POI File Installation Problem

POI Loader always tells you the record or line number that failed. If it is line 1, then it is because the columns have a header row. Delete the header row.

There is no explanation. It just says the file is invalid and do I want to continue. It then loads the rest of the files excluding the one that was invalid.

I just converted the file to CSV and it has some bad records.

I also tried using the Texas "pets welcome" file (which is [still] a GPX file, not CSV) and was told it is invalid too. Is there a good Texas "pets welcome" file somewhere on the website? If so, is it a GPX or CSV file?

My POI Loader does indeed say the problem with the TX file is Line 1. However, I do not see any difference between the (invalid) TX file and all the other files which loaded successfully.

Can anyone tell me what what I should be seeing if the (invalid) TX file has columns with a header row versus a known good file? Assuming the TX file has columns with a header row (and I'm just not able to see it), how do I delete it so the POI Loader will see it as a valid file? I'm confused!

If your trying to load a CVX file that may not work it's supposed to be a CSV file.

The PETS WELCOMES file is a GPX file. The TX file looks like all the other PETS WELCOME files that load just fine.

Maybe someone smarter than me can look at the TX PETS WELCOME file and tell me how to fix it so it's a valid file and will load.

You are right, there is a problem with that file. I am going to put it into the moderation queue until the project manager gets it fixed.

I am sending a note over to Mzrnva right now.

Thanks for letting us know.

Miss POI

I'll look into this right away and try to resolve the problem.

Thanks;)

Miss POI

I edited the file and loaded on my 765 - seems to work fine. Looks like it had a problem with one location file name. If this does'nt work for you, let me know. It loads on my 765 and displays all content.

You guys and gals are great! I knew someone much smarter than me could find out what was wrong and fix it. I, along with my wife and lil' MaltiPoo (Sadie Mae), thank you...

Well darn... I'm still having the same problem with the PETS WELCOME TX file - after downloading the (supposedly) fixed file today. The Garmin POI Loader (v2.5.3) still will not load the TX file - says it's invalid and there is a problem on Line 1.

Any advice?

I am using ver 2.5.2 and have no problem. The files load and display OK. I don't know if the problem is in the version of the loader or not.

Garmin says the only difference between 2.5.2 and 2.5.3 is "Fixed issue with Asian language translated strings being incorrectly truncated." I don't see how that could affect your loading the file. Make sure your trying to load the .gpx file and not the .cvx.

I actually chose 32 states (different files) from the Pets Welcome POIs and they all loaded just fine...except for the TX file. I've double-checked everything I've done and it appears correct.

I am loading the files to a MicroSD and then installing the disc to a Garmin 255. I have successfully added a large number of custom POI files in both csv and gpx format (in various sub-folders I made for management purposes, e.g. Rest Areas, Cracker Barrel, Favorite Motels, Wells Fargo & Wachovia Banks, Pets Welcome Motels, etc.). I also added bmp icons and some mp3s, all loaded fine and work great. I have also setup "TourGuide" distances for the Rest Areas files and the Cracker Barrel files. I've had no problem with anything...except this one file.

Normally I would not mind giving up one of the many Pets Welcome states I chose, but I actually live in Texas and travel in the state a lot. Since the state is so large I'll definitely need the pet friendly motel information in that file.

I cannot imagine the v2.5.3 POI Loader is the problem. Nor can I imagine it's the MicroSD disc. The Loader actually says the error is Line 1, but for the life of me I don't see any difference between the TX file and any of the other Pet Welcome files I was able to load.

Any help would be much appreciated.

I just downloaded the file from the website and it will not load. The file on my computer works fine. I'll contact Miss POI and see what she thinks.

The file I downloaded will not load into GeePeeEx editor either. I believe something happened in transmission. I contacted Miss POI and am waiting on her reply.

mzrnva - Thank you. I really do appreciate it...

I responded to your emails. Sorry about not checking my emails and thus not being able to respond right away. I would like to try the "Pets_Welcome_Tx_revB" file.

Another thing you may try is to find the Pets_Welcome_Tx_RevB.gpx file on your computer. Do a right click on the file and click properties. Under the General tab, if a block appears at the bottom marked unblock, click on the box and unblock the file. I noticed that the file I downloaded from the site was blocked and when I unblocked it, the file loaded OK.

I unblocked all the files as soon as I downloaded them. I double-checked the Pets welcome TX file and it is unblocked.

mzrnva, I received the email with the attached "revB" TX file. Thank you! I noticed the file was not blocked, so I didn't even have to unblock it...

I tried downloading the file and (you guessed it) I received the same error - script error on Line 1.

