MMO: Free Magellan Australian Maps for Distribution

[CADManager]

Hello everyone,

The distribution of maps for MobileMapper Office has been tested successfully (refer here), thanks to Felix for his assistance recently.

I'm making my MMO maps available as follows:

• New South Wales
• Australian Capital Territory
• Victoria
• Tasmania
• South Australia
• Western Australia
• Northern Territory
• Queensland

These are the same maps for the Magellan eXplorist series GPSrs shared elsewhere on this site, but at the intermediate stage used by MobileMapper Office software, which will permit configuration prior to creating the Magellan .imi format map. They include POIs for hospitals, train stations, schools and information sources, and are based on OpenStreetMap data (primarily) extracted in December 2011.

With these, all of the compilation of shapefile data and structuring of layers and POIs has already been done. And these maps are significantly smaller than their component data files (which don't need to be distributed).

The following posts will outline what is necessary to configure the appearance of these maps, but only if you want to change the appearance of the maps I have provided here.


Cheers,
Paul.

[CADManager]

To modify the appearance of these maps and export in Magellan eXplorist .imi format, you will need to install MobileMapper Office (release 2.70) software by Thales Navigation, Inc. © 2005.

The data for MobileMapper Office consists of the following files:

• Master data folder: VectMaps.zip
• Map folders:

• NewSouthWales.zip
• AusCapTerritory.zip (the full name was too long for MMO software)
• Victoria.zip
• Tasmania.zip
• SouthAustralia.zip
• WesternAustralia.zip
• NthnTerritory.zip (the full name was too long for MMO software)
• Queensland.zip

Only the maps you wish to work with need be installed.

A standard installation of MMO will produce a data folder \VectMaps within the installation folder. NOTE: For Windows 7 with standard security settings, this folder will be duplicated in a compatible file location, which is where anything to do with this thread should be conducted. The same might be true of Windows Vista (but I'm not familiar with the specifics of that OS and its security settings). The contents of VectMaps.zip should be uncompressed to this folder. FIRST, backup anything of importance (IMHO, I would suggest your entire \VectMaps folder).

Each of the respective state .zip files contain a folder of the same name, and so should be extracted to the \VectMaps folder only when needed.

Read the following posts for a description of modifying the map appearance by editing the export.cfg file for each particular state.


Cheers,
Paul.

[CADManager]

Each of the state folders contains an export.cfg file to control the appearance of the map when exported to Magellan eXplorist .imi format. There is also an export.cfg file in the \VectMaps folder, which controls the appearance of any map which is attached when the software is opened (I think).


Each of the state export.cfg files in my data are identical, but that in \VectMaps differs because as a part of my workflow, I try never to leave a map attached when exiting the software - I've found there to be fewer issues this way. MMO will modify that copy of the file in any case, as maps are attached and detached.

Here is what a standard export.cfg file for a state map looks like (with the settings I've chosen to format the maps for my own requirements):

;************************************************* **;
;* MobileMapper Office initialization file *;
;* DO NOT MODIFY THIS FILE! *;
;* *;
;* Copyright (C) 2003 Thales Navigation, Inc. *;
;* All rights reserved. *;
;************************************************* **;
;* Authored for MobileMapper Office (typ. export) *;
;* by Paul James Haydon / May 2012 (V5.0) *;
;************************************************* **;


[COPYRIGHT]
;** MAX 9 lines @ 23 chars for eXplorist XL! **

1= Map from .shp data:
2= OPENSTREETMAP:-
3=Data © OSM contributors
4= CC BY-SA
5=GEOSCIENCE AUSTRALIA:-
6=©Commonwealth Australia
7= (without liability)
8=Compiled by Paul Haydon
9= ver5.0 (17th May 2012)


