Tips on Garmin Custom Maps – Using GPS Visualizer
Edit 10/15: Updated instructions below based on improvements made in GPS Visualizer to support Garmin KMZs using Google Earth.
This new post also includes instructions on how to use the GPS Visualizer overlay form to create a Garmin KMZ file, a process which bypasses Google Earth.
After Garmin’s announcement yesterday about support for custom raster maps on the Oregon, Colorado and Dakota there has been an flurry of activity as people are trying to leverage existing tools to load publicly available map data onto their Garmin receivers. I’ve found a relatively easy way to get TerraServer map data onto your Garmin using the GPS Visualizer KML overlay.
The list of digital imagery supported by the GPS Visualizer overlay tool is shown in the image below.
Before you start you will need to visit the GPS Visualizer Map Overlay page and install the GPS Visualizer Garmin overlay tool in Google Earth. You should also have your Garmin GPS connected to your computer in USB mass storage mode, in this example I’ll assume it is available on a Windows PC as drive letter “E”. To create your Garmin Custom Map follow these steps.
- Move to a location on the Google Earth map where you want to download maps, for example: Walden Pond, Concord, MA.
- Select GPS Visualizer Overlays under the Places window, right click and hit Refresh
- If there is map data available for that location you should see a list of overlays available in the Places window under Garmin Custom Map Overlays. Double click on the map layer (ie. USGS topo map) you would like to download. This should start the Google Earth browser window on the GPS Visualizer page for the map image you selected.
- If you want to use the default map name and Draw Order of 1 you can stop here and save the KMZ file to E:\Garmin\CustomMaps by selecting Click here to download your overlay and selecting Save! You may need to create the CustomMaps directory if you don’t already have it. If you would like to edit the name or Draw Order of your map select Click here to download your overlay and select Open. A new overlay should show up in your Google Earth Places window, like “USGS Topo map”.
- Right click and select Properties on the overlay you created in the previous step.
- Give your map a new name in the Name field, like Walden Pond Topo.
- Select the Location tab and change the Draw Order field to 50 and click Ok.
- Right click on the overlay in the Places menu and select Save Place As to save the KMZ file to E:\Garmin\CustomMaps (create the directory if you don’t already have it).
Here are some examples of how these images look on my Oregon 550t.
Map overlay “plug-in” for Google Earth
Related posts:
October 9th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
[...] Overlay KML (see my previous post for detailed instructions on how to use [...]
October 15th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
I’ve updated this post to reflect recent changes in GPS Visualizer to directly support Garmin KMZ files.
-Scott
October 15th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
[...] Support Oct.15, 2009 in Garmin Colorado, Garmin Dakota, Garmin Oregon After experimenting with GPS Visualizer to create Garmin KMZ files last week I contacted Adam Schneider, author of GPS Visualizer, about making it easier to create [...]
October 17th, 2009 at 8:05 am
Awesome, thanks so much. I just bought a Garmin a couple of weeks ago (http://handheldgpssystems.org is pretty awesome if you’re looking for a handheld) and have been wanting to do this but have had no luck figuring out how on my own. Making a customized Va Beach as we speak!!
August 29th, 2010 at 3:35 pm
I tried following all of the steps outlined. The custom map files are in the proper location on the Garmin Oregon. But the new maps do not show up–I cannot get the Garmin to recognize them. I have done this multiple times and still no luck. Also, there is no Draw Order field on the Location tab so cannot set that to 50. But all else have followed meticulously. Please help. Thanks.
August 30th, 2010 at 10:06 am
Mike,
Are the custom maps enabled on your GPS?
-Scott
December 10th, 2010 at 2:03 am
Sorry for the post to such an old thread, but I’m new to the Garmin scene. I have followed the steps exactly, get a small kmz file (1kb) onto my Dakota, but when I fire it up it gives me the message that there are custom maps that won’t show up because they are too big. Other custom maps do show up, just none I’ve created with GPSvisualizer (I’ve tried several clips of differing types of map data).
Incidentally, related or not I have no idea, but the draw order is not on the location tab for me, but rather on the altitude tab (see Mike T’s post above).
December 10th, 2010 at 11:26 am
Kurt,
You’ll need to check this list:
http://garminoregon.wikispaces.com/Custom+Maps#toc9
to see if you are violating any of these things that might cause the custom map to not show up. 1kb sounds to me like you don’t have a map image in the kmz file. You are probably not including the map in the kmz (just the link).
-Scott
December 10th, 2010 at 12:14 pm
Thanks, Scott, for the prompt feedback. I was thinking those files sizes were off as well. I just checked, and there is only a doc file within the kmz file. I have saved several other kmz files (manually created) from google earth with no problem, but these aren’t including the image file(s). I am doing the same thing I have done with other maps: right click on the overlay link, choose “save place as…”, but nada. The overlay looks fine in GE–I can show and remove it with the checkbox, etc. I would sute appreciate help figuring out what I’m doing wrong.
December 10th, 2010 at 12:16 pm
Oh, and when I open the file from my hard disk by double clicking, it opens up properlyin GE. It must just be storing the link.
December 10th, 2010 at 12:25 pm
Kurt,
Try this instead, may sure you have the overlay type set to static so the image is included in the file:
http://www.gpsfix.net/garmin-custom-maps-gps-viz-kmz-support/
-Scott
January 31st, 2011 at 12:37 pm
Recently OkMap freeware software (www.okmap.org) include a feature to generate automatically compatible Garmin custom maps (kmz format).
The map calibration is sophisticated because OkMap uses different type of projection and several datums.
This new feature includes map tiling from and to different image file formats (including from ECW map files).
It’s possible select KML extensions 2.2 (if GPS supports them), the JPEG quality, KML transparency, draw order, ecc..
You can select the tiles to generate in output.
This feature support also not north oriented maps.
OkMap include a Google maps server to download maps from Google, OpenStreetMap, MyTopo, DOCQ, ecc..
These two features combined together may be very useful.
November 9th, 2011 at 8:45 am
Sorry for a new post to this old note. I am a new owner of a Garmin Oregon. My problem is probably related to how the Oregon works with multiple maps on it. I used Scott’s directions to use GPS Visualizer to directly create a KMZ file without going through GE. I downloaded it to the CustomMaps directory. Per Settings -> Maps, it is enabled. If I open the KMZ file with WinZip, I can see the JPG file and open it and see the overlay map. However, when I go to Map from the main menu, all I can see is the pre-installed navigator map. I am in Massachusetts and the custom map is for a location in Texas. How can I view the Texas map on the Garmin Oregon to make sure that it is working?
November 9th, 2011 at 9:07 am
Create a waypoint in the area of the map (TX), enable the map and then WhereTo? the waypoint. You should be able to zoom in on the map page around the waypiont and see the map.
-Scott
November 9th, 2011 at 12:57 pm
Got it. Thanks, Scott.
December 5th, 2011 at 2:54 pm
Scott, thanks for contributing! This string helped me get my new Oregon nicely set up.
February 20th, 2012 at 3:37 am
I have collected gps coordinates in the field survey and i want to draw a map using this datum. I want a simple tool to do this
thanx
September 10th, 2012 at 10:07 pm
Hi Friends…
I would like to know, if is necesari to put any word on the bigining of the name of KMZ maps…
DENIS
September 11th, 2012 at 6:26 am
No, just put the files in the right directory.