Send Google Maps and Mapquest results straight to your garmin GPS

is there a difference weather you put in an address into the gps vers downloading the rout from google maps ?

What is a GPX file again

From the faqs pages linked at the top of every page.

http://www.poi-factory.com/node/6659

http://www.poi-factory.com/node/6203

http://www.poi-factory.com/node/6202

Also, from the developers of the GPX format.

http://www.topografix.com/gpx.asp

And from Wikipedia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GPX_%28data_transfer%29

For clarification, what you download from Google is (currently) a single point and not a route.

Most users will not see any differences.

I have found some minor differences (in the phone number and address) in what data is retained when I transfer them to MapSource. But functionally, they are the same.

I have downloaded and installed the Garmin GPS Communicator on my computer. However, after running the test page it keeps telling me that it cannot be found. Any ideas?

Try connecting your gps to the computer first and then running the test or program...

The FIREFOX browser, for some reason it does not work with Internet Explorer.

IE 6 seems to work just fine, did it on my home computer (Windows 2000 with IE 6). I haven't tried it with my XP or Vista box.

Thanks, it worked on Firefox just fine. IE no.

Is your box on IE 7?

I did the download and called up Google maps. Selected a business, then selected send to Phone. A pop up box appeared that had phone as a selection along with GPS. The business appeared in my Favorites on the GPS. I did this using Firefox. I was not able to get it to work using Mapquest. I couldn't see a way to send the info to the GPS. I prefer Google maps and will just stick with it. Sure beats entering the info by hand.

Mapquest reporting date in the middle of April to do what Google does now.

This is great news. Thanks for all of you work.

I'm using it with IE 7...no problems

We have three computers 2 desttop and 1 laptop IE7 runs with no problems on 1 destto[ and the laptop ut will not run on my wifes destop there is a conflict with another program she runs had to go back to IE 6.

Any idea when Mapquest will allow us to download to GPS?

If you still wonder how it can be done, watch it on youtube.com.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_p1x-fL2zc

Mapquest's web announcement says April 2008.
http://wireless.mapquest.com/send-gps.html

Nice find. It seems to work as smoothly as they advertise. Beautiful. It will save me quite a bit of typing. Now if I could just do a bulk load....

I am on Vista, using Firefox and a Zumo 550. Everything is using the latest updates including Vista SP1.

I tried this today and yes, it did download the location I had looked up on Google. However, as far as I can determine, it did not download any maps. I believe it will only use the maps on the Nuvi. I’m using a Nuvi 660. So I doubt there will be any necessity to get to hot about all the hype on the new 7 and 800 series. If anyone has downloaded actual maps I'd sure like to hear about it with full particulars! Thanks.

This article shows the date of 4-15-08 for Mapquest
http://jalopnik.com/375279/send-google-maps-mapquest-directi...

Looks like a neat feature, but is it just me...or would you rather just enter the address manually on your Garmin? that's definitely faster than hooking up my device to my laptop.

this feature doesn't send the route to the GPS, does it?

Thanx for the heads up will have to test this new useful feature!

Ray

Yea, Thanx for me too!

Likewise, thank you-

I think some people are missing the bigger picture. Sure if I have the address already I will manually put it in. BUT so many times I just want to go somewhere to a new place. With Google business search I find all kinds of new places to go. (usually to eat). Why bother to manually enter it when I can just send it directly to my Garmin. I just love the feature and can't wait to see how well Map Quest will work. Thats my 2 cewnts worth.

I agree.My wife and I travel a lot and always have our laptop with us.Now we will be able to use Google when we stop for the night to add new stops directly to our GPS that may have not been planned from the start.You know the ones the locals know about.

As noted by Harpo66, there are times you find a point on Google maps that are of interest. Now, if they can only add the feature to Google Earth...

This is a great feature. It's nice to have something this functional without having to spend $$$.

Harpo et al. Thanks for the reply. You guys are right. There WILL be instances when I won't have the address ready, and for multiple businesses, searching online and sending to the GPS does seem easier than manual input.

