User Manual

Summary

Starting ttMaps

To start ttMaps, simply press the icon that was created in the main menu of TomTom:

A few seconds later, the ttMaps splash screen appears:

At first use, or if you have deleted manually the maps index file (maps.idx), the maps are automatically indexed. A progress bar will appear at the bottom of the screen:

After the splash screen, if the GPS position is known, ttMaps displays a map centered on this position:

Otherwise, the GPS status screen is displayed until the GPS has determined the current position:

Display of the map centered on the current position

When the position is known, ttMaps displays a map centered on the current position. This position is marked by a red reticle (cross). Several buttons are active (nine maximum). These buttons are superimposed on the map, unless you've disabled this function in the menu preferences. They can be used to browse the map, zoom, and change the map series if you have installed several.

Button Function Notes
Zoom + Zoom in the map This button is not displayed if the zoom is at its maximum level
Zoom - Zoom out of the map
Set + Display next map This button is not displayed if there is only one map
Set - Display previous map This button is not displayed if there is only one map
Move the map to the North Move the map to the North
Move the map to the South Move the map to the South
Move the map to the East Move the map to the East
Move the map to the West Move the map to the West
Reticle Access to the main menu

Note: If the GPS does not correctly receive the satellites anymore, the map freezes on the last known position, and is displayed in black and white, until the TomTom receives the GPS signals properly again.

Browsing a map

When you use the buttons to browse a map, the display no longer corresponds to the current position. The reticle disappears and is replaced by an empty button. Press this button to return to the display of the current position:

Note on this screenshot that the Zoom+ button is not displayed, as the zoom is at its maximum level.

You can also drag the map with your finger or stylus. To do this:

Display of the altitude, time, north of the map and scale

Four indications can be displayed on the map:

These displays are optional. They can be deactivated in the setup menu.

Main Menu

Button Function Notes
Browse Maps Maps browsing
Tracks Tracks management
Routes Routes management
Points of interest Points of interest management
Navigate to ... Navigate to a point Shortest path (great circle)
Status Informations about the TomTom status
Preferences User preferences
TomTom Navigator Back to the TomTom road navigator May require a reboot if the TomTom software version is 8.20 or higher
Power Down Power off the TomTom Works only with TomTom software versions below 8.20 (The pushbutton puts the TomTom in sleep mode)

Maps browsing menu

Button Function Notes
Point of interest Displays the map centered on a point of interest
POI near you Displays the map centered on a point of interest POIs are sorted by increasing distances
City Display the map centered on a city
Postal Code Display the map centered on a city whose postal code is known
Latitude and longitude Display the map centered on geographical coordinates

Browse the maps around a city

Select the country by clicking on the flag, the enter the name of the city. Whenever you type a letter, a list of cities whose name match is displayed. You can browse the list using the vertical arrows. As soon as the city sought appears, select it.

Browse maps from a postcode

Select the country by clicking on the flag, then enter the postal code. Whenever you type a number, a list of cities whose code match is displayed. You can browse the list using the vertical arrows. As soon as the city sought appears, select it. A postal code may correspond to several municipalities.

If your postcode include letters, press "ABC" to switch to the alphabetic keyboard. You can swicth back to the numeric keyboard by pressing "123".

Browse maps from geographical coordinates

Three formats are supported for the geographic coordinates:

Coordinates must be postfixed by the letter indicating the hemisphere (N or S for latitude, E or W for longitude). Start by entering the latitude:

Press Done, and type the longitude:

Finally press Done to display the map.

Setup menu

Button Function Notes
Change Mode Select the type of use Biking, Driving, Flying, Hiking, Sailing.conf or custom mode
Turn on/off sound Turns on or off the sound alarms
Route alarm parameters Change the route alarm parameters
Display preferences Select items to show
Power saving Selection of the screen saver delay, if the TomTom runs on battery
Low battery preferences Selection of the battery alarm level
Manage Maps List and indexing of maps
Take screenshot Select/Unselect the screenshot mode Take screenshots with the ON/OFF button. The screenshots are saved in the Photos directory of the TomTom
Volume Preferences Sound level adjustment
Brightness Set the brightness of the screen
Language Selection of the user language
Keyboard configuration Selection of the keyboard layout (AZERTY, QWERTY)
Time zone Selection of the time zone to display the local time
Automatic recording / Manual recording Automatic recording (or not) of the track when ttMaps starts
Units Selection of the units Meters-Feet-Miles, Knots-MPH-km/h, ...
Cursors Selection of the cursors showing the direction of movement
Arrows Selection of the directional arrows
Autorun ttMaps will start automatically when the TomTom is powered on
Pedestrian mode / Vehicle mode Type of GPS use (static navigation) For SiRF GPS only

Status menu

Button Function Notes
GPS Status Displays the status of the GPS
Battery Status Displays the current charge level of the battery
Show version Display the model and the software version of the TomTom
About ttMaps Display the version number of ttMaps

GPS status

This screen shows:

Battery status

When the TomTom is powered by the internal battery, the charge level can be displayed :

If an external power supply is connected, the charge curent is displayed.

