Garmin nuvi Tricks, Tips, Work Arounds, Hints, Secrets and Ideas

Thanks for making that article. Ghayman.

Gary,
It is so nice to have you on our site, welcome to the family.

Miss POI

I have already looked around on your site, it is really a neat place, and looking forward to being there again, and once again, welcome to POI Factory and hope to see you here more often.

Welcome aboard and Congrats on a very interesting site

Welcome, This site has just about everything GPS users could use for POI's

Virgo

Hey Gary, welcome aboard! Nice site you've got there. Lota of good information and work-arounds. Thanx for sharing!

Thanks from me also. Your site really helped get me going. I knew diddley about custom POI before being introduced to same on your site. Your redlight alert for home is in and ready to be tested.

I appreciate all the Welcomes and Thanks.

The Garmin nuvi Tricks, Tips, Work Arounds ... etc. is a work in process with lots more information to be posted. I may have another article up this week but the rest will have to wait until I get back from Alaska. I'm leaving on Friday. Of course, I'm gonna take my Garmin nuvi 650 with me.

I'm hoping that "Trick & Tips" WEB site will be of value to users -- especially the new owners of nuvi GPSrs and the owners who want to take their useage up a notch.

Gary Hayman
http://snipurl.com/garmin_gps_tricks

Thanks for these tips. I'm really having fun playing around with them.

Thaks for the information, clearly lots of work went into this site. It is good info not only for the Nuvi, but some good ideas and suggestions for all GPS units. Kudos.

Gary,

Thank you for providing such an interesting site full of great information on GPS's. It's very informative and we call all learn something from it.

Thanks again,

Berton

Great site, Great Tips.

Thanks

I liked the one that use off-road option to find your car in the parking lot. Very nice indeed...and thanks.

I got an e-mail from a POI fan who said that was enjoying the Garmin Tricks and Tips web site but he couldn't get one of the sound files to download from the 'OH, GIVE ME A HOME - Fun Use of a Proximity Alert' article in the POI area.

I did a quick check and discovered that the file was corrupted and I uploaded a fresh file to the server.

If anyone has had trouble with that file, please try again. It's fun for your sound playing nüvi.

I've also uploaded two other POI articles of interest.

Gary Hayman

Garmin Tricks, Tips, Work Arounds, Hints, Secrets & Ideas

http://snipurl.com/garmin_gps_tricks

Saw the many thanks on this page and checked it out myself. I am adding my "thank you" for a great site.

Yep... Thanks a lot for the links. There is some good information & fun stuff.

Welcome, welcome, welcome. Glad to have you here. Thanks for sharing your site with us. Lots to read; learn, so much, I'll have to go back later to read it ALL. I've enjoyed what I've read so far.

Welcome Gary!
I just read through your site this morning. Great site. I found it through a Google search before finding you listed on the POI factory just now.
There seems to be a lot of GPS knowledge and talent pooled on the POI-factory.
Sweet find for a newb like me!
Cheers
-Rob

Gary,

Have you thought about adding info on Using and Creating TourGuides? Would be helpful for owners of Nuvi's that have that capbility...

I didn't get a owners manual with nuvi750
then found your tips and tricks great read
helped a whole lot thanks again

FYI ... The owners manual is in .pdf form on the nuvi itself. Not much info in them, however.

The tips and tricks page is very informative. Wish there was something like it specific for my Garmin etrex vista hcx.

Gary,

Thanks for all the great info on you site. I am just starting to read different forums and it is refreshing to see someone share information in a way that can be followed.

I do have one (maybe more) question that I would welcome a posting on. I have a Nuvi760 and I can make a GPX file with waypoints (name, address, city, phone and comments). That works fine. I can load it by hand or use mapsource to get it on the Nuvi and it works fine. One small detail. It will not use the "winery" icon that is already in the Nuvi. Nor can I find a way to upload it with custom icon.

I have tried your method of a csv file and bmp and that works. But when I load it only the first three fields are there and it drops off the city,phone and comments.

I will keep searching to the answer to this. If you would like to chime in I would appreciate.

Tom B.

