FAQ – Frequently Asked Questions

I. Our Maps in General

Which maps are available from Nepal GPS Map?
Which accuracy do the maps have?
Is it allowed to publish map excerpts e.g. on my homepage?
Where can I find updates of my map and how much do they cost?
The map is not routable. What does that mean?

II. GARMIN®-Version:

With which Software can I use your maps?
I use Garmin® Mapsource®/Basecamp®. How can I open the maps?
I use software XYZ. How can I open the maps?
Is it possible to print a vertical profile of self-drawn tracks and routes with Mapsource®? The apropriate button seems to be deactivated.
With which Garmin® receivers can I use the maps?
I use Garmin® Mapsource®. How can I transfer the maps to my GPS-receiver?
I use the software XYZ. How can I transfer the maps to my GPS-receiver?
I want to unlock my map. Where can I find the Unit-ID of my GPS-receiver?
I installed my map correctly onto my GPS, but I cannot see any map details. What is going wrong?
When I try to route, the route does not follow the trail but is drawn off road as a straight line. How can I change this?

III. Smartphone/PDA-Version:

Do I need additional Software to use your map on my Smartphone/PDA?
With which Software can I use your maps?
Can I use the map on my Desktop-PC?
Do I need an Internet Connection while using your map?
Can I use my Smartphone/PDA for car navigation?
I cannot see any contour lines – only some strange numbers can be seen as contours.

I. Our Maps in General

1. Which maps are available from NepalGPSMap?

We offer three main map series: topographical map serie NepalTOPO, street map serie NepalSTREET and the basemap serie NepalBASE. All of them cover the whole country of Nepal in at least 1:250.000 (Basemap in 1:1.000.000). The topographical and street maps cover some areas with a very high level of detail (up to 1:15.000). These areas of detail are also available as single maps for low budget trekkers (e.g. NepalTOPO Annapurna), if you are only interested in a single region. However, the single maps are only available for Garmin® receivers. Please visit the MAP Page for more details.

Our maps are available for a lot of GPS receivers, amoung others devices from Garmin®, Smartphones with Android®, iOS® (iPhone/iPad), Symbian®, Windows Mobile® and Bada® operating systems as well as lots of PDAs with Windows Mobile®.

2. Which accuracy do the maps have?

The basis of the maps are available maps in paper form (mostly with an accuracy of 1:50.000), satellite photographs and of course self-recorded tracks and waypoints from many people all over the world. Especially because of the self-recorded tracks and waypoints the maps have a very high accuracy. But of course they can be wrong or inaccurate for some regions. Never use our maps as the only navigation tool! We are no cartography publisher, we just digitize and vectorize existing maps and improve this data with self-recorded tracks and waypoints. For that reasobn mostly our maps are not more precisely than the maps in paper form.

3. Is it allowed to publish map excerpts e.g. on my homepage?

YES! Publishing of map excerpts on your own homepage is allowed with all versions of our maps (even with the FREE-Version!). But you have to take care of some conditions when publishing map excerpts. Here are the conditions:

You must have a valid license of the map
You have to add a copyright notice: © Nepal GPS Map / http://www.nepalgpsmap.com
Please send a reference copy (for publication in printed form) – typically as a scanned copy of the original via eMail – or the URL (for publication in electronic form) to us
You must provide access to the website or the printed copy free of charge
The data must not exceed a size of 1024 x 768 pixels per webpage
Excepted are web-mapping products, which provide an opportunity like “scrolling” through a map, where at any time only a small field of view can be seen
It is not permitted to publish the data in its original resolution, e.g. to make it downloadable in its original form.

4. Where can I find updates of my map and how much do they cost?

We periodically publish updates for our maps. For example we continously collect self-recorded waypoints, tracks and Points-Of-Interest from a lot of users and integrate them into our products. These updates are free of charge for all licence owners! With your login data, which you received with your order confirmation, you can login into the MyMaps-Webpage and get the new version of your map.

