Useful things I have learned today using BaseCamp on a Mac

[daesimps]

I had similar issues with my 660 until I worked out what was going on. In "Favourites" I had categories relating to each route/list I'd sent in Basecamp even though the routes were no longer on the 660. When I went into each category there was just one favourite left which had been common to every route; my home address. I clicked on the favourite and chose edit. In there was an option to choose which categories the favourite was shown in. Once I removed it from all those categories that pertained to old routes those categories disappeared from the list shown when I went back into the favourites menu option.

This may or may not be what you are referring to, but could be useful to someone else who needs to trim down their category list.

 

[Wapping]

datesimps, that's a great tip. One that would seem to fix the problem. I will give it a go over the weekend.

The only thing is I wonder which of my many Favourites it is. I can guess it is either: Chunnel exit France or Chunnel entrance France or one of the hotels I regularly use, or maybe some combination of all of them.

Anyway, thanks for the tip, again.

 

[Wapping]

Yes, I would agree with that line of thought/reasoning. And it just reinforces the view that, when creating a route, you should minimise the number of waypoints used to a bare minimum of only the 'important' ones

To reinforce the view further, I have just noticed that the Nav V has an option to 'skip' a waypoint. It is only available when a route is running, which makes sense.

So, if anyone does create a route with lots of definite 'must pass through' waypoints, it makes it easy to skip some out. I don't but I know lots of bods that do.

That being said, it does emphasise how clever the dumb device is becoming. The only fault being that sometimes the 'cleverness' is leaking through into other applications where it's not always needed. What I think we are looking at is the start of devices that really will take any thought out of how to go from A to E via B, C and D.

Whilst it's easy to sneer at, it's also quite clever that it will just as quickly take you from A to E via B and D (to miss out C) if you change your mind for some reason or another. Add in that the device will provide in an instant routes along 'Wiggly roads', it really is what bods have been demanding.... Look at all the 'Tell me how to go on my holiday, great roads only, no motorways and no dull bits, I want to go 800 miles mate' type requests... Well now they have a device that will tell them at the push of a button. It will even find them a hotel along the route, too. How biker friendly it will be is unknown.... It will add to the adventure.

 

[Wapping]

On the subject of 'Skip' waypoints, this ability came in with software update 2.6, along with the wiggly roads routing.

Changes made from version 2.50 to 2.60:
Added a route calculation mode for curvy roads.
Added Skip Waypoint to the Map Tools.
Updated the appearance of the brightness settings page to match the volume settings page.
Improved text-to-speech pronunciations.

 

[Wapping]

Back to the subject of Waypoints and shaping points.

It was only when using the Nav V on a proper journey that I (along with dxtans) discovered the software / device's habit of creating definite 'Must do' Waypoints instead of shaping points. What we have since discovered by trial and error has been confirmed to David dxtans in a phone call to Garmin. Here is a PM David kindly sent me, interesting as it gives some of the background and maybe shows the way Garmin are heading in the future. I have repeated the PM in full:

Hello Richard,
So after a long phone call from garmin I finally have this resolved.
( I even crossed checked with the zumo forum ).
I tested it out on a little route as well, containing via/waypoints. Announce and non-announce mixed.
The trip planner was built for trips not routes initially, route capability
was added on later, this is why you get the change on waypoints. It
Is also to do with how garmin/bmw have decided on the standard for route building. This does not
happen on all devices, seems to be BMW related ones.

So in sum…
To have the route behave like normal ( as in the old days) take the voice announce off on the way/via points, apart from start/end ( this we know).

To have route as in current. When you select the route , you get a load of announced destination way/vaipoint’s,
Pick one of the points, it will automatically carry on from there, thru to the next one,next one…till the end. No prompts required.
It just routes the planned route. But never hit the destination at the beginning of the route, it will re-calculate
( as we know !)

So that is it.
I am quite confident now. However, I will be taking two versions of the route with me. One- all announcements off,
Two – as per your route Richard I received.

To answer a possible question as to why David is taking two routes. I created the routes for our next Wander in BaseCamp on my Mac, then passed them on to David to use. When I created the routes I thought I had turned off all the announced Waypoints in each route, converting them to shaping points before sending the file out.

