Things that I cannot accomplish in Mac BaseCamp

The first post in this thread was in 2009 and is quoted below. I have added the bold formatting.

Question:
Do previous users of Mapsource think the developers have achieved their goal "to create an application that was easy to use."

I feel that they have created an application with Basecamp that is "very technical application" with a few added features that I personally find unnecessary and more difficult to use than Mapsource.

Out of interest your views?

We are very interested in learning about tasks that people are trying to accomplish in BaseCamp, but are unable to.

As most people know, Garmin originally had a very technical application for Windows called MapSource. This application was full-featured, but very challenging to use for many users. For a long time, we wanted to create an application that was easy to use by all of our customers. ..........

One simple answer: NO
Still use MS for what I need to do.
BC has a search function that does work in it's own mysterious ways and almost never comes up with what you are looking for.
BC tries to remember all things you've ever done, the only way to quickly delete this stuff is to delete it's database.
Database...the directory tree is a good enough database, you can keep what you want in there even if some program doesn't understand the file-type.
BC is slow due to it's database and the urge to get information out of a connected GPS even if you don't want it to.
There are a few positive things.
The easy way to connect routes.
Second...(mmm can't think of right now... maybe later or never)

That is what I thought myself.
I find Basecamp over complicated and slow compared to Mapsource. I can't think of good reasons to keep trying to use Basecamp when I can create a route so quickly in Mapsource.
Re: Connecting Routes. I found the easiest way to connect routes for me in Mapsource was first to copy the waypoints from one route, paste them into the other route and then use the "Route Tool" to join up the imported waypoints. This works for me but maybe someone knows a better way.

One simple answer: NO
Still use MS for what I need to do.
BC has a search function that does work in it's own mysterious ways and almost never comes up with what you are looking for.
BC tries to remember all things you've ever done, the only way to quickly delete this stuff is to delete it's database.
Database...the directory tree is a good enough database, you can keep what you want in there even if some program doesn't understand the file-type.
BC is slow due to it's database and the urge to get information out of a connected GPS even if you don't want it to.
There are a few positive things.
The easy way to connect routes.
Second...(mmm can't think of right now... maybe later or never)

That is what I thought myself.
I find Basecamp over complicated and slow compared to Mapsource. I can't think of good reasons to keep trying to use Basecamp when I can create a route so quickly in Mapsource.

I agree for the most part with one exception. Having to tie up resources running Windows on a Mac. That being said, I still keep a windows/ MapsSource install on my desktop. It's actually useful on occasion to run MapSource and BaseCamp side by side. BaseCamp has made a lot of progress from it's humble beginnings as "BobCat" but I would still rather have a Mac port of MapSource 6.13.7.

Here are some features I'd like to see in Basecamp. Dirt Road Bicycle Rides are becoming more and more popular. They're called Gravel Grinders and I now have two bikes that are ideal for dirt roads and would like to explore everywhere I go on dirt roads as opposed to paved ones.

1. I would like to be able to tell dirt roads from paved ones. I know the information is there because my Garmin Oregon 600t has an avoid dirt road option. But, on Basecamp, there's no distinction.

2. I would like to plan bicycle rides where dirt roads were the preferred road to take. That's probably an Oregon 600t routing thing, but even in basecamp, I think it would be nice if I could choose a preference: Dirt Roads = 1, Secondary Roads = 2, Highways = 3

3. I would like to not have to plug my Oregon in to my Mac to be able to use the Maps I purchased. When I bought my Oregon 600t, I also bought the street maps on SD card since I had so much trouble in the past installing the maps on my PC. But now, to use the topo maps or the street ones, I have to plug my damn GPS in. It would be a whole lot nicer if I could download them to my PC.

4. MapMyRide.com, Strava.com, etc... all let you plan routes on the web and download them to your GPS. They use OpenStreet, USA Topo, World Topo, Satellite maps all for free. I assume these are open source. I doubt you'll ever do it but it would be awesome if you could use those in Basecamp. YOu could dynamically download them like Expert GPS does and keep them on the user's PC. And what would be even better would be to be able to upload the maps to your PC.

But - distinguishing dirt from paved roads is my big request. Having that would be AMAZING!

Oh - thought of another thing - when you download tracks from your GPS into basecamp, it would be nice if there was a way to reduce the number of points. Expert GPS has this capability. It's called Simplify Track. It keeps the basic shape of your track but can reduce the number of points tremendously.

Also, splitting tracks, joining tracks and deleting pieces of tracks is really easy in Expert GPS. When joining tracks, I'd just like it to join them in the order I clicked on them. Joining tracks also seems to do a good job of determining the direction of the track too. I don't know if this is in Basecamp, but reverse track if it's not there would be nice. You can do that in Expert GPS.

A couple of things I would love!

I use a Montana 650 with Olitrax and basecamp.

1, Folders in waypoints and tracks on my GPS. I go to two or three projects in a day with a couple of dozen waypoints and tracks for each. Each project might be half hour drive away from each other. It would be great to keep each set separately in a folder. Sorting them by distance doesn't work a point might be nearer a point from another project than the furtherest point on the same project.

2, The capability of showing multiple tracks like a hens foot, not in loops. All the roads in the region are laid out this way, always dead ending to minimize traffic and road use. The result is you are always backtracking as you work around a project. If you navigate on a track, you are not able to show other tracks. If you navigate to a waypoint it won't follow the track always, it will take you in a straight line when you start getting remote. The practical example is say driving along a road parallel to a pipeline route. The pipe goes off across country and then rejoins the road but you wouldn't know because it won't show the tracks at the same time. When you join tracks in this hens foot pattern it always makes a straight line back to the beginning so half a dozen dead end roads coming together at one point or joining onto one main road become a complete mess.

3, Some way of having multiple way points with the same name! OK I know! but something similar. Ive heard POIs suggested but have never been able to get them to work properly and it just isn't feasible to create them all the time. I might quad along a 100km pipeline and pass 60 workspaces. I don't want to list 60 individual names. It is nice to have proximity alarms and that just isn't going to get done for so many. A simpler example might be setting up something you could use to mark changes in the speed limit and set up a proximity alarm. They would all be called the same thing.

4, A way for the GPS to stay turned on when you unplug it from the PC.

That lot would make my life so much easier

Thanks!

Don

Sorry, Guys. Didn't realize I was in the MAC section. I copied it over to the correct forum. Apologies.