Display Preferences

Button Function
Map Orientation Selection of the map orientation
Show / Hide the scale Turns on or off the display of the maps scale
Show / Hide the buttons Turns on or off the display of the navigation buttons on the maps
Show / Hide speed Turns on or off the display of the speed
Show / Hide track angle Turns on or off the display of the track angle (direction of movement)
Show / Hide the altitude Turns on or off the display of the current altitude
Show / Hide the time Turns on or off the display of the local time
Show / Hide coordinates Turns on or off the display of the geographic coordinates
Show / Hide UTM Turns on or off the display of UTM coordinates
Show / Hide QTH Locator Turns on or off the display of the QTH Locator (amateur radio)
Show / Hide north arrow Turns on or off the display of the north of the map
Show / Hide the current track Turns on or off the display of the current track
Show / Hide the route Turns on or off the display of the selected route
Show / Hide the cursor Turns on or off the display of the cursor showing the heading
Show / Hide the POIs Turns on or off the display of the Points Of Interest
Display POI categories Select the POI categories to display
Show / Hide bat. status Turns on or off the display of battery level
Show / Hide rec. status Turns on or off the track recording indicator

Note : Since ttMaps can only display four values simultaneously, some options are mutually exclusive.

Maps management menu

Button Function Notes
Maps list Displays the list of maps sets
Select Maps Select active maps
Index maps Indexation of the maps To do after each addition or deletion of maps
Projections Displays the list of currently supported projections For information
Offset a map Ajust the calibration of a map set

List and characteristics of maps

Firstly, select the series of maps you want to consider:

Then select the tile:

For each tile are displayed:

Adjustment of the calibration of a map set

Sometimes, when using large-scale maps, the cumulative errors of the map calibration and the GPS error cause a shift of the track compared to the paths shown on the map. This function allows adjustment of the map calibration for a better match to the field. This adjustment is specific to each set of cards; it is not saved when leaving ttMaps, since the largest error is often due to GPS, and it varies over time.

To adjust the calibration, use the arrows left, right, up and down to match the track with the map. The two screenshots below show the initial state, and what can be achieved after the adjustment.

Tracks

Button Function
Start recording / Stop recording Starts or stops the track recording
Pause recording / Restart recording Temporarily suspends the track recording
Start a new track Close the current track and start a new one
Tracks management Tracks list, display, rename, delete or merge
Import GPX Import a GPX file placed in the Tracks folder
Clear current track Remove the current track from the TomTom memory
Record NMEA Record the NMEA stream in the file nmea.txt

When you click on the Tracks management icon, the tracks list appears:

After having selected a track, the tracks management menu is displayed:

Button Function Notes
Show the track Show the full track
Replay the track Replay the track in real time
Export to GPX Create a GPX file in the Tracks file
Track Infos Length, Ascent, Descent
Track Profile Graphical display of the track profile
Rename the track
Merge with a track Merge two tracks into one The name of the new tracks is made from the name of the first one and of the suffix _M
Split a track Split a multi-segment track into several tracks
Delete the track Warning: The deletion is definitive

Here is an example of the track display:

and an example of track replay:

The arrows allow to change the speed of the replay, backward or forward.

Track infos

ttMaps can display some information about the tracks, but it is still in experimental state. If you find that the result is wrong, please contact me.

Routes

Button Function
Follow a route Select the route to follow
Route Alarm Enable/Disable the route alarm
Explore a route Show a map centered on the route
Draw a route Draw a new route
Edit a route
Route infos Display informations about a route (length, ascent, descent)
Route profile Display the profile of a route
Create from track Transform a track into a route
Delete a route Remove a file containing a route

When exploring a route, it is possible to zoom, change or move the map :

Points of interest

Button Function Notes
POI Information Displays the POI coordinates
Add a POI
Rename a POI
Delete a POI
Import OV2 file
Export OV2 file
Import GPX file Import a POI file in GPX format The file must be put in the ttMaps/POI directory
Export GPX file Export all the POIS from a category into a GPX file The GPX file will be created in the ttMaps/POI directory
Add category Add a new category of POI It is possible to use a custom icon. Its name must be category.png and it must be put in the ttMaps/POI directory
Remove category

If the display of POIs has been activated in the "Display POI" menu, and the display of the category has been activated in the "Display POI categories" menu, the POIs are displayed as icons corresponding to their category (or as a blue and orange dot if no icon has been installed for the category) :

Addition of new POIs

This menu allows you to add points of interest in various ways :

Button Function Notes
GPS Position The GPS coordinates are used
GPS Position (Average) The averaged GPS coordinates are used
Latitude/Longitude Manual input of coordinates The altitude is optional
Point on the map Select a point on the map

Note : The altitude can be defined relative to the ellipsoid, or the geoid (Median Sea Level, or MSL). It is not mandatory.

The screenshot below shows how to add a POI on the map. A blue and orange dot is shown when one press the screen. It can be moved until the position is correct. Then, press the center of the screen to validate the position.

Last modification : 07/01/2013