BaseCamp 4.1.2 is available

I'm not sure if this is the best place to ask but..is there any way to get BC to allow waypoints to have the same name?

No. The database used by BC requires that every data object must have a unique name.

I'm not sure if this is the best place to ask but..is there any way to get BC to allow waypoints to have the same name? We desperately need that function.

I'm quite curious as to why you feel a need for multiple waypoints to have the same name.

I want to switch over to Garmin from Lowrance but this may be a deal breaker.

FYI I don't think any Garmin GPS unit or software has ever allowed names to be used more than once. So Lowrance does?

What device are you using? For a lot of modern Garmins, you can set them to display the waypoint comment or description instead of the waypoint name. And the waypoint comment does not have to be unique.
So you can give all of the waypoints unique names, but identical comments for each.

We place waypoints as "danger" markers along the course, i.e. rocks, hard right, hole on left, drop off, etc.

I think you can get better results with POI and POILoader for your purpose. POI can be easy divided into your categories, can have own icons an trigger an alarm or voice announcement when approaching.

Could you use POI and POILoader with the 8012?

I'm not sure. This would suggest you could.

*Except for our Basic Handhelds and older Rino® two way radio GPS units, all of our current Outdoor and Automotive products are compatible with custom POIs. Tour Guide POIs are only compatible with our MP3 capable nüvi® and zumo® units. Please check your particular Garmin model’s spec sheet for custom POI compatibility.

POI Loader

Here are the GPSmap 8012 specs. Is your intent to use this in a vehicle?

Automatic routing (turn by turn routing on roads): no
Voice prompts (e.g. "Turn right in 500 ft."): no
Speaks street names (e.g. "Turn right ON ELM STREET in 500 ft."): no

I just upgraded from BaseCamp 4.1.1 to 4.1.2 (on MS Windows 7). Geotaging photos no longer works (the list of photos to geotag is always empty - and pops up very quickly - it has not searched for them very hard).

Back rev to 4.1.1 (by uninstalling 4.1.2 and installing 4.1.1) and geotagging is now working as I expect it to.

I wanted to try that. I saw the option in BC but I could not find a field in BC to enter the comment. Are you only able to enter a comment on the device? I am looking at switching to the new 8000 series devices. I like the touch and GRID control option.

In BaseCamp it is the "Notes" section for a waypoint. When you transfer a waypoint to a device, the notes should become the waypoint comment.

Yes, in off road racing we only use waypoints and routes.

Ahhh, so you use point-to-point routes as there's no "road" (or maps of them) to follow. I asked because the 8012 won't follow roads, per the specs, even if you had road maps loaded. Seems a bit strange for a US$4,900 unit but then Garmin markets it as a marine model.

As far as I know marine GPS doesn't display standard maps, like City Navigator or topo. I don't know if it supports POI, quite probably it doesn't.