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Garmin feature type codes for "Hidden Information". Aka: Map Quad Name, TRS

Started by yogazoo, January 27, 2013, 10:46:15 PM

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yogazoo

Has anyone figured out the Garmin feature type codes for hidden information? How they work?

What I mean is that if you own a Garmin 24K product you can pointer over anywhere and view the Map Quad Name and Township Range and Section info when you click on the button of the feature your pointing over. I'm sure it's just a "hidden" feature type code. Has anyone figured these out and know what the rules of engagement are?

Thanks!

popej

You can add a label to background object in TYP file. And you can create any polygon with a label and make it transparent in TYP.

Boyd

Sounds like you are seeing exactly what popej describes. Create a transparent polygon and add a label to it. It will display the label when you "mouse over" it. I have used this technique myself.

Boyd

Thinking about this some more, I remembered that I found another technique that worked better for my application. This screenshot shows a map I made from vectorized LIDAR NED 1/9 arc second data. I wanted to show the elevation of each polygon when the user "moused over" it. So I put that elevation/slope info into the NAME of each polygon, then I defined the custom types for all the polygons to use invisible text (this should be available in the "advanced text" options using the online typ editor or typwiz).

My method of getting all this info and properly formatting it as the object name was somewhat involved, but that's another story. :) The basic principle is just to use invisible text for the name of the polygons. The polygons themselves can be either visible or invisible.

This is more versatile because each polygon can have unique text displayed. If you use the "label" method discussed above, all polygons of the same type will display the same text.


popej

Actually I was thinking about polygon label at map code, thanks for clarification.

Other trick is to create overlaying polygons at different levels. This way labels can change if you zoom out.

yogazoo

Thank you all for your input. I probably wasn't clear enough with my question. What I was after was to know is how the following Garmin polygon types work:

0x11308 - Township/Range
0x11309 - Section
0x10a07 - National Wildlife Refuge
0x10a03 - ?
0x11307 - Quad Name

The above polygon types aren't defined in the GPSMapEdit program but if you create a map with these types included they will be transparent, but when you check on another object these will list "special" info below the object name. On official Garmin 24K maps these polygon types will generate info where the Township Range, and Section info is. There are also things like county name and quad name associated with the above polygon types.

I'll do some experimenting but I'd like to add one of these polygon types to my topo maps for Montana. That way the county name won't add to the list of things when you pointer over something and you could read the info on the information screen for any feature.

yogazoo

Boyd,

So invisible text is text used to label a polygon that won't show up when "Land Cover" names are enabled on your GPS only when you mouse over??

I'm not clear of the difference between invisible text and labels. You said that all polygons using "labels" will show the same text but when I add landowners I simply choose an attribute field in the shapefile I'm importing and all the same type of poly's are labeled differently. I'm confused!

yogazoo

Quote from: yogazoo on January 30, 2013, 07:08:57 PM
0x11308 - Township/Range
0x11309 - Section
0x10a07 - National Wildlife Refuge
0x10a03 - ?
0x11307 - Quad Name

One more thing about these polygon types. The information shows up on the info screen (the white screen with elev data etc. when you select a feature your pointer is on) WHETHER THE MAPSET IS ENABLED OR NOT. Hmm. Seems like a way to potentially provide elevation data continuously. regardless of which mapset is enabled.

Boyd

I'm sorry but most of your questions don't make sense to me... I was not aware of any "special" polygon types that have properties like you describe. You may be right, but it's not something I've ever heard about before.

I use custom types for every object on my maps in order to have maximum control over appearance. I don't pay any attention to Garmin's standard types, I re-purpose them for whatever suits me.

I don't understand how information from a disabled mapset can show on the GPS, unless maybe it has the same FID as another map and is being grouped with it?

As I said, the method I used was just to make regular polygons with invisible text. You could also make the polygon itself invisible if you want, but it isn't necessary. This is how you make text invisible using the online editor at http://ati.land.cz/gps/typdecomp/editor.cgi

You have to scroll the attached image to the right in order to see the dropdown "Font Style" menu in this screenshot.



