Organize (alphabetical order under custom POIs)--Problem solved

POI's sort by distance from you.

Huh? I think you misunderstood. Oops i know, i typo it wrong. I want the categories under custom POIs alphabetically.

and scroll down about 2/3rds of the way and see if this is what you were after.
http://home.comcast.net/~ghayman3/garmin.gps/pagepoi.03.htm#

Under Extras, I have Custom POI's. When I open it, all mine are in aplha order, unless I choose All Categories, then they're mixed as well.

That's what i want, how did you do it?

What I see is under Custom POI's they are sorted, then if I select all categories. It looks like it takes the original sorted list then sorts within that, so it looks unsorted but it appears to be sorted by category then file within the category.

Hmm... who added to the end of my topic?

Ok back to my organization skills or lack of.

Under custom POIs it looks like this:

All Catagories
Portland-Attractions
Portland-Restaurants
Super Walmart
Walmart US
Tim Hortons
Walmart Canada
Oregon Interstate Rest Areas
WA Non-Interstate Roadside

Just a sample of some but now you see

It did it all by itself... not sure why yours does not.

[/quote]It did it all by itself... not sure why yours does not.
[/quote]

You didn't mention how many GPI files you are using? One for all your POI files or multiple GPI files? If multiple, are they all on internal memory, SD card or both?

Have you tried looking at save dates of your POI files to see if there is any correlation too?

They are multiple and all internal. Save dates? Are you saying it goes by date rather than name?

You are right rjg202.That is the way mine shows.I have subfolders and they all show in alphabetical order.When you select all categories they are sorted in that category.Just the category title not showing.

I'm not saying anything for sure. However, I have seen strange things like that when working with my 350 and believe file dates can affect it. Can't recall if it is the dates of the actual POI files or the dates of the GPI files that led me to believe they might affect the order. I don't have a 765T to confirm/deny - just saying look at those different file dates and see if the order happens to match order of save dates - either forward or backward.

As you all see in my other post here, it's not alphabetically. I'll have to have another look at it.

thanks

Our question back is do you have one or multiple GPI files? To me this is the failing of the renaming process where you run POI Loader against a small number of files and then rename the POI.GPI file.

Yes, it can make updating faster because you don't load all the files every update, but you loose the sort. At least that's been my experience.

Those of us, and I'm one that use the subfolder method or just a single folder get out lists in alpha order. The downside is we have to reload all the files every time.

Now, if one of the renamers has a way around this, please post it. I've tried Scrungeygundog's renaming procedure and I couldn't get it to work. My renamed files were not in alpha order.

I think POI Loader loads the POI's in the same order that it finds them in the directory on your computer. The folder on the computer that contains your POI's, you can RIGHT CLICK and choose to sort the files by "NAME":"ASCENDING".
After that when your use POI loader, they should be in alphabetical order.

a_user

I think i under stand what happened here, but from what u are saying a_user its a catch 22. So far i have 15 separate Categories, which means i would rename the poi.gpi 15 times. For update proposes i would just delete the appropriate gpi file. Easy 1 2 3. Looking at the poi directory it looks all in order. All are alphabetical. But in reality i have 15 poi.gpi files. They are on my unit just the way I loaded them. I don't know if i explained it right, but I understand why this looks the way it looks. The fix hasn't come to me yet. I'm sure i can do these 15 Categories not sure what will happen when i update one of those or even add another category. I'll have to work on it. Thanks a_user

So far its a pain. Its dependent on the csv name first off. If you make a mistake loading one file you have to delete all the ones below it also. I had to rename one csv file so far. The red light and speed cameras files are all in one directory which means they load together but end up in 4 different places on the unit.
Did some one say you could do sub directories? It would maybe look like this.

Custom Pois\Cameras\Red Light & Speed Cameras\

From Gary Hayman's Tip & Tricks
http://home.comcast.net/~ghayman3/garmin.gps/pagepoi.03.htm#...

ADVANCED OPTIONS

POI files can be grouped and categorized. The most common method is by using sub folders. Sub folders are created under your main folder holding your POI files. You can only have one level of sub folders.

