Mapshare direct copy question

[anap]

Does any guru know how, if possible, to copy corrections that I have made directly to another TomTom unit without using MapShare? Maybe as simple as copying a file from one unit to another? Which file, if so?

I have updated many rural roads in my area and wish to share it with the other dozen or so people at my work that use TomToms, but I'm not sure if MapShare will push those updates out if only I (and not "many" or "some" others) have made the same corrections.

Thanks in advance!

 

[canderson]

Does any guru know how, if possible, to copy corrections that I have made directly to another TomTom unit without using MapShare? Maybe as simple as copying a file from one unit to another? Which file, if so?

I have updated many rural roads in my area and wish to share it with the other dozen or so people at my work that use TomToms, but I'm not sure if MapShare will push those updates out if only I (and not "many" or "some" others) have made the same corrections.

Thanks in advance!

Mapuserpatch.dat and mapsettings.cfg - the former will be found in your map folder, and the latter in the root. Note that you won't JUST be bringing across your map changes - other information like your favorites are also stored in mapsettings.cfg.

Be aware that the two units should be at the same firmware level or they may well have trouble reading each other's files. Recent firmware changes seem to have slightly modified the way these files are constructed.

 

[anap]

Excellent - thank you!

I'm a first-responder and I have a accurate map book of my County I got from our 911 center and am in the process of updating my TomTom with all the correct road names.

Maybe I can find a way to convince the TomTom folks that I'm a "trusted source" for my County and get these changes pushed though to a real map update.

Thanks again.

 

[anap]

One other question:

Do my changes take precedence over downloaded mapshare changes?

Say if I make a change to road X and I get a conflicting change via mapshare, will the change I made stay and the change downloaded from mapshare be ignored?

 

[Malouff]

anap,

One thing before you start this massive project.

Map corrections are only for the current MAP

This means that unless TomTom does find them as important and includes them in the next map release that you will have to do it again in each map release until they finally do decide to include the change.

I have also heard that reporting to Tele Atlas directly (using their web site) will gain faster results.

Personally, I was like you and excited with mapshare when I first got my TomTom and wanted to correct everything including difficult speed limits (interface to do this is dumb)

After getting a new map and having all of those corrections disappear I was confused and learned about corrections only being tied to the map version they were made with.

Needless to say, I don't do mapshare corrections anymore because of this.

Also from what I understand TomTom mostly uses the automatically generated track-log that get uploaded to HOME every time you connect for changes to maps not all of the mapshare corrections.

Don't get me wrong they do eventually include them but so far they must be doing this by hand as not very many make it into each map release from what I understand.

 

[canderson]

One other question:

Do my changes take precedence over downloaded mapshare changes?

Say if I make a change to road X and I get a conflicting change via mapshare, will the change I made stay and the change downloaded from mapshare be ignored?

I haven't ever had an incoming MapShare change override one I've made for myself, and all I can work from is that experience.

Understand that you're not likely to get any preferred a) status or b) schedule when it comes to getting your changes posted in new maps as they are released. As the previous poster notes, you MAY find they are more quickly posted IN newly released maps (roughly quarterly) by making the changes directly at TeleAtlas.com, but they're not exactly speedy about it, either. The changes you make for yourself will be the best solution - you won't have to wait for anyone else to pick up the ball.

Where you will get into trouble as a 1st responder will be new subdivisions and other new roads. The MapShare feature will let you make a lot of corrections, but one thing for which is does NOT provide is the addition of a street that isn't already in the existing map. If there's a lot of development in your area, I think you'll find that pretty frustrating, but there's nothing to be done for it with TomTom or any other unit with which I'm familiar.

 

[Uncle Tom]

Mapuserpatch.dat and mapsettings.cfg - the former will be found in your map folder, and the latter in the root. Note that you won't JUST be bringing across your map changes - other information like your favorites are also stored in mapsettings.cfg.