Tom,
Have you tried GeePeeEx Editor? http://geepeeex.googlepages.com/

That's on my agenda, but I still have more to do in the POI area before I reach that point.

TO ALL

I haven't visited here lately as I was traveling in Alaska and taking a cruise. I'll certainly start checking in now that I'm back.

You can also write me at ghayman3@comcast.net for quicker replies -- but posting here too is good for other readers.

Gary Hayman
Garmin nuvi Trick & Tips

For Custom POIs the file type .csv (to my understanding) only permits 3 delimited entries -- longitude, latitude, and comment.

Example:
-77.03656, 38.89788, "My Home"

If you need more than 3, then you need to use a .gpx file format.

The previous suggestion by 'bentbiker' to use GeePeeEx is quite valid.

I haven't covered .gpx files on my WEB pages as yet but will do so shortly. Currently there is other information on the Internet that will give you excellent directions.

I'm not sure of your .bmp icon problem but please make sure that the prefix of the file name exactly matches your .csv or .gpx file. Also your .bmp must meet certain criteria.

* Must be of the Windows .bmp file type
* Prefix of file name MUST match the .csv or .gpx file name
* Size should be no bigger than 24 x 24 pixels
* Best to use 256 color palette with standard web safe colors
* The color 'magenta' (RGB R:255, G:0, B:255 [#ff00ff ] is treated as a transparent color)

For some additional help see 'OH, GIVE ME A HOME - Fun Use of a Proximity Alert' and the two articles that follow on my Garmin WEB site.

Gary Hayman

Garmin GPS (nuvi) Tricks, Tips, Work Arounds, Hints, Secrets & Ideas

http://snipurl.com/garmin_gps_tricks

Although it is technically possible to use a built-in symbol, POILoader does not provide access to this functionality. (Garmin's GPI_Creator aka "Content Toolkit" does).

GPX files loaded directly by the Nüvi, ie as Favourites should honour the symbol setting - unless it's a symbol the unit doesn't actually have, of course. (The Nüvi has more symbols than the Streetpilot and Mapsource has more symbols than both of them.)

To load a custom bitmap (in addition to the method already discussed), you can also use the <link> field of the gpx file - on a per-POI basis. In other words, each POI can have its own Icon. I think there is a maximum of 32 bitmap per .gpi file.

It has been about 2 months since I've listed the latest articles on the

GARMIN NUVI TRICK,TIPS, WORK AROUNDS, SECRETS AND IDEAS WEB site.

http://snipurl.com/garmin_gps_tricks

Here are the latest 10 - some of which may interest you.

MAKE A .WAV -
Now nüvi Series 200 Can Have
Music, Sound & Voice Alerts
CUSTOM POI RESOURCES -
Where To Go To Get Information
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION -
Using 'Set Loc' and Why
MY POIs -
Custom POI Favorites
CUSTOM POIs - TO SD CARD OR GARMIN'S MEMORY -
You Have a Choice
FAST CARS AT RIDGEMONT HIGH -
Souped-up Speed Alerts
MOVING A GOOGLE MAP FIND TO A BETTER PLACE -
Putting That Favorite On The Road For Your Garmin
IMPORTING FAVORITES FROM GOOGLE/MAPQUEST INTO YOUR NÜVI -
'How To' Techniques For On-Line Imports
WAYS TO VIEW FUTURE TRIP TURNS -
Your Garmin Offers Several Ways
OH, GIVE ME A HOME -
Fun Use of a Proximity Alert
GETTING READY FOR CUSTOM POIs -
Initial steps

Currently there is close to 60 articles of interest.

Gary Hayman

Gary - thanks for posting this great information. It is useful and fun.

For anyone who has a GPS - regardless of if you are a newbie or a much more experienced user, Gary has done an outstanding job of creating an easy to use - fun reference site. If you have not yet gone there - go and enjoy.

Thanks for all the great work Gary...

Great info. Thanks

thanks gary. it real helpful

Thanks for the site, great tips!

Gary,

Thanks for the excellent tips and keeping up with such a great website related to GPS issues. We can all learn something new from it.

