Blimey, is Garmin Basecamp really this bad?

Former Member
Former Member
I hope i don't offend anyone but frankly i'm shocked at how awful this is, i have downloaded it from the app store to use with my new 800, 4 days in and ive got nowhere. Ive not used a routeplanning system with so many un-intuitive features, i'm beginning to think that the ££ ive just spent on the 800 ain't worth the hassle.. I have uploaded maps made on ridewithgps.com, which i find a good system. The 800 ignored the route. great. Ok, try the Garmin route setter, Basecamp. Well, i'm am simply shocked at how bad this is, it is clumsy, awkward, flakey to say the least.

So, Garmin, is this it, the best you can manage?
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 14 years ago
    What issues are you having making routes?

    There are two ways to make routes currently, the "Create Routes" dialog that lets you drag waypoints and find results to create a route, and the "Route Tool".

    We recently removed the "Route Tool" from the toolbar since, in user testing, our users generally wanted to concentrate on finding/marking data rather than drawing a route. You can still get to it via the "Tools" menu or by customizing your toolbar.

    We are very interested in feedback as to whether people like the "Create Routes" toolbar item. We haven't gotten much feedback on that at all.
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 14 years ago
    I like it!!! How else would I be able to adjust the routes if I didn't have the ability to drag it around. Of course, sometimes I have to drag it a lot to get it to finally go where I want it to go.
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 14 years ago
    @AugustFalcon, that's actually the selector/pointer tool. That's certainly still in our default toolbar :).
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 14 years ago
    @AugustFalcon, that's actually the selector/pointer tool. That's certainly still in our default toolbar :).


    Oops... nevermind!
  • I hope i don't offend anyone but frankly i'm shocked at how awful this is, i have downloaded it from the app store to use with my new 800, 4 days in and ive got nowhere. Ive not used a routeplanning system with so many un-intuitive features, i'm beginning to think that the ££ ive just spent on the 800 ain't worth the hassle.. I have uploaded maps made on ridewithgps.com, which i find a good system. The 800 ignored the route. great. Ok, try the Garmin route setter, Basecamp. Well, i'm am simply shocked at how bad this is, it is clumsy, awkward, flakey to say the least.

    So, Garmin, is this it, the best you can manage?


    I am not offended, if I were connected with Garmin, I probable would be. Of the 7 routing programs I have owned (probable 15 if you count different version) BaseCamp blows them all away. You click your start and end point with the routing tool and BC draws the route. If you don't like the route, drag the route to change the route. If you don't like that approach, select two waypoints, right click and create your route. If you really need hand holding use the create new route function. Not trying to offend anyone but it sounds like cockpit problems.
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 14 years ago
    Thank you for the positive replies, i'll spend some time with it and come back with hopefully some feedback and maybe some suggestions. I have since got it to work, though i dislike the way of planning routes. Also it would appear that i must have my edge 800 connected before i plot a route. Not being funny, but is there a reason why one can't plot a route, save to a folder on the hdd, then upload to the device later? It appears that the maps need the maps on the device, which is odd.
    Plotting a route, try ridewithgps.com, this is much better. Basecamp simply is unintuitive. It zooms with your start point in the centre rather than where you are on the map, have to keep switching to the hand toll, drag the map, back to route tool, starts a new route where you lost the previous one. This is not good. I use cad all day, so know about efficiency, this is amateur.
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 14 years ago
    Not being funny, but is there a reason why one can't plot a route, save to a folder on the hdd, then upload to the device later?


    That's the precise expected workflow in BaseCamp. That's why there are separate sections for "My Garmin Devices" and "My Computer". If you'd like to export your data to a GPX file in a more arbitrary location on your hard drive, that option is also available.

    It zooms with your start point in the centre rather than where you are on the map


    I know switching to another tool is less than ideal, but the zoom tool zooms into exactly where you clicked, while mouse scrolling zooms in on the center of the map.

    ...have to keep switching to the hand toll, drag the map, back to route tool, starts a new route where you lost the previous one.


    This is exactly why the "Create Route" dialog where you create waypoints (or do a find) and then drag them in is the default. You can make the endpoints without worrying about moving the route tool around with your view. You can also click/drag on routes or option+drag on waypoints (edit: using the selection tool) to reshape/move them, respectively.
  • Thank you for the positive replies, i'll spend some time with it and come back with hopefully some feedback and maybe some suggestions. I have since got it to work, though i dislike the way of planning routes. Also it would appear that i must have my edge 800 connected before i plot a route.
    Sounds like you have your maps stored on the edge 800 but not on your computer for base camp to use. If you store your maps on your computer, you can create and save routes without your edge connected.

    Not being funny, but is there a reason why one can't plot a route, save to a folder on the hdd, then upload to the device later? It appears that the maps need the maps on the device, which is odd.

    Most of the time I find my designation in basecamp or google earth. If I find it in google earth, I transfer it to basecamp. I command click the starting waypoint and command l click the destination waypoint. I right click either selection and create route. I plug in my gps and drag the waypoint to the gps which appears in favorites. If I want to change the route, I drag the route. I usually create another waypoint and transfer both waypoints to the gps and use the via function to create the route. Some garmins allow you to upload routes. My nuvi 750 allows me to upload routes but I usually find it easier to use the above method

    Plotting a route, try ridewithgps.com, this is much better. Basecamp simply is unintuitive. It zooms with your start point in the centre rather than where you are on the map, have to keep switching to the hand toll, drag the map, back to route tool, starts a new route where you lost the previous one. This is not good. I use cad all day, so know about efficiency, this is amateur.


    If you will get your selection tool (the pointer) and hold the option key down you can two finger scroll up down and right left. If you release the option key you can two finger zoom in and out. I once had a college math professor that said if you understand it, it is simple and if you don't it is complicated. I really glad garmin did not make BaseCamp work like your cad program.
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 14 years ago
    Thank you for the positive replies, i'll spend some time with it and come back with hopefully some feedback and maybe some suggestions. I have since got it to work, though i dislike the way of planning routes. Also it would appear that i must have my edge 800 connected before i plot a route. Not being funny, but is there a reason why one can't plot a route, save to a folder on the hdd, then upload to the device later? It appears that the maps need the maps on the device, which is odd.
    Plotting a route, try ridewithgps.com, this is much better. Basecamp simply is unintuitive. It zooms with your start point in the centre rather than where you are on the map, have to keep switching to the hand toll, drag the map, back to route tool, starts a new route where you lost the previous one. This is not good. I use cad all day, so know about efficiency, this is amateur.

    I just use the arrow keys to scroll and the +- keys to zoom (left hand) and the mouse with the right hand to select/drag points/etc, I never have to pick the hand or the zoom tools...
  • I am afraid I must agree with Paul on this.
    Purchased my 800 and was looking forward to planning some nice rides and downloading them but what a pain in the proverbial. I find it hard to believe a company such as Garmin can have such an appalling interface. I have just spent the best part of 4 hours trying to plan a route and have given up. Looking at help is next to useless as there is no proper tutorial or in depth info. I find the thing buggy, slow, clumsy, unintuitive and frustrating in the extreme. There is no comparison to something like ridemygps or gpsie. I planned my route in about 5 mins flat on ridemygps with no help and my first time on the site.
    Had I known how poor this was I would certainly re-evaluated my decision to get an edge 800.:mad: