Extra_POI_Editor - A tool to View/Edit/Convert POI/TourGuides (Part 2)

I too, have Win7 and loaded ver. 4.85(6) and it works, except for the HELP files? Evidently, Win7 uses a different "help" file system?

Also, a different question. I did not backup my computer and lost all of my POI files. I've read I can get the favorites from my 265WT Nuvi using EPE, but can I also get my custom POI's from the POI.GPI file as well using EPE?

Not the .gpi with EPE, but you can with GPSBabel-
http://www.gpsbabel.org/

I don't think that's operating correctly, and I'd be surprised if turbo did.

I'm ok with reading the file as metric, because that's how a gpx is supposed to be written. But, what would the point be in writing a user entered Imperial value as metric, without converting it?

Speed is another matter. There is no spec for a speed value in the gpx schema, or Garmin's own extensions to it.

Have a look at how Garmin's software deals with speed vs proximity, or elev, or temp, etc.

When POILoader asks you for what units to use, it's only referring to values in the filename, values after @ in the poi name (both are speed), and any speed or proximity that you type in Manual mode. For proximity in the gpx file's individual records it expects them to be in metric.

MapSource & BaseCamp read the Metric values, display according to prefs, and then write a converted (as needed) value back as metric. They both leave the @ values in a poi name alone, and have no place to enter a speed value.

..It's not reading as metric & displaying as Imperial (prefs) that"s a problem..it's writing imperial back without converting it. And, converting the speed number at all.

If anything, I think turbo is just so busy he hasn't really had a moment to get his head around it completely, and that's understandable I think.

Did you look at the Readme text file that is in the Help zip file?

It says:

CHM HELP FILES

Otherwise, the help will not work. CHM help files should work for Vista users.

Sounds like it may be your problem.

Look at the EPR setup. The usual options for US users is values input or displayed in the editor are imperial but the file read/write is metric. If you enter a value in a file, such as a source file that will be read by EPE and output as a GPX or CSV the program will assume the value is metric. Thus, your 500 entry you assumed was imperial because you wanted it to be feet was read and interpreted by the program as metric because you said file reads and writes were to be metric and not imperial. If you had entered the proximity value as 500 in the editor, then it would convert the 500 to the correct metric value for the file.

The program is doing exactly as it says it will do. It reads a field specified as being a proximity as being a metric value. When you display the value in the editor, it converts the value to imperial which in this case is over 1600 feet because you told the program to read the value as being a metric value.

My head is spinning... I thought I would just have a quick look here and found 12 posts... Aaaahhhh!

I am too tired for my 10th attempt to understand the Metric/US magic thing. Thanks for posting. I'll re-read this tomorrow.

No, I do not support OS X. I am a Windows guy and seriously I have enough "problems" with the different Windows OS. LOL! Mac is for another life. LOL! Seriously, not until I can run a decent Mac emulator on my PC.

Arrow issue: I think I understand. I will have a look.

Oh yeah! I can remove the ieframe.dll from the Win7 installer. Easy to do.

Thanks for your response. The verision I downloaded did not have the help.zip. I'll download a different ver. like 4.7 and extract the help files from it.

Thanks again.

Thanks, I'll give it a try.

What's this software you did written in?

I'm not usually an advocate of it but "Real BASIC" seems to have a darned good cross-platform development scheme allowing for one design to work across platforms.

The Help file can be downloaded from Turbo's website as a standalone, here: http://turboccc.wikispaces.com/space/showimage/Extra+POI+Edi...

Without reading all the pages of this thread, I would like to request that turbocc include a "how to upgrade" point on the EPE page.

What is the preferred upgrade method? Uninstall, reboot and install the new version? Or just install over the old version?

I have some programs that require the latter in order to keep any custom settings.

That being said, I have yet to use EPE, but hope to take some time to learn and use this excellent resource.

Thanks for sharing your expertise turbocc!

I get all that. And I get why it works as it does. Most of which are reasons due to it's CSV import/export history. I was also the first to point out that the option to save a gpx as Imperial created a non-standard gpx file, which no other software could be expected to (or does) read properly. Not the first that it was an anomaly, but that it was non-standard and that was a bigger issue in my mind because of other software. I got it and got how to work around it. But some of it's gone now & it only reads and writes gpx as metric, which is good.

What's not good is
-converting the @ speed numbers to/from anything because they only have a system relevant to the user, and the user picks either a display preference or in the case of POILoader, it asks the user at run time.

-And whatever conversion routine EPE v4_86 is using to read, display, then write the proximity and speed values. ..because no matter how it's spun, every time you open a gpx, save it (edit a non-related record or just open it & save it), and reload it- the proximity value increases, and the speed value decreases. It makes no difference what your display prefs are.

