Zumo User Forums

Hi All,
Hope you are all fine and enjoying good rides if possible.

I am planning trips with MRA and sent it to XT. I read in this forum on how to make a track visible on the map so I can track my ridings.
However, when I enter my tracks > choose the track > spanner, I cannot find on the options 'display on map' to enable it.

Is it possible to guide me how to have it.
Thank you,
Best regards,
Ibrahim

You have Explore connected to your XT. To display tracks you need to add them to a Collection and choose to display that collection.

OR

Break the connection with Explore, and then "Display on map" will become available on your spanner menu.

Thnx a lot @ikraus of your quick response and explaination.
I tried it out (via explore) but the collection was still not broken to see it on the screen for the route.
Anyway, while still trying the XT shut down and it doesn't charge through the cable. I need to charge it when it is on the bike (hopefully this week the weather might be good in Netherlands) and I try it out and do it while I am on the bike.
I will keep you posted and Thnx again.

Best regards,
Ibrahim

Hi again Ikraus,
Sorry to bother you again. I found that the XT has power if connected to power bank.
I did what was advised but in the Explore, I did collection then changed settings to black and max width.
But, in trip planner, still the option of show on map is not there.
Something strange, It is reading as a trio and not a route.

Just to mention that I exported from MRA as Gpx1. I am jew with hith MRA and XT. It is my 1st trip to plan on both and already frustrated .

Any guidance is very appreciated.

These are the pics taken.

Thank you again.
Best regards,
Ibrahim

Hi @Didos .

I think that you are getting confused between Garmin's use of words. Don't worry about that, I often think that Garmin get confused by what their words mean !

A Route is shown on the XT screen as a magenta line (light purple).
Routes can be loaded from the Trip Planner App. (Garmin started to call this the Route Planner App in the XT2)
Routes are built up a few route points (waypoints, shaping points, Via points). The XT will calculate which roads to take in order to visit each of those route points.

A Track is a line - that is drawn on the map. Rather like getting a paper map, a cloured pen and highlighting the roads that you want to take. The XT doesn't calculate anything - and you get to choose what colour is shown on the map. In your first picture, you have a TRACK loaded. It is shown on the map in black. The track doesn't do anything - it is just shown on the screen. It doesn't give you directions, and it doesn't show any route points.

The XT has a cunning little tool. IT can convert a track into a 'Trip' - that option is shown on the first picture. 'Convert to Trip'. So you are still looking at the options for the black track. If you do convert it to a trip, then the resulting trip behaves like a route. It is shown on the map as a magenta (light purple) line, and the XT will give directions. But it will not show any of the route points that you used in MRA to create the route. Some people like to use this method to create theri routes. If you attempt to edit the Trip - the XT simply calculates a route from start to finish - probably using the fastest roads.

Your very first picture in your very first post in this thread shows a menu which lists the following:
Track Options
Set Colour
Track Width
Collections
Convert to a Trip

From this, I can tell that you have got Garmin Explore Set up. It has the options for 'Collections'.
If Explore was not set up, then instead of 'Collections', it would list 'Show on Map' with a tick box.

This Page shows what the XT screen looks like if Explore is NOT set up. app.php/ZXT-P57
The next page (click Next) shows what it looks like if Explore is set up (like yours).
The next page (P59 click next) shows how to get the tracks displayed on the map. The Track has to be in a collection. Any collection. You then make the collection visible - not just the track. If you haven't create any collections, then you can add data to 'Unorganised' and make that visible on the map.

So if you have a track, a route and some waypoints all in one collection, then they will all appear on the map if the collection is ticked as being visible. They will not appear if the collection is not visible.

A Tip here. You cannot create a new collection on the XT screen. I used to have 5 spare collection set up in the Explore App. They would be sent to the XT and they were always there is I wanted to have some handy to organise my data.

-------------

MRA - for the XT1, I suggest that you export using GPX v1.1 - (Route, Track, POI) This format keeps all of the via points, and all of the shaping points so that the XT can create a route from all of the points that you plotted. (The route may not be identical to what you plotted in MRA, but since it contains the track as well, that will be identical on the XT as it appeared in MRA.

