GPX or CSV, Which is Better for a Garmin c530?

check out this thread for your answer.
http://www.poi-factory.com/node/15231

There is no better as they work the same.

Yeah, i read his thread, but he said he was having trouble.

I'm having no trouble.

I just read an official FAQ on this site that stated that there were extra features available in some units by using GPX. So im just curious if MY specific module can use any (even one) of these additional features. (?)

- ACougar

I believe the only plus to having it in GPX is that you can use bluetooth with it. Since, your garmin don't have bluetooth capabilities, I guess it won't matter.

The GPX files can contain additional data and you can manipulate it in different ways.

Check out Phil's site.
http://geepeeex.googlepages.com/

Thanks for the link. I saw that Phone numbers for auto dialing and Sounds are extra features, however my c530 doesnt have mp3 or bluetooth, so unless i missed something in that webpage, there is nothing for me with gpx format over csv.

However it mentioned images... what is images (not icons) about?

It also mentioned HTML formats. I figure GPX can take html code, but can csv? Ive never seen anyone use it before on this site, if is does. Thanks.

- ACougar

Images (JPEGS) attached to each of the POIs, to provide some visual information about the POI.

There's a sample GPI file on the web-site, to demo some of the features.
http://geepeeex.googlepages.com/StonePages.gpi

Copy the file to an SD card, or the \Garmin\POI directory on the C530. It will show up under "Extras|Custom POIs|Stone Pages". The source files are available as well.

For each POI, there will be a 'front page' containing the address & phone number. If you press "MORE", there is a 2nd page, containing a lengthy description (that uses some of Garmin Markup Language (GML), to 'pretty it up' a bit).
Pressing the "IMAGE" button will display the JPEG.

(On TourGuide capable units, you'll find a spoken version of the description as well)

Thats interesting.

I'll give it a try.

Is the c530 TourGuide compatable? Do you happen to know if it does Route Points or WayPoints (terms ive seen thrown around here before)?

So it sounds like more data like phone numbers, addresses, and images all prettied up with GML can be done with GPX but not CSV. Is this correct?

Oh and one more question: Do bmp icons still work the same with GPX or only CSV? Do GPX somehow contain their own icons?

- ACougar

1. The tour-guide is compatible.
2. Its pre-routed.
3. Csv files can store numbers. However, GPX will let you call from the unit and the Csv file can only displays the number.
4. Bmp Icons are not embedded into the gpx or csv files. The icons are named the same as the poi file so they both appear correctly when viewing the map screen.
Example: one folder might contain a poi called "McDonalds" and Icon named McDonalds. That’s how the icon and poi files get linked.
If you added sound you would call the sound file "McDonalds" to work with your McDonalds poi and icon file.

That all makes sense.

And for the topic of pre-routed tour-guides, who knows, perhaps ill find a way to make one someday. Sounds fun!

- ACougar