Jump to content

Poi Loader For New Garmin "x" Series

GeoBobC

By GeoBobC
in GPS technology and devices

Followers 32

Recommended Posts

Timpat

+Timpat

Posted
Posted

I've sent my letter. Waiting for update. <_<

I received a reply to my email from Garmin tech support on this icon issue, and they requested that I send in a sample custom POI file along with my custom icon .bmp, which I promptly did! So they are working on this! I'll post any future news on this as I get it.

Link to comment
mlk3454

+mlk3454

Posted
Posted

I've sent my letter. Waiting for update. <_<

I received a reply to my email from Garmin tech support on this icon issue, and they requested that I send in a sample custom POI file along with my custom icon .bmp, which I promptly did! So they are working on this! I'll post any future news on this as I get it.

Now this is good news.

Link to comment
planewood

planewood

Posted
Posted

The files are a Comma Separated Value type of Text files = *.CSV

The files can be *.GPX now too.

 

The CSV files are like this:

 

Longitude, Latitude, Name, Comment

 

-83.444443, 42.987433, The PIG Roast lounge, 3125 NO-Road ave, Burningham Alablama

 

-99.370000, 30.171717, GC6067 - The neigbourhood cache(5/5), This cache is 10 feet under ground.

 

Im having a tough time figuring out how to use GSAK to automate this stuff.

Where is there a book on using GSAK?

 

Geoff -

 

If I set Position Format to UTM UPS, can I enter POI's in Eastings & Northings? If so, which would come first in the csv file? Also, what does the UPS mean?? No big deal, I can always convert to lat/lon. Just curious.

Link to comment
planewood

planewood

Posted
Posted

Well, I got POILoader to work, I guess.

 

I had a file called LGFiles.csv containing Lon,Lat,Name,Comments.

 

POILoader just dumped them all into Custom POI's. I though that at least it would show a header (folder) called LGFiles!!!!

 

Does this mean that if I had 20 csv files containing a total of 10,000 POI's that they'd all be dumped into one single list? That would really suck, if so!

Link to comment
HHL

+HHL

Posted
Posted

...

Does this mean that if I had 20 csv files containing a total of 10,000 POI's that they'd all be dumped into one single list? That would really suck, if so!

no. poi loader creates databases named like your csv-files.

nearest search on the gpsr shows all databases first. hit menu and you'll be able searching the dedicated databases.

happy hunting from hamburg.

 

poi_databases.jpg

Link to comment
planewood

planewood

Posted
Posted

...

Does this mean that if I had 20 csv files containing a total of 10,000 POI's that they'd all be dumped into one single list? That would really suck, if so!

no. poi loader creates databases named like your csv-files.

nearest search on the gpsr shows all databases first. hit menu and you'll be able searching the dedicated databases.

happy hunting from hamburg.

 

poi_databases.jpg

 

Nope, I just get one big list. I copied the csv file to a different name (giving a total of 2 files) and POILoader just make one big list with duplicate names.

Link to comment
Cache Heads

+Cache Heads

Posted
Posted

Nope, I just get one big list.

 

Do this:

 

-Make two or three different .csv (or .gpx) files with different names and put them in your POI loader folder.

-Use POI loader to transfer the contents of the folder to the unit.

-Press Find

-Choose "Custom Points of Interest"

 

That gives you your "one big list". Now, from there:

 

-Press Menu

-Choose "Select Database"

 

You should get a popup where you can choose from the different files you uploaded (like HHL's photo). Choose one and it will show you all the POIs from that file. If you have duplicate POIs in the different files, they will show up twice in the main list but not once you've selected the specific database.

Link to comment
trippy1976

+trippy1976

Posted
Posted (edited)

any news from garmin on the [edit: custom icon] stuff? Any rumors about being able to view your custom POIs like you can set up a seperate zoom thing for your waypoints?

 

This is pretty cool. I love having some of the hint in my GPS. That rocks.