GPX v1.2 strips out all of the shaping points and leaves only the Vias - but it does keep the route that was plotted in MRA - as long as the XT doesn't recalculate it.
Gpx v1.1 produces a route where every route point is set as a Via Point

Some notes on the behaviour of routes from MRA can be found here: app.php/ZXT-P72

Thnx @jfheath for your thorough explanation. Appreciate it.
I went through the response and the links. It is well explained. I did the same but still not showing. Maybe I am doing something wrong. I will read them again.
My sequence is:
1- export /save as Gpx1 (track, route, poi).
2- send to Garmin Drive then to XT.
3- on XT, open track >choose the track
4- Spanner > make it black and widest.
5- Go to Explore > collection > chose the folder with the track but I don't convert to route > show on map.
6- Go to Trip planner > choose the same track and convert it to Route.
7- look on the map, the track is not there (magenta is there for route but no black for the track).

I will read again and check. If you spotted anything wrong, appreciate advising please.

Thnx again for your support and patience,
Best regards,
Diis

Try stopping at step 5 and then looking at the map. The route line (magenta line) can cover the track line even when the track line is set to its widest setting.

Some folks us a modified theme that can make the track line even wider making it visible along the outer edges of the route line. I don't. All I care about is being able to see any divergence of the route line from the track line. A black, wide track line serves that purpose for me.

Yes - that is exactly why you cannot see it - the route / trip is lying exactly on top of it.

One of the advantages of having the track as well as the route or trip - is that if the route / magenta line is recalculated by the XT, the black track becomes visible. Setting the width of the track doesn't help - because it also changes the width of the magenta line.


In the screen shot below the motorcycle, you can see the black track underneath the magenta route. The magenta has a black outline.
Where the track and the route separate, the magenta line goes ahead. The black track goes off to the left.

If you want this black border effect then you have to edit your theme. Themes are used by the XT to allow you some choice as to how your map is drawn on the screen.


If you want to plan your own theme - it is very easy to modify an existing one. There is a whole list available from the XT screen under Settings -> Map & Vehicle -> Map Theme. Find one that you like. The rest of this post is to do with taking a copy of an existing theme and modifying it slightly.

It is actually very simple to do. Change a couple for words and a couple of numbers. I've just written a step by step guide.

As @Peobody pointed out - it isn't necessary. Seeing the black outline just gives that reassurance that the track is actually being displayed on the screen. But you get that reassurnace anyway if you look at the screen before loading the route - you will see the entire track.

===========================================================================================================================

Modifying a Copy of a Theme file

To modify a theme you need to be able to access your XT using a USB cable and a computer. ie plug the cable into the XT and accept the message that is displayed on the screen to enter File Transfer Mode.

The computer should eventually repsond and show the Zumo XT as a device in a File Explorer. On a Windows machine, Zumo XT is listed as one of the entries under 'This PC'. In there is an entry called 'Internal Storage'. There may be another entry called 'Memory Card' if you have an SD card inserted in the XT. Select Internal Storage.

This shows a whole list of folders - one of which is called 'Themes'.


If you select that, and then select 'Map', then that shows a list of all of the themes that are available to the XT. These all have the extension .kmtf . You can choose the theme that you wish to use from the XT screen. The file names are recognisable from the theme name - but they are not identical.


The above screen shot shows my list of themes. The ones beginning with JFH are ones that I have modified from existing themes.


To do this, find a them that you like and copy the original theme file to your computer. Immediately name it as something else.
So for example - I took United Kingdom.kmtf copied it to my disk drive and immediately renamed it JFH-UK-XT-2.kmtf
I then made another copy and called renamed that copy JFH-UK-XT-3.kmtf

Both files at this point are identical to the original. So I then loaded a plain text editor (Notepad on my Windows computer) and set about changing the contents. This is quite easy.