[LAYERS]
NUMBER=22
;----- BOUNDARIES -------
0 = BDY-Suburb sub 0 8 0 9 0 0 0 8 0 8 0 0 0 7 0 8 0 0 0 6 0 8 0 0 0 5 0 7 0 0 MAGENTA MDASH_LINE
1 = BDY-State sta 0 9 0 9 0 0 0 8 0 8 0 0 0 8 0 8 0 0 0 8 0 8 0 0 0 7 0 7 0 0 RED MDASH_LINE
;----- WATER ------------
2 = Ocean ocn 0 9 0 9 0 0 0 8 0 8 0 0 0 8 0 8 0 0 0 8 0 8 0 0 0 7 0 7 0 0 CYAN SOLID_FILL
3 = Water wat 0 9 0 9 0 0 0 8 0 8 0 0 0 8 0 8 0 0 0 8 0 8 0 0 0 7 0 7 0 0 CYAN SOLID_FILL
4 = Islands isl 0 9 0 9 0 0 0 8 0 8 0 0 0 8 0 8 0 0 0 8 0 8 0 0 0 7 0 7 0 0 WHITE SOLID_FILL
5 = Rivers1 riv1 0 9 0 9 0 0 0 8 0 8 0 0 0 8 0 8 0 0 0 8 0 8 0 0 0 7 0 7 0 0 CYAN RIVER_LINE
6 = Rivers2 riv2 0 9 0 9 0 0 0 8 0 8 0 0 0 8 0 8 0 0 0 8 0 8 0 0 0 7 0 7 0 0 CYAN RIVER_LINE
7 = Coast cst 0 9 0 9 0 0 0 8 0 8 0 0 0 8 0 8 0 0 0 8 0 8 0 0 0 7 0 7 0 0 BLUE RIVER_LINE
;----- PARKS ------------
8 = Natural nat 0 9 0 9 0 0 0 8 0 8 0 0 0 8 0 8 0 0 0 8 0 8 0 0 0 7 0 7 0 0 PAIL_GREEN HEX_PATT
;----- RAILROADS --------
9 = Railway rly 0 9 0 9 0 0 0 8 0 8 0 0 0 8 0 8 0 0 0 7 0 8 0 0 0 6 0 7 0 0 ORANGE US_RAIL_ROAD
;----- CYCLEWAYS --------
10 = Cycleways cyc 0 6 0 9 0 0 0 5 0 8 0 0 0 4 0 8 0 0 0 3 0 8 0 0 0 2 0 7 0 0 RED MSOLID_LINE
;----- PATHS ------------
11 = Pedestrian ped 0 6 0 9 0 0 0 5 0 8 0 0 0 4 0 8 0 0 0 3 0 8 0 0 0 2 0 7 0 0 GREEN MSOLID_LINE
;----- ROADS ------------
18 = RD-Motorway mwy 0 9 0 9 0 0 0 8 0 8 0 0 0 8 0 8 0 0 0 8 0 8 0 0 0 7 0 7 0 0 YELLOW US_FEDERAL_HW_LINE
17 = RD-Trunk hwy 0 9 0 9 0 0 0 8 0 8 0 0 0 8 0 8 0 0 0 8 0 8 0 0 0 7 0 7 0 0 BLACK US_INTERSTATE_HW_LINE
16 = RD-Primary pri 0 9 0 9 0 0 0 8 0 8 0 0 0 8 0 8 0 0 0 7 0 8 0 0 0 6 0 7 0 0 BLACK US_STATE_HW_LINE
15 = RD-Secondary sec 0 9 0 9 0 0 0 8 0 8 0 0 0 7 0 8 0 0 0 6 0 8 0 0 0 5 0 7 0 0 DARK_GRAY US_MAJOR_RD_LINE
14 = RD-Tertiary ter 0 8 0 9 0 0 0 7 0 8 0 0 0 6 0 8 0 0 0 5 0 8 0 0 0 4 0 7 0 0 BLACK US_STREET_LINE
13 = RD-Other oth 0 7 0 9 0 0 0 6 0 8 0 0 0 5 0 8 0 0 0 4 0 8 0 0 0 3 0 7 0 0 LIGHT_GRAY US_STREET_LINE
12 = RD-Track trk 0 7 0 9 0 0 0 6 0 8 0 0 0 5 0 8 0 0 0 4 0 8 0 0 0 3 0 7 0 0 LIGHT_GRAY MDASH_LINE
;----- LOCATIONS --------
21 = LOCN-Cities cty 5 9 0 9 0 0 5 8 0 8 0 0 5 8 0 8 0 0 4 8 0 8 0 0 4 7 0 7 0 0 BLACK MAJOR_CITIES
20 = LOCN-Towns twn 5 9 0 9 0 0 5 8 0 8 0 0 5 8 0 8 0 0 4 8 0 8 0 0 4 7 0 7 0 0 BLACK LARGE_CITIES
19 = LOCN-Other min 5 8 0 9 0 0 5 8 0 8 0 0 5 7 0 8 0 0 4 6 0 8 0 0 4 5 0 7 0 0 BLACK MEDIUM_CITIES


