If you live in a big city such as Kuala Lumpur, I am sure you’ve lost your way before while looking for the destination that you’re trying to get to. Moreover the city itself is so big and sometimes when someone tells you a location, you don’t even know where it is. If you have a GPS unit, you don’t need to worry about it because it can definitely guide you to the destination that you set. If not, what you can do is to call up your friends, ask them if they know the place or you can bring out a map and try to see if you can find the location.

Another way is to install Garmin MapSource, try to look for free maps and then do your homework before you leave to your destination. Using MapSource to find a location and driving directions is way easier than using the paper maps because a good map file allows you to “search” for the name of the place, address, and etc. I’ll show you how easy it is to find a location and driving directions using MapSource.


1. First of all, you’ll need to download and install MapSource. If you don’t have the installation disc, follow the instructions on this article on how to install MapSource without setup disc.

2. Then you’ll need to install the GPS map. There are free and also paid maps. Try looking for the free ones because the paid ones requires you to enter registration key. I have a small list below which is consolidated.
– Malaysia & Singapore: MalfreeMaps / MalsingMaps
– Venezuela
– Brasil
– Argentina
– Laos, Vietnam, Phillipine, Japan, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Western Samoa

3. Now run MapSource from start menu. If you only installed one map, the map will be loaded automatically in MapSource. Or else you will get to drop down box to select which map you want to use.

4. To search for a location, simultaneously press Ctrl + F to bring up the Find Places window. Type the name of the place that you’re looking for. An example is I want to search for Shangri-La hotel in Kuala Lumpur. Enter the name, city and click Find. Clicking OK would bring you to the location in the map.

If you want to search for driving directions, you have to make two waypoints. Then highlight the two way points from the left sidebar using your mouse, right click and select Create Route using Selected Waypoint(s). You get to move the waypoints up or down to determine where you are leaving from.

Click OK and it will create the route. You can zoom in to view the route more clearly which is highlighted in yellow. If it is too confusing with too many details on the map, in menubar, go to View > Map Detail and select a lower one.

Using MapSource to find a location or driving directions is WAY better than having a paper map. I have no problems finding any place when I discovered MapSource. The only con is it won’t be as portable as the paper map where you can just fold it and keep it in your pocket. I am sure there are many more free maps for Garmin MapSource, if you know that I’ve missed in the list above, please share with us. Here’s a hint, there’s a forum called pda4x which contains a lot of cracked full commercial maps that don’t require registration.