How can we make objects of the third level of detail on our map visible. Navigator at a scale of 8 km, but not displayed at all before that? Very simple! Choose from the values of the drop-down field "Bits" option "18 (5km-8km)" - from 5km to 8km. If we create only one such level and set the specified value for it, then it will be visible . Navigator starting from the 8km scale to the lowest possible one. It seems convenient - I made one level, set the scale to 12km or 20km, and you can always see the entire map. Despite its apparent convenience, this option is fraught with some dangers. We'll talk about them later.
Now let's set up the second level of detail. We do the same, but set the range to "21 (800m to 1.2 km)". In this way, we have limited the visibility of objects of the third level of detail to 2 km, after which there is a scale of 1.2 km, and, accordingly, they are no longer displayed in Navigator and objects located on the second level appear. For the very first level, set the scale to "23 (200m to 300m)". This will limit the display of the second level to 500m and display the first level starting from 300m to the maximum zoom level. Garmin navigators usually have Garmin maximum zoom of 5 meters.
Now let's pay attention to the level of detail that we always keep clean -Level3. Its scale, as you probably already guessed, should be smaller than the previous one. Therefore, we will set it equal to 17 (12 km).
Bounds
This window displays the coordinates of the rectangle that all objects on our map fall into. In this case, all objects created by us are considered objects, as well as attached objects - points, tracks, and raster maps.

 

 

 

Statistics

The statistics window contains information about all the objects you created, including points, lines, and polygons. For example, in this case, you can see that there are 7 POI points, 200 lines, and 2220 polygons on the map. There are a total of 2,427 places on the map.

There are also statistics about the road graph. A road graph is created to implement the automatic route guidance function. It is described in another article.

In the lower By types window, you can see more detailed information about existing objects. Here you can find a summary of the types and number of map items and statistics on the road graph. Let's look at what information is available here. Code defines the icon and numeric code of the object. The Kind type shows one of three types of objects: point, line, and polygon. Name Description - the name defined by the object code for this object. There are many objects that represent everything, starting with simple ones-roads, cities, bridges, buildings, and ending with unique ones - the exit to the toilet, shipwreck, golf course, military base, etc. The choice for designating different objects according to rough estimates is no less than 150-200. The richest collection of types from universal. Then there is the Count object counter, which shows how many objects with the same code exist on the map. The last field shows the size of objects.

Source
The source code window shows us all data about the map header in "Polish format". Always save all your maps in this format (File-Save As... тип the Polish format *.mp, *.txt type). This is very important! All other formats are final and are not intended for data correction. Only a map saved in Polish format can be considered the" source code " of the map.

Extras
In this tab, you can create and edit additional commands in the Polish format. In 99.9% of cases, this feature is not required. It should be emphasized that GPSMapEdit does not erase commands that are unknown to it. Therefore, for professionals, this window can be useful in some cases.

This completes the preliminary setup of our future map and consideration of its main properties. However, we still have to configure some features of the program itself. This operation won't take us long. In order to go to these settings, select Tools - Options in the main window of the program Options. (Settings).

CONFIGURING THE PROGRAM

 Edit
In the program settings window, we can choose the cursor behavior, the color of new objects, and the line width for the objects that the map will be created for.

Configuring the cursor behavior consists in selecting two options: move along the Snap to grid generalization grid and Stick to the nearest nodes (Stick to neigh bours neighbors). I advise you to check the boxes in the last selection field. The generalization grid divides the map field into rectangular sections of a certain size. This results in a grid. The cursor can only move along the intersections of this grid. It's small enough that it doesn't interfere with creating complex objects. The size of this grid depends on the scale of the current level of detail - the smaller the scale, the larger the grid pitch. However, it is not always necessary for the program itself to simplify the shape of objects for the generalization grid.
The sticking effect is more necessary. A simple example is that you drew a road with a line, and on one side of it there is an intersection with another road. It is almost impossible to get exactly on the road line, but if the "stick" function is set, the cursor will automatically drag itself to the nearest node, and connecting roads will be much easier.
With the color of the new objects and the line width, everything is clear. The gray color is neutral and usually clearly visible, and the width is also optimal. Usually everything stays as it is.
The choice of navigator types repeats the set discussed above.
The last option is to select the function of the Shift and Ctrl buttons. The method of multiple and selective selection of objects is configured. Here, everyone sets up as they are more familiar with. 