5. The map is not routable. What does that mean?

With GPS-Receivers one has several possibilities to navigate along a route:

Choose a destination on your map and navigate to this destination “Off Road”.
Create a self-drawn route and navigate along this route.
Choose a destination (e.g. a housenumber or street) and let the receiver create the shortest or fastest route and navigate along this route. This is pretty like “car navigation”.

Of course you can use option 1 and 2 also with a non-routable map. They will work even if there is no map installed on your receiver at all! But automatic routing (option 3), which is well known from carnavigation, is only offered by our high-end maps. Please have a look at our topographical and street maps. All these maps are fully routable.

II. GARMIN®-Version:

1. With which Software can I use your maps?

Our maps are compatible with any Software which can display (locked!) maps in Garmin®’s fileformat. First of all these are Garmin®’s own software called Mapsource® and Basemap®. Furthermore a lot more Software can handle these maps, e.g. Touratech QV® and Fugawi®. Please have a look at the manual of your software to find out if and how it can be used with Garmin®-Maps (often called IMG-format).

We include the Software Sendmap Pro® to our maps free of charge, with which you can transfer the map to your GPS receiver without any additional software.

2. I use Garmin® Mapsource®/Basecamp®. How can I open the maps?

Mapsource® and Basecamp® find every installed map by themself. Our maps are found by Mapsource®/Basecamp® automatically, too. So the first step after downloading is to execute the executable Setup-file and install the map onto your computer. After installation and starting Mapsource®/Basecamp® you can reach all installed maps with the dropdown-menu, which can be found in the View-Toolbar. In standard setups the View-Toolbar can be found in the upper left corner. If you can’t see the toolbar, please activate it under View -> Show Toolbars -> View.

In the case that you only have one installed map on your computer, the Map-Dropdown-box isn’t displayed. The last viewed map is displayed automatically then. You also can reach all installed maps with View -> Switch to Product.

3. I use software XYZ. How can I open the maps?

Please have a look at the documentation of your software how to open Garmin®-compatible maps (often called IMG-format). Most times these maps must be opened with an open- or import-dialog. To choose the right file, please follow these instructions:

Download the Sendmap-Installation file and unzip it into a folder of your choice. Use your favourite ZIP-program or download the free 7-Zip to do this job. After you have extracted the archive, you can find beside some other files several files with the ending “.img” in the folder you have extracted the archive in and exactly one file with the ending “.tdb”. If you can’t see the endings of the files, please activate the view of extensions in the Windows Explorer under Tools -> Folder options -> View. You have to uncheck the option Hide extensions for known file types.

Now open your gps software and start the open/import-dialog for Garmin®-compatible maps. At first, try to choose the “.tdb”-file. Every map area will be loaded automatically according to the choosed area and the zoomlevel. If your software does not support TDB-files (e.g. you only see an empty border when displaying the map), you have to load the files with the ending “.img” directly. The IMG-file with “0″ (zero) as the last digit (e. g. “33000000.img”) is only an overview map with less details. The files with “1″-”9″ (e. g. “33000001.img”) are the detailed maps. According to it’s size one map can be split into several single files.

4. Is it possible to print a vertical profile of self-drawn tracks and routes with Mapsource®? The apropriate button seems to be deactivated.

Please update to the newest version of your map! Our detailed topographical maps offer height profiles for routes and tracks in the newest version. Note: This is not available for basemaps (NepalBASE) and street maps (NepalSTREET)!

5. With which Garmin® receivers can I use the maps?

All Garmin® receivers, which can display maps in Garmin®’s format, are compatible with the maps from NepalGPSMaps. This include all “On the Road”-Receivers as well as all “On the Trail”-Mapping-Handhelds. If you plan to purchase one of our maps please firstly download the FREE-Version free of charge to test the compatibility of your soft- and hardware. You will find some FREE-Versions in the Download area.

