need to make a custom poi list. HELP! me please.

Try reading this link - it may help you.
http://www.poi-factory.com/node/2115

. . . enter it all manually, individually ?

If you already have the data in Excel; and it is properly formatted, or can be properly formatted by rearranging columns and other Excel tricks there may be nothing to enter at all.

It sounds like you have all the ingredients necessary. Just save the file as .csv.

When saving the file scroll down in the "save as type" window until you see CSV (comma delimited) .csv. Click on that, enter your poi title in the window above and you're good to go.

Cheers

Well, I wouldn't hope for that in the very first try. Could happen, but not very likely, as the order of the data fields is likely different, or something else similar could cause a problem.

I suggest do indeed make a .csv file from the data, then download any poi file from this site. Open both the file that you made and the one you downloaded in a text editor, and see how close your file is to the desired file format, that will show you how the columns have to be rearranged or other formatting issues.

One may also have to remove the top line of data if that was column titles in Excel.

and I know that that would work, but seeing how i have a loaner computer with a 'trial' version of office I'll wait till i get my OWN computer back then install a 'complete' version.

THANKS ! ! ! You confirmed what I suspected. . .

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

and NEVER buy from frys: you'll get BURNED!

Make sure you have the correct format. The 'Help' section of POI Loader is a very good place to look.
The correct Garmin csv format is:
Longitude,Latitude,Name,Comment

1. The longitude and Latitude fields need to be in decimal format. If it's in degrees/minutes/seconds format, it has to be converted to decimal format.
2. The Longitude is negative if in the continental USA.
3. If the Name or Comment fields contain commas, quotes, linefeeds, etc, that complete field needs to be enclosed in quotes. Excel will automatically enclose these in quotes.
4. Be careful when using Excel as it will many times format a file in a way you don't want. Before using the POI, look at it in a Text editor (like Notepad) and check for correct format.
5. After creating a csv POI, check it with a POI checker like POI Verifier II. It will correct many errors, tell you of others, swap the coordinates if that option is selected, convert the coordinate format to decimal, check for duplicate entries, and more.

RT

i got my 'office' sit worked out, am able to cut & paste in large quantities now but even I upload the coordts to my garmin, it dznt read them out. . .

ill try what you said 'bout the 'notepad'