Mapsource 6.1 Released

[+Team DEMP]

Don't think this has been posted yet, but the non-beta version of MapSource 6 has been released. See http://www.garmin.com/support/download_det...ct=999-99999-00

 

Changes made from version 5.4 to 6.1 are extensive and listed at the URL above.

Edited May 24, 2004 by Team DEMP

[+gbod]

Wouldn't you know it- last week I just downloaded 5.4!

[+gbod]

Added ability for the user to associate file links or Internet addresses with waypoints, routes, and tracks. These links will be exported to text and DXF files when a file export is performed.

 

I wonder if this will work with GSAK (GPSBabel) imported waypoints?

[CenTexDodger]

I think we crashed the Garmin site! Al least I can't get it to work, I will try again later!

[+Mopar]

I think we crashed the Garmin site! Al least I can't get it to work, I will try again later!

Oh good! It's not just me!

[+Firehouse16]

LOL me too! I was wondering what was wrong.

[+wxboss]

Yep, it looks like evrything but their download section is working

[+Firehouse16]

You'd think the Garmin server is on the same server as gc.com!

[Mittellegi]

me too. or maybe the just withdrew it: premature release...?

[+Team DEMP]

What is a bit odd is the 6.0.6 beta release which was the last beta before 6.1, the filesize of the download was 5,577KB while the 6.1 release is 10,492KB. Wonder what the heck changed to almost double the download file size?

[+Insp Gadget]

If someone else downloaded this file, can they post a link where I can d/l it from?

[+Insp Gadget]

I just checked the main download page and Mapsource was pulled! It's not on this page anymore!!!!

[+Team DEMP]

Here's a direct link to the download that was in my browsers history.

 

http://www.garmin.com/software/MapSource_61.exe

[Mythos]

It's available here:

 

http://www.gpsinformation.org/perry/msource/

[+john_underwood@charter.net]

Here is a link to the change list.

MS 6.1 report

[jonavin]

Thanks for the direct link. I actually got an email notification from Garmin that there is a new version. When I click on the link (same as the one posted by the thread starter), all I got was firmware upgrades. I couldn't find the MapSource upgrade.

[+Cabinwood]

I have a question for y'all -- I have Mapsource Roads & Recreation and Mapsource City Select. What is this Mapsource 6.1 and would I want to download it???

[+Alan2]

I have a question for y'all -- I have Mapsource Roads & Recreation and Mapsource City Select. What is this Mapsource 6.1 and would I want to download it???

I can't speak for why you need 6.1. But, Mapsource is the name for a family of Garmin's mapping program. It basically is the operating system. Roads and Recreation uses Mapsource OS to show the R+R maps, Mapsource Topo, the same for their topo maps, and Mapsource City Select for their City Select maps., the same for Metroguide, etc.

Upgrading the Mapsource OS is usually good as it eliminates problems and adds feature. But it won't change the maps you have on your CD's.

 

Alan

[+Cabinwood]

I have a question for y'all -- I have Mapsource Roads & Recreation and Mapsource City Select.  What is this Mapsource 6.1 and would I want to download it???

I can't speak for why you need 6.1. But, Mapsource is the name for a family of Garmin's mapping program. It basically is the operating system. Roads and Recreation uses Mapsource OS to show the R+R maps, Mapsource Topo, the same for their topo maps, and Mapsource City Select for their City Select maps., the same for Metroguide, etc.

Upgrading the Mapsource OS is usually good as it eliminates problems and adds feature. But it won't change the maps you have on your CD's.

 

Alan

Thanks-- that's what I needed to know. I'll definitely download it!

[coolclay]

Well thats funny I though I was going kooky or something. I got the update email and went to download and none of the mapsource updates are there. I wonder if something was wrong with it? I see theres a link for it above but I am not sure if I want it since its been pulled. Oh well guess I'll just wait 'till Garmin lists it again, and then I'll know its ok to download.

[+Team DEMP]

My guess is there server was getting pounded so much that they temporarily removed the link and will add it back again. I don't think there's anything wrong with the update.

[+Nazgul]

My guess is there server was getting pounded so much that they temporarily removed the link and will add it back again. I don't think there's anything wrong with the update.

That's a good guess, but on the off chance that they pulled in because of a bug or incompatibility.... Well, I don't need to update that badly just yet. I did dave the file though.

