Customizing Garmin Maps with TYP

[rws]

I have created a video showing the basic use of TYP to modify your custom Garmin map polylines. The zip file contains the video (plays in Windows Media Player) with step by step text instructions and sample files.

 

Download Video Tutorial Zip file

 

Change polylines like this....

 

to this...

Edited December 5, 2006 by rws

[eaparks]

Thanks rws, this should be a great help to a lot of us who haven't ventured into this area of Custom Map making yet. Again, Thanks and I look forward to more of your very helpful "How to Videos".

[GeoidPS]

Creating custom backgrounds, lines, etc. is all well and good. The problem I have is customizing existing 24K or US topo Maps. When I go out, I add tracks or points for new features which I want to incorporate into my existing maps. GPSmapper basic loses routing, some backgrounds, indexing, etc. These are lost when I add my features.

Solution:

Buy the full blown feature for $700? This includes routing in the personal version, but there are limitations. I hate to think what the comercial version would cost. Do I want to buy either version for the few tracks that I have produced? Think not.

Two things working against me. GPSmapper is too expensive for most users to reproduce Garmin maps. I only have a few maps that I need to reproduce, but to get the original functionality, I have to spend big bucks. How many maps can 1 person make? These are fairly generalized and will only be usefull for about 1 out of 1000 persons. Garmin is also very closed and is only actively working on City Navigator through Navteq. These cannot be hacked. Even if they could, it goes back to the problem with GPSmapper.

There is no viable system for correcting exiting Garmin maps.

Garmin wants to corner the market on gpsr, but shame on them for making no effort whatsoever to update topo maps or making the system so prioritary that I don't see any light at the end of the tunnel.

We can make all the simple maps we want, but I find it much easier to retain existing Garmin maps and upload all the information I have collected in the field whenever I go out to a particular area.

If someone can refute this, please let me know.

[rws]

"We can make all the simple maps we want, but I find it much easier to retain existing Garmin maps and upload all the information I have collected in the field whenever I go out to a particular area."

 

you said it all right there...retain existing Garmin maps, but instead of uploading all information collected which will not fit in Garmin's limited storage capacity (if you have any amount at all) go ahead and make those simple transparent overlays. What else are you gonna do? And yes...I believe there are SOME people that would like to learn how to make a simple transparent background map from their saved tracks...customizing them with different colors and/or widths and then overlaying US Topo (or other Garmin maps) with them. Therefore the various video tutorials I have created for making transparent overlay maps and using TYP files to customize them are very basic and are intended only to get a beginner going....using all free programs to do it.

[n2stitch]

Thank you for yet another informative video!

 

I have a stupid newbie question though. I have a GPSMAP 60CSx. I haven't yet tried to create a transparent map to overlay but I plan on it. However, I've read something about my GPS only displaying one map at a time. Will that prevent either the transparent map or the underlying map to show up? (I'm also using MapSource US Topo instead of the very basic Garmin basemap.)

 

Thanks again!

[+Bus36]

Thank you for yet another informative video!

 

I have a stupid newbie question though. I have a GPSMAP 60CSx. I haven't yet tried to create a transparent map to overlay but I plan on it. However, I've read something about my GPS only displaying one map at a time. Will that prevent either the transparent map or the underlying map to show up? (I'm also using MapSource US Topo instead of the very basic Garmin basemap.)

 

Thanks again!

That is the beauty of it. You can see your custom maps along with the garmin maps. That is why you make them transparent. Lets say you make a map of your own tracks, trails or waypoints you then can see this on Garmin City Navigator or Garmin Topos. What I do is make my own topos then I have the ability of auto route with navigator but can see topos when I want without switching maps.

[eaparks]

Thank you for yet another informative video!

 

I have a stupid newbie question though. I have a GPSMAP 60CSx. I haven't yet tried to create a transparent map to overlay but I plan on it. However, I've read something about my GPS only displaying one map at a time. Will that prevent either the transparent map or the underlying map to show up? (I'm also using MapSource US Topo instead of the very basic Garmin basemap.)

 

n2stitch, In regard to what you have heard about only displaying one map at a time I will try to clarify for you what this refers to. In the Mapsource software when you have Metroguide, or City Select, or City Navigator Maps and Mapsource U.S. Topo Maps loaded into your GPS at the same time for the same area, and I repeat for the same area (ex. the City Navigator Map and also the Mapsource U.S. Topo Map for the city you live in) and you have your "setup menu" set to "show all maps" the Mapsource U.S. Topo is underlayed on the above 3 maps I've refered to and only the street map will be viewable. The Mapsource topo map will not be viewable even though you have it loaded on your GPSr. Inorder to view the Mapsource Topo Map you will need to hide the Metroguide, City Select, or City Navigator Map, depending on which you are using. If you have Mapsource Topo Maps and Street Maps loaded for different areas then all maps will show up without making any changes in your GPSr. It is very quick and easy to make the switch back and forth in your GPSr as needed. As Bus36 said, this has nothing do with your transparent Custom Maps which is the beauty of making Custom Maps and viewing them transparently with another Mapsource Map at the same time. I have made a custom map with 137 Waypoints and 39 tracks without any topo in it, just waypoints and tracks and the entire custom map is only 9 Kb in size. So you can see a very small custom map, 9 Kb in size can save a lot of room on your GPSr and allow you to put an unlimited number of tracks in the form of a Custom Map on your GPSr for a given area. This type of Custom Map is fairly easy to do once you get past the initial learning curve and there are several on here that will be glad to assist you. I feel sure anyone doing their first Custom Map didn't get it to work right the first time without some help from someone else. So don't hesitate to ask questions. After all that is what the entire forum is all about, sharing and passing on information.