An example is:

My POI top level
>Food sub folder
>>Applebees.csv POI file
>>Applebees.bmp icon file
>>Applebees.mp3 (wav) custom alert sound file
>>Cracker Barrel.gpx POI file
>>Cracker Barrel.bmp icon file
>>Cracker Barrel.mp3 (wav) custom alert sound file

>Stores sub folder
>>Best Buy.csv POI file
>>Best Buy.bmp icon file
>>Best Buy.mp3 (wav) custom alert sound file
>>Wal Mart (Combined).csv POI file
>> Wal Mart (Combined).bmp icon file
>> Wal Mart (Combined).mp3 (wav) custom alert sound file

>Fuel Locations sub folder
>>Loves.GPX POI file
>>Loves.bmp icon file
>>Loves.wav custom alert sound file
>>Pilot Locations.GPX POI file
>>Pilot Locations.bmp icon file
>>Pilot Locations.wav custom alert sound file

Selecting Where To --> Extras --> Custom POI will show three entries, Food, Stores, and Fuel Locations. Pressing one of these names will show the POI files contained in that folder. NOTE: You must have more than one category in order for the category method to work. Having only a single subfolder will display all the file names rather than the desired group name.

There is no change to how POI Loader is run. POI Loader is told to load the contents of the top level folder, My POI. The sub folder names become category names. Using the subfolder method you can have 32 sub folders each with 32 POI files along with custom icons and alerts.

If I remember correctly, the order of displayed custom poi names on gps is the order that you loaded / copied renaned poi.gpi files to gps.

I think that even when I copied alphabetical renamed gpi files from pc directory and pasted to gpc that they were not always in alphabetical order. I think I ended up copying / pasting them one at a time to keep correct order (I only had a few, so it was not a big deal).

Hope this helps.

I have already, haven't had time to concentrate on that whole article

Thanks

It looks quite similar to what i have, but it doesn't work on mine. For some reason sub folders are not alphabetical. Looking at ur example Fuel should be before Stores which it isn't and that's what is happening on mine. I need to really spend some time on this. You also mentioned the update problem in ur other post...another issue maybe.....one thing at a time i guess.

I appreciate the help

Here is another post on this subject http://www.poi-factory.com/node/19624 .

My 765T did exactly what your does. I was keeping the .gpx & .csv files on the SD card on my GPS. I moved it to my C drive and they load alphabetically. Where are you keeping the input source?

Are you actually using multiple GPI files? That would imply that you are using the "download and rename" method with POILoader. When you look in your Garmin device with a file explorer, you find multiple files in there with the .gpi extension, not just the one.

This might be the cause of the difference you are seeing. Try downloading your POIs the simple way, where POILoader creates one single POI.gpi file. Using separate .gpi files might be affecting your sorting.

Here's how I do it;
Keep in mind these items
1. First poi file loaded will appear at the top of your listed POIs in your GPS, then no 2 and so forth.
2. Each time you load a POI it will show up as poi.gpi.

Now using the POI Loader I take the first group of POIs and process them with the POI Loader, then on the GPS or the SD card depending where you downloaded them too I rename the file to the category is pertains to. Keep doing that and they will be in that order on your GPS. ie;
Restaurants
Chinese
Mexican
etc
All that I do is process Chinese, Mexican, etc. all together, then rename the poi.gpi file to Restaurants.gpi
I do the same for each main category in the order that I want them to appear in the GPS. Yes, this does take a little time at first but worth it to me.

Now I have a change in one of those poi's I repeat the process, but only for that batch. ex change in Mexican, I process them as explained above. They will stay in the original order.

Hope that makes sense and helps.

Here is how in my computer (they are already in alph order) and as same as in my Garmin after loaded:

POI CA (main folder):
Then 8 sub folders:

Entertainment
Museum
National Parks
Shopping
State Parks
Tourist Sites
Warning Zones
Zoo

I've aways loaded the whole folder POI CA. Let's say if I do some update .cvs file in warning zone, after done, I load the whole folder POI CA, not the ones I just updated. May be because of that. Not sure.

RN09, That is what I do too. I tried storing the source on the SD card and that caused the sorting problems. I was installing to the internal memory not the SD card. Just using it to store the source.

I've read all your new comments...thanks. Still haven't had time to sort this out. A lot of stuff to read. To answer some questions. I've always had all my csv files on my c: drive, never on the sd card. Nothing on my SD except my Topo Map. What i did do was to load all my csv, mp3 and bmp files into one directory and loaded them all at once. Now they are all alphabetical. No more renaming. Just the way i want them. BUT. Now I do not have custom proximity alerts except for the camera files which are built in. Upgrading is still easy, delete all and reload. I might decide to not worry about those alerts.

You have to load with poi loader using manual mode. Select distance box with distance for the files that you want alerts.

If you use manual rather than express you can set proximity alerts per file. Or if they are files you make/maintain you could go to a GPX file type and store the alerts in the records. Just another idea.

OOps JT beat me to the response.

That's what started my troubles. Manual mode means sub directories. No sub directory's no alphabetical head ache.

No, that's not what it means.

ok i'll take the Asprins

This is manual mode: http://members.shaw.ca/anon_y_mous/images/manual.jpg

I know that, but ever since i went that route it got messed up. It means i need at least one directory for that to load manual. All that don't need proximity alerts can get loaded at once. You do that and those csv files with proximity alerts will end up out of order? Right? At least that's what seems to happening to me.

