routes with street intersections as viapoints, NOT POIs

I've started using basecamp to eliminate 'phantom lines' from routes made in Mapsource and then uploaded to my zumo 550. (Garmin knows this is a problem and suggested using Basecamp as a work around).

Early results are positive for eliminating the phantom lines BUT I find it much more difficult to build a route in Basecamp and keep out unwanted POIs as viapoints.

What I need? The ability to build a route in Basecamp using viapoints defined by the two street names at the desired intersection. Basecamp will do this ONLY if there are no POIs nearby. Sometimes by wiggling the route cursor one can get a popup window showing a list of POIs and maybe a street intersection which could be used to build a waypoint. This is slow, awkward and I don't want a route cluttered with unwanted waypoints.

By comparison, in Mapsource, moving the route cursor over the intersection, a popup window will appear letting you know when you've captured the intersection (defined by the two street names).

The attached provides an example of what I don't want. I originally clicked on the intersection to place a viapoint but what I ended up with was a viapoint defined by this gas station, which I don't want. I'm assuming that once loaded in the zumo, this gas station will also be announced, which I don't want.

Is there something I'm missing or is this ability not available?

Thanks
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 13 years ago
    Yes I think anything that helps with organization is a step forward. I would think sub-lists would be even better and not that difficult to implement. Or how about the ability to add a link to list B in list A and have it show up in the contents pane as clickable. If I have 200 lists that would be a huge benefit. Say you could drag list B from the collection to the contents pane of list A and a link to it would be created. If it's all going to be one big collection with lots of lists the ability to filter and navigate becomes much more important and not just for routes, tracks and waypoints. If you have 500 waypoints (and I do for Kentucky: gas, food, scenic, gravel etc etc) only being to get that level of filter isn't enough. That's why I liked the categories feature. Without some deeper org help I am looking a total rebuild of my naming system and the name will become the tag.

    On the good side of the ledger...

    One feature I have discovered in the last few minutes is the 'convert track to route'. I will frequently extensively edit tracks and combine them to get a certain mileage/hours to fill a day and then use GPSies.com to convert it to a route. Nice to have that functionality built in.

    John
  • Hi John,

    You've just stumbled on the only thing I use Basecamp for regularly - convert track to route. Yes, it's a nice feature.

    But it doesn't outweigh the loss of other functions and featues. Just the loss of all the waypoint properties I can manage in Mapsource that I lose in Basecamp more than offsets the pluses I've found. I hate that we lose address, phone, categories and file/URL links in Basecamp.

    Like you, I've invested a fair bit of effort to categorize my waypoints and I love the flexibility it gives me. Not just in Mapsource for organization and trip planning but also on my Nuvi 765T which supports waypoint categories.

    For trip planning, it's especially nice to be able to put a file link or URL into the waypoint properties.

    I wish they would simply clone the waypoint properties features and functions from Mapsource into Basecamp. I just don't buy this nonsense that it's too complicated for users. Any users who find it too complicated simply won't use it. Or they'll ask for help.

    Trying to figure out - or explain - how to use Basecamp's library for anything other than the most trivial things - or even for things that should be trivial! - is way more complicated.

    ...ken...
  • But it doesn't outweigh the loss of other functions and featues. Just the loss of all the waypoint properties I can manage in Mapsource that I lose in Basecamp more than offsets the pluses I've found. I hate that we lose address, phone, categories and file/URL links in Basecamp.


    File and URL links for waypoints do work in BaseCamp. Address information is something we will probably add soon.

    I think I already mentioned in a different thread that we'll see what we can do about categories.
  • File and URL links for waypoints do work in BaseCamp.

    Oops, I missed those two icons on the other side of the properties dialog.

    That properties dialog is another example that has me shaking my head over the weirdness of this UI.

    Why do we have to double-click them to activate? I clicked them each a few times and nothing happened so I thought they were just placeholders for future functionality.

    Finally I thought: "They wouldn't make me double-click them? ... Would they?" But of course that was the answer.

    Why the double-click requirement?

    And why the icons in the first place? The rest of the properties dialog has static text boxes to type into.

    Double-clicking (!) the web link icon just pops a window with a text box. !!! What's the point in that? Just put another static text box in the properties window and save the drama (and the two extra clicks) for something interesting.