[COLORS4BITS]
LAY_COLOR=0


[GROUPS]
NUMBER=8
SEARCH_GROUPS=6 7 6 1 2 5 4
0 = Boundaries 0
1 = Water 0
2 = Parks 0
3 = Railroads 0
4 = Cycleways 0
5 = Paths 0
6 = Roads 0
7 = Locations 0


[POI]
UNIT_PARAMS=0 8 0 9 0 0 0 7 0 8 0 0 0 6 0 8 0 0 0 5 0 8 0 0 0 4 0 7 0 0 BLACK NO_FILL
POI_INDEX=8
CAT_NUMBER=4
0=Hospitals, First_aid.bmp, FIRST_AID
1=Information, plus.bmp, PLUS
2=Schools, box.bmp, BOX
3=Train Stations, trstop.bmp, TRAIN_STATION


[ICS_FILE]
PATH_TO_ICS=Images\Ics\

The display shown here will not be particularly legible, due to the HTML formatting, but if you're interested, copy & paste into Notepad (or similar) or better still, open one of the state files once you have the data.

Anyway, the last two entries on each line in the [LAYERS] section (following the matrix of numbers) control colour and linetype (on the GPSr). To modify the appearance of the map, it is these two entries which will require editing. Refer to the following posts for details on each.


Cheers,
Paul.

[CADManager]

There are seventeen colours available to configure the appearance of line and polygon layers. Point-of-interest icons are preconfigured, and the colour setting has no impact on their display on the GPSr (for this reason, they are typically configured as "black" in the export.cfg file by MobileMapper Office software).

• BLACK
• DARK_GRAY
• GRAY
• LIGHT_GRAY
• WHITE
• BROWN
• RED
• DARK_RED
• MAGENTA
• ORANGE
• YELLOW
• PALE_YELLOW
• GREEN
• PALE_GREEN
• BLUE
• DARK_BLUE
• CYAN

Warning: Both spelling errors (e.g. "PAIL" in lieu of "PALE") and American spelling (i.e. "GRAY") must be replicated, as well as being in UPPERCASE, since this is the language coded into the device firmware.

The MMO Layer Properties dialog only lists sixteen colours, but "GRAY" is also available on a pull-down in
the JoinMaps utility - this has not been tested, but implies its availability within the firmware.


Cheers,
Paul.

[CADManager]

Layers numbered 19-21 in the export.cfg file (locations) contain point data, and the last entry on each line controls an icon instead of a linetype. You shouldn't need to change these, as I've used the three standard Magellan icons for location, but I've included instructions here FYI (what else would you change them to?).

There are thirteen point-of-interest icons available, based about location, transport, navigation and obstructions:

• SMALL_CITIES
• MEDIUM_CITIES
• LARGE_CITIES
• MAJOR_CITIES
• AIRPORTS
• TRAIN_STATION
• BUS_STATION
• FERRY_TERM
• LIGHT_HOUSE
• MARINA
• FLOAT_BUOY
• FIXED_NAV_AID
• OBSTRUCTION

As with the colours, heed the warning about applying these styles "as-is". These icons are illustrated below, for MobileMapper Office and the eXplorist GPSr respectively.

