOS.

Proposed future features included:

  • Lists of nearby events of interest to travellers