Collections by any other name

[colirv]

This has probably been mentioned before, but I found an easy way to deal with holidays over many days. I have a Basecamp list for each day, with its name and all the data within it prefixed with the holiday day number. All the information within these files gets copied to the SD card as backup, but the individual lists are exported as gpx files to my tablet/phone. Each evening on holiday I delete that day's routes and favourites from the Zumo, then open the next day's gpx file on my tablet. Selecting Garmin Drive as the app with which to open it, it then asks if I want to send the file to my XT. "Yes", and it's there ready for the next day. Simples!

[Peobody]

I do similar, but after I delete the completed days route and corresponding Basecamp created track, I import the next days route and track from the SD card and get the track showing on the map.

[Philomène8]

That's a clever system! I like the daily structure approach - makes it much easier to manage than having everything loaded at once.
Quick question though - when you're deleting the previous day's routes from the Zumo each evening, are you doing that directly on the device or through Basecamp? I've found sometimes the device can get a bit sluggish if you're constantly adding/removing waypoints, so I usually clear everything through Basecamp and do a fresh sync.
Also, have you tried using collections in Basecamp instead of separate lists? You can still export them individually as GPX but it keeps everything under one trip umbrella. Might save you some file management time.
The tablet transfer method is solid though - much faster than plugging into a laptop every night!

[jfheath]

Welcome @Philomène8

The Collection system was introduced (badly) on the Zumo XT, but was then fully implemented on the XT2.

I say badly - because it was avialble only if you had a synch link through the Garmin Drive app to your (free) Garmin Explore account.
It was not possible to create collections on the XT1 - you had to do that on the Explore account. MY solution was to have 5 numbered collections so that I could use them if I ever needed to. But I ditched having anything to do with Explore because I didn't like what it did to my carefully planned routes.

That's a clever system! I like the daily structure approach - makes it much easier to manage than having everything loaded at once.

I use a day by day system for my longer routes. It works well. I number everything accroding to the date - it makes it easier to organise.

Quick question though - when you're deleting the previous day's routes from the Zumo each evening, are you doing that directly on the device or through Basecamp? I've found sometimes the device can get a bit sluggish if you're constantly adding/removing waypoints, so I usually clear everything through Basecamp and do a fresh sync.

There is no need to delete the previous days routes. If you have your routes, tracks and waypoints for Day 1 assiged to the eg Day 01 collection, and everything for other individual days in 'Day 02', 'Day 03' etc. Then you can make visible any one collection and turn other collections off. They are still all there in the Zumo, they just do not show up until you make them visible again.

And you can assign anything to any number of collections. So some of these rides might be in 3 separate tours in 2025. You might have a number of them from 2024. They can each belong to their Day numbered collection but also to 2024 or to 2025. Making 2025 visible will show everything from 2025, but hide all of the rest - even if Day 01 , Day 02 etc are not visible.

I don't use it to that extent. Once I have a tour in, my XT2 will have just the routes that I want for that tour. I keep all of my routes in folders lists in Basecamp and I start a new database for BC every year. I do not use the BT transfer from the Tread app (on the XT2). It still messes around with the routes.

Also, have you tried using collections in Basecamp instead of separate lists? You can still export them individually as GPX but it keeps everything under one trip umbrella. Might save you some file management time.
The tablet transfer method is solid though - much faster than plugging into a laptop every night!

Basecamp does not offer the collections facility. It offers Categories - which I assume is what Collections developed from. But the 2 methods are not compatible - and if collections are available on the XT1, then categories are not.

If you are using collections on the XT2 and like to use Basecamp, it is probably easier to export a single gpx file for each day of the tour. Then import them separately. You don't have to , but the XT2 lest you choose which GPX file(s) from which location you want to import, and then allows you to choose, or create a collection in which it stores everything that it imports.

Or you can create one GPX file with everything in it, and when you import, choose all of the items for one day and create a new collection for them. Then repeat for another day, etc. You have much more control over what to import than on previous Zumos.

The XT2 has all of the facilities to create and delete categories and to assign, remove or re-assign any track, route, waypoint into various categories

Personally, I do not use the BT synch facility. Like the XT1, the XT2 currently has many route changing / point moving issues, which don't exist if you don't allow synch. But some people don't have any trouble with it.

I just like to find out where the problems are so that I can find out how to deal with them - so that thye don't ruin my well planned tours. And if that means using a USB cable - I'm OK with that - that is what I've always used and BT doesn't offer me anything better that what I already have.

[Peobody]

Quick question though - when you're deleting the previous day's routes from the Zumo each evening, are you doing that directly on the device or through Basecamp? I've found sometimes the device can get a bit sluggish if you're constantly adding/removing waypoints, so I usually clear everything through Basecamp and do a fresh sync.

I do it on the XT. I have not found it to be sluggish at all. I go into Trip Planner, delete the completed days route and then import the next days route. I do the same for tracks, showing the next days track on the map. I do not mess with waypoints (more on that below)

Also, have you tried using collections in Basecamp instead of separate lists? You can still export them individually as GPX but it keeps everything under one trip umbrella. Might save you some file management time.

I do not know what you refer to as a "collection" in Basecamp. I use tiered list folders. For instance, last year I made a 15 day trip to South Dakota. My Basecamp structure looked this:

Basecamp SD folder structure.png (92.49 KiB) Viewed 958 times

I export individual routes and tracks, each one as a separate export so that each one is in its own .gpx file. The export goes to my local hard drive from which I copy to the SD card. The folder structure on the HD and SD card would be similar to what I did in Basecamp. This allows me to have granular control over the files. If I need to change a route the day before departure I can delete the two .gpx files associated with that day from my HD and SD card and replace them with the new ones. Same goes for modifying a route while in a hotel room mid-trip. Some people consider this too difficult. I understand that however I am a borderline computer geek; I think at the file level (one file per route, one file per track).
As for Waypoints, I don't use standalone Waypoints. All of mine will be in a route. When you import a route from the SD card, its Waypoints (Via points) do not automatically get added to Saved/Favourites like they do when a route is transferred directly to internal storage. Some people may now be thinking "What if you want to use Where To! to go directly to a Waypoint?" My response would be that you don't need Where To!. You can just start the route and select the desired Waypoint (Via point) as the entry point.

[jfheath]

What Zumo do you have @Philomène8 .

I ask because the behaviour of the Zumos is very different when transferring and importing routes.

[colirv]

That's a clever system! I like the daily structure approach - makes it much easier to manage than having everything loaded at once.
Quick question though - when you're deleting the previous day's routes from the Zumo each evening, are you doing that directly on the device or through Basecamp?

Directly on the Zumo. I don't have a laptop with me on trips.

Also, have you tried using collections in Basecamp instead of separate lists?

I don't think Basecamp does collections.