At the top of the file is a section which looks like this

<GARMIN_MAP_THEME>
<METADATA>
<TITLE>United Kingdom</TITLE>
<DESCRIPTION>Theme for United Kingdom.</DESCRIPTION>
<LOCALELIST>
<locale>United Kingdom</locale>
</LOCALELIST>
<Version><Major>1</Major><Minor>00</Minor></Version>
</METADATA>

I altered this slightly:

<GARMIN_MAP_THEME>
<METADATA>
<TITLE>JFH-UK-XT-2</TITLE>
<DESCRIPTION>JFH-UK-XT-2</DESCRIPTION>
<LOCALELIST>
<locale>United Kingdom</locale>
</LOCALELIST>
<Version><Major>1</Major><Minor>00</Minor></Version>
</METADATA>

Two changes - that is all. What you place here is what the XT displays when you are choosing the theme.


-------------------

Near to the bottom of the file is a section that looks like this

<STYLE field = "MAP_TRK_CLR" scale = "1.00" >
<COLOR >
<PRIMARY day = "#06EEEE" night = "#06EEEE" />
<SECONDARY day = "#0A92E2" night = "#0A92E2" />
</COLOR>
</STYLE>

<STYLE field = "MAP_TRK_SAVED_CLR" scale = "1.00" border = "1.00" >
<COLOR >
<PRIMARY day = "#06EEEE" night = "#06EEEE" />
<SECONDARY day = "#0A92E2" night = "#0A92E2" />
</COLOR>
</STYLE>

I changed just two values from 1.00 to 2.00

<STYLE field = "MAP_TRK_CLR" scale = "2.00" >
<COLOR >
<PRIMARY day = "#06EEEE" night = "#06EEEE" />
<SECONDARY day = "#0A92E2" night = "#0A92E2" />
</COLOR>
</STYLE>

<STYLE field = "MAP_TRK_SAVED_CLR" scale = "2.00" border = "1.00" >
<COLOR >
<PRIMARY day = "#06EEEE" night = "#06EEEE" />
<SECONDARY day = "#0A92E2" night = "#0A92E2" />
</COLOR>
</STYLE>


Then resave the kmtf file - which if you remember, you have already called something else. The name that I used ie JFH-UK-XT-2.kmtf represents the number 2 that I used in the scale in that last section.

I repeated the exercise with the other file JFH-UK-XT-3.kmtf except, I used a scale of 3.00 instead of 2.00. To see what the difference was. That way it was easy to experiment to find out which I liked best, just using the XT screen.

All you have to do then is to copy your new kmtf files into the Internal Storage/Themes/Map folder. You haven't changed the original files - you have just created one or more new ones to experiment with.

So when you restart your XT, head to Settings -> Map & Vehicle -> Map Theme If your new ones don't appear, just wait for the list to populate.

Note that the width that you set for the track using the XT screen is then multiplied by the new scale factor. I find that keeping that to medium is the best way.

When zooming in and zooming out, the scale factor seems to be a little slow in responding - but it rapidly settles down. Some times it is hard to see - but mostly the black outline shows up clearly around the edge of the magenta route.

Hi @peobody and @jfheath.. Thnx a lot for your time and efforts and patience

I did what you advised (except themes as looks advanced on my skills ).

I planned to ride tomorrow morning with the modified and way you advised and check... I will deviate like 1 km from the track so I can see the difference and hope XT will guide me back to the track (or maybe when I stop for gas).
I will keep you posted.

Just informal clarification if you don't mind.. How many months or years have you been on both MRA and XT .. You are so proficient and advanced ..

Thank you again.. Kepp you posted.
Best regards,

Didos wrote: ↑Fri Jan 31, 2025 5:42 pm I planned to ride tomorrow morning with the modified and way you advised and check... I will deviate like 1 km from the track so I can see the difference and hope XT will guide me back to the track (or maybe when I stop for gas).

It won't guide you back. The track is just a static line on the map. It does not have any relevance to the navigation provided by the XT. To reiterate what @jfheath tried to explain, it simply provides a visual indication of your planned route. This is valuable when the XT does a recalculation that results in a route change. You will be able to see the deviation of the magenta route line from the black track line. You then can decide whether to follow the new route, manually follow the track line (no navigation instructions will be provided), or cancel the route and then start it again using an upcoming waypoint as the entry point, or using Closest Entry Point. The route restart will load the original route, not the recalculated one.