View of the workspace, objects, and tracks View.
Pay attention to these settings, as they can also help you get a better understanding of the map and, especially, when creating intersecting or nested objects.

The first item (Map background color) allows us to select the background color of the workspace. If you don't like the default white color, then choose the one that suits you best.
Next (Transparent polygons view) is a very interesting setting item-choosing the appearance of transparent polygons. They are normally filled in with a certain color type and opaque. There is a switch that switches these objects to transparency mode. There are two types of transparency. They are conventionally shown in small drawings opposite their selection. As you can see, the first option provides, in addition to displaying the edge line of the polygon, also filling it with a grid. The second option is already without a grid - only a line around the perimeter. Experiment and decide what works best for you. I would like to add that you will most likely have to switch this mode periodically, depending on the complexity and composition of objects, to achieve a better perception.
 The Tracks and Routes selection items allow us to choose the color and thickness for the uploaded tracks and routes. There are no difficulties here. I'll just say that tracks are loaded by default in the color that was assigned to them in OziExplorer.
The Map info tips selection items allow you to determine what information about an object will be displayed when you hover over it. You can display information about the item type, street name, city, zip code, phone number assigned to this item, as well as a comment on it.

Units of measurement
In this window, we will be offered a choice of units for measuring distances and, heights and depths azimuth, and areas. The last choice is the representation of latitude and longitude coordinates. Choose what you like best.

MENU SYSTEM AND TOOLS
The menu system in this program is no different from the system that you have to work with every day in completely different programs. This circumstance can be unequivocally assessed as positive. Therefore, we will immediately begin to get acquainted with the tools or commands that are executed after selecting a menu item.
Edit
I think there is no need to comment on this menu item. However, as well as the help point. All the commands in them are completely standard and are found in the vast majority of programs. Icons for all major commands are also standard. I will note only one command from the "Edit" item:
Select -There are seven options for selecting map objects: all objects, all tracks, all waypoints, all routes, all bitmap maps, all attached ones, and objects by type. If the first six selections are usually made to remove unnecessary attached objects, then the last one is used when you need to select only certain types of objects from the set of map objects. The selection window that appears after selecting this item allows you to determine the type of object (point, line, polygon) and data about the properties of the object (road, lake, lighthouse, etc.). Only those objects that are actually present on the map are available.
Map View
This menu item contains more specific commands, so let's take a closer look at them.

Zoom In / Zoom Out  Icons - 🔍Used for zooming the map. Here you should keep in mind the  limitations of this operation.

Scale.  Icon with a list of -. The command is identical to the previous one. The only difference is that you can immediately select a fixed scale from the drop-down list. Sometimes this is necessary to quickly switch from close-up to small-scale and back.

 

Full map. All objects on the map, including attached ones, are placed within the borders of the program window. Here you should note the fact that the program has one caveat - it does not update data about the area occupied by objects on the map. In other words, if you uploaded a track or points that are significantly removed from the linked map to the map, you will see them all in the window (and this is correct), but if you delete these attached tracks or points, then later using this command the program will again show everything in the old scale without taking into account the deleted objects.

 

Levels. The concept of detail levels and how they are formed were described in detail at the beginning of the article. This menu item allows you to select which of the map levels will be displayed in the program window. However, there is an option for automatic switching based on the parameters of their visibility at user-defined scales, or explicitly specifying the visibility of a particular layer, regardless of the current map scale. At the same time, keep in mind that the newly created object will be located at the level that is currently visible.

Show mini-map. The ability to display a mini -map is often useful for determining and controlling your current position on the map. In addition, you can quickly navigate using the capabilities of the minimap. To do this, simply move the cursor in the mini -map window to the area of interest on the map and click on it with the mouse. It should be noted that the mini -map window shows the same problems as with the "Full map" command.

Show Ruler Icon -. The scale ruler is an auxiliary tool that allows you to see the current map scale and approximate distances on the map.

Show Grid Icon -.  The same auxiliary tool. Serves as a rough estimate of the current map coordinates. More accurate data can be obtained in the map properties information window. Remember that the grid in GPSMapEdit is displayed in datum the WGS84 datum, and scanned maps usually have a grid in the Pulkovo42 datum, so in these cases there will be some displacement between them.

