Building Your Map

Now comes the fun part: building your map!

Importing Your Downloaded Data (if you have any)

To add this data to your map in MapEdit, go to File > Import > ESRI Shape, and then navigate to the .shp file you wish to add. A window will pop up asking you to select which type of object you want the imported data to be. This is up to you, but I set lakes to be "Small Lake", streams to be "Stream", roads to be "Road", state snowmobile trails to be "Principle Highway" and local trails to be "Other Highway Road." It doesn't matter what you choose, but keep it consistant. Don't import some lakes as "Small Lake" and others as "Ocean". You'll see why in a minute.

Click the Next button.

The next screen asks you which column contains the names for each object. If you see the names you want in one of the columns, click on that column to highlight it and click next. If none of the columns contain names, uncheck the "Select fields for labels" checkbox, and click Next.

The next screen is very important, because if your settings are wrong, the imported data will be drawn in the wrong place. Each piece of downloaded data has an information file (usually with an .xml extension) that will tell you which settings to use. For instance, MN DNR Data Deli stuff is usually

Coordinate System: UTM
Zone: 15
Datum: NAD 83

seamless.usgs.gov is usually

Coordinate System: Latitude and Longitude (dec)
Datum: NAD 83

and so on. Enter the proper settings and click Next.

Now it asks you to pick which levels your data will be imported to. Uncheck all the boxes except for "Level 0". We'll determine which levels your elements will be drawn on using a different method. This gives you greater flexibility. If you define other levels here, it's very tricky to change them later.

Repeat this process for all the other files you want to import. If your new data isn't showing up, go to "View > Levels > Level 0". This will show all elements in Level 0.

Once you have your data imported, you can delete parts of it if you wish. I deleted all the roads around Minneapolis/St. Paul since there are no snowmobile trails there and there was no reason to provide a map of those roads. And since there are so many, this cuts down on file size.

Importing Your Own Track Data And Waypoints

To import your track data, go to File > Add and then navigate to the .gpx file. You don't need any settings for this step. The tracklogs will now show up on your map. Now you have to convert them to a map element instead of just a tracklog.

Zoom into the area where they're drawn so you can see what you're doing. Go to "Edit > Select > All Tracks" and then right click anywhere on a track. On the popup menu, do "Convert To > Polyline". Again, uncheck all boxes except for "Level 0". Now delete the tracklog by doing "Edit > Select > All Tracks" and then "Edit > Delete" so that the tracklog is gone but your polyline is still there. The next screen asks you what type of object you want it to be. I chose "Other Highway Road" for my smaller local trails, but you can do whatever you want. This can pretty easily be changed later if you don't like how it shows up on your GPSr.

Do the same process for any imported waypoints, except convert them to "point" instead of "polyline".

Drawing objects

First, make sure you're in Level 0. Go to "View > Levels > Level0". When you zoom in and out, this sometimes changes, so always make sure you're in Level 0 before you draw anything. If you accidentally draw in another level, you can fix it, but you have to do it with each object, and it can be a pain.

If you're tracing over a raster map, or just want to draw your own objects to go with your imported data, you use the "Create Object" tool (which looks like a magic wand). Click and hold on it to choose which kind of object you want to draw (point, polyline, or polygon). If you're drawing a polyline or polygon, click once where you want to start, and then click again to draw a straight line. Keep doing this until you've got your entire object drawn, and then right click and choose "End". It will now ask you what type you want the object to be. This is up to you, but try to keep the number of different types as low as possible. Once you choose the type, you have a chance to type in a label for the object. Keep drawing all your objects in this way.

Editing tracklogs in MapEdit is a little trickier than in TrackMaker. Switch to the "Edit Nodes" tool and click on an element. All of the nodes of that object will appear. If you right click on a node, you can delete that node or split the line at that point. You can use that function to cut out part of a line (split the line, select one of the halves, and delete it).

All your objects are (or should be) in Level 0. Now you're going to set their "virtual level." You have to decide when you want your different objects to appear when the user zooms in on his GPSr. I have my map set up like this:

• Streams are set to Level 1 (so you have to zoom way in to see them)
• Roads are at Level 1
• Lakes are at Level 3
• Minor trails are at Level 3
• Major trails are at Level 4

Remember how I recommended you keep all similar objects to the same type? This is why. You can now select every object of some type and set their End Levels at once. Go to "Edit > Select > By Type..." and pick the type you want to select. Now right click on any one of the selected objects, and do "Modify > Extend All Elements up to Level..." and type in the number of the level where you want that type of object to appear. Do this for each type of object you have.