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Marking checkpoins on the tracklog in Garmin BaseCamp is pretty annoying task

Former Member
Former Member
Suppose the following scenario

You are going by bus to location A, from there you are hiking to location B from where you will go back also by bus.
You already have the tracklog from some previous time so you also know the time needed to get from A to B
and you can use the tracklog for navigation.
But to be sure that you will come in time to B you might be interested to mark let say some ten checkpoints on your tracklog.

Let to try this apparently easy task in Garmin BaseCamp.

You select appropriate map resolution - e.g. 100 m
Then you open the tracklog window (to check the distance in the Summary) not by double-click but by the right click and Open
in order to prevent automatic change of map resolution and you start to select the tracklog from the starting point A
to the first checkpoint (let say 1 km) and you want to mark this checkpoint by waypoint.
When you move the selection along the track the map resolution starts to change automatically.
You started with map resolution 100 m and you ends with an unwanted map resolution 250 m.
Now, you select the waypoint menu and mark the waypoint.
When you mark the checkpoint the tracklog window disappears and you see the waypoint window.

There is no other possibility to continue selecting tracklog to the following checkpoints
as to repeat this procedure for every checkpoint over and over from the very beginning
and fight with the BaseCamp lowering resolution and the tracklog windows continually hiding the end of selected track,
not speaking about interfering popping banners. Are you able to accomplish this task in less than half an hour?

Pretty annoying job.

Can somebody from Garmin try to do it and propose some better way of accomplishing such a task?
  • 0
    I'm confused as to what you're trying to accomplish here, are you simply wanting to add waypoints to a track?

    If I wanted to do that I'd convert the track to a route, insert the waypoints as needed and use that route to navigate. I can do that in a couple of minutes :confused:
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member
    What would happen if you added waypoints just slightly off the tracklog? Would they server the same purpose? So you select the track, shift click until the distance is approximately 1 km., look at the orange section of the track, put a waypoint beside the track at the end of that section called 1KM, 2KM, etc.

    Yes, as soon as the waypoint is laid, you have to re-select the track, but if you write down the number of the trackpoint at the end of each section, highlighting the next 1 km. section is fairly quick. I was able to do this without the automatic zooming of the track because I was using the summary of the track to determine each 1km. section, and the last point on the highlighted section to determine where to place the waypoints. It depends on the number of trackpoints as to how accurate the waypoints are, fewer trackpoints equals less accuracy, but it still might serve your purpose.
  • 0
    I would suggest using the Graph tab to locate a position rather than selecting multiple points under the Properties tab to find the cumulative distance.

    Under the graph tab, if the cursor is placed within the graph itself, a pop-up balloon on the track line will appear showing the distance from the starting point (note: you do not need to drag the cursor along the track line). As the cursor moves, the balloon will follow. When the appropriated distance is found, a left mouse click will mark the point. Close the Track Properties window and look for a figure holding a flag. Pan and zoom in on the figure to mark the Waypoint.

    A right mouse click under the Graph tab will remove the selected point. This method of location interpolates distances between points. For example, if adjacent track points were at 0.9 km and 1.1 km, a location at 1.0 km can be found. You are free to mark the nearest track point if you wish. You will have to repeat the process for each checkpoint.

    You might want to create another post under the title “feature request”. Ask for a cumulative distance column in the track properties window and the ability to create a waypoint by right clicking on a track point. This last feature should open a dialog box which allows setting a Waypoint Name, adding a comment and returning control to the selected track properties window on clicking a create or cancel button.
  • 0
    I'd forgotten you can do that but I'm not sure that helps the OP who seems to want to have waypoints with the track itself. If it does then it's a great tip :D
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member
    I would suggest using the Graph tab to locate a position rather than selecting multiple points under the Properties tab to find the cumulative distance.
    ....


    Well, I'll be darned! I never knew that! Of course, the technique pre-supposes that your track has elevation data or the graph will not show anything. Most of mine don't since they were created on a Topo map without elevation data, which is why I never encountered this technique.
  • 0
    104

    Yes, it does require elevation data in the track file.

    I've never had much use for the feature, but you are allowed to make two marks on the graph - a start and finish point. The balloons will provide distance from the start for each point and summary data for the section between the two points will appear above the a-axis (distance & elevation data). There will also be two figures that appear in the map window.

    Perhaps others will find a good use for this feature.