Mac Installer

[Boyd]

OK, I have read the tutorial on creating a Mac installer and am obviously missing something!   I used Garmin's mapconverter to create a Mac version of my map, then installed on my Mac where it properly opened in RoadTrip. So far so good.

Now I have a .gmapi file, which appears to be some sort of container for a .gmap file when I view the package contents. But the Mac tutorial on the site here only references a .tgz file without explaining where that comes from. I know that's a gzip file. Am I supposed to create this from the .gmapi file? Why?

I was hoping to avoid getting fancy with an installer like the tutorial shows. But am not able to upload the .gmapi file, the uploader complains that it's a directory. I also tried to compress it to a zip file by right-clicking and using the compress option, but the uploader won't take this either.

So what is the simplest way to create a Mac version without all the bells and whistles? Why can't I just upload the .gmapi file? Wouldn't that work on any Mac?

[edit]
Looking at this some more, I'm guessing that the .tgz file is something that an old version of Mapconverter created perhaps? It seems that all I really need to do is create a .dmg file from the .gmapi file and upload. True?

[Boyd]

Well hopefully I got this right!  I have uploaded both Windows and Mac versions of my new Map of New Jersey here: http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/maps/view/294/

[-Oz-]

I think you can only upload the .tgz on this site; if people want to upload the .gmapi I can probably make that happen but I'm not sure how the browser would handle it.

[Boyd]

Ah, thanks for the explanation. I guess I missed the .tgz option when I did the conversion.

[Boyd]

I hadn't used RoadTrip since it first came out, and it was terrible back then. So I updated to the newest version. Ugh, it is still terrible - especially with my map that pushes Garmin's limits in terms of detail.

It works, but performance is so poor as to be an exercise in frustration. I tried side by side on my Mac (2.4 ghz Intel Core2 Duo) and PC (2.8 ghz Intel Core2 Duo running Vista 64). I set detail to max on both, viewing the same area at .3 mi zoom on both. The difference was unbelievable. Using the arrow keys to scroll both maps, it flew past quickly on the PC and struggled to just crawl on the Mac. The speed difference was something like 10x on the PC. And this PC has the integrated Intel graphics, which rates as pretty mediocre in video performance for games and such. The Mac has the GeForce 8600M GT graphics card.

It's great that Garmin is finally supporting the Mac, but this is pretty lame. I don't know how they write their software, but it clearly isn't taking advantage of the full power of MacOSX. I mean, come on, this isn't something like photo realistic 3d modeling that needs lots of horsepower.

I also tried the beta version of Mac Basecamp. That's a real mixed bag in terms of user interface. In 2d mode, with max detail at the same zoom level, it is much faster.... BUT, none of the line features on my map are displayed! The custom types are working properly for polygons, but there are no lines at all. No roads. No contours. Zooming in farther doesn't make any difference.

I think it's really still a PC game when it comes to Garmin...

[Boyd]

Thanks! As I replied in a PM, I suspect it has to do with the fact that ALL of my line objects are custom bitmapped types. Maybe it just doesn't like bitmapped lines?

[Boyd]

That's what I get with my map as well...

[Boyd]

Yes, that thread on Garmin's site certainly shows the same problem. But since it's an issue with 3rd party maps I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for them to fix it. 

Thanks for looking into this though!

[Boyd]

Haha... I was wondering how I missed something as obvious as choosing whether to compress the map.

[Boyd]

This is getting a bit off-topic, but I started wondering how my map would display with Garmin's laptop software - Mobile PC. I downloaded and installed the current version from Garmin. If you unpack the update file and run main.msi, the program will install. When starting Mobile PC, tell the software that you purchased the version that included the GPS, and it will now run in demo mode (with no GPS).

Unfortunately, it totally mangles my custom types and isn't even usable. Too bad. But this led me to have a look at nRoute, which Garmin has discontinued and even removed from their servers. Luckily, Perry still has it in his Garmin archive here: http://gawisp.com/perry/nroute/

The newest version (2.76) installed without issue under Vista 64. All I can say is "wow!" I never looked at this program before, but it is very cool. It provides the nicest rendering I've seen of my map with all its custom types. The rendering is almost identical to what I see on my Oregon screen. New versions of Mapsource are a bit too anti-aliased for my own taste... this may look good with garmin's own maps, but it makes my own style look a little "soft". nRoute just renders everything pixel-for-pixel, which is exactly what I like. I haven't tried this with a gps yet, but will soon.

On a netbook, this could be a really nice way to get a big screen GPS with all the bells and whistles for a reasonable price.