[DavidSweet]

<snip>I did dave the file though.

::BLUSH:: Awww Shucks, I always Dave my files.

 

I down loaded it and installed it. Seems just like 5.4 to me. I did see the box to enter a URL. But everything else work just the same. I sure wish they'd let me export semi-circles....

[jonavin]

You can set categories for Waypoints now. This could be useful for filtering different waypoints like geocaches that uses a variety of icons.

 

I don't like the new auto-find device. I know it only takes a couple of seconds, but it's annoying. The old version you just set it and forget it. I supposed it'd be more useful for people with multiple devices, but they should just let you pick a default.

[Neo_Geo]

I don't like the new auto-find device. I know it only takes a couple of seconds, but it's annoying. The old version you just set it and forget it. I supposed it'd be more useful for people with multiple devices, but they should just let you pick a default.

 

It only takes a couple of seconds, and it sure is a lot easier and less confusing for the newbies. Saves me a lot of time when typing instructions here in the forum

Edited May 25, 2004 by Neo_Geo

[jonavin]

That's true but I still wished there was some way of manually set it and not do an auto-search. Mayeb hide it in an advanced settings menu.

[+Nazgul]

FWIW, the link at the top is working again.

[+Firehouse16]

Ummm, now that Garmin is using a new format to save files, how do I convert them???? GPSbabel won't recognize the new format.

[+Huga]

Ummm, now that Garmin is using a new format to save files, how do I convert them???? GPSbabel won't recognize the new format.

I have a beta version of EasyMPS on my website here that will import and export GDB files as well as MPS files. So you can convert GDB to MPS or the other way round. it will also convert LOC and GPX files from the GC.com website to MPS and GDB files for Mapsource.

 

I've liaised a bit with Robert Lipe about the new file format and integrating it into GPSBabel. Now that Mapsource 6.1 has been finalised (Garmin changed the GDB format a few times through the 6.0.x betas!) I guess GPSBabel will integrate support soon.

 

In the meantime EasyMPs will do it - I'll finalise the beta version soon.

 

Hope that helps!

[+Huga]

OK, the new version of EasyMPS (version 0.60 build 200) has just been placed on my website at

www.iancowley.co.uk/caching

Support of the new GDB format (Mapsource 6.1) is now complete (I hope). Go download and use!

[+Team DEMP]

Ummm, now that Garmin is using a new format to save files, how do I convert them???? GPSbabel won't recognize the new format.

Within MapSource, you can export as a MPS file too off the File menu. Didn't try it to see if there was anything that didn't get saved, but it's worth a shot.

 

You also have EasyMPS (see posts above) and I'm sure GPSBabel will do the same. Once GPSBabel does it, I hope that it's added as an option to GSAK too.

[+gbod]

Ummm, now that Garmin is using a new format to save files, how do I convert them????    GPSbabel won't recognize the new format.

Within MapSource, you can export as a MPS file too off the File menu. Didn't try it to see if there was anything that didn't get saved, but it's worth a shot.

 

You also have EasyMPS (see posts above) and I'm sure GPSBabel will do the same. Once GPSBabel does it, I hope that it's added as an option to GSAK too.

robertlipe????

[+Firehouse16]

I seem to have a glitch I can't figure out. I've even tried reinstalling. When I run 6.1 and download waypoints from my GPS to it, then I select start tracking, the waypoint start flashing on and off. Even the scale graphic goes haywire.

 

Anyone else?

[+EraSeek]

Update (a bit lengthy):

Changes made from version 5.4 to 6.1:

 

MapSource 6.0 and newer will no longer support Windows 95. Also, for NT 4.0 computers, MapSource will now require Internet Explorer 4.0 or greater to be installed.

Updated the toolbar and menu layouts to simplify the experience for new users.

Changed the view toolbar so that the product selection box is not shown unless the user has multiple map products installed.

Added the capability to auto-detect all types of connected Garmin devices. This simplifies the process a user must go through to send/receive data with their Garmin device. Technology was also included into the auto-detection of devices to remember the last auto-detected device. Thus, if the user always has the same devices connected to the same ports, they should not have to search for their device more than once.

