Alerting Shaping points vs. Via points?

[danham]

Two observations. First, in the Mac version of BC, the menu choice to change a Via to a Shaping point says the following: "Don't Alert on Arrival (shaping point)." The words in parentheses in that drop-down menu make it clear you are changing its status entirely.

Second, at least on a Mac, this is incorrect: "Then I go through and set each point that I want to be a Via back to alert on Arrival. These have to be done individually - you cannot multiselect items that are not adjacent in the list." Pressing the Apple (Command) key allows selecting non-contiguous items in lots of situations, including in BC. There may be a Windows equivalent.

-dan

[lkraus]

Second, at least on a Mac, this is incorrect: "Then I go through and set each point that I want to be a Via back to alert on Arrival. These have to be done individually - you cannot multiselect items that are not adjacent in the list." Pressing the Apple (Command) key allows selecting non-contiguous items in lots of situations, including in BC. There may be a Windows equivalent.

-dan

John had it right, for Windows Basecamp.
In every other Windows program I've used, non-adjacent items can be added or removed from a selection with the use of the CTRL key.

[Peobody]

Thanks Guys,

I spent about forty-five minutes drafting post but lost it when I tried to post it due to having been logged out. Apparently, typing and editing is not recognized as activity so the login times out. This can't apply to every forum member though considering the length of some of the posts.

Anyways, my takeaways are
- A "shaping point" is not always non-alerting. The term "Shaping" is used to refer to the black dot points created by a route drag or the Insert tool. These points can be alerting or non-alerting so I must now take care in defining any use of the term "shaping point" as alerting or not.
- Points created with a route drag and the Insert tool are not always created as non-alerting as I had expected.

Returning to my roots of creating roots only with the New Waypoint tool and POIs is real appealing right now.

[jfheath]

Thanks Guys,

I spent about forty-five minutes drafting post but lost it when I tried to post it due to having been logged out. Apparently, typing and editing is not recognized as activity so the login times out. This can't apply to every forum member though considering the length of some of the posts.

login.jpg (12.01 KiB) Viewed 2883 times

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Next time you log in, pause and click the 'Remember Me' box - before pressing Login.
That will stop it from logging out.

But the data entry form into which you type your repsonse, will still time out.

If it does, then tap the preview button. You may need to do it twice.
After that, you can submit you reply without losing anything.

The same applies when adding a picture - if the form has timed out when you add a picture, it will put an error symbol alongside the picture row.
Tap preview to reestabalish the connection. You may need to do it twice, and upload the picture again.

[jfheath]

Anyways, my takeaways are
- A "shaping point" is not always non-alerting.

Yes it is. A shaping point is always a non-alerting route point. A Via Point always alerts.

The term "Shaping" is used to refer to the black dot points created by a route drag or the Insert tool.

This assumption is what I think may be what is causing your issues. Because it is not entirely correct. When you use the Route tool or the insert tool to place a point, you are placing a route point. I have often seen it mentioned as shaping a route. But that hasn't come from Garmin. Check the Garmin manual and search for 'shaping'. (See later.)

But your statement is not completely correct, although I think I know where it has come from.

When you use the route or insert tool you are dragging a line and 'plonking' it on the page. Excuse the highly technical language.
Where it lands is anybodies guess. Hopefully exactly where it was when you clciked the mouse button, but not necessarily. If there is a known location on the map - even if it isn't visible with your level of zoom and level of detail - it will probably 'snap' the point to that location, and use the name that is associated with that point.
If you also plonk the point directly onto a known town, village or attraction - it will adopt the name from the map.

If it does, then the point will have an icon: - a shopping basket, knife and fork, green circle, large green circle, etc.
If it doesn't it may still have an icon.
But it often it has landed somewhere unknown and will have a small black dot, as you said. Or sometimes a slightly larger square dot. For roads it adopts the road name. eg A7.

Usually, if it has an icon it has a known name and it is placed (initially) as a Via Point (alerting)
Green circles are villages, towns or cities.
If it is a small dot it is often a road name and it is placed (initially) as a shaping point (non-alerting).
I cannot make it produce a black square and I can't rememebr what that means.

So you are correct in saying that those tools create the black dots (shaping points), but they will also So those two tools do not place just shaping points. It depends where you plonk the point !

In any case - any point no matter how it was created can be set to be either a Via Point or a Shaping Point.

Via Points always alart on approach and on arrival - and they have other properties within a route. They mark the start end end of a route section, and they contain information about distances and travel time for that section.

Shaping points never alert on arrival. Garmin doesn't have a collective noun for route points of any type - when it doesn't matter. So I call them "route points". The terms "waypoint", "shaping point" and "via point" have a more specific meaning.

Via Points always alert
Shaping Points never alert
Waypoints are points that are created and saved beforehand, and may be included in a route - but can just be used to mark a spot.
In a route, a Waypoint has to be set as either a Via Point or as a Shaping Point.

The only times that 'Shaping' is mentioned by Garmin (that I have found) are:

• In the Route Properties dialog box, where all of the route points are listed. You can right click on any point that is in bold, and it will offer in the pop-up menu "Don't Alert on Arrival (shaping point)".
• In the Edit Options Device transfer. One option is to 'Strip shaping points from routes on transfer to device". If you select this, then the route remains intact, but all of the non alerting points (the Shaping Points) are removed. Only the ones set to alert remain (the Via Points).
• On the Zumo Edit route facility, you can tap on a Via Point flag and it will ask if you want to 'Change it to a Shaping Point'