Document And Entity Information - USD ($) $ in Billions	12 Months Ended
	Jan. 01, 2016	Feb. 19, 2016	Jul. 03, 2015
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Jan. 01, 2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2015
Entity Registrant Name	TRIMBLE NAVIGATION LTD /CA/
Entity Central Index Key	0000864749
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--01-01
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		250,900,362
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Public Float			$ 6.1
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No