David uses a PC running BaseCamp, as opposed to me who uses a Mac running BaseCamp. David thinks that his PC turned the shaping points back into Waypoints. There are two possibilities:

1. He is correct; the PC version of BaseCamp does turn the shaping points back into Waypoints

2. That it doesn't. It's quite possible that I sent out a version that hadn't been changed.

I can check either possibility by seeing (a) What I really sent out and (b) Creating routes and testing them between my Mac and my PC.

If I am honest, I suspect an error on my part... I bet I sent out routes that hadn't had the Waypoints turned off... Though it's a bet with myself that I am happy to lose. The good news is that either way we will have worked out what if anything does (or does not) happen.

 

[Mick-B]

I'm planning a 5-day round trip to Luxembourg, with a Zumo 660 which I am (hopefully) correctly pre-loading with what should prove to provide an enjoyable series of rides. I too have tried to export the Garmin file to Google Maps - what I end up with has tended to be 4 or 5 truncated sections or route, rather than a single route for the day. I suspect that is because the Garmin file contains 4-5 times as many data-points as Google Maps routes can handle. Google Earth appears not to have this issue but (typically) I want the route in Google Maps and am not that fussed about having it in Google Earth.

Richard, I commend your diligence in attempting to crack Basecamp (I have to admit to OCD-like reaction when it comes to software applications not doing as I would wish / expect; I become like a dog with a bone) - maybe one day you will write and self-publish a fully edited "Basecamp & Nav V / Zumo 660 for Dummies"... (with sections specific to PC & Mac of course!)

As an aside regarding Google Maps - "Street View" appears to cease at the Luxembourg border - I assume it offended their sense of a right to privacy.

 

[PaulW]

(C) Self-plotted routes displayed and run on a Nav V - Part 3 - The answer... Answer continued 2.... CRACKED IT

• Create a route anyway you like
• Drag it about
• Highlight the route
• Right click
• Get Info
• Via points, displayed in a list
• Highlight the via points
• Right click
• Don't alert on arrival (shaping point)
• The via point(s) are now greyed out with (won't alert) in brackets alongside but the arrival date and time are still shown.
• Close box.
• Highlight route.
• Send to Nav V
• Open route on Nav V
• Oh happy day....... what were once created as yellowed flagged waypoints are now little blue via points / shaping nodes.

Just to be sure i created a dummy route, with a load of shaping nodes. I then highlighted every other one and converted each on my Mac as described above. I then sent the route to my Nav V..... BINGO! There was the route, every other via pint now a blue dot or a yellow flag, just as I hoped would happen.

I could then use the Nav V itself to switch each point between a blue dot and a flag at will.

Problem solved. That's it... no more problems!



PS My thanks to everyone who contributed to this topic. zoot gave me the inspiration to look at the route info again and play around with the highlighting and left right clicks on the mouse.

PPS I do owe people a correction on my guide to sorting the problem out on a Nav V......

Good stuff Wapping. I have been trying to do this and getting nowhere so thanks very much.
If you want to be really slick when you have multiple routes (complementing your info), on a Mac you can do this -

Double click the route in question
Command A - to select all (including start & end points)
Command K - converts all except start & end to shaping points
Hit the 'esc' key

. . . job done

thanks, paul

 

[adventuredon]

Did that yesterday to my by now funny route that always want meto rout through points. I upgraded my maps to the latest (still cannot get the new maps to load to computer even using G express). And I still get routed through paintshill off ramp then back onto the A3. But I did do what you suggested and select all, convert to not alert. It worked, I was able to ride without having to edit the route and delete set points manually. Still wish I could stop it forcing me take a "shorter" route down tha A3 and loaded to my PC though.

 

[RedRick Esq.]

(C) Self-plotted routes displayed and run on a Nav V - Part 2 - The answer!

By trial and error I THINK I have found the answer the hard way.

Here's how I think you do it:

• Ask BaseCamp to create a route from A to B. It will create it exactly according to your pre-set preferences; nothing more, nothing less.
  
