Garmin Tools
Topo France V3
This TOPO contains a great deal of map information - a lot of it is hidden , ie invisible.
Much of what is written here can be applied to other TOPOs.
Tochangeanycolour,sizeetcofallthemappingelementsyouneedtoworkonitsTYPfile.
So,toworkonaTOPO,lookforafilenameending.typ
FindingtheTYPfile
Good news:
It is pretty straight forward to edit a TYP file - we are using TYPWiz7.
Bad news:
If the TYP file is not found on your PC then you can extract it from a large file using various tools
like gmaptools or gmap2typ but you can not easily replace it, ie put it back again.
We are using Basecamp so we can quickly see the effect of changing the TYP file.
Our typ file is located in the
’c:\programdata\garmin\maps\topofrance v3Pro’
folder
HowtoloadyourTYPfile
We assume that you have some knowledge of
how to obtain the necessary TYP file for this
topo .
1) In TYPwiz 7 & 4 go Tools --> TYP files
from Bascecamp/Mapsource.
2) Click on TOPO France v3 and click ’Open TYP’
Note : When saving, both TYPWiz 7 & 4 make a copy of any topo files before it saves your
changes.
Whatcanwechange?
•
Make Street Names Visible
•
Change size of Font & colour of Font
•
Change size and colour of Names of towns,cities etc
•
Change the colours & width of highways / lines
•
Change the bitmap of lines
•
Change the colour ,size and bitmap of POIs
MakingStreetNamesVisible.
For reasons unknown many rivers & streams and many highways in the TYP file have had their
fontstyles set to NoLabel.
This renders them invisible. So the solution is
simple: Edit their FontStyles and change them
to , say ’Normal’,
Garmin does not support numerical fontsizes:
You are lumbered with small, normal or large!
TYPWiz 7 clearly shows any element with fontstyle set
to NoLabel by greying out the label.
ChangingColour
If you wish you can set the colour of
highways,polygons and pois.
Tick Font Colours and double click on
Day
ChangesizeandcolourofNamesoftowns,citiesetc
This topo uses types 400 - 1F00 at a low- medium zoom level .
Higher numbers are used when you zoom in.
ChangingPOIs
We have changed the ’walking’ poi as it is rather small.
Some pois, used by the TOPO , cannot be changed as they are ’built’ into the firmware.
If a poi appears in a TOPO , then it can be changed ; if it doesn’t and yet it appears on the map we
need to conjecture its type number.
POIbefore
POIAfter:editedwithlabelsshowing
Whatyoucando
You can change all pois, their colour,sizes, fontsize & fontcolor
You can add transparency if need be
Whatyoumustn’tdo
Do not change type number: if you do, some POIs won’t show, or appear in a default style’
ChangingHighways
There are several unusual entries in this TYP file which are easily missed
waterfalls,bulkheads,retaining walls & slopes
SlopesBefore
SlopesAfter
Whatyoucando
You can change all lines, their colour,thickness, fontsize & fontcolor
You can change from lines with bmp to lines without bmp or vice versa
Whatyoumustn’tdo
Do not change type number: if you do, some lines won’t show, or appear in a default style’
Changingpolygons
A lot of care has gone into merging various colours in this TOPO
Whatyoucando
You can change all polygons, their colour, fontsize, fontcolor,
You can change from bmp to non bmp or vice versa
Whatyoumustn’tdo
You must not change draworder - if you do, some polygons won’t show.
Many new TOPOs do not use draworder .
Do not change type number
Editing’extradraworders’
The typ file shows many ’stand alone’ draworders , ie these are not linked to any polygons found in
the typ file. Latest TYPWiz 7 shows them quite clearly.
Whatyoucando
They could provide a draworder to a default polygon. Removing them does not seem to make a
difference, but this needs experimenting.
ActiveRouting
This TOPO has ’so called’ active
routing - so called, as highways with
active routing are not given a special
status in the TYP file.
It is also unusual in that there are only 2
activities reserved for this purpose,
hiking and cycling .
In fact, these lines are used as layers and
do not like other TOPOs with active
routing replacing highways.
Picture shows Routes having been
enlarged.
Red : hiking
Purple: cycling
Blue : current trail
In Basecamp or Oregons etc, an extra option appears in the Search options , ie ’NamedTrails’
When you select this, basecamp & your device lists trails contained in the .db file nearest to your
current position. (If your topo does not contain a .db file then just adding the required .db file in the
SQL folder will nottrigger off the new option!)
You cannot change these icons, as they do not appear in the TYP file.
Finally,saveyourTYPfile
1 ) Just enter CTRL S (save) : DO NOT save AS
If Basecamp or Mapsource are currently open, rthey will have to be closed first.
TYPwiz will do this for you.
2) Load Basecamp
3) Press CTRL G 2x to clear cache
4) If you cannot see the changes then
check the filename ; this must be the same as found in the list showing all topo typs - see page 3
HowdoIuploadthisfiletomyGPS
Warning,alwaysmakeabackupofyourTOPOfilefirst
Use Garmin’s MapInstall-its free and effective . Make sure you have the latest version.
Mapinstall will replace the original TYP file with the one you have edited TYP
TIP -
1) Use the partialinstalloption - this means you can test your TYP file on oneasmalltile.
2) Select your area
Rightclickto deselect
Leftclickto select.