Updated various places where MapSource interacts with the GPS to use the new auto-detect technology, including transferring data to/from the GPS, getting the GPS’ unit id, renaming the GPS, and setting the PC Clock from the GPS.

Added ability for the user to associate file links or Internet addresses with waypoints, routes, and tracks. These links will be exported to text and DXF files when a file export is performed.

Added support for waypoint categories.

Added support for terrain shading display for products that have this information in their map data.

Added option to the main Maps tab to include/exclude terrain shading map data in map transfers to the GPS. This option is enabled if any maps in the selected map set contain terrain shading information as part of their map data.

Added support for vertical profiles of routes on maps that support vertical route profile information.

Changed the waypoint dialog to allow the user to show more or less detail. The default setting is to show less detail.

Modified MapSource to detect fully locked map products at start-up and notify the user of available unlocking options.

Changed MapSource to use the UnlockWizard for providing the user with map unlock services in non-Asian language versions of the program.

Added 'find recent' and 'find nearest' options to the route dialog.

Provided users with the capability to limit “find nearest” search results to those matches that “contain” specified words.

Added the ability for a user to perform a 'find nearest' search from the context menu of the via point list in the route dialog. This allows the user to find map features closest to the via point that the user selects in the list when he or she right-clicks to bring up the context menu.

Improved interface for finder. Added “auto complete” technology that uses a drop-down control to display word matches while the user types.

Removed the color field from waypoint and track dialogs since MapSource does not use this value. The color value associated with a waypoint or track is still preserved as part of the item’s stored information so that it will still be present for GPS devices that utilize this value. However, users can no longer view and edit this value from the MapSource user interface.

Updated MapSource to use the new GDB file format.

Added capability to import files from the old MPS file format and export GDB files to the old MPS file format. When importing older format files, the base name of the files is preserved in an effort to simplify the conversion process.

Added the capability to copy and paste between this version of MapSource and other applications (including older versions of MapSource) which may use a different version of the data.

Updated the route dialog to copy a text version of the via-points onto the clipboard. Also provided the capability to copy the text of driving directions to the clipboard from the driving directions tab.

Added temperature and time stamp to waypoints.

Improved the vertical track profile by making the window resizable and adding keyboard support for scrolling and zooming.

Reorganized route and track dialogs to make more commonly used fields more readily accessible to new users.

Added a preference for avoiding unpaved roads while autorouting. Note that this preference may not be fully supported by some older Garmin map products.

Removed the use of the F3/Shift-F3 shortcuts, which were used for navigating the recently found places.

Added the accelerator Ctrl-Alt-F to bring up the Recently Found Places.

Changed the 'recently found places' dialog to automatically select the first 'recently found place' when it is brought up.

The strings specifying the types of files MapSource can export were translated so that they will appear in the same language as MapSource. The previous version always displayed these in English regardless of what language MapSource was using.

Changed the color of the question mark being displayed over the vessel (when its location is unknown) to white for enhanced visibility.

Modified the application so that all dialogs with system menus in the upper-left corner (such as the route dialog) will now display the MapSource icon for this menu. The previous version displayed the default Windows icon to mark the menu.

Added code so that MapSource beta builds now expire 60 days after their build date. After expiration, the application will instruct the user on how to update their application to the latest version.

Changed MapSource so that the entire map is not redrawn when the crosshair is enabled.

Added access to the “duplicate routes” function in applicable MapSource context menus.

Removed the “make waypoint” button from the finder dialog in situations where the user opens the finder from within the route dialog.

Changed style of MapSource toolbars to have “grippers” so that the individual toolbars are more easily visible to the user.

Added notification for transfers to the iQue reminding the user of the need to perform a Hot Sync with the device to complete the transfer.

Added new waypoint symbols to MapSource. Added the following symbols in the colors red, green, and blue: flags, pins, circles, ovals, rectangles, blocks, letters A-D, numbers 0-9, and triangles. In addition, added the following individual symbols: blue diamonds, blue squares, bike trail, police station, fishing hot spot facility, ski resort, ice skating, wrecker, no anchor, beacon, coast guard, reef, weed bed, drop off, dock, marina, bait and tackle, and stump. Modified the waypoint symbol previously called 'marina' to now be called 'anchor' to better associate it with the symbol.