There are too many combinations of how an EPE generated gpx file (with any version of EPE) can malfunction when using the gpx file with other 'gpx-enabled' software to describe here without more confusion.

After almost a week of checking, looking, checking again, etc. the simplest way to put it is this-
-gpx files have a specification that the values stored in them are to be metric.
-Garmin (and other?) software may read & write a gpx as metric, but still allow a user to display and enter it as they choose. It's only a conversion between the user and the software, not the file.
-There is NO definition for speed in gpx. Garmin software views them as 'unitless' until it asks the user (only POILoader asks). MapSource and BaseCamp do not even deal with speed anywhere, except to allow you to put @ and whatever you want in the filename.

I get the situation, and I know how to work around it. But it (EPE) could be as bullet-proof as MapSource or BaseCamp is for novice users and still stay as flexible as it is for advanced users. All while working in harmony with other gpx software. Imo.

All of what I've typed is just observation & suggestion. I'm not dependent on EPE, but I wouldn't mind only using it either.

Thanks, I saw that after I installed ver. 4.85 on the web site. All is well now!

Just overwrite the existing .exe. No need to re-install everything using the installer.

Regarding the help file: yes, I keep it separate because the file is pretty big.

Yes, requests are stacking up. I still need to answer other questions about Units and "speed. Sorry for that. I am traveling and not at home. It makes things a bit more difficult.

I got a request from John about saving EPE`s config in an ini file rather tnah using the Registry. It is not the first time. I got the same request not so long ago. The Pros is that it will be very easy to copy that config file from one computer to another if you work on more than one computer.

I found a way to do it fairly easily, but if I do it the lazy way, you will lose all your current configuration. For most of you, this is not a big deal. For others like someone with 48 column CSV, he may hate me for forcing him to retype everything again... LOL!

What do you think? Yes or No.

I use a 26 col csv config and wouldn't have a problem re-doing it if I 'lost' it.

I wanted to say a special word of thanks to TurboCC for the magnificent work he has done on EPE.

I also want to encourage any of our members who have not tried it out to do so, Get it at

http://turboccc.wikispaces.com/Extra_POI_Editor#toc5

In addition to downloading the program, make sure you download the help file also. You will find them together on the screen - all you have to do is make sure you go back and do one more download.

All you need to do is to unzip the two downloads to a folder of your choice and then run Extra_POI_Editor.exe. The program is vey close to being truly portable, so I have EPE on the SD card in my 765T.

You really need to try having EPE open a POI file in either Google Earth or Mapquest (F9 and F6, respectively). EPE will also open POILoader, which I find is the quickest way for me to get to POILoaders Help file.

Is there a fast way to build a tourguide using the same picture and sound for all locations in your poi files using Extra_POI_editor. Im trying to make a redlight camera tourguide to display a fullscreen jpg and announce the red light camera. If this is possible how ?. Thanks

Click on Edit-->Replace Field-->Field Name-->Link. Then, in the New Field Value, enter the link to the picture file.

Also, the EPE Help file has a great tutorial on TourGuides that goes into a lot more depth on how to use the Link field.

Does anyone know if the Extra POI Editor is able to accept Chinese language input and display the characters in the Name entry?

turboccc wrote:
I got a request from John about saving EPE`s config in an ini file rather tnah using the Registry. It is not the first time. I got the same request not so long ago. The Pros is that it will be very easy to copy that config file from one computer to another if you work on more than one computer.

If I'm not mistaken, .ini files are deprecated. See here.

In simple language, going to .ini files is I believe not smart programming practice, and I would say no. Naturally, I need to point out that while .ini files are deprecated, you can of course still use them in your program.

Good article and good points!

Still, I can do both. I can add a parameter to tell EPE to use either the registry or the .ini files. This parameter will be in the registry. Each time you change the setting, you will have to re-start EPE.

Each time you switch, you will lose the configuration changes you did in the other mode. It is a bit awkward, but I would need to work a bit more to make the conversion. We never know. You may get lucky.

By default, EPE will use the registry to make this backward compatible.

The .ini file will be created in the same folder as EPE. So, if you want to use a different computer, copy the existing EPE.ini file into the same forlder as Extra_POI_Editor.exe. Start EPE and choose the .INI file configuration (not sure where I will put it yet!). Then, restart EPE and you are now using .INI files.

I will put this on my list of ToDo. I just need to make this configurable. Some testing may be required on your side.

I figure that, if I can use a portable version of Firefox as a browser using only my flash drive, then Turbo can make EPE "portable".

