[snooker]

More -- on the definitions of Via Points vs. Shaping Points:

Originally Posted by Rocky TFS

Via Point - A point used to create a multipoint route, ..... a via point can be a POI, an existing waypoint/favorite or any other form of location that is searchable on your device...

"Searchable" is the key here to me.

Originally Posted by Rocky TFS

Shaping Point - ... to "shape" a route to go exactly where you want ... you can edit the route's properties to insert Via points (these are not shaping points although they do serve a similar purpose). ... OR ... You can also just use the route tool to click on spots on the map to force the shape of a route. When you do that, you are using a location that does not HAVE to be added to any of the formal databases. It simply inserts the actual coordinates invisibly into the route. These are shaping points.

Shaping points occur in another, automatic, fashion as well. Even when you only designate a two-point route, e.g. go from Point A to Point B, there will usually be multiple places, usually intersections, where a change in direction is required. When building the route, the personal navigation device (or Mapsource/Basecamp) will automatically include all of these points in the route.

By "use the route tool" this must mean the Insert tool (rubber band method). and yes Rocky I appreciate you posting this (and yes you were first also ).

Originally Posted by dlh62c

If you right click on the via point, a drop down list will appear that will allow you to change its property to Alert On Arrival or Don't Alert on Arrival (Shaping Point).

I AGREE! This is what makes it a Shaping Point.

Originally Posted by cablebandit

Shaping point.

Agreed, you can see in the Properties it defaults to being greyed out and shows it as a shaping point...

...and here is more supporting evidence (sorry if this is REALLY old news)...

I followed the idea on post #6802, originally from KGANSHIRT and at the end he says to File->Export the route to a GPX file and look at it with an editor (like Notepad).
I did this and the GPX file is a type of XML file and you can look around at the tags (for more GPX syntax see examples HERE and the GPX "Syntax" or elements HERE), but basically you see all the Waypoints < wpt > listed at the beginning, then the Route < rte > and inside the route is the series of RoutePoint < rtept > elements which apparently always has the initial Start waypoint and the last Finish waypoint and in between is all the other Via Points (of various subtypes like Shaping Points etc, as I am getting into next).

So in the picture below is an example of a very simple route that shows up in the Route Properties as having 3 Via Points - as we have established, BaseCamp in the Properties tab for a Route, calls everything Via Points, yet we know there are distinctions between the many subtypes of Via Points like Way Points, Shaping points, etc.

In this example I created a Route with a Start Waypoint, a Finish Waypoint, and one Shaping Point in between the 2 (created via the Insert tool (rubber band)). The Insert tool always seems to create a Shaping Point -- you can tell because it is already greyed out and says "(won't alert)" as you can see below, and if you right click on it you do not get the menu option for Don't Alert on Arrival (Shaping Point), instead you get the Alert on Arrival option.

Below you see a Cyan (aqua) colored route in Motorcycling activity profile, then I also saved it as a Blue colored route in the Direct profile, which is selected now:



So now I did File->Export->Export Selection... to export this "selected" Route as a GPX file, and looked at the file in an editor:

I believe I can confirm that BaseCamp's Insert tool has marked this as a Shaping point because in the RoutePoint < rtept > information for this middle point it has an section with the code:
< trp:ShapingPoint / >

If instead I used the + to add a Waypoint then in the < rtept > information it shows it as a ViaPoint:
< trp:ViaPoint >


My conclusions from all of this is we should speak carefully so we can communicate. I suggest the mandatory Start and Finish are Via Points but also happen to be Waypoints, then other points we should say whether they are Via Points OR Shaping Points, even though as you can see above it shows 3 Via Points as they are all under that concept. But we need to speak in specifics. Don't say just Via Point but make sure you say which "kind" of via point.

If I am wrong please correct me!

UPDATE 1:
THIS ENTIRE POST IS ONLY ABOUT BASECAMP AS I AM TRYING TO ESTABLISH TERMINOLOGY FOR A DISCUSSION OF MOVING A ROUTE TO THE MONTANA. PLEASE REPLY IF YOU THINK THE ABOVE IS CORRECT OR NOT. I only brought up the GPX files as it shows the way Basecamp might be providing "input" data to the Montana which the Montana would then use to autoroute with, if you have the Montana set to a Routing Activity other than DIRECT, which is my next discussion.