It would be really convenient to be able to upload tracks from BaseCamp directly to Garmin Connect.
The feature seems to be only natural, but it somehow misses from BaseCamp.
I'm not sure how much of a demand there would be for that. Most folks with a 'fitness' device tend to view data directly through Connect, those with a handheld, automobile etc device use Basecamp. It seems to me it's really two very different groups of users.
Well, I use Dakota to record my cycling and hiking activities. It is not compatible with Garmin Connect directly, which I use to track activities, share rides/hikes with friends, etc. So I have to export GPX from BC into a file and then manually upload it to Connect. Making this process automatic seems pretty logical to me.
There could be a cross over with Mountain Bikers, who might use an Edge device for fitness as well as navigation but prefer the mapping capabilities of Basecamp especially for off road routes. Moreover it is not unusual for Garmin users to have more than one device, using the more rugged or older device for the rougher activity. Before I got my Edge, I posted in my MTB club for advice and was amazed at the number who came up with multiple devices. As a newbie to Garmin Connect, I had expected, through ignorance, that a route in Basecamp saved to the Cloud would pop up in Connect as a course. Likewise with tracks and activities. So I am with the OP on this.
Does the Dakota mount as a disk on your computer? Then you should be able to find the tracks on it and upload them directly to Garmin Connect (http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activities, click on "Import"). If you can pair it with Garmin Connect in Express (wouldn't surprise me if you couldn't, though), you can auto sync every time you plug your Dakota into a computer.
There could be a cross over with Mountain Bikers, who might use an Edge device for fitness as well as navigation but prefer the mapping capabilities of Basecamp especially for off road routes. Moreover it is not unusual for Garmin users to have more than one device, using the more rugged or older device for the rougher activity. Before I got my Edge, I posted in my MTB club for advice and was amazed at the number who came up with multiple devices. As a newbie to Garmin Connect, I had expected, through ignorance, that a route in Basecamp saved to the Cloud would pop up in Connect as a course. Likewise with tracks and activities. So I am with the OP on this.
Yeah, but an Edge will already auto sync with Garmin Connect through Garmin Express, so there's no real need to put that capability in BaseCamp for an Edge. I've always used BaseCamp to do routing for road and mountain biking with my Edges (705 and 800), much preferring to do it that way than online in a browser. The fact that BaseCamp can't connect to Garmin Connect directly has never bothered me.
Much easier would be for them to allow the outdoors handhelds to link to Garmin Connect accounts through Express if they don't already.
Does the Dakota mount as a disk on your computer? Then you should be able to find the tracks on it and upload them directly to Garmin Connect (http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activities, click on "Import"). If you can pair it with Garmin Connect in Express (wouldn't surprise me if you couldn't, though), you can auto sync every time you plug your Dakota into a computer.
It does mount as a drive, yes, allowing me to extract files directly. But BaseCamp is really handy when you need to edit or trim your tracks and then upload them to Connect. This is why I thought it would be a good idea to have them interconnected in some way. And no, my Dakota will not pair with Express.
It does mount as a drive, yes, allowing me to extract files directly. But BaseCamp is really handy when you need to edit or trim your tracks and then upload them to Connect. This is why I thought it would be a good idea to have them interconnected in some way.
And no, my Dakota will not pair with Express.
Exactly my experience with an Oregon 300. I have an unanswered query in another thread about the feasibility of trimming activities in Connect which you may have answered by inference.
Yeah, but an Edge will already auto sync with Garmin Connect through Garmin Express, so there's no real need to put that capability in BaseCamp for an Edge. I've always used BaseCamp to do routing for road and mountain biking with my Edges (705 and 800), much preferring to do it that way than online in a browser. The fact that BaseCamp can't connect to Garmin Connect directly has never bothered me.
Only last week I wanted to take an activity that had been automatically uploaded from my Edge 1000 and wanted to develop a new route/course from it using Basecamp. I'm left manually exporting and importing, and messing with USB leads. Fine for me as I am a bit techie, but Garmin should be striving for simplicity. Whilst I now have the new route on my Edge (easy from Basecamp via USB), I have not yet managed to get it into Connect as a course so can't share it. This frustration could and should be avoided by proper integration between Basecamp and Connect.
Much easier would be for them to allow the outdoors handhelds to link to Garmin Connect accounts through Express if they don't already.
Supporting a volume of legacy and current devices whose firmware was never developed with Garmin Express features in mind may not be trivial, either technically or commercially - my intuitive opinion. I would focus on ensuring integration between just two products, Basecamp and Connect, both of which are actively maintained. Personally, Basecamp could ditch the Cloud storage option in exchange for a "save/retrieve with Connect" option.
Only last week I wanted to take an activity that had been automatically uploaded from my Edge 1000 and wanted to develop a new route/course from it using Basecamp. I'm left manually exporting and importing, and messing with USB leads. Fine for me as I am a bit techie, but Garmin should be striving for simplicity. Whilst I now have the new route on my Edge (easy from Basecamp via USB), I have not yet managed to get it into Connect as a course so can't share it. This frustration could and should be avoided by proper integration between Basecamp and Connect.
How many times a year do you do that? I've done it, and it's pretty trivial to either export from Connect or get the original track off the device itself. But I don't do it so often that I'd need some kind of direct connection (that probably won't work right for months, anyway). Dymka's need makes sense, since nothing else Garmin I know of will allow you to edit a track (third party software and web sites (RunKeeper) will). This is just file transfer.
With Garmin and software, I take a very conservative approach. I don't trust them to change things or add things and get it right the first time.
Supporting a volume of legacy and current devices whose firmware was never developed with Garmin Express features in mind may not be trivial, either technically or commercially - my intuitive opinion. I would focus on ensuring integration between just two products, Basecamp and Connect, both of which are actively maintained. Personally, Basecamp could ditch the Cloud storage option in exchange for a "save/retrieve with Connect" option.
Doesn't have anything to do with firmware. This is just file transfer of formats they already handle. They don't allow it now not because of any problems with firmware on the devices, but because Garmin Connect is a "fitness" site. So far as I know, you can enter any Garmin device into Express (for updates), but some of them you can't pair with Connect. I've thought about replacing my old 60CSx over the years, so I've read the specs of many of Garmin's handhelds. They all have ANT+ and will pair with at least some of the fitness sensors available. In that sense, they're already fitness devices.
And I like Cloud storage, although if it also showed up on GC somehow, I wouldn't mind.
It turns out BaseCamp does have this feature after all, but only available on Mac. So there is nothing fundamentally wrong with linking BaseCamp and Connect, according to Garmin.
But on the other hand, it does not seem to work. At least, I failed repeatedly to upload any files from Mac to Garmin Connect, BC always returned an error message.
I hope Garmin will be able to (work out how fix the issue on Mac, and yes, I do realise this is Windows forum section, and) eventually implement it on PC.