Edited by trippy1976
Link to comment
trippy1976

+trippy1976

Posted
Posted (edited)

also, has anyone messed with the proximity alert stuff? That's been a long time wishlist item for me. All the caches on a proximity alert just so I know. I selected the option and loaded the caches in one big file, but when I go to the proximity alert screen it shows none configured.

 

[edit: Well I can see what happened now. Instead of getting the extra cache data like I want, it gives me proximity / speed info in the extra space. Read some other threads. The info. is kind of scattered in here, eh?]

Edited by trippy1976
Link to comment
Cache Heads

+Cache Heads

Posted
Posted (edited)

I received a reply to my email from Garmin tech support on this icon issue, and they requested that I send in a sample custom POI file along with my custom icon .bmp, which I promptly did! So they are working on this! I'll post any future news on this as I get it.

Well, it looks like you had much better luck than me, Timpat! I emailed Garmin twice in two weeks, explaining all about the POI Loader icon issue-- and was very clear about the problem. This is the response that I finally received today:

 

Thank you for contacting Garmin International.

 

The correct utility for loading custom waypoints is ximage. It is

located at the following web address:

http://www.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=545

 

However, there are some options that will not work on a 60CSx at this

time. You should be able however to move your custom waypoints though.

 

If you have any additional questions, please let me know or call our

800-800-1020 line during our regular business hours of 8:00 am to 5:00

pm Central Time, Monday through Friday.

 

Best Regards,

 

Byron M.

Product Support Specialist

Garmin International

1200 E. 151st Street

Olathe, KS 66062

Tech Support: (800) 800-1020

Fax: (913) 440-5488

techsupp@garmin.com (Attn: Byron in subject line)

:lol::lol::lol::lol::P

 

I think I'm going to sit back and wait for your tech support guy to work on this.... at least he knows the difference between a POI and a waypoint :anibad:!

Edited by Cache Heads
Link to comment
cron

+cron

Posted
Posted

Same thing for me...

 

Thank you for contacting Garmin International. I would be happy to assist you.

 

Unfortunately we do not support the use or creation of POI's. We just give you a means of loading them to your unit. As I do not have any information on how to use or create POI's all I can suggest is going over the POI's you have created and make sure they are created correctly.

 

Please contact Garmin Product Support at 1-800-800-1020 or by e-mail at techsupp@garmin.com <mailto:techsupp@garmin.com> should you have any additional comments or questions

 

Best Regards,

 

Jason Stultz

Product Support Specialist

GARMIN International

1200 E. 151st Street

Olathe, KS 66062

Toll Free: 1-800-800-1020

Fax: 1-913-440-5488

< http://www.garmin.com/>

Link to comment
Timpat

+Timpat

Posted
Posted

I previously posted this on another thread and thought it should go here, too.

 

Regarding the custom POI icon display issue, I have written to Garmin on several occasions and one Techie requested a sample of my data and its custom icon. He had a chance to look my data over and I received an answer which is here:

 

Dear Timpat,

 

Thank you for contacting Garmin International E-Mail Support.

 

I will be happy to assist you further. I have reported this issue to see

about getting it fixed. I have been able to duplicate your issue not only

with your files but mine as well. Your files are fine. I will keep you

updated on any other developments.

 

If you have any further questions or concerns about this issue please

contact me by replying to this E-Mail. For new issues or concerns you can

contact Garmin Product Support at 1-800-800-1020 or via E-Mail.

 

A.A.

Product Support Specialist

Garmin International

1200 East 151st Street

Olathe, KS 66062

Phone: (800)-800-1020

Fax: (913)-440-5488

Link to comment
Lightning Jeff

+Lightning Jeff

Posted
Posted

I must be missing something simple, why have thousands of custom POIs if you can't see them on the map unless zoomed right in? Why not just stick to the 1000 caches and update it frequently. I can't quite see the point?

Obviously, not being able to view them from lesser zoon levels is a problem, one that users are complaining to Garmin about. Nevertheless, it is still a useful feature to be able to load up thousands of custom POIs.

