Uploading to a GPS Unit
Tracks created in GPS Tracker can be uploaded to a GPS unit. In order to do this you first use GPS Tracker to save the track as a GPX data file. GPX (or GPS eXchange) format is an XML schema designed for transfering GPS data between software applications. Once GPS Tracker has saved the track as a GPX data file you can then use a software mapping program which is capable of reading GPX data files, such as MapSource, to upload the track to a GPS unit.
If you have a track selected, you can create a GPX data file by clicking the "GPX" button on the map page. This will bring up a new window with a form that lets you set some parameters that control the structure of the GPX data.
Once you have selected the desired values in the form you can click the "Build GPX Data" button and it replaces the contents of the window with the GPX data describing the track. You would then use the "Save As" feature of the browser to save the contents of the window to a file and that file could then be read into the mapping software package (for instance, MapSource)
Note that when you use the "Save As" feature in Internet Explorer and the Save As dialog comes up, the default file extension will be the same as the page that was downloaded. In this case that will be .pl since the page that was downloaded was a Perl CGI script. Before you save the GPX data to a file you should change the file name to have an extension of .gpx since that's the file type that the mapping software package will expect to read.
Once the track data has been loaded into the mapping software package, it can be uploaded to the GPS unit just as any other track would.
The "Generate GPX Data" Form
When you click the "GPX" button on the map page it brings up a new window with the "Generate GPX Data" form in it. This form has several controls that let you specify how the GPX data will be built.
Split the Track
By default, GPS Tracker splits a track up into multiple tracks of no more than 500 points each. This is because some GPS units impose a maximum number of points per track on tracks that are uploaded to the unit and they will truncate any tracks that are larger than that. The "Split Track?" check box specifies whether or not you want to split the track up. If the box is checked it will split the track up. Otherwise it will leave it as one big track.
If the track is being split, then a maximum number of points per track can be specified. By default, this is 500 points.
If the GPX data is being generated to upload to a GPS unit then it's probably better to split the track. Otherwise some of the data could be lost when it's uploaded to the GPS unit. If the data is being generated simply to be analyzed in the mapping software package then it might be better not to split it and leave it as one big track.
The exception to this is the case where the track is going to be imported into Garmin's Training Center software as an activity. In that case then the track must not be split. Training center won't import it if it's split.
Build a Route
GPS Tracker can also build a route which represents the selected track. A route is a series of waypoints spaced along the track so that the deviation of the track from a straight line between any consecutive waypoints will be less than some predetermined value. GPS units can use these routes to follow a track by navigating from one waypoint to the next.
By default, GPS Tracker does not build a route but you can request it to by checking the "Build Route?" check box. When requesting a route you also have the option of splitting the route up into smaller routes by checking the "Split Route?" check box and specifying a maximum number of waypoints per route.
Add a Unique Identifier String
You can also specify a unique six character identifier to be used when building names in the GPX data. This is useful when you're going to generate multiple tracks to upload to the GPS unit and you want to ensure that the names generated for each track are unique