Software to manage and analyze GPS data. Supports data exchange between PCs and GPS devices. Contains digital maps of various geographic regions. User interface in 10 different languages.

This document is only for reference, we no longer offer maps.

The various programs of the GARMIN MapSource product family provide different features, but all support the same basic functions, which are:

• Data transfer between PCs and GPS devices over a serial or USB connection.
• Manage waypoints, routes and tracks (travelled paths) on a PC.
• User interface in 10 different languages: Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean; Portuguese (Brazilian) and Spanish (Version V6.14.1 or higher).

Depending on the product, additional features are supported, such as:

• Routing on the PC, routes may be transferred to GPS devices.
• Download "points of interest" or maps to GPS devices. This will significantly increase the level of details of the maps and may support autorouting on the GPS device itself, depending on the GPS model.
• Topographic maps with contour lines and geographical features such as mountains, lakes, rivers etc.
• Some products require an unlock code ¹⁾, see detailed description of the individual programs. The unlock code is included in the price. The unlock code is either included in the package or may be obtained from GARMIN's website.

¹⁾ The unlock code is a unique combination of the serial number of the MapSource software and the unit ID of the GPS device. It ensures that the downloaded maps will work only on that particular GPS device.

Both programs support data exchange - waypoints, routes, travelled paths (tracks), maps etc. - between computers and GPS devices for easy trip planning and to maintain and archive gathered data on a computer. MapSource comes with map products on CDrom or DVD which have to be purchased. BaseCamp is not bundled with any map products and is available for download free of charge, see downloads. GARMIN also provides updates for MapSource and BaseCamp for free. These updates only update the software and not the maps. Updates for maps have to be purchased. Some models are offered with a lifetime updated included.

Depending on the GPS model and your personal preferences, you may prefer one software product or the other. Tracks and maps can be exchanged with both products. Both programs support transferring waypoints and routes from a computer to the models etrex 10/20/30, Oregon and Montana, but only BaseCamp supports the other direction. In addition, only BaseCamp supports transferring geo-caches, BirdsEye satellite imageries and geo-tagged pictures. The later are photos which include information about the location where they were taken (coordinates). BaseCamp supports GARMIN GPS devices with cameras such as the Oregon 550t or the Montana 650/650t as well as cameras with integrated GPS.

Unlike MapSource, BaseCamp supports access to maps on µSD/SD-memory cards. If your computer has a slot for SD cards (or if you have a SD-to-USB adapter), you may plug in the µSD/SD memory card into your computer directly. Alternatively, you may insert the µSD/SD memory card into your GPS device and connect the GPS with your computer using an USB cable. The former is usually the faster method.

If you transfer maps from a computer to a GPS device using MapSource, all previously loaded maps will be erased. With BaseCamp on the other hand, you have the choice of either erasing previously loaded maps or leave them on the GPS. Preloaded maps will never be erased, neither by MapSource nor by BaseCamp.

There are significant conceptional differences between MapSource and BaseCamp regarding data storage. MapSource supports saving data in any number of files. BaseCamp stores all objects (waypoints, routes, tracks, pictures etc.) in one collection ("My Collection"). You may create any number of folders, subfolders and lists within your collection, but a particular object must exist only once within the whole collection. Therefore, you cannot create multiple objects of the same type with the same name, such as more than one waypoint with the name "Start". On the other hand, a particular object may be referenced in any number of lists. Lists, folders and the complete collection may be exported to and imported from files.

To exchange data between MapSource and BaseCamp, you can either use "copy and paste" - which supports only one type of objects (e.g. waypoints) to be transferred per operation - or you may use various types of files, such as GDB, GPX or TCX files.

For fitness devices such as the Edge and Forerunner series, there is also a software called "Training Center" which supports additional data such as speed and heart rate.

The various programs of the GARMIN MapSource product family support different geographical regions on one hand and different functions on the other hand.

For some regions, the maps are available on CDrom or DVD as well as on µSD/SD memory card (µSD is also written as microSD). µSD/SD memory card means that the maps are stored on an µSD memory card but there is also an µSD-to-SD adapter included which means that these memory cards are compatible with GPS devices with a slot for SD memory cards as well as with devices with a slot for µSD memory cards. What are the advantages and disadvantages of maps on CDrom/DVD compared to maps on µSD/SD memory cards ?

If there are multiple maps installed on your GPS device, then most models support enabling and disabling maps individually, which allows you to switch quickly between different maps. If your GPS device supports profiles, then you can bind different maps to different profiles. For example, you may bind the street map City Navigator Europe to the profile "car", but bind the map Swiss Topo to the profiles "Hiking" and "Biking".

The following map was created with MapSource City Navigator Europe 2009 NT and shows the travelled path (track) of a trip from Hittnau ZH to Adelboden BE in Switzerland. A track consists of a number of straight lines called "legs" at constant speed. The GPS creates a new leg each time the direction and/or speed changes. For each leg, the GPS records the date and time, elevation, leg length, leg time, leg speed, leg course and the current position (coordinates). With this information you know exactly when you were where and with which speed you travelled in what direction. In this example, we used the WGS-84 datum and display the coordinates in degrees and minutes. MapSource supports many different datums and formats including the Swiss Grid CH-1903.

Hint: Click on the images for an enlargement.

During vacation, the locations of the endpoints of all the ski and chair lifts and some restaurants of the ski area of Savognin, Switzerland were stored on a GPS. Based on these waypoints, it was easy to determine the current position in relation to the lifts at any time even if we used a Forerunner 305 which does not show maps. The image below was created using MapSource Swiss Topo V2. Note that in this example, the coordinates are shown as 6 digit X and Y values corresponding to the Swiss Grid and the CH-1903 datum.

The image below shows a route composed from waypoints with MapSource World V4. The route shows a trip in Scandinavia based on 17 waypoints. Note that MapSource World does not "know" any roads, routes between two waypoints are measured as direct line distances.

Note: Other MapSource products also support the feature "autorouting".

Some products - such as MapSource City Navigator - support the feature "autorouting", which calculates the shortest or fastest route from a start to a final destination with optional intermediate destinations (so called "vias"). Routes can then be transferred to GPS devices which support this feature.

The autorouting preferences allow you to specify whether the program shall calculate the fastest or the shortest route, the average driving speed for the various types of roads depending on the type of vehicle and more.

The example above shows the route from the Hofbräuhaus in Munich to the Eiffel tower in Paris as calculated by MapSource City Navigator Europe. The route consists of 43 waypoints, including start and destination. Depending on the capacity of the GPS receiver and the complexity of the route, routes may have to be split to be transferred to a GPS receiver. Autorouting also supports intermediate destinations (vias).
The picture above shows the complete route on the map (yellow line). The driving instructions (directions) are shown in the window in the lower right corner.

Topographic maps support displaying the elevation profile of planned routes. The image below shows the elevation profile of a planned hiking trip from Wengen via Kleine Scheidegg to Adelboden. This profile was created using Swiss Topo V2.

The images below show three different extracts of the area around Bern at different scales - created with MapSource World and City Navigator Europe. Click on the images for an enlargement.

MapSource allows you to view your waypoints, routes and tracks in Google Earth.

Here we provide additional documentation and software updates related to the GARMIN MapSource. The later are free upgrades, but require a previous version of MapSource to be installed on your computer. The upgrades are cumulative, which means you don't have to install all upgrades, but only the latest version.