Earnings Per Share (Schedule Of Computation Of Earnings Per Share And Effect On Weighted-Average Number Of Shares) (Detail) (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jul. 04, 2014	Jun. 28, 2013	Jul. 04, 2014	Jun. 28, 2013
Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Net income attributable to Trimble Navigation Ltd.	$ 77,834	$ 54,581	$ 146,458	$ 104,389
Weighted average number of common shares used in basic earnings per share	261,075	256,186	260,432	255,683
Effect of dilutive securities	4,882	4,347	4,938	4,733
Weighted average number of common shares and dilutive potential common shares used in diluted earnings per share	265,957	260,533	265,370	260,416
Basic earnings per share	$ 0.30	$ 0.21	$ 0.56	$ 0.41
Diluted earnings per share	$ 0.29	$ 0.21	$ 0.55	$ 0.40