6. I use Garmin® Mapsource®/Basecamp®. How can I transfer the maps to my GPS-receiver?

In Mapsource®/Basecamp®, maps are transfered to the receiver exactly the same way as waypoints, routes and tracks are transfered. To do so you firstly have to select all maps and/or mapareas, which you want to transfer later. After that you just transfer the selected items to the receiver’s memory.

First of all you have to display the so called “User Data Tab”, which shows choosen routes, waypoints and maps: View -> Show User Data Tabs. After that, zoom out so that you can see the whole map. You also can toogle View -> Zoom Out Region to do so. Now one can choose the maps and/or areas, which should be transfered, with the help of the mouse. To do so please activate the map tool (with the appropriate icon or under Tools -> Map) and click in the map which you want to transfer. Of course you can choose several different maps and/or mapareas. The number of possible maps/areas is only limited by the available memory of your receiver.

The choosen maps and areas are visible after selection in the User Data Tab under “Maps”:

(Click to enlarge)

To transfer the selected maps, call the transfer-dialog with the icon in the toolbar or at Transfer -> Send to Device. Activate the transfer of maps and send all selected maps with “Send” to the receiver. That’s it!

7. I use the software XYZ. How can I transfer the maps to my GPS-receiver?

Please have a look at the documentation of your software how you can transfer maps to Garmin® receivers. However, all of our maps include the software SendmapPro®. We recommend that you use this software to transfer maps to your receiver. Please download the Sendmap-Installation package for your map and unzip it into a folder of your choice. Use your favourite ZIP-program or download the free 7-Zip to do this job. After you have extracted the archive, you’ll find a Readme_HOWTO.txt-file in the new folder which includes further information.

Start the Sendmap executable (“sendmap20.exe”) and drag and drop the file “filelist.txt” into the main window of Sendmap. Alternatively you can click on “Add maps” and selext the file “filelist.txt” manually.

(Click to enlarge)

If you can’t see the endings of the files, please activate the view of endings in the Windows Explorer under Tools -> Folder options -> View. You have to uncheck the option Hide extensions for known file types. After loading the file “filelist.txt”, establish a connection with your receiver with “Connect” and transfer all files with “Upload Maps to GPS”. That’s it.

8. I want to unlock my map. Where can I find the Unit-ID of my GPS-receiver?

To unlock your purchased copy of your map, you’ll need the unique Unit ID of your GPS receiver. The Unit ID is a 10-digit number which is absolutely unique. Every Garmin® GPS receiver has such a number. There are to ways to figure out the Unit ID of your GPS receiver: by your mapping software or from the receiver’s menus itself. Under Mapsource®, please connect the receiver to your computer and go to Utilities -> Get Unit ID. With Basecamp®, please also connect the receiver to your computer and have a look at the Library on the left side of the screen. You should see your receiver with it’s Unit ID. To get the Unit ID only with the help of your receiver, please refer to the receivers manual how to find the Unit ID. Some examples:

eTrex® and GPSMap serie: Go to Main menu -> Setup -> System and press the options menu button. Choose Software Version.
Nüvi® serie: Go to Tools -> Settings -> System -> About
Dakota® and Oregon® serie: Go to Main Menu -> Setup -> About

Further help how to unlock your map can be found on the Support-Pages.

9. I installed my map correctly onto my GPS, but I cannot see any map details. What is going wrong?

Sometimes it happens that the unlock code you have installed in Mapsource/Basecamp® is not correct for your GPS receiver, or another installed map prevent your Nepal map to be visible. First of all please check that there are no error messages like “Cannot unlock map” when you switch on your GPS-receiver. In that case your unlock code is not correct for your GPS-receiver. Please contact us if you think this is an mistake.

Next, check that your Nepal map is switched on and all other installed maps on your receiver are switched off. Please go to the map setup page (please refer to the manual of your GPS where you can find the map settings):

eTrex® and GPSMap® serie: Go to Main menu -> Setup -> Map and select the Information tab.
Nüvi® serie: Go to Tools -> Settings -> Map -> Info
Dakota® and Oregon® serie: Go to Main Menu -> Setup -> Map and select the Map Information tab.