Show Labels. Icon - ab. It is used in cases when item names interfere with viewing certain sections of the map, or in other cases when their display is not required.

Transparent Polygons Icon -. This command is used if any polygon covers the required part of the raster map that is necessary for further work. For example, a polygon marking a lake completely covers an island. We discussed the options for displaying transparent polygons in the first part of the article.

Show Routing Nodes Icon -. .Road graph data is required for creating maps with automatic routing or routing. When this display mode is enabled, routing nodes become visible routing. They can have different colors and sizes: yellow means that two roads meet at this point, green - three, purple - four or more. The increased size of the node indicates that it is external, i.e. it is intended to be connected to another map in the atlas.

Show Road Classes. Icon -. . Each road must have its own weight or priority when creating a road graph. It is this priority that can be shown when you enable this feature. The priority will be shown in the appropriate color and thickness of the road line. For more information, see the article about creating maps with the ability to set routes automatically.

 Show Numbers along Roads. This menu item is only available for maps for Garmin. The fact is that Garmin does not have as such address information that can be assigned to a specific house as an address. Instead, virtual house numbering is implemented. In this case, the numbering is indicated in the nodes of the street line. If the nodes are located at the intersection of streets, then enter the ranges of house numbers that belong to this segment of the street. The numbering is separate for the left side of the street and for the right side. In the universal type, address information can be assigned directly to an object.

Show Attachments.Icon -. . Use this command when you want to see only the objects you created. It provides the most objective information about how the map will look at a given level of detail in your app. All attached files, including the bitmap, all points and tracks, will be hidden.

Download maps from the GoogleMaps service (Show Google Maps). Icon -G. The GPSMapEdit program allows you to download satellite images directly from the popular Google Maps/ BING/ ESRI/ HERE/ OSM service when correcting a map

GPS tracking Icon -. . This feature may be useful for laptop owners. The router is a window with some current navigator readings - the number of visible satellites, coordinates, speed, and altitude. It can be used to control the display of the current position on the map and record a track.

List of Waypoints, Tracks, Routes-opens a window with information about attached files. Data is only available for waypoints, tracks, and routes.

 Attachments. The Attached Files window allows you to view, select, display on the map, hide, and display files attached to the map.

 Refresh. If you see that the objects you created on the map are not located in the appropriate order relative to each other, then try using this command. The rules for displaying map items will be discussed below.

 Go to position... (ctrl+G). This command allows you to move to a specific point on the map. The new position is set explicitly by specifying longitude and latitude.

Definition for object types

In the text of this article, we constantly operate with objects of various types - points, lines, polygons. And although you probably already understand what each of them is, it still won't be superfluous to give a definition for each of them. This will allow us to more accurately represent its internal representation in Polish format.

Point (POI)- this type of object consists essentially of a single node that has coordinates. But since this node is considered an object, it has all the properties inherent in the object - name, type, and so on.

Polyline -as a line or curve consisting of separate straight lines connected by nodes. It is described by the coordinates of these nodes. The line is always open, even if the start and end nodes have the same coordinates.

Polygon - an area item that fits within the boundaries defined by a closed line. All the space inside this line is the same object. The boundaries of this object define the coordinates of the nodes of this closed line.

It won't be superfluous to define a node as well:

Node- a point that has its own coordinates. Not to be confused with the "Point" object, since a node has no properties other than coordinates. In the " Polyline " and " Polygon " objects, it serves as a link between straight lines that define the shape of these objects.

From these definitions, you should understand that the more nodes we have in objects of the " Polyline" and " Polygon" types, the more accurately and in more detail, we will be able to describe the shape of these objects.

 

Generalize

In the process of manually creating objects, "unnecessary" nodes often appear. As an example, you can give an ordinary straight line. The best way to describe it is to use two nodes - one at the beginning and one at the end. If there are other nodes in it, then they are superfluous as they do not determine the shape. The same applies to the required accuracy of describing the object shape based on the current level of detail. If at a scale of 5 km, Navigator will draw details that are visible only at a scale of 50 m, then this will also be superfluous. 