  
• Drag the route around as you see fit, to take it down the roads YOU want it to go down. BaseCamp will recalculate the route each time, creating 'Way points' (or more correctly, 'Shaping points') at each point on the road(s) you have specifically asked the route to take you along.
  
  
• Do this until the route is EXACTLY as you want it to be. Take a bit of care dragging the route around and where you drop your 'shaping points'.
  
  
• Export the route to the Nav V as normal.
  
  
• Go to Apps.
  
  
• Go to Trip Planner.
  
  
• Touch the Three Horizontal Lines, this will bring up a screen giving you three options: Delete, Import and Share.
  
  
• Touch Import.
  
  
• Select the route you wish to import. It will import into Trip Planner.
  
  
• Return to Trip Planner.
  
  
• Touch the route.
  
  
• This will bring up a 'detail screen' showing amongst other things: The mode of transport, the total distance, the travel time, the start and end points AND the 'shaping points'. The start point has a green flag, the end point a chequered flag and each of the shaping points a yellow flag. Unless you really do want to go through these shaping points, it's these yellow flags that you need to deal with.
  
  
• Touch the Map button, you will see the route displayed, with the flags. Do this only so that you know what it looks like. If you used lots of shaping points, the route will look like a flag shop with a sale on.
  
  
• Touch the return button.
  
  
• You are now back to the detail screen.
  
  
• Touch the three Three Horizontal Lines.
  
  
• Touch Edit Destinations. You will see all the flags shown.
  
  
• Touch a yellow flag. This will bring up a fresh screen with several quite clever options: Duration (you can tell the device how long you intend to stop there). Change Location (you can insert some other location) Remove Location (we'll come back to this) and Rename Location (call it whatever you like).
  
  
• Touch Remove Location. When prompted that doing so will remove the details and timing, click 'YES'.
  
  
• You will now see that what was a yellow flag is now a Blue Dot. BINGO! You are nearly there.... I think.
  
  
• Repeat as necessary, working down the list, 'Blue Dotting' as many of the yellow flags as you like. Remember, any you leave as yellow flags WILL stay as Waypoints.
  
  
• Click 'Save'. The route will recalculate.
  
  
• You will then be taken back to the 'detail screen'.
  
  
• Touch map. You'll see that what were once yellow flags are now blue dots. They are no longer Waypoints, that you must go through, they are simply 'shaping points' and the the route itself has maintained its integrity.

I THINK that should work. All I need to do is to try it out!!!


====

Some may say it's a bit of a faff having to do it. On one hand I agree, not least as I hated Waypoints in Mapsource, hardly ever using them and I ALWAYS have recalculate turned off. On the other hand, it's useful to have the option of creating either 'shaping points' or real Waypoints. It's also nice to have the option to amend the Waypoints, too.

Give it a go.... You can't break it!

Richard,

In preparation for getting a Nav 5 i have been working my way through this thread as i know they can be troublesome buggers and without going further into the thread to know if you have the above cracked yeat can i venture the following

To get rid of way points or shaping points without having all the faff of converting the flags etc on the device if you open basecamp and click Edit, options, device transfer and then tick all 3 boxes under transfer routes. This does in theory just leqave a route on the NAV 5 without any way points but with a seperate route with should you need to re position !

I await your praise or otherwise !

 

[newboy]

Jeez - thought I was getting the hang of this software and now bought a Macbook Pro - here we go again

 

[iand46]

Jeez - thought I was getting the hang of this software and now bought a Macbook Pro - here we go again

Judging by a lot of posts on here BaseCamp & Garmin Express seem to work better with Macs, mine certainly does.

 

[Wapping]

Richard,

I await your praise or otherwise !

Thanks for the tip.

I will give it a go...

 

[Peter Pan]

I cannot find a fix for this problem anywhere inside BaseCamp or on any of the regular forums. I have reported it to Garmin.

Whenever this happens to me, I simply select 'Edit' from the top menu and then 'Undo'. It's possible to select 'edit Undo' many times and each time it "Undo's" the last entry. I've never tried to see how many "undo's" one can do!