Find Address - Post(al) Code

Former Member over 14 years ago

In light of the recent announcement that Mapsource is being abandoned I am struggling (for the 'n' the time) to try and make Basecamp work but, unless it's me, it fails at the first hurdle:-

How do I find a location by post(al) code?

In Mapsource this is my default method for basic route planning. I can simply do Ctrl F, type in a starting post code which the program finds instantly, make a starting waypoint; and then repeat for my destination (at the other end of the country) which the program again finds instantly. I then 'join up the dots' and have a basic route which tells me instantly how far and how long which I can then edit to work out whether there's a better way or to avoid x, y, or z. All utterly simple and completely familiar stuff.

In Basecamp, whilst Ctrl F adds the search bar, there seems to be: 1) no post code search option; 2) no option to search for a location (post code or otherwise) nationally; and 3) even when searching it takes ages. To the extent that it's any help at all, the 'Help' file seems to confirm this position.

If these perceived deficiencies are real, Basecamp remains unusable for me, so any ideas about what I may be doing wrong would be much appreciated.

If it's not me and is Basecamp that is at fault, PLEASE don't abandon Mapsource.

0 Former Member over 14 years ago

BaseCamp currently does not support finding by postal code.

We definitely plan on improving the find functionality.

While I understand it's no fun to change the ways you've gotten used to, you should be able to find what you need without using the postal code, though.

Is this for the UK? We definitely want to support postal code search there (because postal codes are geo-referenced).

0 Former Member over 14 years ago

Thank you for the prompt response.

The issue I raise does arise in the UK but no doubt it applies elsewhere.

Although I may be able to find a location in another way (how, I'm not sure) the point remains that Basecamp currently offers significantly degraded functionality in this area. As I'm sure you know better than me, a post(al) code offers a short form, reliable, method of finding a location.

Bit the point is not JUST about postcode searches. At the moment it seems that Basecamp can only search in a visible area of the map. If, as I was trying to do today, I need to plan a route from an address on Exmoor to one in Leeds, that's a substantial length of the country. Unless one zooms out to an unusable scale, it's presently not possible - and one has to get the desired location somewhere near the centre of the map, which is a bit difficult when, as may be the case, one doesn't actually know where it is: that's the singular advantage of the postcode search. It finds the location for you!

Also, I reiterate the point I made about the slowness (and apparent cumbersomeness) of the present Basecamp search system. In Mapsource the postcode search is almost instantaneous on any modestly specified machine. In basecamp one gets an inane animated graphic of a magnifying glass going round and round and round a map.

The point I'm making, laboriously, is that the functionality in Basecamp for even this level of simple (business) route planning is significantly degraded from the product it is supposed to replace. Mapsource was the single determining reason for preferring Garmin devices. Otherwise TomTom provides a much more attractive and functional user experience. If Mapsource goes and Basecamp is not improved - in function and in speed - significantly, that one reason for using Garmin will be lost.

And that's before I get round to Motorcycle usage! :-)

Please get the bean counters to think again.

Oh,and bye the bye: Why does Garmin not permit a user chosen install location? Not all of us put our applications on the system drive. It's a real pain having to move everything and then edit the registry.

I'm sorry if this reads sourly. It's meant to be constructive, but it's very frustrating to see a functional (even if imperfect) program abandoned for no obvious reason and with no adequate replacement.

0 Former Member over 14 years ago

Falagar,

Postal code search is very handy in Canada, too.

As CO217O6F pointed out, Basecamp's search is essentially a "visual" search. That is, if you can't see it on the portion of the map that is being displayed there is absolutely no way to search for it. In addition to the current "near centre of..." selections it needs AT LEAST a "Near other location", just like the units have.

But there is really no reason, in a program that has NO navigation functions, to constrain the search locale based on what is displayed on the screen.

I can't comprehend some of these arbitrary limitations in the product when it is supposed to replace that creaky old Mapsource thing that is now obsolete.

Or to put it another way, I can't comprehend how so many basic and essential features of the superceded product got eliminated or severely limited in the "new/improved" version.

It wouldn't be so frustrating trying to figure out a new way to do in Basecamp all the things I already know how to do in Mapsource if I could at least do all of them.

...ken...

0 Former Member over 14 years ago

Is this fixed yet?

Did this get fixed yet?

I have full mapsource on my home machine, but I want to use basecamp with my 62st on my work machine, but no postcode search is a real limiting factor!

0 Former Member over 14 years ago

We have this on our radar, but there is no fix yet, unfortunately.