If someone can point me in the right direction I would be so appreciative.
I have been struggling with this for hours.
I have transferred the data from my handheld GPS to MapSource and there are some tracks I want to erase.
Everytime I try to erase them with the little "eraser" gizmo, it either erases too much or just moves the track over to the next point and keeps going....kind of liking shifting it over 1/4mile and is still there.

Example:
I used my GPS in Kalkaska for the weekend....when I was done I turned it off.
When I arrived back in the UP, I turned it back on and it has a direct route across the Lake and cross country that I don't want. However I do want all the tracks I recorded previous to and after.
There must be an easy way to erase just this portion and not the whole track...somebody please tell me what I am doing wrong.

That happens to me sometimes too.
I use Map Source to do my editing. That way I can see exactly on the base map where I am at.

If it is at the beginning or end of the track it is easy with the eraser tool, if it is in the middle I just cut the track, erase part then join the 2 sections back together.

Hopefully you have Map Source.

I've got MapSource loaded and Topo.

I just can't seem to get the phucking thing to cut and erase where I want it to.
It keeps jumping the track over to the next dot and continue with the phucked up path.
I'm ready to smashing this damn thing....I'm so frustrated!!

I've pulled out all my manuals and even tried using the help feature within MapSource and I am following the directions and it still won't work...


What am I doing wrong?

I think I might have it.....
do you need to use the "track divide tool"
to split the "bean" trail first and then use the eraser to remove the track you don't want?
That's the only thing I can figure out right now.....when I do this some of the tracks will actually appear very light colored almost like a white but when I send them to my handheld the look fine.

I will keep messing with it....I thought it would only take a few minutes not a few hours.
If anyone has any other ideas I will be back to check on Monday.

Here's another option:

http://www.gpstm.com/

That will allow you to create and edit tracks, and may be easier.

okay.
now I am even more confused....

what's the point of having the TOPO software and MapSource if I need to download another program to save all of my tracks?
I'm ready to throwing this phucking thing out the window and wing it.
It's nice for finding my way when boondocking......but that's about it.
It has been nothing else but a money and time soaking activity.
I thought it would be nice to run the track log and save all my tracks so I could build up a sort of map for myself with all the 2-tracks and fire-trails and seasonal roads. Download them into my laptop and compress them into one map and then re-send back to my handheld. Heck, maybe even share them with friends when they get a GPS......doesn't look like that is going to happen anytime soon the way this crap is working out.

I need a full on tech person to walk me through this like I was a 4year old, I am so upside down right now, I'm ready to give up with saving my tracks.....too bad too, I had some great back country trails and short cuts with lots of powder.

Now I'm getting the error that my track log is 97% full and I need to erase to add more.

What the phuck?!

JC!!

Is there anyone that can tell me how to take my tracks from my handheld, send them to MapSource and actually make a map out of them instead of leaving them as tracks?
If I leave them as tracks they fill my track log up...and guess what they will start to erase again when I use the damn thing.

there has got to be a way to convert them to some type of map or re-classify them.
This is BS, I thought if I cleared out the handheld and saved them to MapSource in my laptop, I would be able to clear out the handheld track log and then re-send them.
Is there a way to convert them?

If you want to make a map, I have a tutorial - http://www.gpssledmaps.com/guide/

RWS also has a tutorial that can be found on this forum.

Mapsource will not allow you to make a map. It only deals in tracks.

thanks.....I will try that when I get a chance.
what good is MapSource....seems useless now!

Mapsource isn't useless. Primarily it's what you use to load maps onto your GPS, and also to plan routes, find addresses, make waypoints, etc. It's just not the tool for what you want to do. You didn't pay for Mapsource - you paid for Topo maps, and Mapsource is just the software used to deal with those maps.

I'm too damn frustrated to deal with it anymore today.

Thanks for all the help and guidance so far.
I will be in touch next week, when my hair grows back.


Thanks for your patience too!

Here's a quick video I threw together to show how to erase the line you have between the two tracks.

Download video file HERE then play the file in Windows Media Player.

To make a map from track files I made a video tutorial that plays in Windows Media Player showing how to do it. The zip file has a text file with step by step instructions to follow along with the video.

Download tutorial HERE.

MapSource has a decent set of tools for doing this (I find it better than GPSTM for track manipulation).

The Erase Tool will not chop a line, which is what I think you are trying to do. The Erase tool will "erase" each point that you use it on (each crumb of bread in the bread crumb trail). Sounds like you are using the Erase Tool in the middle of a line, which is erasing those points in the middle of the line, not the "end" of the track.

The Track Divide Tool is better for this. Use it to split the line, you can then use the erase tool to clean up the [new] line ends.

Another trick is to open the track properties window (double click the track or track name), select the points you want to get ride of and then hit the delete key. Say if you didn't have any tracks in the UP that you wanted to keep, just the Kalkaska ones - use the Selection tool (just plain arrow tool near the Route tool) and double click on the track line near the area you want to remove (maybe near the parking lot?). That will open the Track Properties and will have the nearest track point highlighted. You can then select the remaining track points (in that window) and delete them.
Alternatively you could highlight all the track points you want to keep, copy them and then paste them into a new track line (Edit menu for new track).

Want some cheese to go with that Whine

I used Mapsource to combine three different sets of tracks for the Tollgate, OR sled area I ride in. Spent an hour or so cleaning up the tracks and getting rid of extraneous tracks (too much detail can be just as bad as too little), and used the gpssledmaps basic tutorial to create the transparent map. It turned out well. One thing I haven't figured out yet is how to get the programs used to NOT display the track names in the end file. I had to edit the .mp file manually and remove all of the track lables which worked but was a bit tedious.