I hope we'll get more functions in the future, and I can't wait for MapQuest's implementation of this feature.

neat

When I send map data to my gps, all I'm seeing in my Favorites is the name and coordinates. Am I suppose to be getting the address and phone number information it shows on the Garmin page?

Kennedy, it seems some Garmins pick up more complete info than others.

My Nuvi 360 picks up telephone number, geo coordinates and name.

Phil said the other units will pick up actual street addresses.

Unfortunately, the 3xx series handles GPX data differently from other units.

This info is Uuber-good!

Thanks all-

I guess it depends on how much time you spend in front of your computer. I spend at least 4 hours / day at work and find it much easier to transfer information to the GPS via computer rather than typing it, especially when I'm putting a trip to a different city / state together. What I'd really like would be a way to batch delete / edit files from my "favorites" on the 680, (if you give a mouse a cookie....). Has anyone tried using geepeeex editor to edit their favorites?

I've tried this and it works wonderfully. I have informed other users of Garmin GPS units of this. I suppose this means we no longer have to worry about the latest version of software on the GPS unit because GoogleMaps should always be up to date and if you need to get to a specific location you can now check for it on Google Maps and if you find it, you can then download it to the GPS.

P.S. Very happy about this new feature.

Good stuff.

and saves time, eaiser to look up and input from the PC. Used the feature this week for a business trip.

I have the c330.Try this. Go to tools in explorer-internet options-security-Set Security Level to Medium-Apply-OK After many tries this worked.Good luck

looks like garmin's done everything to avoid letting older nuvis have custom routes.

With google maps, I can (most times) confirm the location (by actually looking at the satellite picture) and then enter the coordinates into the GPSr. For instance, the trip that I am currently on, the address was about 1/4 mile off for the hotel. I moved the marker and was able to get the coordinates right to the driveway of the hotel.

It's just way better, when you can do stuff like that!

You can use GeePeeEx Editor to load and edit your Favorites, but you can only save them to a POI file. You can't save it back to your Favorites. It's not a fault of GeePeeEx, it's just how the Garmins work.

Saving locations while on the road always end up in Favorites. GeePeeEx does what I would mostly want to do - take all those Favorites and organize/save them to POI files. Then I go back and delete them from the Favorites. You can delete all, or delete them one at a time. That step can be tedious.

1. Use GeePeeEx to edit your favorites.
2. Save to a GPX file on the PC
3. Open the GPX file with MapSource (They will show up as Waypoints.)
4 Use MapSource upload the waypoints into your Garmin unit. ( AS FAVORITES )

DONE!!!!

H Hannah
Nuvi750 and Ique3600

Now that's a trick I didn't know about. If you do that, are all the data, phone and description fields preserved? One of the things I like about using GPX format is the individual formatted fields for address, phone and comments.

If you open up a GPX POI file using Notepad ad make any "DAta" changes you can then save it using
SAVE AS
File name: xxxxxxxxxxxxx (what ever it is)
Sace type as: Text Document (*.txt)
Encoding: ANSI

It will preserve the XML function and work correctly.

Just remember only to change the DATA between the Formatting tags.

H Hannah
SORRY this is a comment to another thread!!

Thanks, I'll give it a try.

.gpx files destined to be read directly by a Nüvi/StreetPilot have to have

encoding="UTF-8"

instead of

encoding="Windows-1252"

that GeePeeEx uses. (POI Loader is happy with Windows-1252 and it keeps my Danish users happy )

For completeness, you can also select Encoding: UTF-8 in notepad when you save the data - (not that Nüvis etc actually understand UTF-8 - they just like to pretend they do ).

Hornbyp,

You are correct that encoding has to be UTF-8 but that is in the .XML files coding.

Example of the UTF encoding already in a .XML file:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no" ?>

What I am talking about is after you use notepad to edit an already existing POI GPX file in the SAVE AS portion of saving what you edited.

Your file will save as a *.XML file.

H Hannah