It's the darndest thing. If it wasn't for the fact that I downloaded and successfully put 31 other "Pet Welcome" (states) gpx files on the MicroSD and they all work beautifully on my Nuvi...I would think I was doing something wrong.

I deleted the old TX file from my PC and put the new "revB" TX file you sent me in my "POI-Ready for Loader" folder. I then changed the name of the file to "Pets Welcome TX", which is what I did with all the other files for the different states (changing the state suffixes of course). I put the MicroSD into my PC and deleted the existing poi file folder from the MicroSD, thus making it empty. I then cranked-up the Garmin Loader and downloaded all my custom POIs from my "POI-Ready for Loader" folder. At the end of the Loader session the POI Loader gave me the bad news about not being able to load the "revB" TX file due to a script error on Line 1. I then put the MicroSD I just loaded into my Garmin GPS and all my POIs were there...with the exception of the TX file I'm having a problem with. The TX file name is in my GPS, but the file is empty when I touch to open that particular Pets Welcome state.

I was hopeful it would work, but not surprised when it didn't.

What am I doing wrong? Any other suggestions?

I just downloaded the current version posted (revB) and tried to open it in MapSource. It failed saying it was not a valid MapSource file (MapSource opens .gpx files).

I then successfully opened it in Extra_POI_Editor and saved it back as a .gpx. It now opens in MapSource, but the 1st line has a blank name. If I tell MapSource to display this point on the map, it labels it as Quality Suites Dallas ( N32.93528 W96.75545 ).

This POI seems to be duplicated further down in the list.

Thanks TXRVer. Maybe with your findings it will give one of the gurus a tip on what the problem is. What I find interesting is that this particular file seems to work for some, but not for others. And I don't know why...

The blank one has a street address of 4801 West Plano Parkway. The displayed one has an address of 13636 Goldmark Dr. Both have the same coordinates.

What is really weird is that EPE reports 41 duplicate entries within the 848 POI in this file while MapSource only reports 807 POI in the same file.

The duplicates are based on exact coordinate match. What stands out is that only one of the 41 is this blank, the other 40 duplicates are exactly the same in every field to its twin.

Reading your post you say you have a Garmin 255 and that you have loaded some mp3's to it.No problem with loading the mp3's to the unit but they will not work.The 255 does not have the mp3 capability.You have to use wav files for the alerts.

On the line 1 that poiloader shows as a problem.Re-type all the data back in line 1.Don't copy and paste.Then save the file.Now re-run poiloader.I have had this problem in the past with a file and by re-typing the data it worked.I was using excel at the time.

I can't figure that out either. I am re-compiling the file and will issue it later today as RevC. May make a difference and may not. I had no problem with loading the files myself.

You are correct. I mistaken said mp3 instead of wav.

mzrnva - The combined SW Pets Welcome file you sent me loaded just fine. Thank you. But so you (and others) will know I'll try loading the revC TX file and will let you know if the loading problem (at least with me) has been fixed.

You're tops! Thank you again...

The 'Pets_Welcome_TX_revC.gpx' (10/7/2009) poi still will not load into the nuvi350.

When converting from gpx to csv format, some conversion programs either reduce the character count in the description field or eliminate that field altogether.

I used http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/ to convert the gpx file to csv as it appears to retain the original character count. Some of the comment fields in the gpx file have 800+ characters. I went through each entry and cleaned out unnecessary words until the character count for each field was below 255. I then used http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/ to convert it back to the gpx format. Both formats loaded without any problems.

I will email both files to Miss POI. Maybe she'll post them.

RT

The 'Pets_Welcome_TX_revC.gpx' (10/7/2009) poi still will not load into the nuvi350.

When converting from gpx to csv format, some conversion programs either reduce the character count in the description field or eliminate that field altogether.

I used http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/ to convert the gpx file to csv as it appears to retain the original character count. Some of the comment fields in the gpx file have 800+ characters. I went through each entry and cleaned out unnecessary words until the character count for each field was below 255. I then used http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/ to convert it back to the gpx format. Both formats loaded without any problems.

I will email both files to Miss POI. Maybe she'll post them.

RT

Appreciate all the help RT. Any thoughts on why this one file became so congested?

RT, Great job fixing the file. I have it up now in addition to the CSV file you made for the project.

Miss POI

I also tried yesterday to load it and it failed once again. I've become gun shy thinking the problem was me, and not the file.

I guess (before trying the TX file again myself) is to learn if someone else who has also had a problem with the file loading deems it okay now. Also, I'm curious if both the csv and gpx versions have been checked to see if they are now okay.

