add text to favorites

On the favorites you are some what limited on the data you can input.Mostly name,address and phone number.With a little short hand maybe you can input enough in that space to do what you want.

Download Extra Poi Loader at http://turboccc.wikispaces.com/Extra_POI_Editor .Once downloaded Connect Gps to computer.Click on file top left of Extra Poi Editor screen and then open and select the drive for your gps.Locate the Garmin folder and open it.Now open the Gpx folder.Select Current.Gpx to load to Extra Poi Editor.You will now see all the favorites you have including the ones for geocaching you stated you had in favorites.Double click on one of them and on next screen put in data in the address field.Continue until you have done all of the geocaching favorites. I would delete the others from Extra Poi Loader, not the gps to prevent a chance of duplicates.Once you have them like you want save as a gpx file and name it Temp.Gpx.Copy and paste back to gps in same location as Current.Gpx .Disconnect gps from computer and re-boot.

hey charlie,

thanks a bunch, that is the kind of program i've been looking for. i still need to play around with it, but it looks great so far. by the way, can i add proximity alerts via the tour guide section on the bottom right?

Yes you can build in the proximity alert for each custom poi and you can also use the selection to set the proximity for all of the custom pois at once.I use that for a lot for files that don't need to to be updated much.That way I can use express mode for poiloader.Here is the process using Extra Poi Editor.
You can download Extra Poi Editor at http://turboccc.wikispaces.com/Extra_POI_Editor and build the alert in. Once you download the program
you will need to set up the preferences you want first. Under options click on preferences. For example using ft for input. Under units you will see editor, select Imperial/US. For Field Read and Field save select Metric. After setting your preferences click on file and click open to select from your computer the file you want to build the alerts for. Then go to edit and click on replace field. Once the next screen comes up use the down arrow for Field name and pick proximity. Under new field value put in the distance you want for the alert. Then click replace all. Then save as a gpx file.

hey charlie,

i have been playing around with the program and really like it. however i may have a problem with my nuvi 200. i have added a somewhat long description in the address field,(and also in the description field) but it only displays about a sentence worth on my screen. i do not see a "more" button on mine. does the nuvi 200 have one, or am i doing something wrong?
thanks

Hi Turner,

It differs from one model to another, but if you want a More page, add a dummy picture name in the Link field. If you are not using the link field at all for your POI file, just use the Edit->Replace Field function. Select the Link field and put "m.jpg" (without quotes) in the value field. This will put m.jpg in all link fields. It does not matter if the file does not exist, but it will fool your GPS in showing the More page.

Hi charlesd45,

Have you tried the "Open Garmin Favorites" function under the File menu?

It can be used to open Current.gpx without having to look for the GPS drive.

Just tried it and that is really nice feature.Just what I need.Please don't tell me it has been there for a while and I didn't notice it.

Since v4.02 - 12 days ago! LOL!

Use to just going stright to open.Thanks for the information.

Turner
Let us know how you make out with the trick for the more button Turboccc posted about?Good info to pass to other members.

i tried changing the field with the m.jpg trick, but no luck. also when i click the open garmin favs, nothing happens. so i just find the directory and do it that way. but i'll keep you guys posted.

I don't believe you are going to get to put any more data in then what you can get in the address field.Or get the more page for favorites.When you tried to open Garmin favorites you did have the unit hooked to the computer right?With the amount of data it sounds like you want to put in a custom poi file gpx or csv may be the best bet.

Hi Turner,

Just to be clear: you cannot add any description to the Favorites. Even if you edit them and fill all the fields, only the POI Name, address and phone can be modified.

If you want more, you have to create a POI file with EPE and then you can fill all the fields. You save as a GPX and use POI Loader to load this file to your GPS. These new POIs will be in the Extra POI.

If you add m.jpg in the link field, then the more page should be available. Normally, it works. Alternatively, you can try to fill both a description and comment.

Please clarify what you have tried again. For sure, there is something to do that will work for you.

