Street Atlas 9.0

Hi,

I've been using Delorme Street Atlas products in my car for years. Great
software.

After trying out Street Atlas 2003 last year, I returned it for a refund,
ordered, and received Version 9, the old interface, which I am used to and
prefer.

I just recently purchased a new computer and bought the USB GPS Earthmate to
go with it. For some reason, I am unable to locate my Street Atlas 9.0 disks
to install the software on it. I called Delorme to get replacement disks and
they informed me that they no longer have the product in stock. I found this
hard to believe, as I had just bought the program upgrade directly from them
for $50 last December. In retrospect, I should have burned some backup
disks, but I never thought I would lose the originals.

Is there anyone with Version 9.0 of this program who would be willing to
burn me a couple of disks and mail them to me? I will certainly pay you for
your trouble and postage.

Some may ask why I don't like the 2003 version. I find the keyboard
shortcuts on the old interface to be intuitive and easy, which is handy when
you're booming down the highway and don't want to be distracted from driving
to zoom in and out, check satellite status, turn off automatic pan, etc. My
other option, I suppose, would be to buy a mike and use voice commands.

Thanks,

Jim Bailey

A little know fact about zooming and panning with SA2003 is that the same
keyboard combinations (Pg Up/Dn for zoom in/out and arrow keys for panning)
work without having to use <Ctrl> as long as the map has focus (click on
it). If the tabs have focus you have to use <Ctrl>. The really should have
put this info in the Help, but didn't.

When the GPS is running, there is a hidden button that displays on the
control panel (to the right of the map) that lets you control the
auto center on GPS.

You can tell the status of the GPS just by looking at the GPS locator. If
it's green, you've got a 3D fix, yellow 2D, Red no fix.. You do have to
switch to the GPS tab if you want an more info.

Dan

"Jim Bailey" <jsbailey@allen-bailey.com> wrote in message
news:kh-cncyZT_h23pGiXTWJiA@aros.net...
> Hi,
>
> I've been using Delorme Street Atlas products in my car for years. Great
> software.
>
> After trying out Street Atlas 2003 last year, I returned it for a refund,
> ordered, and received Version 9, the old interface, which I am used to and
> prefer.
>
> I just recently purchased a new computer and bought the USB GPS Earthmate
to
> go with it. For some reason, I am unable to locate my Street Atlas 9.0
disks
> to install the software on it. I called Delorme to get replacement disks
and
> they informed me that they no longer have the product in stock. I found
this
> hard to believe, as I had just bought the program upgrade directly from
them
> for $50 last December. In retrospect, I should have burned some backup
> disks, but I never thought I would lose the originals.
>
> Is there anyone with Version 9.0 of this program who would be willing to
> burn me a couple of disks and mail them to me? I will certainly pay you
for
> your trouble and postage.
>
> Some may ask why I don't like the 2003 version. I find the keyboard
> shortcuts on the old interface to be intuitive and easy, which is handy
when
> you're booming down the highway and don't want to be distracted from
driving
> to zoom in and out, check satellite status, turn off automatic pan, etc.
My
> other option, I suppose, would be to buy a mike and use voice commands.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Jim Bailey
>
>

That's a good tip. I didn't know that worked with 2003.

With my new computer (Fujitsu P2120), the Function key (required to shift
from arrow to PgUp/Dn keys) is located way to the left. On my old computer
(Libretto C110), the Function key was right next to these keys, making one
handed zooming in and out easy. I need to find out if there's a hack to
remap or swap keys to allow one handed zoom operation.

Another nice thing I liked about the old Street Atlas interface were the
easily accessible key commands. Alt VD and Alt VR toggled direction and
route displays on and off. Alt GA turned off automatic pan. Alt GM brought
up the satellite monitor. It was all very easy to operate with one hand.

I suppose 2003 has similar shortcuts. Maybe I'll just have to bite the
bullet and learn the new interface, since Delorme obviously wants to phase
out the old one. The voice navigation is something I haven't tried yet.
Maybe that's what I need to learn how to do.

> A little know fact about zooming and panning with SA2003 is that the same
> keyboard combinations (Pg Up/Dn for zoom in/out and arrow keys for
panning)
> work without having to use <Ctrl> as long as the map has focus (click on
> it). If the tabs have focus you have to use <Ctrl>. The really should
have
> put this info in the Help, but didn't.
>
> When the GPS is running, there is a hidden button that displays on the
> control panel (to the right of the map) that lets you control the
> auto center on GPS.
>
> You can tell the status of the GPS just by looking at the GPS locator. If
> it's green, you've got a 3D fix, yellow 2D, Red no fix.. You do have to
> switch to the GPS tab if you want an more info.
>
> Dan
>

On Wed, 09 Jul 2003 17:39:48 GMT, "Dan Lawyer" <dlawyer@austin.rr.com>
wrote:

>A little know fact about zooming and panning with SA2003 is that the same
>keyboard combinations (Pg Up/Dn for zoom in/out and arrow keys for panning)
>work without having to use <Ctrl> as long as the map has focus (click on
>it). If the tabs have focus you have to use <Ctrl>. The really should have
>put this info in the Help, but didn't.