Until you start looking, you would never imagine the number of applications that are truly portable. For those interested, check out http://www.portablefreeware.com/index.php

A lot of us recommend Audacity and Recuva. Find them both at portablefreeware.com

How would I use the replace field to replace sound and picture link. When I try to replace link and point it to my jpg file, and then a second replace link point to my mp3, this over write the jpg link.

From the Help file

Links

To the right of the Links field is:

Browse: clicking on it open a window where the user can select a folder,a file, a web address or an email link. The selected item will be displayed in the drop down Links field box.
Open: Opens the selected item in the Links box.
Delete: Deletes the selected item from the Links box list, but not from the system.
Up: Moves the selected item in the Links box up one position if there are multiple entries in the Links box list.
Dn: Moves the selected item in the Links box down one position if there are multiple entries in the Links box list.

The first entry in the list of the Links box is the one that is linked to the POI being edited.
If the first item is a folder which contains an MP3/WAV and/or JPG files, the link will be made to the first MP3/WAV file and/or the first JPG file in the linked folder.

Turbo, I believe the best place to put the request is in the installer itself. You should have a prompt in the installer that lists the installation types (standard, portable). When the user selects the type, then EPE installs accordingly. Standard would be the default and would utilize the registry, whereas portable is the option that would generate a configuration file.

The two drawbacks to this scenario:

1. You likely will have to upgrade Installshield, assuming that your programming software likely uses a lite version of the installer. If the option is available in the installer you currently have, so much the better.

2. People will have to reinstall EPE if they want to change installation types.

Despite the drawbacks, I believe this is the ideal way to go.

This is what i am trying to do, I have a gpx with 2115 poi I want to a mp3 and a jpg files to all 2115 poi using the Edit replace field (Ctrl R) and apply both to all. but it only allow me one link file, if i add a second link it replace the earlier link entry.

Have you tried to add the mp3 and save as a gpx then go back and start from scratch then add the jpg?

Have used the replace all many times but for only one item at a time so this is just a guess.

mrbombastic-
Are some of the sound files the same for multiple pois? If so, you should be able to set the sound file on multiple pois by naming it (the sound file) exactly the same as the poi file name and putting it in the same directory when you run PoiLoader.

GPX files work like CSVs do for attaching sound and icons (bmps, not jpg attachments) as far as naming the same and putting them in the compile directory. They will 'attach' to all the poi records at compile time.

I've never tried that with a jpg also linked in the individual GPX poi's, but I'd guess it should work. Worth a try, & let us know if it does the trick.

charles45 I did try that but it deleted the previous link.Im going to try renaming the mp3 file and try using poiloader. I will let you guys know if that work.

Have you tried pointing to a folder that contains both the sound and icon?

Have you tried using Extra Poi Editor replace filed to just link the jpg and build the alert distance in to the file?Once completed like you stated add the mp3 to the folder.Then you can use express mode for poiloader.

Really surprised EPE wouldn't work loading one at a time.Hopefully Turboccc will chime in on this.May not be aware of this problem.

I think you know this more than me... LOL! Here are my thoughts:

1- If he wants to apply the .MP3 & .JPG to all POIs, why not name them the same name as the .GPX file? Isnt't the way to do it normally?

2- If you use the link to point to MP3 or JPG, isn't for for TourGuides or only to see the JPG as the image? How to play the MP3? Will there be a Play button the same as the Tourguide? I told you I do not play with this often.

3- Putting both files in a folger and using the Link field to point to that folder is definitively the way to go to play & view both.

4- If you want to replace the link field with 2 links, just use the pipe | character:

toto.jpg|toto.mp3

That will do the trick!

Turbo

Bada-bing. #4 sounds like the hot ticket to me. An undocumented goodie?

If you have 2 different paths with spaces.. would you quote/close quote, use the pipe, & quote/close again?

with "%20" (without quotes). Like in HTML, spaces in URL names are no good.

Internally, EPE used the pipe | character to concatenate multiple links together. Spaces are not a problem when done in the "Edit" window because I convert them back to %20. Some other characters much be changed as well like the slash / must become a backslash \ or the GPS (or MapSource) cannot chew on them.

If you want to try something easy, use the "replace" function again withotu bothering about spaces. Once the replace is done, double click on the first POI on the list. While on the POI Edit window. click the "Next POI" button and scroll through all POIs. Once you are done, save the file. Scrolling through all POI should convert space and other characters as it should be.

Thanks to all, the pipe did the trick, now my Jamaica Towns & Cities Tourguide is working. Turboccc thanks for all you work to make our Garmin life more tolerable.