 

In my case, I travel around the state of Washington in my work. I frequently wonder if there's a cache nearby when I'm in some area that I don't usually frequent in my caching travels. This way, I have close to 1000 caches loaded as regular waypoints, for my regular caching area. I also have thousands more caches loaded up as POIs for other areas. If I want to see if there's something nearby, it's now as easy as "Find - Custom POIs", and I have a list. I use GSAK to name the POIs in a way that includes the type of cache, and the comment field includes the container type and difficulty/terrain. GSAK also exports a GPX file for these POIs to my PocketPC, so I have everything I need to cache in an unfamiliar area on the spur of the moment. (I just look funny caching in my suit and tie.) So yeah, it would be nice to be able to SEE those POIs at a reasonable zoom level, but they're still there, and still very useful.

Link to comment
Neo_Geo

Neo_Geo

Posted
Posted (edited)

I must be missing something simple, why have thousands of custom POIs if you can't see them on the map unless zoomed right in? Why not just stick to the 1000 caches and update it frequently. I can't quite see the point?

You don't REALLY need to see it - just your GPSr! As long as your GPSr can look it up and show you how to get there, THAT's all that really matters (to me anyway) ;)

 

Problem is that the "Find By Name" function doesn't work with the custom POIs. So you have to use "Find Nearest Containing" - and that can be a long search with 50,000 POIs. Plus, if the POI is over 500 miles away, it won't show up in the search! So you have to know generally where the POI is, and scroll your cursor near it on the map screen - THEN "Find Nearest Containing".

 

But then - You don't REALLY NEED a GPSr though, do you??? ;)

How DID we ever get along without them?

Edited by Neo_Geo
Link to comment
Rosterman

+Rosterman

Posted
Posted

I must be missing something simple, why have thousands of custom POIs if you can't see them on the map unless zoomed right in? Why not just stick to the 1000 caches and update it frequently. I can't quite see the point?

 

I have 900 or so Geocaches stored in regular memory as Geocaches, and use the Custom POI to load Free Wireless hotspots, Virginia Speedtraps, and over 1000 Benchmarks.

Link to comment
trippy1976

+trippy1976

Posted
Posted

You can keep your caches as both POI and waypoints too. I keep all my nearby stuff that I'm likely to do as waypoints. But having the ability to load in many at a time is useful. For instance, I get all the caches in my state over a week-long set of queries. It's useful because I can point to an area on my map screen and do a search for caches nearby. Plus I travel frequently on business, often on short notice. I'd be nice to keep 500 caches from each city I regularly visit always loaded, but that'd be 3000 points alone.

 

So I don't need those as waypoints since if I find some on a trip like that it'll be 3 or 4 at a time and sort of just as the opportunity arises.

 

From that standpoint, it's really nice. The limited zoom is annoying, but in your typical area you can get around that by loading the caches into your waypoints vs. the POI.

 

I also like the extra data you can stuff into a POI. So even if you don't need the extra waypoints, the extra space for hints, etc. is great.

Link to comment
planewood

planewood

Posted
Posted

Is there a way to see the name of the custom POIs on the map page for all custom POIs?

 

I see all the little blue square icons, but no names... I only see the name when I use "Find" > "Custom POI" > choose one and "Map"...

 

You can zoom into the 300' level on the map and see the dots. Then move the mouse pointer to one and the name will show up. People have been griping about having to zoom in this close before being able to see them.

Link to comment
cron

+cron

Posted
Posted

You can use the GSAK GarminPOI.txt macro to export all your caches to .csv files (based on type/status). I chose to customize this macro to my needs and it works really great (except I still can't see the names appearing on the map: when I move the cursor over one of the blue squares, the cursor shows a small hour glass and then nothing...).

Link to comment
HHL

+HHL

Posted
Posted

… (except I still can't see the names appearing on the map: when I move the cursor over one of the blue squares, the cursor shows a small hour glass and then nothing...).

it’s a new appearing bug in firmware 2.62 beta. 2.6 still showed the custom poi names when moving the rocker towards the point.

