Learing Route

The intended use of a GPSr is to take you places that you are not familiar with and not to places you go often and know how to get there.

If you know a better way just take it. The unit will catch up. You can't teach it, though. There's no AI here.

It's important to remember that the unit is not programmed to give you the "best" route.

Based upon the map data on the unit and the routing preferences and avoidances you have selected on your unit, it attempts to perform a mathematical solution in accordance with those parameters.

Fastest is usually the best choice for most people and most situations, but it may not always be.

Also, the unit doesn't know anything about traffic (unless using a traffic receiver) or traffic lights. So, it won't take these into consideration.

If you want/need a unit that stores routes, then you might look at the nuvi 7xx, 8xx or the Zumo series.

If you want to go to the trouble of saving a waypoint in Favorites, you can choose that waypoint as a "Via Point". One cleverly chosen Via Point is often enough to serve your purpose.

To answer the responder who couldn't see the need, you might find a better way one time but not necessarily be able to reproduce it easily, especially in the dark -- just one example.

Well my thinking was that if I had a better way that I could then share it with others. It's not a big deal, I was just curious is all and it seemed like that might be a cool feature to have in future units. Maybe I'll go plug the idea to some folks at Garmin.

I bought a 760 because I thought this was an option that I wanted. What I found out is I just deal with "Recalculating". I had set-up a route like I would normally drive with traffic turn on, well it took me to my points and then would want me to go which it thought was still best.

Squatch

But what about Mapsource. Can't we draw a route with Mapsource and then upload it the GPS? Is that possible?

Sure, but the same problem exists in Mapsource. Namely if don't like the actual roads Mapsource selects then you have to add way points.

I've found that if I select a road sign way point like I10 it has both a East and West coordinate. Select the one you want and it will be announced but you drive right through it without leaving the highway.

Garmin told me that the 08 version of the maps in Mapsource and my 750 were the same. So far that's true.

That doesn't make Mapsource a user friendly program. In fact it's one of the worse I've run into recently. JMHO

How so? When I first got it, I just did a lot of exploring through the tools and menus, and especially the right click menus. That way I found my way around pretty well.

I find it quite effective for using in conjunction with my Nüvi 260. Granted that my 260 has limited routing functionality, but I can plan a route as I want to drive it, then create the necessary waypoints and easily upload them to my GPS. Then I just drive the route by connecting the dots. I can make any route I want work that way. I can also set specific road avoidances in MapSource if there is particular road or highway I don't want to drive (construction, known traffic delays, etc.).

The nuvi 660 which the OP indicated he was using can't store routes.

One little snippet that you might find a use for:

If you save a Route from Mapsource as a .gpx file and then use that .gpx file as input to POI Loader, it will interprete all the 'route point' entries as Waypoints (ie Custom POIs).
This is a therefore a semi-automated version of the technique that some people have been using: ie feeding in one POI at time as a "Via point".

(Normally gpx files containing routes are transferred directly to the GPSr, for it to process).

Clint I have the same problem with my 660. When I try to go home from where ever I am at it never goes the way that I normally go. Finally the GPS will catch up right before I get to my drive way. Of course I don't need the Garmin to tell me how to get him...but since I have it I like to use it instead of just turning it off. It really bugs me. My dad has a new TT720 and his gets to my house the way that I go. Other than that one quirk I can't complain to much. It doesn't sound like there is much we can do about this now.

What are your settings for Navigation - Shorter Distance or Faster Time ???????
What avoidances do you have set (if any) ?????
What is your Vehicle type set for ??????

I have 2 different Garmin models and they CAN differ sometimes even with the same settings.
Maybe the "phase of the moon" has something to do with it.

Actually, all I wanted to do was see if there was a way to record the way I DRIVE home from work instead of the way the nuvi was taking me.

I tried deliberately getting lost (so to speak) and each time the nuvi found me a way home but never the way I usually drive. I just thought it would be cool to be able to click a setting or something where it would trace / record my route and then save it as a POI file or something. I think this would be a very cool feature for future Garmin GPS units to have. I mean, who better knows an area than a person who has lived there all their life?!

Clint

With your 660 you can't do the following, you will need a GPS from the 700 or the new 800 series or some of the high end of the StreetPilot series.

You are asking for two features bread crumbs and routes.

Bread crumbs will trace the route you drive which you can then upload into Mapsource. Then you can make POIs on the route you drove. Then using these POI, create a selectable "route" that will force the GPS to re-create the route you want.

So I guess the feature exists then? I was just curious is all. I don't have any plans to get another unit as I really love the features of the 660 and can't justify the cost factor of another more expensive unit. Maybe in a few years when the costs come down some more I'll venture out and get another unit.

Thanks Much!

Clint

Je comprend que le forum est en anglais mais mon anglais n'est pas bon
Dans les préférance de carte quelle est la fonction de contour de carte activé ou déactivé.
Merci Mickfont

contour of chart
I understand that the forum is in English but my English is not good
In the préférance of chart which is the function of contour of chart activated or déactivé.
Thank you Mickfont

S’il vous plaît essayer de la phrase à votre question en anglais du mieux que tu peux donc nous avons une meilleure chance de comprendre. Je ne suis pas sûr de ce que vous entendez par "le contour de carte". Si vous essayez de poser une nouvelle question, s’il vous plaît commencer un nouveau sujet:

http://www.poi-factory.com/node/add/forum

Aussi:
http://www.google.com/translate_t?langpair=fr|en

rapriebe,

Being able to accomplish a task does not make the software friendly. As an example take the Find Places Address window. The first line should be one that allows you to enter the address when you know it like 123 main, 95120. It should then give you any options like N or S Main. Instead you have to enter each field with the resulting mouse clicks or key board clicks to change fields. And look at the top to bottom order: Number and then select a street. What no street? Oh, jump down and enter city, state or zip. Now jump back up and enter the street. Nope can't type it in, rather you have to select it and go to the next screen.

There are just many ways that this window could be improved and this is only the beginning of the improvements that are needed for the Garmin software.

Perhaps the first priority in Mapsource would be to customize it to the users GPS. Look at the Waypoint Properties window.

Apparently I can enter things like Depth and Temperature on my nuvi 750. Not. Yeah perhaps if I had a Garmin depth sounder on my boat there might be some reason for these fields.

Phil just posted that Catorgies, what ever they are aren't even implemented by POI Loader but there they are on the window.

Mapsource IS NOT A USER FRIENDLY PROGRAM in so many ways.