Mine seems to have a nasty habit of losing the "focus" at
unpredictable moments so that I have to go back, click on it, then
dump the pointer back out of the map again. -very annoying- which is
probably why they didn't put it in the help section.

There are tons of shortcut keys, but voice is the best way to go.

If your laptop is the 900MHz one, with 256ram, that should be plenty to run
SA, but I wouldn't recommend much less, even though their minimum standard
is far less. SA is a big app, and it will use all your resources, but
*well* worth it. I highly recommend you wait for SA2004 which will be out
in a month or two. I do know that there will be lots of improvements. Try
to get it when you have a few days to seriously play with it so you get the
hang of it. It's really not that hard to learn, instead of menus and
toolbars, it uses tabs and different windows with those tabs but everything
on the tab is related to the tab name.

The two biggest advantages of it are
1) you can actually correct and add roads yourself and then search and route
on them. Yea, I know, it would be nice if the roads were all there and
correct, but forget it, it probably won't happen in our lifetime. I've
heard folks complain about the maps in cars costing a couple of grand, and
they use really good very expensive maps. As far as I know, DeLorme is
still the only company that gives you the tools to do this, and they have
had it for a couple of years now.

2) once you create *anything*, route, mapnotes, you never have to redo it
for another map, like you do now. You can use it on any map, and any number
of them (ie. one map can have many routes on it if you want). When you
update the route or mapnote, it's updated in all mapfiles that you have it
in.

Dan

"Jim Bailey" <jsbailey@allen-bailey.com> wrote in message
news:n3ydndLQ-OEs-JGiXTWJiw@aros.net...
> That's a good tip. I didn't know that worked with 2003.
>
> With my new computer (Fujitsu P2120), the Function key (required to shift
> from arrow to PgUp/Dn keys) is located way to the left. On my old computer
> (Libretto C110), the Function key was right next to these keys, making one
> handed zooming in and out easy. I need to find out if there's a hack to
> remap or swap keys to allow one handed zoom operation.
>
> Another nice thing I liked about the old Street Atlas interface were the
> easily accessible key commands. Alt VD and Alt VR toggled direction and
> route displays on and off. Alt GA turned off automatic pan. Alt GM brought
> up the satellite monitor. It was all very easy to operate with one hand.
>
> I suppose 2003 has similar shortcuts. Maybe I'll just have to bite the
> bullet and learn the new interface, since Delorme obviously wants to phase
> out the old one. The voice navigation is something I haven't tried yet.
> Maybe that's what I need to learn how to do.
>
> > A little know fact about zooming and panning with SA2003 is that the
same
> > keyboard combinations (Pg Up/Dn for zoom in/out and arrow keys for
> panning)
> > work without having to use <Ctrl> as long as the map has focus (click on
> > it). If the tabs have focus you have to use <Ctrl>. The really should
> have
> > put this info in the Help, but didn't.
> >
> > When the GPS is running, there is a hidden button that displays on the
> > control panel (to the right of the map) that lets you control the
> > auto center on GPS.
> >
> > You can tell the status of the GPS just by looking at the GPS locator.
If
> > it's green, you've got a 3D fix, yellow 2D, Red no fix.. You do have to
> > switch to the GPS tab if you want an more info.
> >
> > Dan
> >
>
>

Thanks, Dan!

I've been addicted to GPS in my car since 1998 (when I got my first Toshiba
Libretto 50CT and Street Atlas USA Vers. 3 or 4). We've always taken it on
our vacations, used it in rental cars, and have had some real adventures on
seldom traveled backroads without ever being lost.

Delorme has done a less than sterling job updating their maps over the
years. Salt Lake (where I live) has had lots of road changes in the past 5
years. Delorme usually lags behind by at least 2 years, so it would be nice
to add routable roads rather than wait for them to update the maps.

When I first tried to load 2003 on my old Libretto (110CT), I thought the
computer had hung up. It literally takes minutes for the program to load on
an old machine. My Fujitsu is equipped as you described, and the program
loads and runs much better. I didn't really want the software after last
year's bad experience with it, but it came as a package with the Earthmate
GPS. I'll play with it till I get the hang of the new software, though I do
miss the simplicity and familiar interface of the old program.