Turbo

Edit: About the "Open Garmin Favorites", can you tell me if you have a file call Current.gpx in the Garmin/GPX filder on your GPS. If not, can you tell me where is located your Favorites? Thanks.

hey turbo,

i do have a "current.gpx" but when i save a new change to EPE i was told to save as temp.gpx.copy i don't know if thats important or not. i just tried again to change my link to m.jpg(should i put m.jpeg) and still nothing. i add some text to the comment, description, and address fields, but only the address shows up on the nuvi. now, i did create a custom poi as per gary haymans instructions http://home.comcast.net/~ghayman3/garmin.gps/pagepoi.02.htm#... and it allowed me to add as much as i wanted and displayed the "more" button. the problem is you have to type up a wordpad document, then save it as a csv file. this is very time consuming. any thoughts?

hey turbo,

i was just over on the EPE website seeing if i could find some answers and i spotted the smiley guy typing away. now i realize your that guy. it's nice to talk to the creator, surely we can work these problems out. i feel like an idiot.lol

If I remember it right, the 200 does about 43 characters of text and takes a line feed (alt enter) to break the line. Are you using any line break characters? In any event, it should wrap if the line is long enough and give you a more page.

Hi Turner,

As I said, you cannot add a "More" button in your Favorites. It simply does not work. This is why adding a "m.jpg" (or any other name) will never work. You have to create a POI file which will be loaded on your gps using POI Loader.

Doing a CSV file should not be time consuming. It is only a text file with information separated with commas. It gets time consuming when you need to a lots of information and make research for them.

First, you need to know which type of POI file you want to do. One example suggested above was to load your Favorites in EPE. Remove the one you do not want. Then add the missing information if you want. Then add a m.jpg in the link field. Save the file using a meaningful name. For example, friends.gpx if you kept your friends POI. You will see in a few lines why the name is important.

Put your file alone in a directory (for now). Connect your GPS to your computer using the USB cable, start POI Loader, select your GPS, select the directory in which you put the poi file, use the automatic mode and click finish when done.

Now, you friend.gpx file has been loaded in the Extra POI, not the Favorites (although they are still in your Favorites until you delete them).

In Where-to, select Extra, Custom POI, then you should see a category called Friends (the name of the file you used). If you click on it, you will see all the POIs you put in the file. If you put a link file, you should have a more page with the description, comments and everything else.

Try it. It is very simple. After you get used to it, you can start making more complex things.

Turbo

Oh! Man! You discovered my secret identity. LOL! Using the same avatar was not such a good idea... LOL!

I'll help you as much as I can.

i have loaded a custom poi before, and this is the way i do it. let me know if there is a better way.
1. i open word pad and type -"84.28155,34.8736,cache 76 this is my own cache i am using this as an example." notice there is no comma after the cache name.
2. then i save as a .csv file.
3. then save in my nuvi poi collection folder.
4. and finally load it using poi loader.

doing it this way will save it in my custom poi folder on my nuvi and give me the "more" button. i guess what i will have to do is type up all the caches i want to find and then save them all in a folder as cache.csv then load it. what do you think?

Are you saying that by doing a 3-column CSV with a POI Name long enough that your gps shows you the More page?

If not, I would do it this way:

84.28155, 34.8736, cache 76, "this is my own cache i am using this as an example"

The quotes should be used when there is a comma in a field. Here, I just put it in the 4 column (description) because you won't forget.

I put a comma after cache 76, because I want my 3rd column to contain the POI Name which will be cache 76. The 4th column will be a description.

I am not sure this will give you More button. This is why I would suggest you use EPE and click on "Add new POI" and type the info you want. Click OK when done.

To save, just save as a gpx file. POI Loader can load very easily a gpx file. You can also add easily a dummy link field if you want to try this trick again.

Turbo

i type it in exactly like this, -84.28155, 34.8736, cache 76,this is my own cache i am using this as an example. there are no quotation marks. now doing it this way saves it as a custom poi (whereto>extras>custom pois>cache 76)not as a favorite. when i click on the cache 76 tab it displays the name cache76 and the mileage to it. when i click on that tab it has the title at top then a discription below it with the alert info i added to the .csv. it is on this page that the "more" button is.

now then i might have a better idea. could we not use your program as is( add description, address,etc...) but then save it in such a way that it goes to the custom poi section instead of a favorite?

hey turner,

ok i believe i finally got it. here is what i did.
I opened EPE and geocaching.com side by side. then i clicked on add new poi. i just copy and pasted long., lat., name, and the desciption i wanted. i then saved as gpx, but i saved it in the same folder as my custom pois on my computer, not to my nuvi. then using poi loader i loaded it. it added it to my custom pois but not to my favorites. if i click on it from the custom pois it just changes over to the favorite screen, and then it is there. weird huh? but all the info is there, title,alert info, and the "more" button is there with the longer description! however if i go back to my nuvi home screen, i have to go back to the custom poi section to get it to show up. i don't know if there is anything that can be done, but i believe i can live with that. any thoughts?