Enable your Nepal map (check mark) and disable all other installed maps (no check mark). Please note that depending on your GPS unit your Nepal map may be divided into several different map tiles which may all be selectable seperately. In that case make sure to enable all map tiles! After that, please set map details to “Most”. This will cause your GPS to draw most map details also in higher zoom levels. You can change this back after you are sure your map is working correctly. You can find the map detail option in the following menu:

eTrex® and GPSMap® serie: Go to Main menu -> Setup -> Map and select the General tab.
Nüvi® serie: Go to Tools -> Settings -> Map -> Map Detail
Dakota® and Oregon® serie: Go to Main Menu -> Setup -> Map and select the Advanced Map Setup tab.

The following screenshots show the procedure on an eTrex® and Nüvi® device.

10. When I try to route, the route does not follow the trail but is drawn off road as a straight line. How can I change this?

You can use different routing modes with your GPS receiver. If you would like to route along a trail or street (like most car navigation systems), you have to activate this routing mode in the settings of your receiver. Please refer to the manual of your receiver where you can find the routing options:

eTrex® and GPSMap® serie: Go to Main menu -> Setup -> Routing.
Nüvi® serie: Go to Tools -> Settings -> System and Tools -> Settings -> Navigation -> Route preference.
Dakota® and Oregon® serie: Go to Main Menu -> Setup -> Routing.

Select “Follow Road” as Guidance Method. Next please select “Follow Road Options” and select “Pedestrian” in “Calculate Routes for”. On Nüvi please first go to “System” and select “Pedestrian” under “Usage Mode”. Next go to “Navigation -> Route preference ” and select “On Road”. Otherwise, your receiver may not route along trails and unpaved roads but only along streets and highways.

III. Smartphone/PDA-Version

1. Do I need additional Software to use your map on my Smartphone/PDA?

Yes, you need the software Navitel Navigator® to view and use our maps on your Smartphone/PDA. Navitel Navigator® is a multi-platform multilingual navigation system, running on Android®, Symbian®, Windows Mobile®, iPhone®, iPad®, and Bada® platforms. It offers real turn-by-turn navigation with speech instructions in several different languages (amoung others english and german). We offer cheap bundles “Software + Map” which saves up to 30% in comparison to buy both, software and map, seperately. But of course you can also use your existing Navitel® licence or purchase Navitel® in your AppStore/Market. Navitel Navigator® can be tested 30 days free of charge.

2. With which Software can I use your maps?

Our maps are compatible with the software Navitel Navigator® (please see question above). They cannot be used with any other software at the moment.

3. Can I use the map on my Desktop-PC?

Unfortunately, this is not possible at the moment, because Navitel Navigator® is currently not available for Desktop-PCs. Of course you can run Navitel Navigator® in an emulator (there are emulators for Android®, Windows Mobile® and iOS®), but this is not very convenient and so we cannot recommend this solution. As soon as Navitel Navigator® is available for any Desktop computers, you will be able to sue your map on your computer without any extra costs.

4. Do I need an Internet Connection while using your map?

No, our maps are completely offline maps. There’s no internet connection needed while using your map. And also for installation you do not need an internet connection (e.g. if your PDA do not offer any network devices).

5. Can I use my Smartphone/PDA for car navigation?

Yes, Navitel Navigator® offers real turn-by-turn navigation with speech instructions. So it can be used for real car navigation as well as for pedestrians or bikes.

6. I cannot see any contour lines – only some strange numbers can be seen as contours.

Navitel Navigator® uses so called “skins” to adjust the look and feel of the installed maps. The standard skin, which comes with Navitel Navigator® and is installed as default, do not show contour lines. Please install the NepalGPSMap skin to enable contour lines and special POIs like stupas, gompas and temples. You have to install the Extension Pack from your MyMaps Account to install the skin. After installation, start Navitel Navigator® and go to Menu -> Settings -> Interface -> Skin and choose the NepalGPSMap-Skin from the dropdown list.