 

happy hunting - the old fashioned way (trads only, exceptions may appear)

Link to comment
cron

+cron

Posted
Posted

… (except I still can't see the names appearing on the map: when I move the cursor over one of the blue squares, the cursor shows a small hour glass and then nothing...).

it’s a new appearing bug in firmware 2.62 beta. 2.6 still showed the custom poi names when moving the rocker towards the point.

 

happy hunting - the old fashioned way (trads only, exceptions may appear)

 

Ah. Good to know. It used to show the text before I installed 2.62 beta.

 

Thanks!

Link to comment
nicolo

+nicolo

Posted
Posted

… (except I still can't see the names appearing on the map: when I move the cursor over one of the blue squares, the cursor shows a small hour glass and then nothing...).

it’s a new appearing bug in firmware 2.62 beta. 2.6 still showed the custom poi names when moving the rocker towards the point.

 

happy hunting - the old fashioned way (trads only, exceptions may appear)

 

Ah. Good to know. It used to show the text before I installed 2.62 beta.

 

Thanks!

 

Hmmm, is this still a problem with 2.71 Beta? I have this firmware on my PC so I'm assuming that this version is loaded on my 60CSx ( and how do I find out what v firmware I'm running on? ) and I still have the problem as noted above, no custom POI name when you place the pointer on it.

Link to comment
Cache Heads

+Cache Heads

Posted
Posted

I still have the problem as noted above, no custom POI name when you place the pointer on it.

 

It is still a little buggy in the new firmware. Go to the map setup page and turn user waypoints to "off". Then the custom POI names will pop up when you hover over them. Not quite sure why this is....

Link to comment
nicolo

+nicolo

Posted
Posted

I still have the problem as noted above, no custom POI name when you place the pointer on it.

 

It is still a little buggy in the new firmware. Go to the map setup page and turn user waypoints to "off". Then the custom POI names will pop up when you hover over them. Not quite sure why this is....

 

Rats, that didn't work. I have 2.71 beta firmware if that matters.

 

The odd thing is that with an older firmware version, I didn't note the version, the symbols were small green

squares. Then when I upgraded to 2.71 they became grey 3-D spheres. Don't know if it's anything more than the newer firmware just picking a different POI symbol or if it means more.

Link to comment
Red90

+Red90

Posted
Posted

The new firmware fixed the ability to use custom icons for the custom POIs. Because of that the icon is now showing up correctly, but they did not fix the labelling problem.

 

To add custom icons, include a .bmp file in the same directory as the POIs with the same name as the GPX file that you want to have the icons.

Link to comment
nicolo

+nicolo

Posted
Posted

The new firmware fixed the ability to use custom icons for the custom POIs. Because of that the icon is now showing up correctly, but they did not fix the labelling problem.

 

To add custom icons, include a .bmp file in the same directory as the POIs with the same name as the GPX file that you want to have the icons.

 

Thanks for the tip - do I know you from somewhere? :rolleyes:

Link to comment
tracstarr

tracstarr

Posted
Posted

So i have just got a new 60csx and am running the 2.71 beta firmware . I've tried to load some POIs but they don't show up. The POI Loader says they are transferred and when I look on the memory card there is a POI directory and the file within it looks like it has what i uploaded. What gives? Find>>Custom POI shows nothing. there are no databases to select either. what can i be missing?

Link to comment
NewZealand

NewZealand

Posted
Posted

So i have just got a new 60csx and am running the 2.71 beta firmware . I've tried to load some POIs but they don't show up. The POI Loader says they are transferred and when I look on the memory card there is a POI directory and the file within it looks like it has what i uploaded. What gives? Find>>Custom POI shows nothing. there are no databases to select either. what can i be missing?

If I remember correctly, there is a small bug: You must load at least 2 files (databases) with POI's to see them and being able to select between them and search them.

I never had the problem, because I started with 5 databases.

Link to comment
Boardslider

+Boardslider

Posted
Posted

I've followed all these threads with interest and am now actually getting somewhere. But I am limited to this lates release of poiloader which has the proximity bug (always trys to set alerts) and also I'm haveing loads of trouble with the comment text not wrapping - presumably because the proximity data is on the screen.

