LEI Electronics 6 manual How MapCreate Works

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How MapCreate Works

You'll be making maps faster if you understand the hoops MapCreate must jump through to cram a high detail map into your GPS unit.

First of all, those CDs you just purchased contain a whole bunch of raw computerized cartography data. There are several hundred files of digital mapping information containing lake shorelines, navigation aids, roads, rivers and all the other information that goes into our high-detail maps.

It takes some fancy formatting to fit the whole world onto a couple of compact discs. Your GPS unit can't read those raw files (called atlas files). Even if it could, no GPS unit or MultiMedia Card (MMC) has enough memory to hold that much information.

This is where MapCreate comes in. The program looks at all those raw atlas files, shuffles the different types of information together, and then places them onto your computer screen. That's what we call the Master Map, the main window in the MapCreate interface. By changing various options in MapCreate, you can control how much geographic detail is displayed on-screen in the Master Map.

It's a pretty cool electronic map, but your GPS can't read it in this form, either. This is where you come in. You move around the Master Map and locate the area or areas you want to make a detailed map of. Then, you grab the computer mouse and draw a map border around the region you want. (There are two or three fun ways to do this…we'll describe 'em in a few minutes.)

Now, this map border isn't really a map yet — it just defines or outlines the area you want to include in the final GPS-friendly map. You can save the boundary you have drawn as a Map Border File. MapCreate uses the Map Border File like an electronic shopping list. The program looks at your Map Border File, grabs the appropriate raw atlas information, and then glues it all together as a custom map. Now you can save this data as a Custom Map File, which you can copy onto an MMC (or SDC) and load into your GPS unit.

GPS information — such as waypoints, routes or trails — is handled differently. You can click the mouse to set a waypoint or plan a route, then save that information as a GPS Data File. This file is ready to load into your GPS unit. When your unit makes trails or waypoints in the field, that information is also saved as a GPS Data File, which you can then load back into your computer, open and save in MapCreate. Remember, you must use the advanced mode of MapCreate to work with GPS data.

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Contents MapCreate6 LEI Extras Inc PO BOX Catoosa, OK USA Table of Contents Creating Rectangle Map Borders Creating Corridor Map Borders Center Master MapIntroduction Page How MapCreate Works File Formats & Functions GPS Data File Atlas File Page Custom Map File Size and Build Time Examples Mapping Detail Theres more here than meets the eye Cursor over Pop-up Exit symbol BoxCursor over POI symbol Pop-up box How to use this manual typographical conventionsMouse Page System Requirements Installation TypesUSA-West disc Data overlap area USA-East disc Installing MapCreateType D\setup.exe where D is the drive letter for your CD-ROM Page Page Care of your MapCreate CDs Starting MapCreate Easy Mode and Advanced Mode To add a direct shortcut to your Start Menu To add a direct shortcut to your desktopSection Working With MapCreate Advanced Mode Quick Start Reference Starting MapCreate MapSelect Screen MapCreate Screen MapCreate 6 opening screen Closing MapCreate Tips Selected Symbol Tip Box Map Category Options Window Tip Icon List Window Route Waypoint List Window Moving Around the Master Map Zoom Box Cross-hair Creating Rectangle Map Borders Handle Box Mouse Pointer Map Border Creating Corridor Map BordersPoint Saving a Map Border File Creating a Custom Map File Building Map Progress dialog box Save As dialog box appears Creating a Waypoint Delete Waypoint Creating an Icon Tip Creating a Route Tip Tips Saving a GPS Data File Creating a Corridor Map From a Route Borders around Route command Corridor Width slider bar Creating a Route From a Trail Plot Trail shown in green Page Appendix 1 MapCreate Command List Help Topics Command Search a Help document for the term map border Page County/Parish Marine Navaids AirportsCities CountriesPOI-Shopping POI-ServicesPOI-Marine POI-RestaurantsAppendix MapCreate 6 Symbol Key Page Page POI Appendix 4 Considerations When Planning Highway Routes Page Page Page LEI Databases License Agreement Databases Limited Warranty LEI Software License Agreement ONE-YEAR Media Warranty For Lowrance 800-324-1356. For Eagle How to Obtain Service…Accessory Ordering Information for all countries Visit our web site
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