Automation of routable maps

[glendeni]

I want to note that I've found that it possible to automate the process of creating routable Garmin-format map files (both an .img file for direct GPS installation and a Windows-executable for MapSource installation) by using the OSM compiler.  And in particular it is possible to do this on a Linux box.  This may encourage others to do likewise.

Previously I'd been producing the Garmin-format files by having to manually run several different programs on a Windows box (namely cGPSmapper, GMapTool, MapSetToolkit, and NSIS) and since several of those are GUI based automation was not possible.  I actually got started using the OSM compiler because for some reason my latest .mp file produces a Windows "Access Violation" error with cGPSmapper (it was working fine until a month ago), but runs ok with the OSM compiler.  I then discovered that both the OSM compiler and NSIS will work on a Linux box, and with a little more (OK, actually a lot more) work I could automate the complete process.  Since I produce 9 different Garmin-format map files (I have variants which provide 3 different icon/line size options for the user, and "with topo" and "sans topo" versions), doing this manually was a pain in the butt so I found myself doing the updating only every 3-4 months.

For my "Big Sur Trail Map" (http://bigsurtrailmap.net) I use GPX data to create multiple map formats: an on-line browser-displayable map, a Google-Earth-format file for downloading, printable PDF maps, and the aforementioned Garmin-format files.  Now I simply have to make a change in the GPX line or point file and the result is propagated into all the maps (nightly for the on-line and Google-Earth maps, weekly for the PDF and Garmin maps).  Changes are needed surprisingly often, since I continue to find unofficial "use trails", the official trails get created and/or re-routed, etc..

[popej]

I don't know what is your work flow, but I'm surprised, that you need GUI programs for cgpsmapper.

There is command line version of GMapTool and even as a native linux version.

MapSetToolKit could be used as GUI interface for cgpsmapper but if you don't want GUI, then simply run cgpsmapper and cpreview directly.

On the other side, I don't think mkgmap has reliable support for routing, I still can observe this problem:
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Mkgmap/known_issues#Routing_over_tile_boundaries_is_broken_in_Mapsource.2FBasecamp

[glendeni]

I did not know it was possible to create a MapSource file using cpreview so had been using a GUI program.  But bottom line for me is that I cannot use cGPSmapper since it is broken for my .mp file, as described in my original post.

[popej]

Cgpsmapper has some quirks, crashes happen. Sometimes I can trace problem up to single object. Sometimes I split map differently and then it works.