Document and Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Apr. 03, 2015	May 07, 2015
Entity Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Apr. 03, 2015
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2015
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Trading Symbol	TRMB
Entity Registrant Name	TRIMBLE NAVIGATION LTD /CA/
Entity Central Index Key	0000864749
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--01-02
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		259,458,292