Get Started

Now that you have Installed and Licensed your RouteBuddy Software and Maps, like most people you probably want to use RouteBuddy without reading the detail.
This section aims to give you the basics so that you can start getting used to the software.
However, to fully appreciate how much you can do with RouteBuddy, you need to familiarise yourself with the different sections of the RouteBuddy Window and then refer to the specific How to... section for the in depth RouteBuddy Manual.

If you cannot find how to perform a task having studied the manual, or do not understand what has been written, please contact us at support@routebuddy.com and we will provide further assistance.

Start adding waypoints routes and tracks...

Firstly what is a track and what is a route? - the RouteBuddy definition!

A track is a connected list of points (coordinates) recorded by you or someone else on a GPS device. A track can be imported to RouteBuddy directly from the device (if the device is recognised by RouteBuddy) or as a GPX or KML file. The track will be displayed as a red line with arrows on it. 

A route is a connected list of points (coordinates) which you click out in RouteBuddy to create a line which is displayed in blue. A route is guide for you to follow either by taking a printed copy of the map with you or by uploading the route to a device or by exporting the GPX or KML for transferring to a device.

RouteBuddy allows you to edit a route and edit a track, but more of that later...

Now, before you start adding waypoints or a route to the map...

Set Preferences/Options for Routing

Windows: Select Tools > Options from the Menu Bar
Mac: Select RouteBuddy > Preferences from the Menu Bar 

• Select the Routing icon Change to either Vehicles (for Road Maps using the Network data contained in the map) 
• Direct Travel (Road or Topo maps - route between specific points which you set)

Add a new Place File

Select  File  >  New Place from the Menu Bar or use the keyboard shortcut:
Ctrl+N (Windows) Cmd+N (Mac).

Place files are important in that they provide you with a snapshot of the data (waypoints, routes and tracks) contained in your overall Library/Locations database.
Places are a similar to the Playlists in iTunes in that the playlist contains particular tracks you want to play on certain occassions, whilst Library/Locations are like Library/Music which in iTunes is your database that contains all your tracks.

You should always create and manipulate new geodata (waypoints, routes or tracks) in a new Place file. In that way you can have very clear view of the map, with only the data you want showing. The data you add will be automatically added to Library/Locations. We strongly suggest that you make a new Place file for each new activity you're working on. It's a very powerful way to have lots of views of the same area on the map.
Creating new data whilst still in Locations is not recommended as it is more difficult to subsequently gather all the items for a particular activity from the Locations database and put them in a Place file. It is possible but could be a little tedious!

You can group Place files just as you want by dragging the Place Files into Place Folders which you can create by using the menu or the keyboard commands, more about that in the section: Place Files and Folders.

All your data is stored in the Locations database, so it can get hard to see what's there. That's why its best to work in Places. The advantage of one central store is that when you drag something (waypoint, route or track) to another Place, you don't move the original, or even copy it. Instead you're just moving a signpost that points to the data, safe in the Locations database.

Example: