New POI Loader 2.5.2

RT I thought you were the tester for new updates so the rest of us don't get messed up if it has bugs.

Great news

I would, but I don't want to take all of the fun.

We need to talk MM into trying it out for us. or asinfire. I think that' how to spell it.

Thanks for the update news.

Thank you very much for this news

That reminds me that I need to install a poi loader in my new MacBook Pro. Wow and now that I am thinking of it I didn't save my folder from my old laptop with my poi stuff (

Attn, all Mac users...

This "new' POI Loader (v2.5.2) is for the Windows operating system.

The "latest" POI Loader for the Mac, is version 2.0.2.1 Beta.

Regards,

Tailspin

Nüvi 670
Mac User

Does anyone know what the problem was with loading BMP files?

WORKS GREAT ON MY 750 !!!

H Hannah
Nuvi750 and IQUE3600

Dear RT,

Thank you. I shall let you take all the fun. I shall wait a week; if no moaning and groaning has commenced by then, I shall "upgrade."

Thank you for being our beta-tester.

david

"Does anyone know what the problem was with loading BMP files?"

Yes there was a problem that if you loaded a GPX POI file using PoiLoader without an accompaning .BMP Icon with it, the Address and phone # data DIDN'T show up in the individual POI
page!!

I know this was a problem with the 750 and some others.

H Hannah
Nuvi750 and IQUE3600

Thanks. Any idea about the problem saving a gpi file to an SD card?

So far, it works fine.

The initial screen gives you different options from previous version. I haven't tried them out yet, but the screen looks like this...

Please select where you would like to save your Points of Interest to: (which is REALLY bad grammar)

O Garmin Device
O MapSource (Advanced)
O Custom Folder (Advanced)

.
The rest of the interface seems the same.

No pressing need, think I will wait and see if "bugs" surface.

Ditto

So MM now that you have tried it do you think it is safe for the rest of us. I would probably choose the custom folder as I keep ever thing on my card. Thanks for checking. I know we could count on you.

Will this new version install over the older 2.4.2 or should I uninstall the older version before installing 2.5.2? Thanks.

On most updates it just does and update to the version you have on your unit and adds the changes. Of course since I opened my mouth someone will come on wiht someting different and that could be the case with some models or different brands.

Yes, I think it's safe and stable.

No, it doesn't install over this previous version. Both can co-exist on your computer. You can uninstall the older version after you install the new version.

So did this get fixed via this new version?

I never install two 'same program' versions as some uninstall programs remove system files that are common to both versions; so if you uninstall an older version after installing a newer version, some system files necessary for the newer version may be uninstalled. To be safe, keep an older 'install' version available and uninstall it. You won't need it anyway if the newer one works; if it doesn't, reinstall the older version.

Unless you're adverturous, I'd also suggest waiting until more input comes in to make sure every aspect of the program works as it should. See what happened with 'bug-riddled v2.5.1.
http://www.poi-factory.com/node/11119

RT

MM just for info I just done the download on my destop and I had 242 the update done and unistall of files and installed new files and I have the 252 with the new updates but I don't have two version. I have windows xp.

No, it doesn't appear to have been fixed. If you don't load a BMP, the extra data doesn't get loaded. If you load a BMP, it does. Very odd.

I do as you do. Therefore, I uninstalled the old before installing the new.

I guess I'm semi-adventurous...I did install the 2.5.2 but I still have the old 2.4.2 available if needed for a retro installation.

Work fine on my 250W and my c330.

Thank you for the update. I will be trying it out soon.

Downloaded the new release and see no problems.I did remove my custom pois with the new loader and re-install to make sure all was ok.Everything looks good so far.

Note on the c340 it would not load the newer version until I removed the old poi loader using xp.

Great!

Well, I tested the two new options.

I'm not sure I understand the MapSource option because all it does is create a poi.gpi file in the Garmin folder on your computer and currently MapSource can't open GPI files.

The Custom Folder option works almost the same except you can specify the folder in which you want the poi.gpi file to be created.

The old loader gives me a choice of loading onto Garmin (E) or Removeable Disk (F), the latter being the SD card. Which do you choose on the new loader to load to the SD card?

It's important to remember that the drive letters assigned are specific to the computer that you are using. They aren't the same for everyone's computer.

Having said that, that screen in POI Loader hasn't changed. It appears after the screen I have posted above. You still can select the SD card from the drop down list.

They are Engineers MM what do you expect,

It appears to me that the 'Advanced' options are to create the POI.gpi file on the computer instead of the GPS unit. One use would make the 'rename gpi file' procedure much easier. The renaming can all be done on the computer and copied to the GPS unit. See:
http://www.poi-factory.com/node/8779

RT

Only found three bugs so far :-

1. "You can run POI Loader in Silent mode, which means POI Loader runs using the same settings from the last time it was used."
   No it doesn't - it uses the settings last used when working in its original mode. If you were using the new "Custom Folder" mode last, then it doesn't use those settings.

2. Using the new "MapSource (Advanced)" feature, if you enter a Fully-qualified name for the gpi file (in response to the "Please select a name for your saved POI file:" prompt, you get a (fatal) Windows Error Code: 123 - The filename, directory name or volume label syntax is incorrect". (I already reported this bug in V2.5.1 - but unfortunately, it reached someone in Garmin who knows nothing about computers )
3. Having discovered that it's actually just asking for a file name, I got the "MapSource (Advanced)" option to create a gpi file - it created it in C:\Documents and Settings\Whatever\Application Data\GARMIN\CustomPOIs. It says "Congratulations! You have successfully installed 34523 Points of Interest for Garmin MapSource to use.". However, no-one seems to have informed the MapSource developers. I can find no option in MapSource 6.13.7 to read the created file.
   Unless I'm missing something, this option seems entirely pointless.

