Pocket Mapple Guide

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Welcome to the Pocket Mapple Guide. The format's a bit odd, but I've tried to design it to mimic actually using Pocket Mapple and to be easily accessible on a VGA PDA screen. Set your PDA browser to fullscreen mode to get the full effect.

In the following pages:

• My comments are in red.
• Tap the Windows logo (top left) to go the documentation index (works in most pages)
• Tap the "X" (top right) to come back to this page (works on most pages)
• Tap anything labeled in purple for more info--it'll usually show you just what you'll you see when you tap that item in Mapple itself
• Tap a menu name or icon in the bottom bar to go to the page about that menu or function

"How to" information is shown in context, so root around through the menus in the following pages to find what you need. It's the best way to get to know the program.

One thing to keep in mind: "Custom" in Mapple refers to anything you've made and saved: text points (a little apple logo and label you've put at a particular place on a map), routes, and paths.  So the Custom menu is all about creating, saving, and opening such content.

Important Information: 

• First,if you're doing this on your own, you'll need to set up the GPS-PDAconnection before using it for the first time (consult your owner'smanuals). If you've bought a GPS package from Japanese LanguageTools, this has already been done for you.
• Be sure to turn on your GPS receiver and Bluetooth on your PDA before attempting to connect to the GPS through Mapple.
• Be sure to disconnect from Bluetooth in Mapple before turning the GPS, the PDA, or Bluetooth off.
• If you're using the system while driving, be sure to activate Magnify from the View menu and adjust the backlight for best visibility, but please remember that your attention should be on the road, not the screen. Above all, don't try to access menus or make any adjustments while the car is moving. Sorry if those seem like dumb warnings, but there are people who need them (and sometimes such people decide to sue the guy who failed to tell them they needed to keep their eyes on the road).
• If you've got more than one set of maps covering the same territory (for example, English and Topo maps of all of Japan), you can't switch between them from within the program. Mapple only recognizes maps in the folder called "Map" in the Shobunsha folder on the memory card. The following applies only to systems bought from and set up by JLT: If Mapple is currently using the English maps and you want to use the Topo ones, shut down Pocket Mapple and open that Shobunsha folder in File Explorer. Change the name of the current "Map" folder to anything else, say "Map English," then change the name of the folder containing the topo maps to simply "Map." That's all. Start Pocket Mapple and it'll now show the Topo maps instead of the English ones. I think the Topo maps are the best bet--obviously you get the topo lines, which add a lot of detail and info when you're hiking, but also the English maps don't have as many place names as the Topo and regular Japanese maps.
• Whenyou first start Pocket Mapple, you'll see a mostly blank screen with alittle crosshairs in the middle. It takes 10-20 seconds to load themaps at first. Just wait.
• When you create Routes and Points and when you convert the little dots of the path you've traveled to a solid blue Route, that information isn't actually saved until you hit Save or Save As from the Custom Menu. When you do that, it saves all currently active Points and Routes in a set.

Quick index of basic functions:

• Connect to GPS--with GPS and Bluetooth on the PDA on, tap the connect icon to pull up the Connect Screen.
• Mark points of interest and create routes by hand
• Clearing, Saving, and Opening previously saved points and routes
• Pull up a map of a particular area
• Show the direction to a Point in the currently open set or move the map to a Point or Route in the currently open set

I recommend taking the time to look through all the menus and options with this guide and the PDA in hand to get a general feel for how the program works. Start right here. You'll get used to the functions you use most often very quickly.

See here for Troubleshooting tips