 

I am also having loads of issues importing gpx files (most of the time it says its not a valid file). For example if I run the GSAK macro to export to csv files it works, but if I run the one for GPX files only about four of the output files are accepted.

 

I have now got a big spreadsheet with all of the UK caches in, a bitmap to go with it and it loads OK, but I can't tell if my other problems are to do with the proximity thing or something else I'm doing wrong. What I really need to do is get hold of the older version of poiloader, but Garmin don't leave them on the download site. I have tried to google for it in case it's archived somewhere but with no luck.

 

Does anyone know where I can get this file or will I have to wait for the next update to fix this problem?

Link to comment
sunyjim

sunyjim

Posted
Posted (edited)

I use a Garmin Legend CX, with the latest firmware.

 

Mine is working with a custom designed logo.

I was reading this http://www.gpsinformation.org/penrod/poilo.../poiloader.html

and it said to use a photo program (i use photoshop 8.0cs) and create a Width .22 inches. Length, .22 inches. Resolution is 73dpi no more than 24x24 pixels.

I copied the geocache logo for my cache's. and then named it the same name as my POI file and put it in the same folder, then loaded it with the poi loader. AND IT WORKS!!!!!

 

Now some odd problems, I also can not see the gc's unless i'm zoomed in depending on my map detail level 200m or 300m etc. I also have the same thing where if I turn off user database then i can click on my custom poi's otherwise they are not clickable.

 

Note with my latest firmware if I go to setup there is a new option there "Interface" that allows me direct access to delete the POI file, if I want to remove it completely. Seems easier than loading a POI with one object thanks to the latest update.

 

One other thing, sometimes when I go into custom POI it says it's empty, but if i hit menu (left side) it gives me the option of "selet database" and they all show up.

Edited by sunyjim
Link to comment
CC

+CC

Posted
Posted

I have a 60 cx. I can get the POI loaded OK. No special icons, just a poi. I have used the macro files for GSAK and csv file and my own attempts, but I cannot get anything to show in the comments field. All I ever get is Alarm Range:1319ft and Alarm Speed unknown.

 

I can't see the data I select to be in the comments field. I am not sure what I am doing worng. any advice/help?

 

Thanks

Link to comment
ProsperoDK

+ProsperoDK

Posted
Posted

Does anyone know where I can get this file or will I have to wait for the next update to fix this problem?

I was reading through this thread and had the same problem, but in another thread someone gave the link to an older version and now I can return the favour.

 

It's here. It's dated from "23-Jan-2006 10:05" where I found it.

 

ProsperoDK/René

Link to comment
apersson850

+apersson850

Posted
Posted (edited)

When I create custom icons for POI-files in my iQue 3000 and StreetPilot c550, they do show up as expected. So the POI-Loader obviously places them in the correct place in the file. The problem seems to be with the GPSMAP 60CX, then. I don't have any such unit.

 

Oh, sorry, now I noticed that there's one more page to this thread, and that the problem has been solved.

Edited by apersson850
Link to comment
Red90

+Red90

Posted
Posted

There is a workaround for the proximity bug on the new release.

 

1) Open the GPX file in Mapsource.

 

2) Go to the waypoint tab and select all (CTRL-A)

 

3) Right click and choose "waypoint properties"

 

4) Uncheck the box "Proximity", under zero in the field and hit OK.

 

Re-save the file as a GPX.

Link to comment
ProsperoDK

+ProsperoDK

Posted
Posted

There is a workaround for the proximity bug on the new release.

 

1) Open the GPX file in Mapsource.

 

2) Go to the waypoint tab and select all (CTRL-A)

 

3) Right click and choose "waypoint properties"

 

4) Uncheck the box "Proximity", under zero in the field and hit OK.

 

Re-save the file as a GPX.

Is that in any GPX-file? both from PQ and from GSAK?

So unless explicitly stated the 60C(S)X asumes there should be a proximity alert.

 

ProsperoDK/René

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
Followers 32
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...