GPX Versions 1.1 vs 1.2 for Garmin Visually Explained

[Steve Jarrell]

Here's what I personally do....

1. I never turn auto-recalculation on. I'd much rather find my own way back to my route as typically when I create a route in MRA I want to follow it exactly, and if I do have to deviate from it I want to decide how to get back on it.

If I want the gps to automatically calculate my route I prefer just to use Waze or Google Maps. That's fine most of the time in my car, but on the R1300GS or Spyder I almost always want the gps to follow my predetermined route.

2. As I mentioned I do use 1.2 .gpx format almost exclusively as it follows my intended route as it's forced to follow the track which is what I want.

3. I don't use Basecamp, Explore, etc. etc. or any of the other Garmin apps with the XT*. I find them to be unnecessary and frustrating. And yes.... I have spent many hours learning their strengths, weaknesses and quirks. I'd rather have direct control over downloading my routes and tracks to the XTs and deleting the old files out of the gpx folder when they're no longer necessary. For me, this method is very straightforward, foolproof and easy for me to understand.

4. If I'm sharing a route with a variety of other riders who may or may not have Garmin units that can properly import 1.2 files I simply share the track file. Virtually all gps units can create a route from a track that will follow the intended path.

The bottom line is for me what I see on my computer screen when I'm creating a route in MRA is what I expect to see and follow on my Garmin XT3, and the easiest way for me to accomplish that is to save the route in 1.2 .gpx format, manually transfer it to my gps and turn off automatic recalculation.

I always double check the distance of my route in MRA with what my Garmin shows after import and if they don't match VERY closely after import I investigate to see why they don't by showing both the track and route in the Garmin, then fix the issue in MRA and reimport the route.

[Mzokk]

Earlier in the thread when I stated that recalculation should be switched off when navigating gpx 1.2 you suggested that that was inaccurate and that the XT3 would navigate back to the magenta line. That may be the case for the XT3 but not for the XT. So my advice to anyone using gpx1.2 and an XT would be to switch off recalculation whereas that would not be strictly necessary using gpx1.1

The easiest way to get wysiwyg with the MRA route planner is to use the app.

This has been good enough for me to use for navigation the past 18months. Luckily I have not had many of the issues discussed on these pages and only use the XT on the Honda for custom poi’s (the black blobs in one of the pictures above mark neolithic tombs and the white pennants WWII defence heritage) and being an old codger have proximity alerts set for public toilets. I also run the track of the route I’m riding on the XT and load the routes for use as a backup.

As stated above I still use Basecamp for track manipulation and POI’s. The XT can handle and display much more custom poi information than MyRoute app and can display it independently of routes.

So my current setup is

MyRoute app for route navigation. And OSMand+ for track navigation and Google maps for a-b navigation.

XT for backups track display and poi’s and Basecamp poi loader for tracks and poi handling

Qgis for generating poi’s and other mapping projects.

[Steve Jarrell]

Very good to know. Thanks for the followup.

[Carl Lee]

I've recently noticed that I can now export a GPX1.2 route from MRA to Tread on my iPhone and subsequently my XT2 (presumably XT3 too) without it being corrupted. I have my track running underneath so I can see that the Zumo does not try to recalculate a different route altogether between via points even when deviating from the route (auto-recalculate switched on). A test route I ran today seemed to prove it where once it would have gone haywire and either routed direct to the via point on a road or even a straight line.

Route deviations seemed to be dealt with in a logical manner, either a u-turn or directions back on to the route up ahead. I didn't encounter any road closures so not sure if they will be dealt with well in the same way 1.1 does (mostly!).

Maybe one of the recent Tread, Zumo or MRA updates has allowed this to happen. No shaping points visible but ultra quick calculations on both sets of software. I'm hoping I've got this right as it's what many have been looking for.

Probably some further testing to come but I'll be keen to see if anyone else has this good fortune.

[Steve Jarrell]

@Carl-Lee I'm not sure what's going on, but as I've said before, I personally take Tread and other intermediate apps out of the mix and get down to the basics that I can see and understand.... Directly upload the 1.2 .gpx file via USP to the Garmin's /.gpx folder, import it, then look at the results.

Using the 1.2 format, the Garmin (XT, XT2 or 3) should not be able to (will NOT in my testing) create a route that deviates from the route that you see in MRA as the Garmin route WILL be forced to follow the .gpx file's embeded track's "breadcrumb" to create the route and disregard the Garmin's own routing logic.

