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Paperless caching on Etrex Legend HCX


xcyrus

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Customized Points of Interest.

 

44 characters in the title; 88 in the description. You'll need POI Loader (free from Garmin) and a premium member status to run pocket queries.

 

For the know-how, look up a thread titled Silly Garmin POI Tricks, or something along those lines.

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Thanks for your answer but it doesn't work...I've read the thread but no answer for my problem.

I don't want to import all the cache details , I want to write some informations ( max 88 characters ) then export to GPS.

GSAK import all cache data or a part of it, but it won't let me to write what I want in the description.

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If you become a Premium Member, then you can get Pocket Queries that have up to 500 caches in the .gpx format.

 

Then, if you use GSAK's "smart name" codes, you can get a lot of information in both the Waypoint name, the Comments section, and in the Cache Description section of the Custom POIs.

 

Often I get enough information this way, I don't need to get my Palm m515 out to read any more details, unless I need hints from "Past Logs."

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Thanks for your answer but it doesn't work...I've read the thread but no answer for my problem.

I don't want to import all the cache details , I want to write some informations ( max 88 characters ) then export to GPS.

GSAK import all cache data or a part of it, but it won't let me to write what I want in the description.

Use MapSource to write your info on the Comment field for each waypoint; then save the file as a .gpx . Use the the "%hint" command in GSAK to transfer those comments into the waypoint as a customized POI. Someone can correct me here, but you may be able to skip GSAK altogether for I believe the Comment info automatically rides with the waypoint when transferring as a customized POI. Trail and error...

 

You still need to follow the customized POI procedures.

 

In a nutshell, download POILoader (free from Garmin), and use it to install gpx and csv files into Garmin units that support customized POIs. POILoader will read and install all gpx and csv files from a given folder; so, move out any files you don't want to download. To open the file in the GPS, go to your menu (same place as waypoints) and look for "Customized Points of Interest".

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In a nutshell, download POILoader (free from Garmin), and use it to install gpx and csv files into Garmin units that support customized POIs. POILoader will read and install all gpx and csv files from a given folder; so, move out any files you don't want to download. To open the file in the GPS, go to your menu (same place as waypoints) and look for "Customized Points of Interest".

 

So, do you need GSAK to edit and save the waypoings as gpx files or is it sufficient to build the files in EasyGPS and then load those files with the poi loader?

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In a nutshell, download POILoader (free from Garmin), and use it to install gpx and csv files into Garmin units that support customized POIs. POILoader will read and install all gpx and csv files from a given folder; so, move out any files you don't want to download. To open the file in the GPS, go to your menu (same place as waypoints) and look for "Customized Points of Interest".

 

So, do you need GSAK to edit and save the waypoings as gpx files or is it sufficient to build the files in EasyGPS and then load those files with the poi loader?

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In a nutshell, download POILoader (free from Garmin), and use it to install gpx and csv files into Garmin units that support customized POIs. POILoader will read and install all gpx and csv files from a given folder; so, move out any files you don't want to download. To open the file in the GPS, go to your menu (same place as waypoints) and look for "Customized Points of Interest".

 

So, do you need GSAK to edit and save the waypoings as gpx files or is it sufficient to build the files in EasyGPS and then load those files with the poi loader?

 

You can edit .gpx file with Mapsource and save, then open it with GSAK with %hint at description and generate , after that you can upload gpx files with POI Loader.

You will need GSAK for more characters at the waypoint description

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In a nutshell, download POILoader (free from Garmin), and use it to install gpx and csv files into Garmin units that support customized POIs. POILoader will read and install all gpx and csv files from a given folder; so, move out any files you don't want to download. To open the file in the GPS, go to your menu (same place as waypoints) and look for "Customized Points of Interest".

 

So, do you need GSAK to edit and save the waypoings as gpx files or is it sufficient to build the files in EasyGPS and then load those files with the poi loader?

 

You can edit .gpx file with Mapsource and save, then open it with GSAK with %hint at description and generate , after that you can upload gpx files with POI Loader.

You will need GSAK for more characters at the waypoint description

Link to comment
In a nutshell, download POILoader (free from Garmin), and use it to install gpx and csv files into Garmin units that support customized POIs. POILoader will read and install all gpx and csv files from a given folder; so, move out any files you don't want to download. To open the file in the GPS, go to your menu (same place as waypoints) and look for "Customized Points of Interest".

 

So, do you need GSAK to edit and save the waypoings as gpx files or is it sufficient to build the files in EasyGPS and then load those files with the poi loader?

It will work for EasyGPS also; it'll work for any gpx and csv file. However, my version of EasyGPS only allows 30 characters in the comment field. So, you'll have to condense your comments, unless the newer versions have expanded this field.

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You can edit .gpx file with Mapsource and save, then open it with GSAK with %hint at description and generate , after that you can upload gpx files with POI Loader.

 

So I tried this approach; edited the waypoints in MapSource and saved the result, as a .gpx file, in a separate folder, which I then uploaded with POI Loader to my gpsr. This created a separate icon on the find page and all the waypoints, with the corresponding information, was there. I did noticed, however, that the gps did not recognize the waypoints in the file as "geocaches". Thus, navigation is in "normal" rather than "geocache" mode. Thus, the note is not accessible from the compass page. Is there a workaround for this issue?

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jmundinger, the customized POIs are not saved as waypoints; hence, you don't have the geocaching-mode options. When you choose a customized POI to navigate to, you get an option to save it. If you choose to save it, the customized POI will be saved as a waypoint. Two things to note here: the saved waypoint cuts into the 1000 (or 500 depending on the unit) waypoint limit. If you already have 1000, you will not be allowed to save it. The second thing, as xcyrus pointed out, is the hint/comment info does not get transferred over - not even in a truncated version. But, you still have the customized waypoint to look up.

 

xcyrus, ready for another tip with customized waypoints? How about customizing the gray circular icon?

 

Name any bmp file with the idential name as the gpx/csv file, and POILoader will download them together and associate the bmp file as the icon for the waypoints in that gpx/csv file. Put the bmp file in the same folder as the gpx/csv file.

 

The bmp pic should not be larger than 15x15 pixels; otherwise the image becomes too large in your map screen. I just draw different colored boxes. I use yellow/black for geocaches and orange/black for benchmarks.

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Thanks Chuy! excellent tip . I put a 15x15 pixels bmp and it's perfect.

 

Do you know where to find a geocache icon, exactly like that on my GPS???..maybe you can attach one here :)

 

Thanks

Edited by xcyrus
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