Document And Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 30, 2012	May 01, 2012
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Mar. 30, 2012
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2012
Entity Registrant Name	TRIMBLE NAVIGATION LTD /CA/
Entity Central Index Key	0000864749
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-28
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		125,091,156