POIs and MACs

Hi,

It would be easier if you have a PC.

Someone wrote a program for MAC, but I don't understand the logic so don't really know how to use it.

I have a MacBook, so I use bootcamp to run Windows since Garmin only made the POI loader for PC's...sucks!

But I only have Excel in OX, so I constanly restart between the 2 systems...(time to reinstall XP on my Parallel Desktop)

See here: http://tinyurl.com/2rvehd

Also known as "http://www.hearsay.demon.co.uk/mac/MacGarminTools/index.html"

Hi,
I am glade to see other Mac users on this site. I have a Mac G5 and a Powerbook Pismo. What you need to have for the Mac is a GPI file to dump into the /Garmin/Poi folder you see when you connect the Mac to the Garmin. The Garmin comes up as another external drive and you can locate the files as you would with any other Mac drive. There is an excellent Mac Program to create the GPI file.
http://www.hearsay.demon.co.uk/mac/MacGarminTools/
It is located in the Faq&Help section of this web site. I use Google Earth to get lat/long/name and then enter this into my CVS file. I use Excel to create a CSV file. Then I use the “Mac POI Tools” program to convert the CSV file to a GXP formate and then convert the GXP to GPI. The excellent software by Simon Slavin dose this flawlessly. I then take the GPI file rename it to “anything”.gpi and dump it into the /Garmin/POI folder of my Garmin C550.

Thanks everyone. I found the MacGarmin tool last night and downloaded it. Thanks, Simon ! I'll find out when I try to upload the file after it is done. After reading through some other posts, it seems that it is best to use an ordinary notepad, like Text Wrangler, rather than excel, no ?
I'm planning to use my Mac pismo until it dies. When it does, if it ever does, I'll probably get a Macbook. Hopefully Garmin will catch on that there are alot of Mac users now.

I have been a Mac user since 1988 and just got my fist PC before the release of Vista.
Although I will forever be a Mac user, I must say, downloading ang installing POI's is much easier on a PC because of Garmin's pc-based software. at least that has been my experience to date. That being said, it was quite easy with my Mac to download
songs and images into my Nuvi 360 and 660. When connected to a Mac via USB, the Nuvi appears as an additional hard drive, and you can just drag and drop the picyures and music.

Hmmmm... my Mac doesn't seem to see my Garmin c330 as a drive when I sinc it. It only charges it. I tried to export POI files to an SD card via an SD card readed, but when I inserted the SD card into the Garmin, there was just silence.

Anyone here have any experience with successfully syncing a Garmin c330 with a Mac ?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

HI,
Do you see an Icon of a hard drive when you plug your C330 into the USB port of the MAC? If you do, click on the HD icon to get to the Garmin folder then Click on the Garmin Folder to get to the POI folder. Then just drag the .gpi file to the POI folder in the Garmin. You need the “unmount Garmin” program that Simon Slavin includes with his “Mac POI Tools” program to unmount the Garmin C330 from the Mac. That’s all there is to it. I just read some other comments on the Garmin C3XX and its inability to mount as a drive on a Mac.
http://www.poi-factory.com/node/271
MY Garmin is a C550 and it mounts as a drive. This is where the problem is. Sorry all of the above won't work if you don't see the Garmin HD on the desktop.

Thanks for tryin, Hammerham. It doesn't show up as a drive, so I guess we'll have to wait for Simon to write a program for that. Garmin should pay that man.

- trevor

I just uploaded some POIs using Simon's tools, (great tools!). When I go to my c550 and select Extras; I get a blank screen! If I go to Finder I can see the 2 gpi files in the poi folder. I also have access to a XP machine and ran garmin POI loader and get the same results. I'm running 5.3 on my c550. Any ideas?

Interesting. Does this mean that with a Mac I can remove "unnecessary" files from my c330? Like languages I'll never use (in order to free up space for more POI's)?

-Tom

Hi Tom,
If your could mount Your garmin C330 as a drive on the Mac you will have access to the voices folder and should be able to delete any of the languages . I don't know if the Garmin will still work, after this is done. Unfortunately I understand that the C330 will Not mount as a drive on the MAC.
Hammerham