V2.5.2 only claims to fix problems introduced in V2.5.1.

V2.5.1's only new feature was: Added the capability to save gpi files to a user's directory - which I don't find particularly useful, since you can't specify the directory from the command line, or even repeat the last manual run.

I could have thought of more productive ways for Garmin's Programmers to have spent their time...

We were typing at the same time - it's just that it took me 15 minutes to complete the task

Just as a side note, I got the loader to create two separate poi files using the MapSource option (Testing.gpi and Testing1.gpi). I then copied them to the GPS and they displayed as two separate files. When using the 'Custom Folder' option, the Poi.gpi file overwrites on the computer just like on the GPS.

(I'm using csv files working in Windows XP. Which OS are you running? You're probably using gpx files??)

RT

Installed New POI loader on Vista and running well with my 660.

Thanks.

I am always amazed at the sloppy software that is released although it is somewhat forgiven in a beta version. They are just letting the public do their testing. I have been involved in programs that included developing software for both military and commercial applications and testing was a major part of the effort. It sure doesn't help the reputation of the company to have a lot of bugs.

Someone please let us know when they find a good reason, like a needed improvement, for the upgrade.

I'm also using Windows XP. I've got a mixture of .csv files (from a UK POI site) and the .gpx files I've created myself.

I was comparing the .gpi files created by Version V2.4.2 vs V2.5.2 - they are different sizes, though (so far) they seem to produce identical results.

Usually the threads are pretty convincing one way or the other but after reading this one I think I will stay with the older version since I don't have any problems. The older I get the harder this stuff gets to figure out. I remember a day I never needed any stinking manual.

Installed the new 2.52 on a 750 and works just fine....no problems...

There is at least one fairly significant difference between POILoader v2.4.2 and v2.5.2. That difference has to do with how those two loaders handle the Comment (cmt)---(/cmt) and Description (desc)---(/desc) fields in a GPX version of a POI being loaded. That is, at least as they are loaded into my Nuvi 760 with v 2.70 firmware (if that makes a difference or not I do not know).
I loaded the following waypoint as a POI into my Nuvi 760 using both loaders. I used '(' and ')' in place of the 'less than' and 'greater than' symbols repectively in order to show the raw data.

(wpt lat="44.97390" lon="-93.25810")
(name)Metro Dome(/name)
(cmt)Metro Dome Comment Field(/cmt)
(desc)Metro Dome Description Field(/desc)
(/wpt)

The resultant POI was different on my GPSr between the 2 loaders.
Using the v2.4.2 loader, this waypoint loaded and displayed as shown here when selected:

http://i30.tinypic.com/iwt1sy.jpg

Using the v2.5.2 loader, this waypoint loaded and displayed as shown here:

http://i25.tinypic.com/28vt2dl.jpg

Notice that there is a ‘More’ button available. Touching on the ‘More’ button brings up this screen:

http://i31.tinypic.com/294tn47.jpg

So, with the new loader there is a bit more control of the information displayed. I played around a bit with Hornbyp’s GeePeeEx a bit, and the program seems to merge the Comment and Description fields. Admittedly I am not that experienced with his great program, but it seems that any Comments may have to be loaded manually at this point in time. I do not have MapSource yet, (it’s on the way) so I do not know how that program would handle this either. I am still fairly new to all this GPS stuff as I just got my first one ever in March, so there may be other editors available that I am not aware of that can separate the Comment and Description.

Well spotted!

POI Loader is now giving separate access to the 'comment' and 'description' fields in the .gpi file. Previously, it would use either as input, (but 'comment' overrode 'description' if both were present). It used to write the o/p to the 'comment' field (regardless of where it came from). This is where it continues to write col-4 csv data to.

(GeePeeEx Editor merges 'comment' and 'description' together, unless they are identical, when it only uses one of them).

This version of POI Loader seems to have introduced the bug that they put in the Mac version - ie address fields don't display unless there is a description (or icon).

Mapsource writes the "Comment:" information to both the 'comment' and 'description' fields of a gpx file. So gpx files generated by Mapsource will now show duplicated information. No doubt Garmin have a plan...

All-in-all, this is quite big step forward (for folk creating rich-content POIs from gpx input, at any rate!) - It's a pity Garmin couldn't manage to acknowlege the change in the Maintenance Log. I wonder what nonsense they'll come out with, when I email them for a proper description of the changes?...

I agree. It does seem as though the folks at Garmin have a plan. With the Google Maps/Mapquest developments using the Garmin Plugin, and the change to POILoader, which includes this undocumented change, one has to wonder about the future of the POIs we can expect to be available from on line providers thru Gmaps/Mapquest and other sources; either thru direct download via the plugin, or in downloadable content for loading at a later time. The optimist in me says that Garmin is well aware of what is going on at sites like the POI Factory and wants to have a piece of the action by providing a conduit into their hardware that the other GPS manufactures don’t have. For us Garmin owners, this does have the potential of being a good thing if they do it right. Time will tell.
In the mean time, this begs the question for Hornbyp. Will GeePeeEx be updated to take advantage of this change to POILoader?

I downloaded it and used. didn't experience problems.

Has anyone figured out yet when you save your files from the new poi loader to mapsource, where in the heck do the files go so you can pull them up on mapsouce, I think mine go to cyber heaven somewhere, cant find them.

They end up in


"C:\Documents and Settings\Whatever\Application Data\GARMIN\CustomPOIs"

where whatever is your username.


But when did Mapsource learn to read .GPI files?

The last time I checked it still doesn't. :0