Because of quantity of new waypoint symbols, the color descriptor for the waypoint symbol types that have colors was moved to the end of the symbol ID so that like icons would be grouped together by symbol type and not by color (for example, “red square” is now “square, red” and will be grouped with squares and not red waypoint symbols).

Added the RT 90 grid.

Modified the scale on map window to display text notifying the user when all map detail is locked and, thus, not visible or available for transfer to a GPS.

Added the capability to display a highway’s cardinal direction as part of its map label.

Added the capability to display tide stations notes when a station has this data available in the map.

Added the postal code parameter to address and intersection searches to allow users to limit these results to those in certain postal codes. The postal codes users are able to use are specific to the Garmin map product in which they are searching. Some map products may not support this capability.

Made the waypoint, route, and track dialogs consistent in the way that they handle repositioning and zooming of the map window that occurs while the user is in the properties dialog. Now, each dialog will remember the initial position/zoom scale of the map when the user opens the properties for a waypoint, route, or track. If the user exits the dialog by clicking 'cancel', MapSource will return to the position/zoom scale it was at when the dialog started. If they exit by clicking 'Ok', the dialog will remain in the last position/zoom scale that it was while the user was in the dialog.

Added new map symbol for non-dangerous underwater rocks.

Added inherent support for mouse wheel scrolling to the map window, vertical track profile, and tide dialog. This is necessary on both machines with Microsoft’s Intellipoint version 5.0 and newer (since Universal Scrolling was removed in version 5.0) and on machines that lacked Intellipoint.

Changed how MapSource interacts with the system clipboard so that users can cut and paste between instances of MapSource without having to leave Mapsource open for this to work. In previous versions, if you copied something to the clipboard and exited MapSource, the information would not be on the clipboard for pasting when you opened up another application. Now, MapSource data will stay on the clipboard until the next time the user does a new cut or copy.

Changed the precision of the display of inter-tidal depths to be one tenth of a unit. Also, changed the way inter-tidal depths that are actually heights above the water are displayed to be consistent with the manner in which they are displayed on paper charts.

Updated the map transfer process so that if the user selects a map set that is too large for his or her destination device, MapSource will provide them with a more useful error message. The message lets the user know how big their selected mapset is and how much room the destination device has, so that the user will have an easier time determining how many maps must be removed from the current set in order for the new set to fit.

Moved via point properties button on route dialog from the route dialog’s toolbar to a standard button labeled “Properties”.

Changed how waypoint name conflicts are handled. We now will automatically resolve these conflicts when possible. If this is not possible, we have added a more informative error message for situations where the user must make a decision about how to handle the conflict.

Updated the Austrian datum to match the new standards.

Modified the route and track dialogs to allow the user to paste into the dialog when no item is selected if the route or track is empty.

Updated route dialog to allow copy, cut, or delete when the item is selected.

Changed transfer to GPS code to strictly enforce Garmin-defined waypoint specifications. This was done to prevent failures that occurred on some GPS’ when waypoints with extremely long names/descriptions were transferred.

Updated waypoint dialogs to only change the symbol and display type after the user exits the field when they have made a change to the value. The previous code would change the icon every time the field changed which resulted in the icon changing while the user was merely scrolling through the list using the arrow keys.

Provided some optimizations for improving the drawing speed of the map.

Changed right-click menu option on tide stations from “Feature Properties…” to “Predict Tides…” for added clarity as to what this menu selection actually does.

Changed the menu option for bringing up map data unlocking features from “Unlock Regions” to “Unlock Maps”.

Added menu shortcut key ‘M’ for the File menu’s “Send Mail…” feature.

Added the ability to export waypoint categories to DXF and tab-delimited text files.

Changed medical facility symbol to a blue cross.

Added ability to receive tracks from the ForeRunner GPS.

Added access to duplicate routes function in the context menu you get when right-clicking on routes in the Routes tab.

Added the ability to search for partial strings in the finder for feature search feature names and city search city names.

Updated the trademark symbol after the name 'MapSource' in the splash screen to be a registered trademark.

Modified file export dialog to automatically fill in the base name of the current gdb file as the default name for the exported file.

Modified track stats display so that if a track is selected from either the tracks tab or the map window, the statistics display will always show the track stats for the entire track.

Added capability to remember the last file extension type from which the user imported.