[n2stitch]

Thank you both very much, I look forward to starting my adventure with transparent maps. I'm waiting until I have a few more tracks to include, though I don't want to go too crazy my first time, either.

[rws]

an example of a simple map customized with TYP...showing ATV tracks color coded (you can choose any color and width for lines/borders) by ride difficulty...

green - easy

cyan - moderate

yellow - difficult

red - extreme

 

lines, points and polygons can be customized adding a new dimension to your maps

 

Mapsource Screenshot

 

GPSr Screenshot

Edited December 7, 2006 by rws

[+Bus36]

an example of a simple map customized with TYP...showing ATV tracks color coded (you can choose any color and width for lines/borders) by ride difficulty...

green - easy

cyan - moderate

yellow - difficult

red - extreme

 

lines, points and polygons can be customized adding a new dimension to your maps

 

Mapsource Screenshot

 

GPSr Screenshot

Thanks for your videos. I have made custom topo maps and trail maps the question I had with the TYP's is there a way to load city navigator and keep the autorouting, my custom topo maps, custom trail maps and a map customized with the TYP. I use Mapsource now for loading of maps but see you can't use it for TYP maps.

[rws]

Thanks for your videos. I have made custom topo maps and trail maps the question I had with the TYP's is there a way to load city navigator and keep the autorouting, my custom topo maps, custom trail maps and a map customized with the TYP. I use Mapsource now for loading of maps but see you can't use it for TYP maps.

 

The only application that I know of that can upload TYP files is SendMap20.exe....which can also upload multiple .img files. Note: TYP and SendMap do not work with all Garmin GPSr's.

 

Use SendMap to upload all your .img files and your TYP file and see if it works.

Edited December 7, 2006 by rws

[eaparks]

Thanks for your videos. I have made custom topo maps and trail maps the question I had with the TYP's is there a way to load city navigator and keep the autorouting, my custom topo maps, custom trail maps and a map customized with the TYP. I use Mapsource now for loading of maps but see you can't use it for TYP maps.

 

The only application that I know of that can upload TYP files is SendMap20.exe....which can also upload multiple .img files. Note: TYP and SendMap do not work with all Garmin GPSr's.

 

Use SendMap to upload all your .img files and your TYP file and see if it works.

 

When you use Sendmap to upload maps to your GPSr do the maps you upload over write all exisiting maps on your GPSr the same as Mapsource does, or is there a way you can add addtional maps to the GPSr using Sendmap? I would think that it over writes them, but wasn't sure if it is Mapsource Software function that deletes all of your exisiting maps on the GPSr or a fucntion of the GPS. Just wanted a verification. Thanks.

[+Bus36]

Thanks for your videos. I have made custom topo maps and trail maps the question I had with the TYP's is there a way to load city navigator and keep the autorouting, my custom topo maps, custom trail maps and a map customized with the TYP. I use Mapsource now for loading of maps but see you can't use it for TYP maps.

 

The only application that I know of that can upload TYP files is SendMap20.exe....which can also upload multiple .img files. Note: TYP and SendMap do not work with all Garmin GPSr's.

 

Use SendMap to upload all your .img files and your TYP file and see if it works.

So can you load City Navigator and such through SendMap? Does it keep autorouting? Thanks.

[rws]

 

When you use Sendmap to upload maps to your GPSr do the maps you upload over write all exisiting maps on your GPSr the same as Mapsource does, or is there a way you can add addtional maps to the GPSr using Sendmap? I would think that it over writes them, but wasn't sure if it is Mapsource Software function that deletes all of your exisiting maps on the GPSr or a fucntion of the GPS. Just wanted a verification. Thanks.

 

overwrites just like Mapsource...

 

 

So can you load City Navigator and such through SendMap? Does it keep autorouting? Thanks.

 

you would have to find the .img files for the CN maps you want, plus your custom maps and add them to the list in SendMap...I don't know about the auto-routing...try uploading the CN maps and test it.

[n2stitch]

 

When you use Sendmap to upload maps to your GPSr do the maps you upload over write all exisiting maps on your GPSr the same as Mapsource does, or is there a way you can add addtional maps to the GPSr using Sendmap? I would think that it over writes them, but wasn't sure if it is Mapsource Software function that deletes all of your exisiting maps on the GPSr or a fucntion of the GPS. Just wanted a verification. Thanks.

 

overwrites just like Mapsource...

 

 

So if this is the case, how would you send the custom map and the Mapsource map at the same time?

[cypherman]

 

When you use Sendmap to upload maps to your GPSr do the maps you upload over write all exisiting maps on your GPSr the same as Mapsource does, or is there a way you can add addtional maps to the GPSr using Sendmap? I would think that it over writes them, but wasn't sure if it is Mapsource Software function that deletes all of your exisiting maps on the GPSr or a fucntion of the GPS. Just wanted a verification. Thanks.

 

overwrites just like Mapsource...

 

 

So if this is the case, how would you send the custom map and the Mapsource map at the same time?

 

yes, the autorouting is keeping with sendmap and yes, you can send custom map and Mapsource map at the same time.

Edited December 7, 2006 by cypherman

[rws]

So if this is the case, how would you send the custom map and the Mapsource map at the same time?

 

In SendMap click Add maps...you can combine the Garmin img maps and your custom img maps for a one shot upload.

[n2stitch]

 

In SendMap click Add maps...you can combine the Garmin img maps and your custom img maps for a one shot upload.

 

Thank you!!!!