BC Quicky Introductory Videos

[jfheath]

There's a lot of good stuff in the parent thread (Garmin Basecamp for PC). I don't wish to duplicate, but what I have never seen is something that tries to get a simple point across in just a couple of minutes. And it is often the simple stuff that is the stumbling block to making progress with programs like Basecamp.

So I have created a few short videos which address some of the basic How-To's. They are stand-alone, and each one is less than 3 minutes long.

They do form a sequence and for newcomers they are probably best viewed in order - so I have put them into a playlist. I think that means that when one finishes, the next one will start automatically - so I have deliberately chosen not to embed them on this page. The link will take you to the appropriate video. It will open a new tab to YouTube, and the list of the other 5 videos will be shown on the YouTube page.

If the video isn't very clear, make it full screen. Click the gear icon and choose a higher resolution. It was created at 1280x720 so it should display well on most screens. 720p should be perfectly clear - although sometimes they take about 10 seconds to come into focus. I don't know why that is.

So here are the 6 very short videos - All are less than 3 minutes - They describe and show the basics of creating routes in Basecamp.

Video 1 - 2:36 - Set up Basecamp ready for use.
Video 2 - 1:51 - Create a very simple point to point route with the route tool.
Video 3 - 2:15 - Create a Multipoint Route in Basceamp.
Video 4 - 2:50 - Use the Insert Tool to Modify a Route in Basecamp
Video 5 - 2:23 - Create Waypoints
Video 6 - 2:21 - Create a route from saved Waypoints

If when clicking the New Route icon in the toolbar, you get a pop-up box like the one below. Just click the cross to close it. For some reason, mine no longer shows that when I select the New Route Tool from the menu bar.

[Peobody]

Well done John! You did a great job of identifying and then demonstrating some basic concepts.

[sussamb]

Interesting that when you click on the Route icon the New Route dialogue box doesn't open. Did you at some stage select the option to close it?

[jfheath]

Interesting that when you click on the Route icon the New Route dialogue box doesn't open. Did you at some stage select the option to close it?

Hmmm. Funny I was wondering if I was going to have to explain what to do with that - it was really annoying. I don't know when it stopped popping up, and I had forgotten about it. I see it if I select Edit / Create Route... - but not if I click the New Route button.

I can't find anything that I have changed. Version 4.7.4 which it has had for ages.

Thank you. I have put a reference to it in the first post.

[lkraus]

I think that with a new installation that dialog box initially appears by default (using the toolbar or File>New>Route), with a checkbox that says something like "Don't show again." I don't know of any way to turn it back on, nor any reason to do so.

With "quicky" videos like this it must be hard to decide what to include and what to leave out. Watching them, I was constantly thinking of all the fine-tuning details. I thought for sure you would have shown the shortcut to verify that points were properly on the road. Still, you showed that Basecamp can create and modify a new route just as easily as something like Google Maps.

[jfheath]

With "quicky" videos like this it must be hard to decide what to include and what to leave out. Watching them, I was constantly thinking of all the fine-tuning details. I thought for sure you would have shown the shortcut to verify that points were properly on the road. Still, you showed that Basecamp can create and modify a new route just as easily as something like Google Maps.

Thanks @lkraus Yes, it was a bit of a dilemma. I had a lot of attempts at each video and after each one I had to remind myself about what I was trying to achieve, because I kept adding unnecessary detail ! So I decided to focus on:

• Address just the basic features that (I think) are absolutely necessary to create a route in Basecamp.
• One video, one feature.
• Keep each video short and punchy. No more then 3 minutes. Try for 2 minutes.
• Make each video stand alone, but follow a logical sequence.

I played each one back and assessed it. I was able to edit some, others I had to re-take a few times. The 'Centre Map' feature was one feature that I had recorded, but decided to leave it out - as it is not absolutely necessary to create a route. It is to do with what I think of as the next stage of refining a route - which you have to do with any mapping software. BC has the excellent tool for making it easy, It isn't one of the stumbling blocks that make people walk away from BC at first attempt. In the same way that I didn't cover the reasons behind choosing to set route points as via or shaping, or the best position to place a route point, or the reason for selecting waypoints rather than 'ad-hoc' points.

I've already got videos of these. They explain things in great detail, but they are far too detailed and long to convince anyone to give Basecamp a proper try. I have already created other resources for the detailed stuff. They are not professional productions, they are probably too long and need editing. I thought I'd try a different tack.

PDF: Zumo 590/595 - What the Manuals Do Not Tell. Link Here'

Playlist : 12 videos to accompany the above document. Playlist Link

Playlist: Trouble Free Routing with BC - 8 videos of BC, 5 showing XT. Playlist link

I may revisit some of my earlier videos and adopt the Quicky Video approach.

[wks]

Hi all hope everyone is well. Can we make this a sticky or put the links in a thread on there own and make that a sticky. For those of us who have trouble remembering. These are great for reference.

[jfheath]

Hi all hope everyone is well. Can we make this a sticky or put the links in a thread on there own and make that a sticky. For those of us who have trouble remembering. These are great for reference.

Good thought - I'll find the best place to put it, and let you know where it is located.