Thus, Generalize is used to remove" extra " nodes based on the shape of the current object and the scale of the detail layer in which it is located. This allows you to display the map faster in Navigator and save memory.

 

Object allocation procedure

Before we start creating our map, we need to understand how objects are placed on it. When working with graphic objects in programs such as Adobe Photoshop, and Corel DRAW, we always had the choice of determining the display level for each object on the sheet. In other words, we could always clearly assign which of the objects is higher than the other, and which is lower. Unfortunately, you can't set such conditions in the Polish format. Therefore, there are general rules for the sequence of layer-by-layer display of vector objects when creating them and converting them to the final format. You need to know these conditions so that you don't have to complain later about the incorrect representation of individual data in the app, or even about their complete absence. There are very few of these conditions, but they are extremely important. I will list them:

1. The topmost level is always occupied by points,

2. Lines are displayed after the dots.

3. At the very bottom are polygons. 

If everything is quite simple with the first two points, then you need to understand polygons in more detail. Since there are usually quite a lot of polygons on the map, there is always a situation when they overlap and overlap each other. How will they be displayed in this case? We can definitely say the following: an object that is completely nested in another one and, accordingly, is smaller in area, is always drawn on top of the object in which it is nested. It can also be considered a rule when two objects intersect and the smaller one remains at the top.

To prevent anything unexpected from happening, avoid embedding or overlapping one polygon with another. I'll tell you how to do this in the section on working with polygons. 

 

WORKING WITH TOOLS 

 

Creating points and their properties

Let's check if everything is ready. The map file is loaded and the map header properties are set. After that, the map containing only the title is saved under some name in Polish format (File - Save as... - Polish format) to the hard disk. Everything, it seems. Let's get started!

 

We'll be the first to create points. As mentioned above, they will always be in the top layer of the map, and we will see them in any case.

The first point will be created at the height mark with the data "69". It is located in the upper right quarter of the map. I advise you to slightly approximate (Z) this area to ensure maximum "accuracy of hitting the target". To create a point, select the appropriate tool. Click on the icon ⭶ with the drop-down menu and select "Point "in it. The same effect can be obtained by pressing the "C" shortcut key several times. at the same time, the types of objects being created are cyclically searched. After that, the cursor will look like this - 🚩. Now put the center of the target in the middle of the height marker on the map and click with the left mouse button. Immediately after that, a window will appear in front of us to select the type of our first object.

As we scroll through the column and learn more about the number of types that can be set for points, we'll choose the "Height label (in integers)"type. Its code is 0x6300. Confirm the selection by clicking "OK". In fact, you can choose any type of object. Usually, the types with the most appropriate icon are selected. However, not all points in the app will look the same as in the program window. In the near future, I want to create a table and show how different types of points are displayed in the eTrex Legend and eTrex Vista navigators, etc.
After that, the type selection window disappears, and we see an empty field for entering a name next to our new point. Since this is a height marker, its name will correspond to the value indicated on the map - 69m.

Later, when we upload the map to the app, we will always be able to see its name, which means we will always know what height this mark corresponds to. It will be the same for all map items. If the item has a name, it will be present on the map along with the item.

Now let's imagine that we needed to change something in the properties of an already created point. To do this, select the object selection tool- ↖or (S). Then you can proceed in different ways. The easiest way is to double-click on the point whose properties we want to change. In the window that opens, we can see and change all the properties of this point - type and name. In addition, if necessary, we can enter a comment for this point. As a keepsake, so to speak.

In addition, there is additional information for this map item. There are no special difficulties here. These windows are most often used as information windows. Whenever possible, but not in this article, I will describe some of the additional features when describing object properties. However, they don't apply to points. I would like to note that in the window showing data about the "Source" object, the correct information, i.e. the description of the object in Polish format, will appear only after saving the map with the already created object.

Another way to change properties will allow you to go straight to the window for changing either the name or type. To do this, select (S) an object, right-click on it, and in the "Modify" drop-down menu, select the desired line - name (Label) or Type. After that, you will be taken to one of the windows for changing these parameters. But in my opinion, the first option is easier and faster.

Moving our points around the map is not difficult. Select (S) a point and drag it to a new location.  Everything!