    Double-clicking the file link icon brings up a file browse window. Now that's useful! But you could have done the same thing by simply putting another static text box in the properties window with a [...] button beside it to pop a file browse window.

    Then you would have a properties dialog that looks like it was professionally designed for consistent usage rather than looking like a ransom note constructed by a committee.

    Oh yeah, did I ask why the double-clicking??

    ...ken...
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 13 years ago
    BaseCamp Shaping point bug

    Nobody acknowledged my bug report from this thread:BC 3.2.2 Error Report
    BC also doesn't display hover information on intersections.

    These shaping points are very important to motorcycle rider Zumo users. BaseCamp does not provided this essential routing feature for us.
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 13 years ago
    Nobody acknowledged my bug report from this thread:BC 3.2.2 Error Report
    BC also doesn't display hover information on intersections.

    These shaping points are very important to motorcycle rider Zumo users. BaseCamp does not provided this essential routing feature for us.


    Thanks for your time for troubleshooting the problem. I don't have a zumo handy to confirm the bug. But we have noted it down to investigate ;)
  • While we're on the subject, this brings up another shortcoming of Basecamp. You can't do bulk changes in Basecamp. In Mapsource I can select a number of waypoints, select Waypoint Properties and change things like the category and symbol for all of them at one time. Can't do that in Basecamp.

    ...


    I'm not sure if this part has been answered, I haven't read the whole thread yet.

    But you can change the properties of multiple Waypoints at one time. I do it all the time. At least when they are in the same List.

    All you do is select which one's you want, then right click to bring up properties, then change what's there.

    BTW, I have never used categories, what makes them useful?
  • Without the 'save as' function I don't see an easy way to get this. You can't just modify a route without losing the original. Automatically and unprompted.

    John


    As with the last post, I'm only up to page 4 of this thread.

    You won't be calling it a "save as", but BC does the same thing.

    All you need to do is create a new list, then copy the route you want to modify into the new list, and modify it as you wish.

    Obviously this takes an additional two mouse clicks. (might be three)

    Your original route is untouched in it's original list.
  • I'm not sure if this part has been answered, I haven't read the whole thread yet.

    But you can change the properties of multiple Waypoints at one time. I do it all the time. At least when they are in the same List.

    Yes, you can now. But that function just showed up in the latest feature release. It was not true of the version I was using at the time.

    As with the last post, I'm only up to page 4 of this thread.

    You won't be calling it a "save as", but BC does the same thing.

    All you need to do is create a new list, then copy the route you want to modify into the new list, and modify it as you wish.

    Obviously this takes an additional two mouse clicks. (might be three)

    Your original route is untouched in it's original list.

    I hope you discover your error once you read further in the thread, or in other related threads. First, Basecamp does nothing you could consider even remotely similar to a "Save As".

    But more relevant to this discussion, you must not have tested your suggestion or you would know it doesn't work the way you described.

    This is covered in tedious detail in other, related, threads but the short story:

    The fact is that you NEVER copy anything in Basecamp. When you place something (waypoint, route, track, whatever) in a list you are not placing the thing in the list. You are only copying the NAME of the thing to the list.

    The list then contains ONLY the copy of the name and a pointer to the actual thing.

    The thing actually remains in the collection and nowhere else. There is no copy, only the original in the collection and one or more pointers to it from any lists that refer to it.

    There are ways to do what I want to do in Basecamp. Sort of. They are called "workarounds". That's because you have to find ways to work around the limitations in the program instead of the program helping you do something that should be easy. Bottom line is it's way too much effort to be worthwhile as long as I have Mapsource to use.

    If you want to know the gory details of why it's so much more hassle in Basecamp than Mapsource, there are detailed discussions about it in this forum. You might even have stumbled across some in this thread.

    ...ken...
  • I hope you discover your error once you read further in the thread, or in other related threads. First, Basecamp does nothing you could consider even remotely similar to a "Save As".

    But more relevant to this discussion, you must not have tested your suggestion or you would know it doesn't work the way you described.

    ...ken...


    Ken, you are correct about this.

    I "thought" I had tested this, but I just tried it again just now, and found out my suggested method doesn't work.

    I don't have time to pursue it further right now. BC does behave differently than I thought, in this regard.