Clicking the OK button on the Edit window with the last POI selected, removes all but the last POI from the Main window.

Is this intentional?

I tried it.The last one goes to the top.Using the slide to scroll back up shows all of them.

I just tried some random GPX files and it all depends haw many POIs are in the file. If there are 8 when you do that then the file will be at the bottom of the 2nd page because there are 4 per page. If there are 7 then 3rd down on 2nd page and so on. The thing that I found was that no matter what POI you opened up in the edit window, then closed by clicking OK without making any changes, then exit the program EPE asks if you want to save the changes. Note using v4.85 on Win 7 pro 64 bit toshiba laptop.

Another bug.

Though this one may have been mentioned already, I'm not going through all the posts to find it.

The Save function (not "Save As") acts a bit funny. When saving a file using the Save command, the expected behavior should be that the file is overwritten, either with a prompt asking "Are you sure?" or silently (no prompt).

On my computer though, hitting "Save" functions almost identically to "Save As". A directory window pops up and from there I can change the directory to where I store my files. I press OK and it saves. The annoying part is that by default, the save directory is set to Windows\System32. Needless to say, that last part is annoying. At the very least EPE's default save directory should be where EPE is located.

My mistake. Thanks for the help.

Hi Strephon_Alkhalikoi,

"Save" will act as "Save as" if you have a CSV file. If you have a GPX, EPE will act as a normal "Save".

Because of all the options in EPE to convert CSV columns and automatic extraction, I thought it was better no to let the user save automatically to CSV. If you did not configured properly your M-Column assignemnt, there could be a chance you will overwrite your file and lose something.

About the save directory: it should normally save in the EPE folder or in the last folder opened. It is the first time I hear it opens the Windows/System32 folder.

Ok, I get what you're saying about Save and Save As and why you did it. Since I happen to be working on a csv file now, and my last file was gpx I had forgotten that EPE does this.

I wonder if EPE opening up Windows\System32 is because I'm saving my CSV file on the desktop while working on it? Desktop IS the last folder opened.

I'll have to look into that when I get to the computer that has the file.

Look at the Properties of the EPE shortcut in Windows to make sure the "Start In" field is pointing to the folder where EPE is installed.

Like this: http://i55.tinypic.com/6f032t.jpg

That might have an effect.

Mine is normal, and changing the "Start In" directory wouldn't affect the Save/Save As options in any event. "Start In" only tells Windows where to find the executable the shortcut leads to. It has no impact on save operations.

I did notice two things. The first thing is that the order in which things are opened makes a difference. The second thing I noticed is that it only occurs with CSV files.

On my computer, I have the default program for CSV files as Excel. Right-clicking on the file in Windows 7 and selecting the "Open With" sub-menu from the menu that Windows 7 pops up allows me to select other programs. One of the programs in the "Open With" menu is Extra POI Editor. When I open the file using the "Open With" sub-menu, the Save/Save As directory defaults to Windows\System32.

If I open EPE first, then open the file using Open command in EPE or the recently opened programs list in EPE, the save directory defaults to Program Files\Extra_POI_Editor.

This only happens with CSV files. I have a KML version of the same file for testing purposes on Google Earth. The save directory for that file defaults to Program Files\Extra_POI_Editor. This is regardless of whether the file is opened using the "Open With" menu or by opening EPE first then selecting the file.

I'm no programmer, but that is a bug. A bug requiring such a specific set of circumstances to trigger it the bug would be difficult to catch. Being not exactly obvious, I wouldn't expect Turbo to catch it. But now I know, and for the time being will open EPE first then the file.

a file association with .csv files?

I don't believe so. The "Open With" sub-menu, at least the way I understand its working, functions as a temporary file association. By telling Windows that EPE can open the file in addition to Excel, a registry entry is written saying as much. So, changing CSV files so they open in EPE by default won't fix the problem.

The fact it only occurs with CSV files and not with KML files points to this being a bug. GPX files open in EPE by default in my system, so I didn't test GPX files.

Done checking!

EPE uses the application folder name as the default folder when you do a File-Open. If you configured the Default Open Folder in the Preferences, this folder will be used instead for the first open.

Anytime you open a folder or browse for a file within EPE, it becomes the default folder for the next Open.

I tried to open a file using "Open With", and it used the default application folder. When I did a File-Save As, it used the folder where was the file I opened using "Open with".

So, I do not know how you got the "Windows/System" folder.

I don't have the default open folder set in preferences at all. Desktop is not actually my work folder, but it's where I've stored my current project as of late since it's easy to get to.

I don't know why with CSV files only it does this. I guess I'll have to reinstall and see if that fixes things if you haven't found an issue.