Be aware that the two units should be at the same firmware level or they may well have trouble reading each other's files. Recent firmware changes seem to have slightly modified the way these files are constructed.

canderson,

Could I copy these two files over and apply them to my next map update (assuming my firmware version doesn't change).

thanks

Uncle Tom

 

[canderson]

canderson,

Could I copy these two files over and apply them to my next map update (assuming my firmware version doesn't change).

thanks

Uncle Tom

Yes. It's the firmware that complains about the specific format of the files. We all got zinged on this on the 8.350 firmware update (but not subsequent map update), which is why I supplied the warning about assuring all units were at the same firmware level before sharing those files. Our units got into non-stop reboot cycles when we tried to throw our old files at 8.350 to keep our favorites from disappearing. Turned out that hooking the TomTom up to a PC and letting it fire up TTHome, and adding or deleting a single entry in the favorites list would remedy the problem... but who knows what they might break next time?!?

 

[anap]

An easier solution would be to have TomTom revamp how MapShare works, fundamentally.

They obviously tag submitted corrections with your account name or some identifier that is unique to you so that they can notify you via email about your submissions.

They should take this one step further. When you check for updated MapShares, it should download all other user corrections and then check to make sure that you have all of the corrections YOU submitted as well. Or an option to "only download corrections I have submitted". This would make the process of updating the quarterly maps and re-applying corrections seemless.

Or even better, an option to only download corrections made by a particular user.


Maybe I should go work for TomTom

 

[canderson]

An easier solution would be to have TomTom revamp how MapShare works, fundamentally.

They obviously tag submitted corrections with your account name or some identifier that is unique to you so that they can notify you via email about your submissions.

If so, it's never happened to me. I do leave an email address when I make the corrections directly with TeleAtlas and they do send me a link by email to use on their site to view the status of my request for modification, but I've never had a response like that from TomTom. Have you???

I don't have any reason to believe or not believe that TomTom continues to tie a user to a requested change once the change has been transmitted and accepted. It's possible. Thinking to the mischief someone could get into with MapShare could cause them to just block from a particular ID, but even then, that wouldn't require them to keep the assocation with the ones they permit past any such filter and into the system.

That said - and I can't say I've ever tried this - you should get all of your own MapShare corrections back via MapShare anyway if you give it the most permissive setting. Hmm... need to give that a try sometime here. Kill my own files and see what does come across. I've had to block a couple of roads recently, so it will be pretty obvious if they are reblocked after a MapShare within a week or so. Heck, I don't even know how quickly they turn them around.

 

[ubercam]

Sorry to dig up an older thread, but this seems the most appropriate place to ask instead of starting a new one.

I recently sent my 720 for a repair and Friday I received a really nice shiny refurbed unit directly from Texas.

I'm right back to where I was map & app-wise with the old unit. I have the 2gb NA 8.15 maps and 8.350 app. What I can't get to work is my rather substantial collection of map corrections. There is virtually NO data at all other than the street names for my city, so I'veI entered in a LOT of speed limits, road name changes, turn restrictions, etc so that my TomTom was actually usable. My favourites work no problem.

I've copied over MapServerPatch.dat, MapUserPatch.dat and MapSettings.cfg to the map folder, and UserPatch.dat to the root folder.

Are my user map corrections somehow tied to my old unit's serial number? The first time I plugged it in I was prompted by TTH to associate it with my account and all that stuff. If I copy over MapUserPatch.dat and reboot, the old corrections aren't there, and when I hook it back up to the computer, the file size is reported as 48 bytes (should be 34.5kb). There's gotta be some reason why it doesn't like the file.

Anyone know what that may be? Thanks!

 

[mvl]

Try plugging into HOME, then copy the same files 4 files from your old device's backup.

Then go into HOME, operate my GO, and add/rename a favorite within the emulator. This sometimes gets changes to "take" where it otherwise wouldn't.

Then exit, OMG, wait for the Tomtom to finish writing changes (the x on the tomtom to disappear), then click the blue disconnect button.