Trying to make map for mapquest from GIS files

[towpro]

I am learning a lot from everyone on this site, but I need help with this one.  I am trying to turn the files (linked below) into a map I can use in Mapsourse.
The zip file comes with the following files.  .avl, .dbf, .prj, .sbn, sbx, .shp and .shx.
I have been able to view the .shp file and it looks like what I am looking for, but I need it in mapsourse.

It is a map of all stone roads in PA.  I need to use mapsourse to route down these dirt roads.

thanks for the help ahead of time.

http://www.dirtandgravel.psu.edu/resources/gis/unpaved_2009.zip

[Boyd]

The .shp file is what you need. But this will not produce a routable map, just a map which will display in mapsource or the GPS. You need to go through a number of steps typically to make a Garmin map and install it in mapsource. See the mapmaking tutorial on this site.

But again, that won't give you routing capability. Mapwel is supposed to release a new version with routing capability soon. Don't know how well that will work, but it can already open .shp files and turn them into a map pretty easily. Unfortunately the files it creates only work on the gps itself and not in Mapsource.

[towpro]

thanks Boyd.  It's OK if it don't route.  I keep switching back and forth between maps in mapsource already between the garmin maps and the PA topos I got here.

I checked out link to tutorials but don't see anything that jumps out and says"convert .shp to X".
sorry to sound dumb, but I don't have a clue about this one.  I must have downloaded and installed 20 different applications since I first posted this question, looking for something that works.

This is a "one shot" deal.  Once I have this shp file converted to a map for mapsource I might never need to do another one.  The converted product would make a nice addition to your free maps list

[Boyd]

The simplest way to make a garmin map from a .shp file is Mapwel: http://www.mapwel.eu/

Every other method I know requires using several different software packages. First you need to convert the .shp file to a .mp file, then you need to convert the .mp file to a .img file, which is the Garmin map format. And yet another piece of software is then needed to make it work in mapsource.

Mapwel can make the .img file all by itself, but the resulting map will only work in your GPS itself and not in mapsource.

[towpro]

thanks for the help Boyd.  I think at this point I will hope to find someone that already has the software installed and knows how to use it to convert this one set of data for me
Then later when I have the time, I can figure out how to do it myself.

[Boyd]

That is pretty cool, I had forgotten about the online compiler. I didn't realize it could generate routable maps either. 

[towpro]

Not having much luck with getting your site to work for me either.  I don't know the answers to put in the lines about names and stuff.

The original URL (below) also includes information about GIS Data Projection Information. Not sure if that info is needed so the info in the shp file gets centered correctly on PA.

Plus there is 2 sets of files. unpavedroads and worksites.  Since I can not really see the data I don't know if worksites is for roads being worked on and unpaved is something else.  The worksite.shp file is much larger then the unpaved.shp file

http://www.dirtandgravel.psu.edu/resources/gis/gis.html

[maps4gps]

GM says the worksites file is in Albers projection - they did not included a .prj file in the shapefile set. Plots on the .mp file in you post and on shapefiles.  Seams to be many disconnected segments of those two.  
cgpsmapper will not process your .mp file; error in connecting nodes and another which did not make sense to me.  I only have the free version - no route capability.  Used GM to open your .mp file and export it back out.  Somewhat different header info and no node info. Compiled fine.

Some version of cgpsmapper will accept '0x0' as a line type, others will not.  You may want to change this to some 'standard' line feature type.  Attached is the modified .mp file.

I did not see a contact email on their website.  If you could contact them, you could ask them questions on their data.

[towpro]

I have uploaded both files to that site, see my post above. When you say you can view the data, what did you mean, I thought in your first post you wrote that you could? In any case, the files have been projected correctly as per the .prj file and the source website and are typed as unpaved roads.

I installed Arcview 9.x and was able to view the unpaved road .shp file (I did not look at the worksites files).  I do not know how to use Arcview so I could not export it to something that I could "overlay" to a mapsource map that let me figure out exactly where each section of stone road was.  

Yes this file is going to show a lot of short unpaved roads that don't connect.  What we are doing is making a route through PA where we try to connect a lot of these stone roads with paved roads for a route that will be ridden by dual sport motorcycle riders.  I am doing only the PA part of a Maine to Ga route.

I wrote the person at Penn State University who's email address is on the site, but he did not respond (yet).

I downloaded the 2 files you made. I looks like the worksites file is just that, places they are working on the stone roads. The other file looks promising.  I am viewing it with mapwel, but it's only a demo version. When I looked at the section about loading it into my GPS it said something to the affect of only using it on the GPS that is registered with application or it will render the device useless and I stopped .  Can't afford to brick my GPS.