TEMP_SCREENCAP_MMO-POIicons.gif TEMP_PHOTO_eXplorist-POIicons.jpg

These are icons for point-based data included in maps (as layers), and differ from both the selection of icons for actual map-based POIs (i.e. NOT layers) and actual points-of-interest for use on the GPSr. For map-based POIs, there is a choice of eighty-seven different icons, and for true POIs, a selection of forty-two.


Cheers,
Paul.

[CADManager]

There are nineteen linetypes specified in the firmware, based about typology (solid/dash/dot), roads, rail and water:

• MSOLID_LINE
• DASH_LINE
• MDASH_LINE
• DOT_LINE
• MDOT_LINE
• US_FEDERAL_HW_LINE
• US_INTERSTATE_HW_LINE
• US_STATE_HW_LINE
• US_MAJOR_RD_LINE
• US_STREET_LINE
• US_UNPAVED_RD_LINE
• UNPAVED_RD_LINE
• TRAIL_LINE
• US_RR_LINE
• US_RAIL_ROAD
• RIVER_LINE
• STREAM_LINE
• HYDRO_DAM_LINE
• WATERFALL_LINE

As with the colours, heed the warning about applying these styles "as-is". Refer below to see how these linetypes are displayed.

TEMP_SCREENCAP_Mapset-Linetypes.gif TEMP_PHOTO_eXplorist-Linetypes(badges).jpg

A couple of items which should be kept in mind:

a) UNPAVED_RD_LINE shouldn't (?) be used - it renders as a continuous line in Mapsend and does not display on the GPSr screen (but since it displays in Mapsend, perhaps it is available in later editions of the firmware - worth checking).
b) US_RR_LINE does not look like a railroad, so use the US_RAIL_ROAD linetype for the crossed effect.
c) Linetypes assigned to water features are displayed as cyan
d) Badge labels are available for those linetypes with names preceded by "US_". I'm not aware exactly how the U.S. label badges are triggered, but it doesn't affect the data in these maps.

For the purpose of illustration, each linetype has been exported from MobileMapper Office as a black line. The appearance of the various linetypes in the Mapsend products is pre-configured, but for display on the Magellan GPSr, there is a degree of control. The border of those thicker coloured linetypes (i.e. the U.S. highways) will reflect the colour assigned in the export.cfg file, thus providing a further sixteen configurations for each of these items. For example, my maps as conigured have a yellow border to the motorways/freeways, which I find easy to read on the white background of my XL.

Cheers,
Paul.

[CADManager]

Layer number 8 in the export.cfg file (parks) contains polygon data, and the last entry on the line controls a fill pattern in lieu of a linetype.

There are five fill patterns to be found in the firmware, being either full or based on single or double cross-hatching:

• SOLID_FILL
• NO_FILL
• SLANT_PATT
• BOX_PATT
• HEX_PATT

As with the colours, heed the warning about applying these styles "as-is". "SLANT_PATT" is a diagonal hatch, sloping upwards to the right. Of the double hatch patterns, "BOX_PATT" is aligned up-&-down, while "HEX_PATT" is arranged diagonally.

It has been written elsewhere that the "NO_FILL" pattern be used to clear the background, but this I've not tested. By setting the fill colour of a solid to "WHITE" (assuming a blank background on the map), the desired effect is achieved all the same. I've found that, for coloured patterns, the display on the GPSr can be made to appear lighter by utilising one of the hatch patterns in lieu of the solid fill (the "HEX_PATT" is favoured for its appearance). This is how I've configured the layer "NATURAL".


Cheers,
Paul.

[CADManager]

I'm currently almost finished putting together "How-To" documents for MobileMapper Office software, which I'll share with this forum once done. The preceeding posts on colour, point-of-interest icons, linetypes and fill patterns are included in these documents.

Good luck with manipulating the appearance of your maps for the eXplorist GPSrs!


Cheers,
Paul.

[CADManager]

Hey Felix,

Great to see the maps in use. And a good result for your use on the eXplorist 510 - well done.


Cheers,
Paul.

[felix]

Looking at those shots have noticed that those red tracks either side of the river don't actually appear in VantagePoint