> There are tons of shortcut keys, but voice is the best way to go.
>
> If your laptop is the 900MHz one, with 256ram, that should be plenty to
run
> SA, but I wouldn't recommend much less, even though their minimum standard
> is far less. SA is a big app, and it will use all your resources, but
> *well* worth it. I highly recommend you wait for SA2004 which will be out
> in a month or two. I do know that there will be lots of improvements.
Try
> to get it when you have a few days to seriously play with it so you get
the
> hang of it. It's really not that hard to learn, instead of menus and
> toolbars, it uses tabs and different windows with those tabs but
everything
> on the tab is related to the tab name.
>
> The two biggest advantages of it are
> 1) you can actually correct and add roads yourself and then search and
route
> on them. Yea, I know, it would be nice if the roads were all there and
> correct, but forget it, it probably won't happen in our lifetime. I've
> heard folks complain about the maps in cars costing a couple of grand, and
> they use really good very expensive maps. As far as I know, DeLorme is
> still the only company that gives you the tools to do this, and they have
> had it for a couple of years now.
>
> 2) once you create *anything*, route, mapnotes, you never have to redo it
> for another map, like you do now. You can use it on any map, and any
number
> of them (ie. one map can have many routes on it if you want). When you
> update the route or mapnote, it's updated in all mapfiles that you have it
> in.
>
> Dan
>

Your right, doing anything with any tab or the control panel, that will take
focus off the map. If you're tracking a route and are using a tab with
changing displays that might cause it to loose focus. I'll have to check
that out. I use voice commands so I haven't noticed that.

Dan

<no-spam@comcast.not> wrote in message
news:ktmogv87vf3dnkmia35pbg427orif987th@4ax.com...
> On Wed, 09 Jul 2003 17:39:48 GMT, "Dan Lawyer" <dlawyer@austin.rr.com>
> wrote:
>
> >A little know fact about zooming and panning with SA2003 is that the same
> >keyboard combinations (Pg Up/Dn for zoom in/out and arrow keys for
panning)
> >work without having to use <Ctrl> as long as the map has focus (click on
> >it). If the tabs have focus you have to use <Ctrl>. The really should
have
> >put this info in the Help, but didn't.
>
> Mine seems to have a nasty habit of losing the "focus" at
> unpredictable moments so that I have to go back, click on it, then
> dump the pointer back out of the map again. -very annoying- which is
> probably why they didn't put it in the help section.

Their Help is actually very good, but there is so much it's hard to find
what you want. The trick is to use the search tab (in the Help) and enter
just a few key words for what our looking for. If you get too many hits,
add another word, or too few, remove a word. It's the easiest way to find
stuff.

Dan

"Jim Bailey" <jsbailey@allen-bailey.com> wrote in message
news:R4mcnYUlHfFr5pGiXTWJiQ@aros.net...
> Thanks, Dan!
>
> I've been addicted to GPS in my car since 1998 (when I got my first
Toshiba
> Libretto 50CT and Street Atlas USA Vers. 3 or 4). We've always taken it on
> our vacations, used it in rental cars, and have had some real adventures
on
> seldom traveled backroads without ever being lost.
>
> Delorme has done a less than sterling job updating their maps over the
> years. Salt Lake (where I live) has had lots of road changes in the past 5
> years. Delorme usually lags behind by at least 2 years, so it would be
nice
> to add routable roads rather than wait for them to update the maps.
>
> When I first tried to load 2003 on my old Libretto (110CT), I thought the
> computer had hung up. It literally takes minutes for the program to load
on
> an old machine. My Fujitsu is equipped as you described, and the program
> loads and runs much better. I didn't really want the software after last
> year's bad experience with it, but it came as a package with the Earthmate
> GPS. I'll play with it till I get the hang of the new software, though I
do
> miss the simplicity and familiar interface of the old program.
>
> > There are tons of shortcut keys, but voice is the best way to go.
> >
> > If your laptop is the 900MHz one, with 256ram, that should be plenty to
> run
> > SA, but I wouldn't recommend much less, even though their minimum
standard
> > is far less. SA is a big app, and it will use all your resources, but
> > *well* worth it. I highly recommend you wait for SA2004 which will be
out
> > in a month or two. I do know that there will be lots of improvements.
> Try
> > to get it when you have a few days to seriously play with it so you get
> the
> > hang of it. It's really not that hard to learn, instead of menus and
> > toolbars, it uses tabs and different windows with those tabs but
> everything
> > on the tab is related to the tab name.
> >
> > The two biggest advantages of it are
> > 1) you can actually correct and add roads yourself and then search and
> route
> > on them. Yea, I know, it would be nice if the roads were all there and
> > correct, but forget it, it probably won't happen in our lifetime. I've
> > heard folks complain about the maps in cars costing a couple of grand,
and
> > they use really good very expensive maps. As far as I know, DeLorme is
> > still the only company that gives you the tools to do this, and they
have
> > had it for a couple of years now.
> >
> > 2) once you create *anything*, route, mapnotes, you never have to redo
it
> > for another map, like you do now. You can use it on any map, and any
> number
> > of them (ie. one map can have many routes on it if you want). When you
> > update the route or mapnote, it's updated in all mapfiles that you have
it
> > in.
> >
> > Dan
> >
>
>