Hi Turner,

Yes, you got it. You have to put it with your custom POI, not your gavorites. If you put the file with your favorites, then you have it in your favorites too. You have to delete them from your Favorites one by one.

Yes, you have to go to your custom POI to get them. This is the way to do it.

Congratulations.

Turbo

what can i say, THANKS!

hey turbo,

ok one problem down, and another pops up. using your epe i set the tourguide to play a wav file and display a pic when i get home, but only the wav played. i clicked on the browse button to add a wav, then again to add a pic, is this the correct way? when i go back to the epe main screen it shows a "play" button next to my title, should there also be a picture icon? also, i saved it as a gpx, then loaded it using poi loader in manual. i checked the proximtiy button, and put the same distance as i did in epe. is this necesary? should i use automatic?, and if not which program will over ride the other, epe or poi loader?

thanks

Hi turner,

No. If you want sound and pic, you have to put them both in a directory. The link should point to the directory not the files.

Even if you add many links, only the first one is used for pic & sound. Hence, you need to put both in a directory.

so i build my file in epe, but save both the pic and wav together in a folder, and the folder can be anywhere? i just browse to it? also, do i load it in manual or automatic?

Turner if you put in the proximity distance for each custom poi you don't have to use the manual mode for poiloader because the alert is built in.

The folder for the pic & sound can be anywhere.

Like charlesd45 wrote, better to be in automatic mode. Much simpler & faster.

thanks guys, i'll keep you posted

ok, i just tested it. now the first time i loaded the wav, then loaded the pic. you told me that would not work, and it didn't. the wav played, and the red alert bar at the top of the screen came up. well i put both wav and pic in one folder and then browsed to it, but i got the same result. however if i go to my custom poi's and hit it, it then goes to my favorites, then i hit the more button, and it displays an image button. if i click on the image button it shows the pic, but i can't get it to come up when the wav file plays. any ideas?

You need to clean up:

1- remove any GPX file that you copied in the GPX directory. Do not worry: if you boot-up with these files, they are not used anymore because they were copied in your Favorites

2- Remove duplicates in your Favorites that are in your Extra Custom POI.

3- Test again. There is no more page in the Favorites. Both the pic & waves should be available. Ot is it with TourGuides? I did not do this often enough to know for sure.

You are getting closer.

a few questions, about your suggestions.
1.when i save my gpx files i label them temp.gpx.copy and save them along side my current file. however when i reboot only the current file is displayed. do you want me to delete my current file? and if i do, will that delete all the favorites that i have stored so far?
2.i do not have any duplicates in my favorites and extras. the only time there is, is if i open my extra poi's and click them, then they show up in my favorites.
3.and yes i loaded them with the tourguide option, and then transfer them with poi loader.

what should i do?

Sorry, but I do not have much to suggest.

1- If you add a gpx file in your GPX folder, all POI will be added to your Favorites. After that, you can delete the file because it is of no use anymore. If you rename it and change the extension, the file will not be used anymore.

Even if you delete Current.gpx (your favorites) this would not remove your favories as Current.gpx will be regenerated at the next power-up. Favorites are stored elsewhere as well.

I would keep a safe backup of Current.gpx on my computer before trying anything.

2- If you have no duplicates, then it should be ok. Anyways, I think the Favorites and Custom POI are not linked. Having one in both should not cause a problem.

3- ok.

hey turbo,

let's be honest here. you know what your talking about, and i am hoplessly confused. so why not just set your program to save them as custom poi's instead of favorites? or better yet, just have the option to save them as either one. i have tried several programs(GSAK, easygps, etc..) and your program is the best i have found. i hate to be a pest, but maybe it is something you could consider.
thanks

turner.

Click on my contact tab and send me a email.Maybe I can help you out with some of the confusion.You don't have your contact tab active so I can't email you.