Look, if you're loading gas.gpi, food.gpi and other .gpi on your unit and the card, it's no wonder the unit is confused. I only use my SD card loaded from the POI Loader, and never load to the GPS. Try it, you'll like it.

Geez. Theres a post in here that says don't do that, it'll get messed up. Panache started that.
Ok fellow Canadian i'll try it. The Aspirins are on you.

But, I'm not the one who has a headache...

Load to one or the other; not both. Use the KISS principle, and Keep It Simple Silly. Use a simple file structure, and it'll give you what you want.

scroll up to my post under "Organize"
I thought that was simple, and it didn't work as you can see.

I think this may be a case of PEBKAC... Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Computer.

Seriously, there may be an issue with the way the task is being accomplished. I have to admit I'm racking my brain on this. Hmm

Take the time to convert the files to GPX. You can set proximity alerts within each GPX file as needed then load the whole lot of them in Express. That's what I do. I load about 80% as GPX and it only takes a couple of minutes to convert a CSV to GPX once you have EPE set up. The tricky file is the speed cameras. I have an Excel formula that will put the @ symbol in all the lines that have a speed.

This file gets left as a CSV but the number 25 is added to the file name to set a default speed. I use a the CTL+R function in EPE to set a proximity of 216 M for the red light cameras. Use the same process to set your other alerts - both speed and distance in the GPX files. Once the GPX is built, it's like the renaming method, you don't have to touch it unless there is a change.

Come out, and just say it. It's the idiot behind the Keyboard. I already know that.

I make a lot of mistakes, but that's ok. I (try to) learn from them. It's all good, friend!

We live, we laugh, we love, and we learn. Otherwise, we die.

Here's what i tried this morning. I took all my poi's that didn't require proximity alerts and loaded them in first. They all showed up alphabetically. Then i added the proximity ones separate. They showed up at the bottom of my custom poi's out of order. I then deleted them and recopied them back and they ended up at the top of my custom poi's. Ok next i renamed all the csv, mp3 and bmp files so they would all start in this case with Rest Areas. Reloaded them. Out of order again. Either they ended up on the top or on the bottom. I tried loading through the SD card also. Same effect. Doesn't seem like any one else is having this issue, so I must conclude that I am doing something wrong, I'm hoping not to have to try the gpx conversion to all these files.

The .gpx conversion is the easy part using Extra POI Editor. Just open the .csv, and Save As .gpx.

Let try again.
My POI's for Restaurants are in separate files in my computer in a folder named Restaurants (that is just for me I could call the folder Food. They are Chinese, Mexican, American, etc.
Now I use POI Loader to load all of these files in the Restaurants folder. The file is now on the SD Card or GPS and it it named poi.gpi. I rename that to Restaurants.gpi
(Now under the Restaurants category in the GPS the individual file will be in alphabetical order because that's what the loader does.)
The next category I want listed in the GPS is Rest Areas (one file, not broken down) I process that file, I use manual so I can set the distance on all rest areas to 1 mile. That file gets named on the SD Card or GPS as poi.gpi, I rename that as Rest Areas.gpi. Now the third file is Airports. Repeating the process and renaming the poi.gpi as Airports.gpi. You now have 3 gpi files, Restaurants.gpi, Rest Areas.gpi and Airports.gpi.
I look under POI's on the GPS and they are in the order as I loaded them. Restaurants, Rest Areas & Airports.

It makes no difference if you load them on the SD card, when your GPS states that you have new POI's, do you want to load them into your GPS, you can say Yes. They CAN be in both locations the GPS knows which ones to use.
Now if I have a change in the Rest Area poi's I just do that one, It will remain in the original order.
Hope that helps.

All of what u said i have bin doing, renaming the poi.gpi every time.
The difference is that when looking under custom poi's i would get Restaurants first and then Airports
for an example. I know something is wrong on my end, i've done this over and over front to back, same results. If i didn't have the proximity alerts to add i would be just fine. Any ways Thanks all for the help. a_user is looking at my files and has graciously offered his help. I'll be interested what he finds

With all files in one folder, you can load both alert and non-alert files at the the same time with one poi loader session. After you select Manual, the next screen will show the first poi file. If this is not an alert file, select next. Poi loader will load as if in express mode (do not select ignore - it will be skipped). Continue selecting next to load non-alert files. When you get to an alert file, select distance checkbox and enter feet. Continue this process until all files are loaded. They should then show up on gps in the order (alphabetcal) that they appeared when loading with poi loader.

Hope this helps.