Now I need to look at what mapsforgps posted.

Thanks for the help so far guys.  This is stating to look promising.  Now I need to read more on how to convert this .mp file into one I can load into mapsource.

[towpro]

using the demo of mapwell,  when you click on the GPS icon with GPS connected, it opens a new screen. I picked memory card, then clicked on GPS and it said:

The map should only be uploaded to the unit for which it is intended.
If this map is uploaded to a GPS unit other then it is designed for, it will render the unit inoperative.
Do not operate the GPS unit during the transfer!

I guess this could also be mean don't use on the wrong kind of GPS.
I have a Nuvi 760.

[Boyd]

When you purchase mapwel you must provide your GPS unit ID number. After that, the GPS becomes sort of a "dongle" that is used to authorize your copy. The basic version will only allow files to be uploaded to that single GPS and no others. I think the author is saying that if you load a map to an unauthorized GPS, it will hang and you will have to remove the map (which could be done either via USB disk mode or sending another map with Mapsource).

Just guessing though. I have the advanced version of Mapwel which will work with any GPS. But even so, I need to connect the same GPS I registered with the program when exporting a map file because, as I said above, it behaves like a "dongle".

If you have not yet purchased Mapwel then there isn't a lot of point in sending the map to the GPS. The trial version strips out a lot of details at random, making the map pretty useless.

[towpro]

If you mean the link to mapcenter, that's not my website. It looks like they are having some issues with their site, in the meantime, Mark posted a file above that you can use.

Ok, thanks for the reply.  I thought I might have said or did something wrong.  

I have Mark's file working in mapsource.  It's strange because it has the line for the road showing the turns, but it also has a line for each road that is a point to point that runs along the same route.
Plus when I built it it had a ton of errors in the batch file.
I will keep my eye on mapcenter as well

[maps4gps]

I have Mark's file working in mapsource.  It's strange because it has the line for the road showing the turns, but it also has a line for each road that is a point to point that runs along the same route.

I have no idea what that might be about; I have never tried to do anything with routes.  I seamed Globalmapper took the routing info out of the file.  The resulting .mp file looked normal in GM, as did the .mp and .img file in gpsmapedit.

Plus when I built it it had a ton of errors in the batch file.

.  Ton of errors tells us a lot.  Built what, 'your' .mp file or the one I/GM created?   What did you need a batch file for?

I downloaded the .mp file.  cgpsmapper said there were errors.  Opened it in GM and let GM save it with defaults (and without route info).  Edited the layers, name and transparency (this is the file I sent to you so you could see what worked and easily make changes).  cgpsmapper compiled it without any errors.  Renamed the .img file to 98765432.img - MapSetToolKit needs .img files as 8 digit file names.  It MSTK you can install it to MapSource on your machine or make a preview .img file (just a polygon outline for transparent maps) and a .TDB file.  MSTK can use these two files plus the .img data file(s) to place the mapset in MapSource.  Since this is a overlay/transparent mapset, only the outline polygon will be visible in MapSource until you zoom in to the data level - 2 or 3 miles as the levels were defined in the .mp file.  I named the mapset stonerd.  Attached are the 98765432.img, stonerd.img and stonerd.tdb files.

[maps4gps]

OK

In MSTK I would check 'blank overview map'

'Type of element should not be 0' looks like a result of mp_type = '0x0'  You may remember in a previous post I mentioned that some version of cgpsmapper seem to accept this and others do not.

'Convert terminated' - this is succssful (Convert failed is failed and the overview .img and .tdb files will not be created).  Not a good choice of verbage.  I believe the author of MSTK is French.  Like Stan using 'transparent' for the Polish idea when it should be 'overlay'.  

The coarse lines look like they come from an overview map.  I have never been able to get an overview map for an overlay/transparent mapset.  


I think if you blank the overview map, the 'element should not be 0' will not occur and the coarse line will not occur in MapSource.
Consider changing the mp_type to a valid 'standard' type.  You can find these in the cgpsmapper manual if you downloaded it.  The choices are not too great; perhaps 0x0A for 'unpaved road-thin'.  You will find that a number of the mp_types will show the same on the GPSr.  You could also create a custom type - something I have never tried.

I have observed in overlay/transparent mapsets that the data may not 'turn-off' when you expect it to.  Seems to be better if an extra level is included; i.e. 23,21,19,18.17 - with the data defined on levels 23,21,19, nothing on 18, and the basemap coming on at 17.  This is nothing that I have found to be documented, just by trying changes when something was not the way I wanted - worked on the GPSr and gpsmapedit; not sure for MapSource.

[towpro]

thanks for the help.  I will try it tomorrow.