Plugin approval

[NyakudyaA]

This looks identical to https://plugins.qgis.org/plugins/bearing_protractor/, can we have scope for collaboration to merge these into one unified tool

[erlrich]

Thank you for reviewing the plugin and raising this point.

While both plugins visually display a circular orientation reference on the map canvas, their design goals and workflows are different.

The Bearing Protractor plugin focuses on measurement and planning operations such as sector bearings, distance tracking, and manual measurement lines.

Floating Compass is intentionally designed as a lightweight persistent compass overlay that provides continuous orientation awareness during map navigation. The goal is to offer a simple directional reference for quick azimuth validation during RF planning and GIS workflows.

In other words, Bearing Protractor acts as a measurement and planning tool, while Floating Compass acts as a passive orientation interface that stays visible during interactive map work.

Floating Compass is intentionally designed to remain minimal and focused on orientation awareness. It is not intended to implement measurement features such as sector editing, distance calculation, or bearing analysis workflows.

Additionally, Floating Compass allows users to customize the visual appearance of the compass (colors, font size, ring styling) so it can adapt to different map backgrounds and user workflows without obstructing the canvas.

For that reason, I believe it serves a complementary but distinct role in the QGIS plugin ecosystem.