Made a serious attempt to use Base Camp today

Should be obvious... You get multiple views of the map and you can display things independently rather than having it all cluttered on a single map. I find it extremely handy at times.

@scrubjay76, you can copy/paste between Mapsource and Basecamp, both directions. I still use Mapsource as my preferred planning tool for a bunch of reasons, and use Basecamp for the few things Mapsource doesn't do. I just copy/paste back and forth.

...ken...

Ok, ctrl + c and ctrl + v is the method I use and can't get it to work for copy and paste.
As for the single data base thing in BC as mentioned that one got me with my now approaching 800+ waypoints when some how I over wrote what was in BC with what was in the GPS.

The work around for me; since I prefer multi data bases, is start a new one and export it with a specific name other then default.
Since each years travels is saved by year I like seperate data bases. I change route color to separate each days travel. A days travel is going from one CG to the next. Each time we change CG's I save the track at the end of the day in that years folder as a .gpx.

Ok, ctrl + c and ctrl + v is the method I use and can't get it to work for copy and paste.

I'm not sure what you are doing but it works fine for me.

1. I launched Mapsource and Basecamp.
2. I opened a file in Mapsource (File > Open) with a bunch of waypoints and a bunch of tracks.
3. I created a new list in Basecamp (right-click on My Collection > New List)
4. I clicked on the Waypoints tab in Mapsource, selected a dozen or so waypoints, Ctrl-C to copy them.
5. Alt-Tab to Basecamp
6. Click on the list named New List (I'm nothing if not creative!), Ctrl-V to paste ... Voila! The waypoints are now showing in the New List.
7. Alt-Tab to Mapsource.
8. Click on the Tracks tab.
9. Select half a dozen tracks, Ctrl-C to copy them.
10. Alt-Tab to Basecamp.
11. New List is still selected so just Ctrl-V to paste ... Voila! The tracks are now showing in the New List right below the waypoints.

I then did the same thing using right-click/copy in the Waypoints or Tracks tab in Mapsource and right-click/paste in the New List in Basecamp and that works fine, too.

It's possible your copy/paste test was successful and you didn't realize it. If you weren't careful about what was selected in the upper left data pane when you pasted/dropped, it's possible that the stuff you pasted is in Basecamp, just not where you might be expecting it to be.

The reverse also works. Select anything, or multiple anythings, in the lower left data pane in Basecamp and paste it in Mapsource. You can have the cursor anywhere in the Mapsource window when you paste and it will cheerfully put everything in the right place. I selected half a dozen waypoints and half a dozen tracks at the same time in Basecamp, when I hit Ctrl-V in Mapsource the cursor was somewhere in the map but the waypoints ended up in the Waypoints tab and the tracks in the Tracks tab.

As for the single data base thing in BC as mentioned that one got me with my now approaching 800+ waypoints when some how I over wrote what was in BC with what was in the GPS.

I'm not sure that's as much the single database thing as much as it is an awful windowing implementation. If you're going to do drag/drop or copy/paste things within Basecamp you have to be really really careful what is selected in the upper data pane when you are selecting from the lower pane what to drag/copy. AND you need to be equally careful that you drop it in the correct item in the upper pane.

For instance, if you thought you were going to drag the waypoints from the unlisted data in My Collection to a List and accidentally had the GPS selected when you selected the waypoints, it's the GPS waypoints that would have been displayed in the lower pane and, therefore, dropped into the List. With only two panes to work with and so many things to display, there are numerous ways to shoot yourself in the foot. Or blow your entire leg off!

The work around for me; since I prefer multi data bases, is start a new one and export it with a specific name other then default.

In other words, force a bit of Mapsource style behaviour into the action. ;)

...ken...

@scrubjay76

Copy/paste works fine for me too between BaseCamp and Mapsource, hopefully kganshirt's detailed explanation will get it working for you

@kganshirt

Lots of things in BaseCamp mimic Mapsource, quite rightly really as Mapsource has many good features, you just need to work out how :)

Initially BC only gave a 'one database' option but in response to some users wanting additional databases and/or the ability to choose where the database was installed changes were made to do both. I take advantage of option to change the database location but happily run only one database as that suits me.

This is in regards to multiple databases within BaseCamp. Unless things have changed, only one instance of BaseCamp can be open at any time. This differs from MapSource. When you have multiple MapSource windows open, there are multiple instances of MapSource.exe running on the computer. I only use a single database, so I do not know if one can copy items in one database, change databases and paste into the other. If it fails, the obvious solution would be to export the data, switch databases and import it into the other database. Perhaps someone can comment.

It is perfectly okay to prefer one application over another. All applications have there pluses and minuses. But it is rather silly to justify or defend ones preferences. Just let it go. Not everyone will have the same requirements or perform tasks in exactly the same manner. That is fine, one person’s highlight will be some else’s burr under the saddle. It does not make either person right or wrong. Do not try to get new users to join team BaseCamp or team MapSource with contrived examples of superiority. In almost all cases these differences can be shown to be exceedingly minor or non-existent for both sides. This does not mean the one cannot or should not make suggestions to improve BaseCamp based on how MapSource functions. But these suggestions really should be in separate threads.

No, there are not a lot of special rules that need to be remembered to migrate from MapSource to BaseCamp. Limitations in object naming are the same in BaseCamp and MapSource. Limitations in the naming of folders and lists in BaseCamp are the same as naming folders and files in Windows (possible exception being restricted characters).

Understanding that you are not looking at a Windows file system in BaseCamp and that Lists contain pointers/references/links to objects and not objects are really the only essential concepts to understand.

You will likely shoot yourself in the foot a few times, but that’s okay. It will reinforce the above concepts to the point where you no longer have to consciously think about them. This is true with all applications. There is always the undo command at your disposal. Just make sure you use it before exiting BaseCamp. When the concept of Lists and what they contain sinks in, hindsight will reveal that what happens in BaseCamp is exactly what you should have expected. It was that way for me as I suspect it was for others.

How do you just extend a route (not active or one you imported) in BC and not mess it up to that point?

Make the route active either by a single click in the lower left pane or by clicking on it in the map window with the selection tool (looks like arrow). Zoom/pan as needed to get a good view of the last point in the route. Move the insert tool (looks like a pencil) near the last point until a big gray circle appears. When this happens, a left mouse click will allow the route to be extended by left mouse clicks on the map.

For adding Waypoints, either drag and drop them into the route in the lower left pane or double click on the route to open the properties window and click on the "+" symbol on the right side. In version of BaseCamp, the Waypoints have to be in same list as the route. The position of points may be adjusted by selecting a point in the properties window and click on the up/down arrows on the right side of that window.

A Point of Interest can be added by selecting the route as above, right clicking on the POI and choosing add to route.