Thanks to all...

I cleaned up the file for display purposes as some GPS units won't display more than a certain number of characters; and the nuvi350 will only display approx 255 characters on a page without having multiple pages.

My main intent was to create a csv file from your gpx file, retaining the information given in the gpx file. Some conversion programs will cut-off part of the 'comment' field, and some will eliminate it altogether (like PoiEdit v5.2.0); GpsVisualizer.com seemed to retain the entire comment field; so I went with it.

After I finished shortening the comment fields, I tried converting the csv back to gpx using GpsVisualizer.com; and it loaded. I don't know if shortening the fields did the trick; if it was converting and reconverting, or just a stroke of luck. It will be interesting to see if both the csv and gpx files will load for other GPS units.

The csv file has been checked with Poi Verifier II for correct formatting. Although the coordinates fall in the correct range for US/Canada, I can not attest to their accuracy.

RT

A shortening example is:
"Just six miles from downtown, the La Quinta Inn San Antonio/Alamo South is the perfect place to stay for those visiting the Alamo, River Walk, Market Square or the many other marvelous attractions scattered throughout downtown. With convenient access to all major freeways, a short drive will get you to places like SeaWorld San Antonio, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, and the Natural Bridge Caverns in a breeze. One of San Antonio's newest shopping centers, City Base Landing, is right next door and other malls like Ingram Park, Crossroads, and South Park are easily accessible from the freeway. Stay refreshed in the hotel's sparkling outdoor pool and wake up to a complimentary continental breakfast each morning. Enjoy popular amenities like free high-speed Internet access, a coffee maker, hairdryer, and iron with ironing board in every room."

was shortened to

"6 miles from downtown. Short drive to many attractions and shopping centers. Outdoor pool, complimentary continental breakfast, free high-speed Internet, coffee maker, hairdryer, and iron with ironing board."

RT - I really appreciate your working on this for for us. I downloaded the file and it looks like I lost 261 locations. Originally I was showing 840 locations. The new file shows 579 locations. I verified this on GPX Editor and EPE. I plan to compare the files line for line tomorrow or this weekend with the old file and see what is missing. Were you aware of this? Evidently I had too much info in the comment field for some gps units. I'll check this out and let you know what I find. Thanks again.

RT - It looks like we lost lines 555 thru 815 from the old file. About 260 locations. Could you please look at this when you get a chance?

Thanks

The 'Pets_Welcome_TX_revC.gpx' file that I had to work with, which I downloaded on 10/7/2009, has 579 entries (I just counted them; plus they go from A to W). The csv file that was converted from this gpx file still has 579 entries. The gpx file which was converted from the csv file still have 579 entries.

If there is another file that has more entries, send it over and I'll be happy to work on it.

RT

Added: I just noticed the gpx file I downloaded has no entries for n,o,p,q,r, and s. Did these get dropped before uploading the gpx file?

The revB file I looked at on 10/6 had 848 entries including 41 duplicates! Hope this doesn't muddy the waters.

The file I downloaded was rev C. He must have updated it on 10/6 or 10/7. I'd appreciate it if you would send that file over to me. I sent you an note via your contact with my email that accepts attachments.
Thanks.
RT

Added: I just noticed the gpx file I downloaded has no entries for n,o,p,q,r, and s. Did these get dropped before uploading the gpx file?[/quote]
The file I uploaded on 10/7,Rev C, had 840 locations and had all duplications removed. I looked back and originally, it had 858 locations. I don't know how a file showed up with 579 locations. It looks like the entries for n thru s make up the missing files. The latest file should show it being created at 3:03:23 pm on 10/7/09 with 840 locations.I am confused as to how this happened.Anyway, the latest file is as just mentioned. I believe this is the file that TXRVer is referring to. Even the original file had 858 locations back in March of 2008. If you want the latest file I have, send me your e-mail address and I will gladly send it to you. Thanks again for your help.

I sent you a note via your contact with an email address that will accept attachments. I'll be happy to help.

RT

It seems that I am having a problem with my file size changing when I upload some files, not all, to the factory. Retiredtechnician has jumped in and corrected these files, still working on one, and he will directly upload the corrected version. I am not uploading anymore files until I resolve my problem. Many thanks to RT for jumping in and helping. He has put in quite a few hours. Great Guy! If anyone else has had a problem with one of the Pets Welcome files, please let me know.

I sent Miss POI a copy of mzrnva's gpx file and a copy of a csv file that contains the addresses and phone numbers. Both files have 840 entries.

RT

I will be working on this project tomorrow;)

great team work, be ready to Moo for me all of next week.

Miss POI