creating my own POI files

I think that field length depends on the model and the manufacturer. So I'm not sure what tomtom does with extra characters, or even if it is a problem

Daniel

Here are some good places to get started:

• Getting started | POI Factory
  http://www.poi-factory.com/node/1631

• FAQ: Creating POI Files | POI Factory
  http://www.poi-factory.com/node/6664

• Garmin CSV file format | POI Factory
  http://www.poi-factory.com/garmin-csv-file-format

• FAQ: Garmin POI Loader | POI Factory
  http://www.poi-factory.com/faq/garmin-poi-loader

The Longitude comes first. There is a point where information gets truncated since there is no scroll function on Garmin GPS's. Truncation is sooner on small screens than wide screens, I think. So you have to decide what information is so important that you don't want it truncated.

I decided that the important stuff, besides coordinates and name, is city, state, phone number. On a lot of files the phone number gets truncated, at least on my nuvi 200. You can put the website address on the file description on this site. I don't find the street address useful, especially not if it causes the phone number to get truncated. You can always call if you need the street address or anything else.

My first attempt at a .csv file is the Howard Johnson's Restaurant file. I used the CTC-Encore ATTACHMENT file as a template. It ensures that nothing that is important to me gets truncated on any Garmin GPS.

Just to clearify, the format is Longitude first for Garmin Custom POIs; i.e.:
Longitude,Latitude,Name,Description

RT

I would rather change the order of the description field. The address is important when the Coors. are incorrect and when the phone is not a option (after hours/dead batteries). Just put it at the end and let the GPSR truncate. Those with larger screens will appreciate the additional info.

You have the data so just keep it and move the fields around.

Just my .02

Sorry but that is incorrect, there is a scroll function on my Nuvi 260.
In order to avoid truncating information I use separate lines.

long,lat,"name","address
City State Zip
Phone:
Comment Then go to town with whatever you wish and close the quote"
The comment will be scrollable and not truncated.

If you open the file I uploaded called Tampa Bay Strips.csv you can see that your 200 is able to scroll.

Just as a point of interest (no pun intended) I noticed on my 200, that if the information in the description field exceeds the first screen with the normal/larger font, there is a MORE (or something like that; don't have the Garmin on hand to check) button where it will then show the font much smaller and show more lines of information. However I have not tested it to see how far it will go and if it will go multiple screens or not. Maybe tonight I will give it a try and see.

I assume you must mean on each line, but not number of lines, right? Since the wide screens are wider, not taller, so for the same font size the regular (e.g. 200) and Widescreen (e.g. 200W) models would display the same number of lines, but I assume the wide models display more characters per line.

PT

Good idea. The top two lines on my GPS screen are for the name. I might put the street address after the name in the same field and use any extra space there. If the street gets truncated, it's no big deal to me.

The 4th field in a Garmin .csv file (the 'comment' field) is truncated on a Nüvi 3xx series, at about the 250 character mark.

On most other units (your C550 included), if the data will not fit on the display, it triggers the output of a "MORE" button, which, when pressed, will display the data in its entirety. On the C550, at least 5500 characters can be displayed (by scrolling), on that 2nd page.

The Nüvi 3xx series can be made to do something similar, but only using .gpx input, which gives access to many more display fields.

So - if you want to share the file with others, you probably need to adopt the 'lowest common denominator' approach and limit the length of that comment field (to about 250 chars).

On my 660 when i look at my Utah KOA Poi it shows the more button and then gived the rest of the information I have the coord, name address phone, and month of operation.

Phil, you may feel uncomfortable recommending it, but isn't a gpx file the most universally acceptable solution with the benefit of having dialable phone numbers and more comment space? Or, do the same differences in models handling of line breaks apply even to GPX files?

Or, are there problems with gpx that I'm not familiar with? I don't see the marginally larger file size as being import to many people, since both are relative small.

You might want to take a look at how I do it. Look at one of the B of A's and you will see the complete address along with hours of operation and telephone number and it usually fits most GPS's. It is a CSV file. Just a thought. There are many ways to do it and I'm not saying mine is the best, it just works and looks good to me.

It all depends on what you NEED and WANT in your files.

In my case I strip almost all of the POI files that I download down to "Name" in column 3 and "Street address,city & State Initials" in column 4. I remove zip code, tel # (except for emergency numbers) and I abbreviate Street to St., Boulevard to Blvd etc. and compass directions to single letter ( N for North). In most cases I have been able to reduce the memory requirements for an individual file by 35-40 %.
Of course, I use 2 older versions of GPSr's which serve my purposes just fine. Just to act as my co-pilot and get me there ! Plus they don't have all the bells & whistles. I also have time on my hands as I am retired !

I presently run a little over 14,000 POI's which take up slightly more than 1 MB of memory.

I don't have any of the red light camera, speed zones or school zone camera POI's loaded.

I also use .csv format which "seems" to use less memory.

Just my personal way of doing things.

Hmmmm - by writing this maybe I'm just keeping my windmill spinning !!!!!!!

Hi ahsumtoy,

I downloaded the "BofA_CA.csv" and don't see the extra information you describe (the complete address along with hours of operation and telephone number). Am I missing something here?

Regards,

Tailspin

Nüvi 670
Mac User

Sorry, the CA file is not one of mine. Try the AZ one, bring it up in excel, highlight col D and you'll see what I am talking about. Load it on your GPS and see if you like it. If you do, just copy my file, delete all the lines except line 1 and put in your information.