The "label" I was talking about would be set using the "strings" dropdown menu in the screenshot. Sorry, the terminology is confusing because I have seen it called by different names. But this text is shown when mousing over/clicking if the actual polygon doesn't have a name. It would be the same for every polygon of the same type.

But the "name" is unique to each polygon and is created in GlobalMapper, GPSMapEdit, or whatever software you use to create the map.

popej

Quote from: yogazoo on January 30, 2013, 07:20:13 PM
I'm not clear of the difference between invisible text and labels. You said that all polygons using "labels" will show the same text but when I add landowners I simply choose an attribute field in the shapefile I'm importing and all the same type of poly's are labeled differently. I'm confused!
Polygon is an object on a map. Each polygon can have its own name, defined as a label. In polish format this definition looks like that:

Label=Hundred Acre Wood

These are names that you will see on map.

Garmin has some predefined types like for example forest, sea or city area. These objects are shown with standard colors and text name format. There are settings in GPS, that can influence text format, like change size or disable text for some objects.

The visual property of a polygon can be changed, when using TYP file. You can define color, pattern, transparency for a polygon. And you can define text name format too. For text you can select default format, small, medium, big size or invisible. If you select invisible, then object name will be invisible on a map, but you still can see it, when pointing object with a cursor.

In TYP file you can define an object name too. This is a name, which will be used, when object has no label definition.

yogazoo

Quote from: Boyd on January 31, 2013, 05:00:20 AM
I don't understand how information from a disabled mapset can show on the GPS, unless maybe it has the same FID as another map and is being grouped with it?

Take Garmin's 24K series for example. Whether you have it enabled or not you can still view the Township, Range, and Section information when you select any object on any other mapset (like when you select something that has a name longer than can fit on the banner across the top of the map screen. You select that banner and it takes you to a white screen where you can read the full name, elevation, TRS if you have Garmin 24K). These hidden polygon types can be used in some innovative ways if someone, probably myself at some point, can experiment a little. I'm thinking about taking a DEM, converting it to a shapefile with elevations from the raster, and making an "elevation map" where users wouldn't need to purchase a garmin topo product to view the elevation since it would always be viewable in the information screen regardless of whether or not the map is enabled. One could do counties, land ownership, land cover type (from GAP analysis) and many other useful datasets. Time to experiment I guess. I was just hoping someone here would have already.

yogazoo

Boyd,

  Thanks for the detail on "labels". Wish I would have known about them four years ago. Could be handy for things like boundaries that are all "named" the same but you don't really want to see "Hunting District Boundary" text all over the screen. I'll play with the TYP editor and do some experimenting to make sure I got the particulars. Thanks again.

Boyd

Quote from: yogazoo on January 31, 2013, 08:27:00 PMI'm thinking about taking a DEM, converting it to a shapefile with elevations from the raster, and making an "elevation map" where users wouldn't need to purchase a garmin topo product to view the elevation since it would always be viewable in the information screen regardless of whether or not the map is enabled.

That is basically what I did in the example I posted above, which extends the techniques used in this map: http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/maps/view/276/ - a lengthy and meandering discussion of the techniques can be found here: http://forums.gpsfiledepot.com/index.php?topic=2579.0



But I still don't understand how what you describe works with Garmin's 24k map. I have the Northeastern 24k topo map and it doesn't behave that way. I think the whole "township/range/section" thing is something from the Southwest, have never seen that on any maps in my part of the world.  :) Maybe there's another map that is always enabled when you load the Garmin topo but it just doesn't appear in the map setup screen for some reason?

maps4gps

'In 1785 Congress drew up the basic plan for surveying the public lands/ (USGS - Maps for America).  It's use began in Ohio. 
For a nice map, see: http://www.nationalatlas.gov/articles/boundaries/a_plss.html

Boyd

Thanks.  :) It's a much more like a jigsaw puzzle here in the East.  ;)