Fixed issue where a detailed map might not be visible at certain zoom levels if the map is very close to the edge of the screen.

Fixed issue where basemap labels were not being displayed if a user zoomed to a level where detailed maps should be drawn, but the map product lacked detailed maps in that area.

Fixed issue where the right-click context menu was not always getting updated to display the correct options to the user in certain situations.

Fixed issue where some data input locations were not properly validating the text that a user input.

Fixed issue where MapSource was not gracefully handling the case where the language resource file was missing.

Fixed issue where MapSource would fail when the user attempted to use the system menu while in print preview mode.

Fixed issue where the print preview flickered when MapSource was real-time tracking.

Corrected issue where the product selectors in the view menu and view toolbar were not always showing the same product being selected.

Added code to more robustly handle an issue where MapSource would fail if the map product registry key became corrupted.

Fixed issue where MapSource would fail if a value in the registry became corrupted.

Fixed issue where MapSource would fail if the user switched between various types of map products in a certain sequence.

Fixed issue where it appeared that a waypoint was still visible on the map if you find the waypoint in the finder and then delete it.

Fixed issue where the 'recently found places' toolbar button was not being properly disabled/enabled when the “number of recently found places to remember” was updated in the find preferences.

Fixed issue where the open file dialog was not being correctly cleared from the screen when a user opened an extremely large data file.

Fixed issue where waypoint dialog would incorrectly display the depth of waypoints when the depth units were not in feet.

Fixed issue where MapSource would fail when selecting certain maps in MetroGuide Canada v4 and trying to send them to a GPS or card programmer.

Fixed issue where the route dialog would be slow to redraw itself when the user was viewing driving directions and resizing the dialog.

Fixed issue where MapSource would fail when the proximity of a waypoint was set to an extremely large number.

Fixed issue where MapSource would fail if the location of a map product on the user’s PC changed since installation, and then he or she tried to send some maps from this map product.

Fixed issue where user was erroneously prompted to save an empty document when he or she tried to open a corrupted file and it failed.

Fixed issue where a user might get a partially opened GPS data file when a corrupted file is opened.

Fixed issue where MapSource would fail when merging two files using cut/copy and paste with certain combinations of data.

Fixed issue where MapSource would fail when doing certain combinations of data operations in the route dialog.

Fixed issue where clicking on the tide prediction window would not set the keyboard input focus to the window.

Fixed issue where a user could not tab to the list of tide extremes in the tide prediction window.

Fixed a drawing artifact that happened when users were constructing routes, had a pop-up appear over the route tool’s black line, and then exited the route tool using the 'esc' key.

Made changes to decrease the amount of flickering that occurs when resizing certain dialogs in MapSource.

Fixed the status bar so that it lists the correct number of via points in a route when the route is selected using the selection tool.

Fixed issue where MapSource would fail when clicking on Find from within the route dialog and 'No Map' is the selected product.

Fixed issue where MapSource would scroll back to the top of the list in the Waypoints, Routes, or Tracks pages after a modification was made to an item far down in a long list and the property page for that item was closed. Now, the program ensures that the selected item is visible in the list control after modifications.

Fixed issue where users would experience problems in data transfer between the application and certain GPS devices after aborting a transfer and then trying to send to the GPS immediately afterwards.

Fixed issue where the document title was not set back to 'Untitled' if MapSource had a valid document open and it then failed when opening a different document, even though the document was empty.

Fixed issue where copyright string was not being correctly displayed on some map products.

Fixed issue where Lake Erie was not visible at certain zoom scales in America’s BlueChart v6.0.

Fixed issue where waypoint altitudes were not getting correctly set in some new waypoints when MapSource was in metric units.

Fixed issue where the text displayed in the fatal dialog for some MapSource exceptions was incorrectly being overwritten.

Fixed issue where MapSource would not make the Properties button available when a user found tide stations in the 'find nearest'.

Fixed issue where MapSource would fail when the user opened the Product Info with certain map products installed.

Changed software version number from 6.0 to 6.1.

Updated address searching for compatibility with some new map products.

Fixed issue where MapSource would fail under certain situations when trying to auto-detect a USB GPS device.

Added the display of a 'wait cursor' when doing potentially lengthy operations saving the current file to disk or exporting it to MPS format.