NEW ARTICLE POSTED -- July 10, 2008

LOADING YOUR CUSTOM POIs -
Facts You Know, Probably Know & Might Know

on the

GARMIN NUVI TRICKS, TIPS, WORK AROUNDS, HINTS, SECRETS & IDEAS

Web site.

Look for it here

http://snipurl.com/garmin_gps_tricks

or try direct link

http://home.comcast.net/~ghayman3/garmin.gps/pagepoi.02.htm#...

Gary Hayman

Gary, thanx once again for putting together such a great site! I always find something interesting there!

It;s really nice post

Your site opened my eyes to the myriad ways I could customize my Nüvi and get it to do things I never thought it would do. The Garmin uier's manual ought to include a link to your site. It's much better than the "Getting Started" pamphlet. Outstanding work!

A couple more new articles posted since the middle of July:

=====
THE .CSV FORTH ELEMENT -
Expanding The Information In The .CSV File

NEW GOOGLE MAPS WAY OF GETTING LAT/LON COORDINATES -
Developer Tools or Mapplets of Great Aid
=====

on the

GARMIN NUVI TRICKS, TIPS, WORK AROUNDS, HINTS, SECRETS & IDEAS

Web site.

Look for them here

http://snipurl.com/garmin_gps_tricks

Gary Hayman

Gary,
I'd like to add my thanks for your site. I purchased a nuvi 200 a few weeks ago, and I find it amazing (my first GPS). I've tried a few of your tips, which added to the enjoyment of it. I'm trying the Proximity Alert, but having no luck with the .wav file. I'm getting the (Red) Alert: My Home, but the audio is a "Ding, Ding". I downloaded sox.exe and copied it to C:\Program Files\Garmin. I tried using a .wav (song) that I had. I changed the format to PCM 44.100kHz 16 Bit Mono, as you suggested, but no luck. Both the .csv and .wav are named the same. I also tried downloading your "My Home Redlight.mp3 and formating it to a .wav, but again no luck. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks again.

Lou,
What is the version of POI Loader that you are using? Where did you put the wav files?

POI Loader version 2.5.2.0 and the .wav file is in C:\Garmin\POIcollection. I loaded these files on the SD card, if that makes any difference. The .csv file (Alert) is working. I wanted to use Grand Funk Railroad's "I'm Getting Closer to My Home" (a short clip) as I'm approaching home. Thanks for any help.

Version is good. Is your POI file in the same folder as the wav? If yes, it almost has to be in the naming -- possibly a double extension????

Do you already have the GFR sound clip in a mono wav file format, or do you need it?

Thanks ghayman for putting together the tips and tricks site. I have learned a lot in the past few weeks to get the most out of my 200W.

Hi Everyone,

I purchased my Nuvi 750 today. It worked fine and I decided to run WebUpdater to update the unit. Following what appeared to be a successful update, the unit now indicates "System Software Missing" upon startup. When I try to run the webUpdater service again to reinstall, I get an error that the file is corrupt. I am at a loss.

Any ideas on what to do next? Am I dead in the water?

Thanks everyone.

bentbiker,

When you say POI file, do you mean the .csv file? If so, yes, the files are in the same folder. I have 6 files in the POIcollection folder (Best_Buy_us.csv, D&D_CT.gpx, D&D_NH.gpx, dd.csv, My_Home_Redlight.csv, My_Home_Redlight.wav). When I run POI loader, and use the "manual" mode, all of the files except the .wav file are seen.

Gary A,

I have an mp3 long version of GFR Closer to Home. I cut out about a 30 second clip then formated it to PCM 44.1kHz 16 Bit Mono. I wasn't sure if I did something wrong, that's why I downloaded Gary's mp3 and formated that. Maybe the formating of the mp3s is wrong. I'm using Nero.

Looks like a great resource that I'll use to make sense out of some of the non-sense in this crazy GPS world. Thanks for the help!

Miffer (Nuvi 260)

You've tried everything else. If Gary has a clip that he knows works, why not let him send it to you to rule out that possibility. You didn't say whether you had checked for hidden extensions and/or double extensions.