If you choose to use Tread, Drive, Basecamp, MRA or any other file transfer method other than a direct USB transfer to copy your .gpx file from your computer's hard drive to your Garmin device's /gpx folder, then you are choosing to accept the ambiguity of not knowing whether or not that the file was properly transferred to the device.

If you can't see that the .gpx file that's located on your local drive was successfully copied to the Garmin's /gpx folder YOU CANNOT know for certain that it has been transferred properly.

Before anyone slams me with "the xyz app has always worked perfectly for me" believe me..... I understand!

Even though you may not be having an issue with your particular configuration and apps (GREAT! keep doing what you're doing!), for anyone who is having issues this is where troubleshooting should begin. Eliminating variables one by one is the first step in troubleshooting a technical problem. Direct transfer of the .gpx file eliminates many of the variables. That's a fact!

[Carl Lee]

@steve-jarrell, I agree with all that you wrote and that is what I have previously found to be correct. I either exported a 1.2 file via USB to my SD card or used 1.1 via Tread. Both worked although if you stopped the 1.2 route and re-started it, Tread would probably corrupt it.

I'm aware of how to remove Tread from the mix but I obviously seem to like a problem to solve. As of recently, 1.2 is now playing nicely with Tread so getting a route into my XT2 is a doddle. I know the route is correct because I run the track in red underneath it. The two do not separate and re-routing back is catered for (if you should so wish).

All I'm trying to say is that for those who are either having trouble with Tread or who have binned it but would like to use it, try it again with 1.2. I like the ability to plan with MRA and loading this route when away from home. The SD card option is too fiddly - I don't much fancy dropping it as it has lots of music on it too.

[Steve Jarrell]

@Carl-Lee That's very good to know. Thanks for the update!

I understand the "need to solve the puzzle" syndrome very well. I think it's an affliction that some of us have to live with!

And I agree with you completely that showing the track and the route simultaneously on the Garmin is the absolute best way to know for certain that it's taking you the way that you wanted to go. I learned the hard way to do that (many times) before 1.2 when I had to force it to follow my desired route with a LOT of shaping points.

[John S Parry]

@Steve-Jarrell I finally got around to playing with 1.2, and I'm impressed. Here is a screenshot of one of the most troublesome routes I've recently created, and it passed my 1.2 test perfectly:

It's a single very rural road that partially crosses the southernmost Sierra Nevada. It's a challenging road to route because it requires precisely positioned shaping points (using 1.1) to Import into a Garmin. I probably have more overall shaping points than needed, but 2 WPs in particular (23&24), as they are exactly placed, are absolutely necessary. It's a unique jog on the road that messes up recalculation on my Zumo otherwise.

Initially, it took a lot of iterative back-and-forth between MRA and my Zumo to finally solve the puzzle. I literally spend hours playing with different shaping point scenarios before solving the mystery. Now with 1.2, I can delete WPs 23&24 and the route recalculates on the Zumo correctly. I'm finally going to able to achieve "what you see on MRA is what you get in the Zomo".

1.2 is definitely going to make life easier for trickier situations like this.

[Steve Jarrell]

@John-S-Parry Yep, the concept behind 1.2 is brilliant.... include the track inside of the route information so that the Garmin has no choice but to follow it. I used to have to also include a LOT of shaping points to make my Garmin calculate its route match MRA's route, but no more!

Thanks for the information!!

[Simon James Hancock]

I have been reading up on all of your post and trying to lean as much as possible.
I created a route with all via points and when I set off it did not take me to via point 2 which is just a couple of hundred meters down the road from point 1, It kept trying to send me back to via point 1. Attached is a foto of the firts waypoints. Any help would be much appreciated. I saved the route as 1.2.

[Nick Carthew]

@Simon-James-Hancock It is always advisable to position the first waypoint 100+ metres from the actual start point, this ensures that the first point is registered as being passed. You were being directed back because the first point was missed.

[Simon James Hancock]

Thanks Nick for all of your help and work.
Even when I passed the second via point it was sending me back to the first.
Will it always try and send me back to the first via poin regardless on how far down the route i am?
I would like to upload my GPX file for further inspection but I am still not allowed.

[Nick Carthew]

@Simon-James-Hancock Yes, you’ll always be sent back to missed via points, via points are never automatically skipped you would need to manually skip a missed via point.

[Simon James Hancock]

How do I manually skip a missed via point.
In the situation I found myself was their anyway I could have carried on my route without having had to go back to the first via point?