Now let's continue creating the remaining points. To do this, you can zoom out of the map (Z) or immediately drag (D) or right mouse button) the map to a new point. Then the creation process is repeated. I'll add a few more points to demonstrate. Let these be points for crossing the stream, parking lots, and huts. Here is a part of the map with an almost transparent raster map for clarity.

Here, elevation points do not contain names, but only have an ordinal number. This is a specific feature of height points. All other points are visible with the names that I set for them. For clarity, I have assigned the icon " golf " for crossing a stream –Perehod / cross, "Camping " for a place of rest- Koster/ fire, and "Museum" for a hut- Izba / cottage. You can also choose a custom type for your objects. In the future, I will change the height points to the type of any locality. That way I can see them better.

This is the end of the point section. It should be noted that the principles of creating and editing objects are basically the same, so in the following chapters, so as not to repeat myself, I will skip some of the details that we have already discussed.

 

Creating lines and their properties

Working with lines is already more interesting. Let's try creating a railway on our map.

Before we start, make sure that we are on the most detailed layer and that the map zoom allows us to see all the details of the area we need to draw. To create a line, select the appropriate tool. To do this, select "Polyline" from the drop-down menu. The cursor will look like this -.

Put the crosshair at the beginning of the line, click the left mouse button and move the cursor slightly. We can see that a node has formed in the place where we placed the cursor before clicking the mouse, but a straight line runs behind the cursor from this node. All we need now is to accurately circle the railway line by clicking the mouse button at the bend points. If the entire line doesn't fit in the window, just move the cursor to the scroll bars, slide where you want, and continue creating. You can use the scroll wheel on the mouse. When everything is done, you need to press "Enter". After that, the object type selection window will appear. In appearance, it seems that everything in this window is the same as in the type selection window for objects of the "Point" type. But if you pay attention to the types themselves, you will find that they have been completely updated - lines and dots should represent different objects. Now select the appropriate type, for example, "Highway main" and give a name to the new item. Temporarily disable the display of attached objects and see what you've got. 

Now it's time to take a closer look at the node management tool -. Let's select (M) it and mark our new object. After that, all its nodes will be visible. You can adjust the nodes as follows. After selecting an object, each visible node can be moved randomly with the mouse. If you move the cursor to the space between nodes and click the right mouse button, you can see the action selection field:

These items mean:

Add a node at the specified location (Add point here). No comments.

Change the direction of the points (Reverse points). It is used if the object's properties specify a direction for it. It is used in objects of the river, stream, or road type. I do not know the real benefits of using this feature. Apparently, this is for other navigators who can choose the route of movement along the streets of cities.

Generalize points. See above.

Points properties. No comments.

If you right-click the bears on the node itself, we see a slightly different selection:

Here are two new items:

Delete points. We are talking about a dedicated node.

Split polyline. The selected line is divided into two parts at the location where the specified node is located. After that, two separate objects of the same type are formed.

You can perform the reverse operation - merge - by selecting the object selection tool (S), selecting two or more lines, right-clicking, and selecting theю выбрать операцию Join objects operation in the menu that appears. This also applies to polygons.

Now you can finish all the remaining line objects. Let's see what happened. Only the enlarged fragment is shown here.

Creating polygons

You should start by creating the smallest objects in terms of area. This is so that large polygons do not overlap the underlying details of the raster map. Select the polygon creation tool - then "Polygon". Now the cursor is like this -. Creating polygons is almost exactly the same as creating lines. The only difference is that the line defining the polygon boundaries is closed to the initial node. All operations for defining types, names, and other properties are similar in many ways, to say the least. Just want to say that it is better to create large polygons in parts, and then combine them.

In my opinion, everything here is determined by practice. Each time, you will be able to determine the sequence of creating polygons more accurately and correctly, taking into account their location relative to each other. Now I would like to focus on the most important question - how to exclude overlapping and nesting of objects. For clarity, let's analyze a forest area with a lake. For example, like this:

First of all, we will draw two large polygons - a woodland and a swamp. The edges of these items are marked on the map with a certain margin of error. The refore, in this case, small overlaps are quite acceptable.

Enabling polygon transparency (T). Creating a lake. We apply node optimization. This is necessary so that in the future we will not have gaps at the edges. And since optimization is most likely to be performed in one way or another, it is better if it happens at this stage.

