SD Card on Nuvi 350

I don't use SD card, but I have read a lot about this on this site. You should be able to keep gpi file on SD card and not have it load to unit.

You can rename your poi.gpi file on GPSr so it will not be erased when you run POI Loader.

For example, rename poi.gpi to poi OLD.gpi.

Try searching this site for poi.gpi and memory card.

A few of the basic rules:

Yes - you can keep them on your SD card and the unit will read them. You can keep them in both places and the Nuvi will read them both.

The POI loader always outputs a file of the name 'POI.GPI' and saves it either to a SD card or in the unit. Regardless of where you save it, the poi loader always saves it in the same directory
\garmin\Poi\poi.gpi
AND... it will replace any poi.gpi file that is already there.

There can be 2 'poi.gpi' files if you like.... One on the SD card and one in the Nuvi but always located as \garmin\poi\poi.gpi

You don't have to save them to the GPS at all. They will work fine from the SD card. Just don't save them to the GPS when asked and they will be read from the SD card.

You can also save multiple POI files to either the Nuvi or the SD Card (or both) and they will all work but it takes more effort on your part. Since the POI loader always names it's output file 'poi.gpi' you need to rename them something else. You can use this ptoperty if you like, to create custom poi groups if you wish to break your POI files into categories using individual files. Do this by renaming the poi loader output files to your liking and creating a file structure something like this (either on the SD card or the nuvi, or any mix/combination).
\garmin\poi\People.poi
\garmin\poi\Shopping.poi
\garmin\poi\Beaches.poi
\garmin\poi\Fishing Spots.poi
\garmin\poi\Golf Courses.poi
\garmin\poi\Rest Areas.poi
\garmin\poi\Exits.poi
The file names become your custom POI categories.

Thats the basic stuff. You can also structure pois into a couple levels of sub-groups using folder structures(we'll save that topic for a later time).

Hey Roger,
Garmin's POI loader doesn't merge new POI files with old ones that are already on the SD card or the unit. It overwrites the old file with the new one. If you want to keep the old files, you have to download them again along with the new ones. There are three ways around that limitation:

1. You can have custom POI files on both the SD card and the GPS at the same time and the GPS will find and use both. However you have to keep the SD files on the SD card and not load them to the GPS.

2. You can rename the files after they are loaded onto the SD card or the GPS. Rename them like you would any file on your computer, just don't change the 3 letter extension. The GPS only looks for the 3 letter extension, not the complete file name.

3. You can put the files in different folders on either the SD card or the GPS. Point the POI loader to the folder you want to use and you can keep the file names unchanged. Again, the GPS will find all the files and use them with no problems.

Option 3 is the one I use, it seems to be a little less work for me. I name the folder to describe the POI file. I also keep all of my POI files on the SD card, that way I know where they are located if I need to change one of them.

With option 1 you are limited to a maximum of 2 different files at the same time. With options 2 and 3 you can have as many different files as you need, up to the limit of what will fit in memory.

I hope this helps you.

Jack j

You folks are the greatest! Thanks for everyone's reply.

Roger