Used the map today while out riding and it ROCKED! It's worth the effort to figure out the programs.

To respond to the original question, I found the track devide tool worked well when I select it, click on a track at the point where I want to make a cut (say at the beginning of a chunk to remove), then move the mouse to the tail of the area I want to remove and click again. This will leave two devides. Then click the track chunk between the two points and hit delete.

I don't have MapEdit in front of me, but basically what you have to do is select all the polylines you want to rename, right click on one, and then do something like properties > label. You delete what's there and click OK or apply or whatever it is, and it should remove all the names.

The lable field is greyed out so it's uneditable.

Does the full registered version of GPSMapEdit let you put waypoints into a map?

Update: I was trying to nuke all the labels at one go. Doing it one at a time works fine.

Thanks everyone for the help....I have made huge progress!

I just have a couple more questions and hopefully I can quit bugging you guys.
I have used the tutorial, it is very tedious but I am coming along and actualy am really close.
Some of the tutorial didn't match up with my options but I have been able to pick my way through the instructions.....the Tutorial was a big help I never would have gotten this far without it!
The only problem I have now is following the tutorial......
around Step 7 and 8.
My Map properties will not stay saved....I have tried many times and it won't save them.
When I open the Notebook to change "DrawPriority=1" from Step 9, I can't find the proper place to input the information.
I must have missed a step somewhere and I think it is from not saving my settings in the Map properties.

I don't want to send it to my handheld until I am completely ready....can someone help me out with this?

My next questions are pretty easy.
Can I keep adding to this Map?
or do I keep making new Maps everytime?
Can I re-load the maps over and over again into my handheld? overtime will it accomdate all those maps?


thanks for all the help everyone!!

Yes you can add to the .mp file later (import more tracks/waypoints) and then generate a new map.

So if you open your <map name>.mp file with Notepad or some other text editor, it doesn't look something like this at the beginning?

; Generated by GPSMapEdit 1.0.41.1

[IMG ID]
LblCoding=9
ID=100000004
Name=Tollgate Snowmobile Map
Preprocess=G
TreSize=1000
TreMargin=0.00000
RgnLimit=1024
Transparent=Y
POIIndex=Y
Copyright=Created by <author name>
DrawPriority=1
Levels=7
Level0=24
Level1=22
Level2=20
Level3=18
Level4=16
Level5=15
<snip>

The first map I saved had the DrawPriority=1 option already set, I didn't have to add it. I would suspect the exact placement of DrawPriority doesn't matter as long as it's somewhere in the first section and not down where all the track/waypoint data is.

Not exactly....this is what I have...... and the numbers just keep on going and going......it's huge.
and I've never seen anything referencing the Levels, or the Author Name.=


Generated by GPSMapEdit 1.0.41.1

[IMG ID]
[END-IMG ID]


;Imported from C:\Documents and Settings\My Documents\GPS downloads\tracks only 1-24-08.gdb
[POLYLINE]
Type=0x27
Label=19-FEB-07
Data0=(46.55510,-85.71910),(46.55349,-85.70895),(46.53985,-85.69062),(46.54284,-85.68239),(46.55266,-85.68207),(46.57519,-85.63763),(46.58385,-85.62818),(46.57316,-85.61003),(46.57819,-85.59246),(46.53221,-85.59196),(46.51428,-85.59548),(46.50387,-85.60488),(46.48302,-85.59439),(46.46428,-85.60000),(46.43816,-85.59239),(46.42612,-85.59407),(46.42614,- ...............this goes on for a very long time..........

Okay.....somehow I was able to get the proper notepad!
[IMG ID]
LblCoding=9
ID=100000004
Name=Tollgate Snowmobile Map
Preprocess=G
TreSize=1000
TreMargin=0.00000
RgnLimit=1024
Transparent=Y
POIIndex=Y
Copyright=Created by <author name>
DrawPriority=1
Levels=7
Level0=24
Level1=22
Level2=20
Level3=18
Level4=16
Level5=15

I have saved it and just need to figure out how to export it to a map I can download into MapSource. I am trying to follow the tutorial but it isn't exact.....I have had to feel my way through it.
Right now I am stuck at the export feature.

The instructions for exporting the map are pretty specific and work correctly. Go to File > Export > Garmin IMG /cGPSmapper.exe > In the Save As window that pops up, choose a name and location to save your map to, click Save > In the Export to cGPSmapper.exe window, pick the path to the copy of the cgpsmapper.exe program that you downloaded previously > click Run and it will show any errors in the logging window.

Once that is done, fire up Mapupload.exe, pick the map file you created (it will end in a .img file extension), click "Add to existing maps" and click "upload to gps".

I didn't have much luck with uploading the .img file without the add to existing maps option. It nuked any maps already on my 60CSx.

I didn't go the route of installing the map into mapsource as I haven't found what I consider to be a simple way to do it (though others may find the compiling utilities easy to use).

Getting closer.
I have figured out how to export....and have saved the map.
now I am ready to send to the handheld unit.....but wait!
There is a feature I don't want on my map, it has dates on all of my tracks/routes.
Everywhere there is a route it has the date the route/track was made....is there anywhere to remove that feature and clean it up?
I'm sure I will hafta back track alittle but I don't mind now....just need to figure out where and how to do it.

thanks

You should be able to right-click on each track segment, click modify, and then lable. Then, with the lable highlighted on the screen, delete it. You may have to go under view > level and pick a different level to be able to highlight the track segments but I didn't have to.