Method of collecting information for a geographic database for use with a navigation system

1. A method of operating a navigation system comprising:

determining a route between a first location on a road network and a second location in a facility off of the road network;

composing individual guidance messages for travel along a portion of the route on the road network; and

obtaining from a geographic database associated with the navigation system a pre-composed set of guidance instructions for travel in the facility along a portion of the route off of the road network, wherein the guidance instructions comprise at least one maneuver instruction and at least one reference to a visible feature in said facility, wherein the geographic database includes data representing said pre-composed instructions associated with data representing said facility.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein said reference to said visible feature includes a name of said visible feature and one of a predetermined number of phrases is selected from the group consisting of above, through, by, right, left, between, up, down, across and synonyms thereof.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein said visible feature is a point of interest or building component.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said visible feature is one selected from a group consisting of stairs, escalator, elevator, entrance, exit and door.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said facility is a mass transit station.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein said guidance instructions include how to use public transportation.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

providing said guidance messages on a user interface of the navigation system.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

providing said pre-composed set of guidance instructions on a user interface of the navigation system.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

providing attribute information for the portion of the route off of the road network, wherein said attribute information includes at least one feature selected from the group consisting of: type of transportation allowed, wheel chair accessible, pets allowed, lighting level, noise level, pollution level, activity level and weather effects.

10. A method of operating a navigation system comprising:

identifying a route between a first location and a second location; and

obtaining from a geographic database associated with the navigation system a pre-composed set of guidance instructions for the route, wherein the guidance instructions comprise at least one maneuver instruction and at least one reference to a visible feature along the route, wherein the geographic database includes data representing said pre-composed instructions associated with data representing said first location or said second location.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

providing attribute information for said route, wherein said attribute information includes at least one feature of the segment selected from the group consisting of: type of transportation allowed, wheel chair accessible, pets allowed, lighting level, noise level, pollution level, activity level and weather effects.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein said visible feature is a point of interest or building component.

13. The method of claim 10 wherein said reference to said visible feature includes one of a predetermined number of phrases and a name of said visible feature.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein said one of a predetermined number of phrases is selected from the group consisting of above, through, by, right, left, between, up, down, across, after, along, past and synonyms thereof.

15. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

providing said pre-composed set of guidance instructions on a user interface of the navigation system.

16. A method of operating a navigation system comprising:

determining a route between a first location on a road network and a second location in a building;

composing individual guidance messages for travel along a portion of the route on the road network; and

obtaining a pre-composed set of guidance instructions for travel in the building between said second location and said road network, wherein the guidance instructions comprise at least one maneuver instruction and at least one reference to a visible feature in said building.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein said reference to said visible feature includes one of a predetermined number of phrases and a name of said visible feature, wherein said one of a predetermined number of phrases is selected from the group consisting of above, through, by, right, left, between, up, down, across, after, along, past and synonyms thereof.

18. The method of claim 16 wherein said visible feature is one selected from a group consisting of stairs, escalator, elevator, entrance, exit and door.

19. The method of claim 16 further comprising:

providing wheel chair accessible information for said building.

20. The method of claim 16 wherein said pre-composed set of guidance instructions are obtained from a geographic database associated with the navigation system, wherein the geographic database includes data representing said pre-composed instructions associated with data representing said building.