Now the lake lies on top of the forest area and is a nested object. This does not suit us in any way. To avoid this, follow exactly what I describe below. At the beginning, select the lake and copy it to the clipboard. Let it remain there for now. Then first select the forest area and hold down Shift to select our lake. Both objects will be selected. Right - click on them and select «Join objects" in the selection field objects. You will get a "hole".

If you select a lake first, and then an array, you will get the same result, but the object type will change to the one that we selected first. You'll have to change it to the original one. 

After all this, we will only need to paste our lake back from the clipboard. 

It will turn out the same as in the previous picture with the lake. However, in the latter case, we no longer have nested objects. This option will be displayed correctly in any case, even in the most unfavorable one. The method described above is quite simple and versatile.

As a result of our work, a vector map similar to this one should appear on a raster basis:

Here, surprisingly, I want to finish describing the process of creating objects. Don't be embarrassed if something becomes unclear to you. Only those who don't do anything don't have any questions. I have tried to give only the basics of this process. I believe that a person who understands the general methodology of this process will determine for himself how to organize the process itself, what exactly and in what sequence he needs to do to achieve a satisfactory result. 

 

Distribution of objects by layers (for Garmin)

It's time to remember that everything. what we have just done is located in only one, the lowest, layer. The first layer (Level0) is fully decorated. Now our task will be to distribute objects in layers. To make sure that the second layer is empty, just select it in the "View - Levels" menu or

As we agreed at the very beginning, we have only two layers. Before we start, let's define for ourselves what exactly will be visible in the second layer. There is no point in transferring all objects from the first one to the second one. At the scale at which it will be visible, it is enough to roughly estimate its current position to choose the direction of movement. Therefore, we copy only our points (without heights), a railway, a forest area with swamps, large lakes, a river, and a locality. Accordingly, small lakes, elevation data, isobaths, and clearings will disappear. 

In fact, you can independently draw whatever you want in different layers. It's like two separate sheets of paper - you can draw a circle on one, and a square on the other. Everything is in your hands. However, as a rule, layers are created based on the same terrain map. Therefore, the easiest way to copy some of the finished objects to the desired level is to draw all the objects in one layer and avoid re-creating the same one in other layers.

You can't do anything about it by simply copying and pasting it. Personally, I know three ways to distribute objects in layers. 

Let's start with the first one. Double-click on the object that will be present in both layers at the same time. The standard property editing window appears. We are currently interested in the "Elements" tab.

It contains an item for determining to which layer this object will be visible - "All elements are extended to levels up to:". In the selection field, enter the number of the layer to copy the object to. Let me remind you that the first layer has the number-0. Accordingly, the second layer will be - 1, the third-2, etc. The same effect will be achieved if we right-click on the object and select "Modify - Extend all elements up to level" in the menu that appears. And this method, in my opinion, is the best. Because this way we can select several objects of any type at once and place them on the layer we need. There is one caveat, though. With this method, when copying from the most detailed layer to a coarser one, the element is automatically optimized. It is coarsened in smaller-scale layers. This is basically necessary for lines and polygons. However, if you delete an element in one layer, it will automatically be deleted in all layers. As a rule, this is "not bad", but it is better to warn about this immediately.

The second method. In the window shown above, select the "Copy..." button. The following window will appear:

Note the levels at which our object should be visible. As a rule, map creation starts at the very first level. Therefore, in this case, there is no need to mark the first layer (Level0). In this case, we only work with one object.

The third method. If you suddenly need to put all the objects on another layer at once, you can do it as described below.

Let's say you have a map with two active layers (three in total: Level0=22, Level1=20, Level3=17 (empty)). You draw everything in the first layer (Level0=22). You are saved. Then (via "Save as", add, let's say Level1) create a second file with a different name. Go to "File-Map properties-Levels" and add a layer. Assign it the parameter Level0=22. Your map layer automatically became the second layer (Level1). Assign it the parameter Level1=20. Remove the penultimate layer because it is superfluous. You are saved. Then use "File-Add" to add your first file and get a file with the map in two full layers.

Here are two drawings with what I got. The first with the first layer, the second with the second.

Now it's time to convert our map using cGPSMapper (File-Export - Garmin IMG/cGPSMapper), upload the resulting map to the GPS navigator using MapSend and see how it looks there.