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Pub. 988-0147-382
www.lei-extras.com
MapCreate 6
Custom Mapping Software for GPS
Installation and Operation
Instructions
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Copyright © 2003 LEI Extras, Inc., a division of Lowrance Electronics, Inc. All rights reserved. MapCreate is a trademark of Lowrance Electronics, Inc. Points of Interest Data in this unit are by infoUSA, copyright 2001-2003, All Rights Reserved. infoUSA is a trademark of infoUSA, Inc. eXitSource Database, copyright 2001-2003 Zenrin Co. Ltd. Exit Authority and eXitSource are trademarks of Zenrin Co. Ltd. LEI Extras, Lowrance Electronics, or Eagle Electronics may find it necessary to chang
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Table of Contents Sec. 1: Introduction...................................................................1 How Mapcreate Works ................................................................. 3 File Formats & Functions ............................................................ 4 Map Border File ........................................................................ 4 Custom Map File....................................................................... 4 GPS Data File .......................
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Center Master Map................................................................. 35 Zoom ........................................................................................ 35 Creating Rectangle Map Borders............................................... 36 Creating Corridor Map Borders ................................................. 37 Saving a Map Border File........................................................... 39 Creating a Custom Map File .......................................
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Section 1: Introduction How this manual can get you into the field, fast! Thanks for buying MapCreate 6.2! We know you're anxious to install the program and make some maps, but we have one more favor to ask. Before you grab that CD, please give us a moment to explain how our manual can help you get the best performance from our software. Our goal is to get you on the road or out to the woods and water fast, with a minimum of fuss. We won't try to turn you into a computer expert. Like you, we'd
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That covers a lot of ground, but, we designed this book so that you don't have to read the whole thing from front to back for the information you want. You can skip around, and we've made it easy to look up any tips you may need from time to time. Here's how: The manual has three main sections. This first section tells you the basics you need to know to make MapCreate wake up and get to work. Section two (on page 13) will help you get the program correctly installed on your computer. Section thr
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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 ont
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File Formats & Functions Well, now you know what makes MapCreate tick. You may be ready to skip forward to where we explain how our text formatting makes the manual easy to skim. If that's the case, move on to "How to Use This Manual" on page 10. But, if you want to pick up an extra tip or two, look over this segment describing the file formats MapCreate works with. Map Border File This file defines the boundary of the raw cartography data that is extracted and converted to a GPS custom map. The
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create a fresh Custom Map File. You can delete the old one, or just save the new custom map over the old one. GPS Data File This file format contains all the GPS navigation information (waypoints, event marker icons, routes and trails) used by your GPS unit and MapCreate. The file extension is *.usr (for User file) and the file is saved either to your hard drive or directly to your MMC or SDC. As with other Windows-based files, you can drag and drop these files from the hard drive onto an MMC or
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Atlas File This is the "raw" file format for layer after layer of cartographic and hydrographic data on our CDs. You never have to work with these files directly. MapCreate pulls data from these files to display the Master Map you see in the main window on your computer. The program combines the information from a Map Border File with the Atlas Files to make Custom Map Files for your GPS unit. NOTE: MMC Card Formats If you have an older MMC that has been formatted by a parallel port Lowrance MMC
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This solid-state, flash memory device is about the size of a postage stamp. (SDC [Secure Digital] cards are also compatible with any Lowrance or Eagle product that uses MMCs.) The MMCs shipped with Lowrance and Eagle GPS units are 16 MB size. If you're using a 16 MB MMC, your Custom Map File must be less than 16 MB in order to fit on the card. (This space issue is the same as floppy disks; you can't really fit a 1.44 MB file onto a 1.44 MB diskette because some space is required for the disk's f
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The amount of development in an area is something you can't control. For example, one square mile of city streets will make a larger file than one square mile of wilderness with a few hiking trails. The amount of territory you include in a map is a major factor. The more square miles or acres you include, the bigger the file size. So, what does this all mean in real estate terms? The following table shows a few examples of high- and medium-detail Custom Map File sizes, and how long it took the c
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Mapping Detail: There's more here than meets the eye. The Custom Map Files you make with MapCreate contain more mapping detail than what is visible on your computer screen. Your MapCreate 6- compatible GPS unit takes full advantage of this extra information. Find Highway Exit Services For example, move your mouse pointer over a highway exit symbol on the computer map, and all you'll see is a pop-up tool-tip box listing the name of the exit. However, in a Lowrance or Eagle GPS unit, the same exit
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Cursor over POI symbol Pop-up box At left, an iFINDER GPS screen showing a POI pop-up name box. At right, you can call up a page of information on the POI, and the GPS unit can lead you to the POI's location. Find an Address You won't see addresses on your computer map, either. But when the MapCreate information is loaded into your GPS, you can search for a street address or a street intersection. In fact, your GPS unit can search by name for virtually every category of mapping
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In the printed Quick Reference and the online Command Reference, the actual command clicks and keystrokes appear as sans serif, boldface type. So, if you're in a real hurry (or just need a reminder), you can usually skim the instructions and pick out where to click by finding the boldface commands. The paragraphs below explain how to interpret the text formatting for those commands and other instructions. (If you're already familiar with Windows or many other software manuals you can probably sk
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For example, if the manual says "choose CREATE WAYPOINT," it means to run the Create Waypoint command. You can choose commands by clicking the mouse pointer on the menus or toolbar buttons, or by pressing the appropriate hot key or shortcut key on the keyboard. Commands are sometimes described as menu sequences, to help you find the command faster. For example, "to open the Trail List window, click VIEW|TRAIL LIST," means to mouse click on the main menu's View command and then click the Trail Li
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Section 2: Installing MapCreate 6.2 System Requirements MapCreate 6 requires the following minimum system resources: • IBM compatible PC. • Pentium 133 MHz or faster processor. • 32 MB RAM • 50 MB hard disc space. • 256 color display. • Microsoft Windows 98 or later. • CD-ROM drive. MapCreate will run on a system with the above specifications, but the program will work slowly. A faster processor and more RAM will significantly improve program operation. You can also optimize performance
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Data overlap area program will not operate correctly if you choose to modify an existing installation. To uninstall MapCreate, use the standard Windows ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS function. (For more information on Windows uninstall, open your Windows Help file and search for the phrase "Removing Programs.") For Typical or Compact installations of version 6: The high detail map data is organized into two overlapping regions. The western continental United States and Hawaii are on the USA-West (disc 1) C
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3. Type D:\setup.exe (where D: is the drive letter for your CD-ROM) Type the setup command directory path and file name. 4. Click OK to begin installation. NOTE: If you are using Windows 2000 or Windows XP Professional, you may receive an error message if you are not logged on with administrator privileges. If this occurs, you can complete the MapCreate installation by first logging on as an administrator, then proceeding with step 1 on page 14. 5. Follow the on-screen instructions: A. InstallSh
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C. Read the License Agreement. D. Choose a destination folder for the program. You can accept the default or you can choose another location. E. Select the type of setup. 16
