How do I run MapSource?

Did you rerun the update program from the Garmin website selecting the advanced option and telling it to install to the computer only?

You need to log into myGarmin to access the update.

When you do a map update for your Nuvi you will have the option to install it on your computer and your GPS. If you choice that option the update will install Mapsource on your computer, install the updated maps on your computer and make them available through Mapsource and finally update the maps on your Nuvi.

Until you have the maps installed on your computer then whether you have Mapsource on it the PC or not, it will not do you much good.

Unfortunately there is no real alternative for using Mapsource with a new Nuvi other than to obtain a map update, which maybe free within 60 days of your device first obtaining a satellite lock, or by purchasing a map update or the lifetime update program available from Garmin and other sources like Amazon.

If you have purchased or obtained a map update already then you should rerun it and make sure you select the option to installed the update on both your PC and the Nuvi.

I haven't tried this, but this link describes how to install the Mapsource updates when you don't have an "old" copy of Mapsource on your computer:
http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/tutorials/how-to-install-mapsour...
Mark

you can just download and run mapsource with basemap files which are free from garmins website.

Good thread. I want to save it where I can find it.

I guess I have to check out the link above. I called garmin and they mailed me a mapsource CD and i installed it, but it doesn't seem to do much. I wanted to use it to plan routes, waypoints, etc. But I never did figure out how to use it, it didn't seem like it had much detail - now I'm wondering if I needed to add a map or something.

I have Mapsource and 2 of the Microsoft products, Streets & Trips and Mappoint. The documentation for Mapsource is lacking in a lot of areas and the interface is almost hostile in many ways. To me it appears as if the Mapsource interface was designed before Windows 95 was released. It just isn't intuitive. It mimics the Nuvi in that you first enter the street address, then the street name. You then get to select the city and state/province. With S&T you can cut and paste an address from a web page in one operation. I usually use S&T for my route planning because it supports a much easier "drag & drop" rerouting without having to make waypoints - it just inserts them.

If I need to transfer a route - that's route not waypoints - to my Nuvi, I will export the S&T file as a GPX and reload in Mapsource to do the transfer. If your unit doesn't support routes and can only use waypoints, then S&T is IMHO a better buy at the roughly $40. But then again, Mapsource was free and if I jump through the right hoops, I can get the latest maps installed during my updates.

Yes, without added maps, most folks find Mapsource of little value. Do you have a numaps lifetime update subscription for either of your nuvis or will you buy a numaps OneTime update for a nuvi at some time in the future?

If so, when the update starts, choose the Advanced installation option, then select the option to install the map to the GPS and to the computer. When done, you'll have the latest City Navigator North America NT map working in Mapsource and you'll be a happy camper.

I did everything right except one. I didn't have service pak 3 on my XP Pro. Without SP3 you download over a Gig of files that you can do nothing with. Installed SP3 and I now have MapSource.
Sometimes it's the little things right in front of you that will trip you up.

Thanks to everyone that replied. This is a great website.

The download and install must be done using an Administrator or equivalent UserId on the PC. Otherwise, the Installation to Computer fails. The Nuvi update works OK under a non-admin ID.

Since the failure requires yet another full (time and bandwidth consuming) download to complete successfully, it would behoove Garmin to include some checking for Admin level rights BEFORE the initial download begins.

Definitely worth remembering.

Then again I'm an old liberal using Ubuntu on my home machines. Any chances of ever seeing Garmin care about us OSS fans ? They DO support Mac, which is Nix-based as well - so why not plain Linux as well ?

Thanks!

I can confirm I got it for free when I bought lifetime updates from Amazon. I was well past 12 months of ownership with a Nuvi 200 and when I went to download my maps on the website, it added mapsource as an option. It runs fine on my computer, but will not do much for me except to set up new poi files for adding to the Nuvi. I wish it added custom routes, but think the Nuvi200 doesn't support receiving them.

Right the 200 doesn't support routes.Mapsource is also good to transfer and edit favorites.I set up a route on mapsource and just saved it as a gpx file and made a custom poi out of it.

Using Extra Poi editor with a file from Mapsource allows you to add pois along a route.You can set it for so many miles to pull up the custom pois along the route and make a custom poi file out of it.

I have used POI editor a bit and converted magellan waypoints to gpx before. Are you suggesting I can make a route with mapsource and then convert to gpx and have a route or a collection of waypoints that I would then select the next after reaching each one?

You can create a route within MapSource with start and end points and any number of waypoints en route. If you were to save that file on your PC, it would be a .gdb file. With the route open in MapSource, there are a couple of buttons (download and upload) on the toolbar. The download will give you the option to export this route to your Garmin via the USB attachment provided your model supports stored routes. Some models can store a number of routes or they (other than the nüvi models) may use a serial attachment instead of USB.

You can also use MapSource to manage your collection of Waypoints (Favorites). This is done by importing the Waypoints from the gpsr where they are displayed as a list in MapSource. You can then edit, add or remove Waypoints, change symbols, etc. then send them back to the device.

Search here for other discussions about how favorites are stored on the nüvi. It is important to understand that the Favorites on the nüvi are stored in a user-inaccessible area, but a copy of what's in there is seen as current.gpx. Modifying current.gpx accomplishes nothing unless the file is renamed to temp.gpx and written back to that folder. Then after a power off-on sequence, the contents of temp.gpx is copied into the hidden area and a new copy of current.gpx is created. All of this is transparent if you use MapSource to work with your Waypoints.

I was trying to think of where to post my latest story with Garmin and this thread seemed to be the best place.

This is a good news story!

I inadvertently deleted Mapsource from the PC (yes Virginia, I know it was stupid!). I had previously (i.e early in 2009!) purchased an updated map from Garmin which I downloaded.

To make a long story short, I sent a note to Garmin and they provided the information and the ability to re-download the files (This was for my Nuvi 360 - a discontinued product) which included Mapsource.

The entire process, including all the updates to Mapsource took a couple of hours and now works great.

That being said, the Garmin folks replied to my original e-mail within 48 hours. I'm a mighty happy camper right about now!

I learned a couple of valuable lessons: 1) keep the original confirmation number when you purchase new maps (or the lifetime subscription) and 2) don't delete the download files!