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

I do not think that re-installing will change anything. To me, it is like you installed EPE in the Windows/System32 folder. Please have a look to see if you see it there.

I double-checked, but I didn't really need to. I KNOW I installed EPE in the default directory because if I didn't the shortcut would have revealed the actual location (in my case C:\Program Files\Extra_POI_Editor). Also, I copied the help file to the directory. An activity I can distinctly remember.

When I uninstall, I also wipe out all registry entries related to the program afterward, so it's a blank slate when I do reinstall. For all I know a registry key got corrupted when I set up CSV to "Open With" EPE.

I haven't uninstalled EPE yet so I can reinstall it, but that's coming once I get home a little bit later.

EDIT: Uninstalling and reinstalling does not fix the issue. However, I did encounter an issue with trying to install ieframe.dll because I have a newer version. I haven't changed installers yet.

EDIT 2: Taking out the ieframe.dll requirement in the setup.lst file for the installer didn't help either. Still the same issue. Now I have to wonder whether one of the Windows updates mucked up EPE, if there is no bug.

Now that I have a Win 7 system at home, it will be much easier to debug those issues. I am not 100% installed yet, but I should be soon.

So far, I noticed that maps are 25% smaller than on Win XP systems when you increase your font size by 125%. When setting your screen resolution, you have the option to "Make text and other items larger or smaller". If you set it to 100% all is fine. If you put 125% or 150%, it will affect the map size.

The smaller map size is what I mentioned some time back. 100% is not an option for me. At my age I would like to read the text on the screen. I have my resolution set at 140%. So that explains the smaller maps. I have had Windows 7 about a year.

I also use 125%. I'll have to find a fix for that.

Either you will tell EPE that you changed the text size or it will find it by itself, but I'll fix it.

Although this doesn't seem to work with EPE it is a feature of Windows 7:

Hold down the CRTL key and roll the wheel on your mouse. This will increase or decrease the font size for many programs and works great in both IE and Firefox.

I use the left hand CRTL key as my keyboard doesn't have a right hand one so I'm not sure if it only works with the left hand key or not.

Maybe it's something you could look at for EPE.

I set 140% resolution to read the desk top, then 125% in IE. The setting for 140% with Windows 7 is the setting that effects EPE.

When you change the "Screen resolution" and want to "Make text and other items larger or smaller", you can use the preset values on the right or click on the "Set custom text size (DPI)".

This allows you to change both the percentage and uncheck the "Use Windows XP style DPI scaling".

UNCHECK "Use Windows XP Style DPI Scaling". Click OK. Then Apply. Then Yes to logoff and re-logon afterward.

This fixes everything. I would have thought it would be the opposite, but it does not work. I am currently working on EPE to detect those settings and make the appropriate calculations, but unchecking XP stype DPI scaling fixes the issue.

Turbo

"Use Windows XP Style DPI Scaling" is grayed out for me. The check mark is visible at 100 and 125. It goes away at 150 and 200. Use Windows XP Style DPI Scaling, remains grayed out on all settings.

It's not greyed out for me, but it may depend on the screen resolution.

In any cases, I made a fix to EPE and you won't have to bother anymore. I'll post it tomorrow. Check for v2.87.

Turbo

v4.87

- IMPORTANT: GPX will only be read/write in Metric units. Only CSV units will be set in the Preferences.
- Added more CSV columns. Now, up to 48 columns can be configured.
- Fixed a blank screen issue with map maximized when creating a new POI using Geocoding.
- Fixed a map size problem in Win 7.

Temporary download link:

http://turboccc.wikispaces.com/file/detail/Extra_POI_Editor+...

Let me know if this fixes your map size issues on Win 7.

Just installed and ran a quick test in all 3 %ages and didn't have a map problem. I run at 100%, could use 125% without to much trouble, but on my laptop wide-screen at 150% it is just to big to work with.

I just snagged 487 and ran the install. Now when I click on the program icon and run as admin, I get a blank mini-screen when I mouse over the icon in Windows 7. When I click the screen, it disappears instead of expanding into operation.

Seems I've run into that before but don't recall the fix.

There is no need to run EPE as admin, and no "install" is required. Just un-zip into your current EPE directory.

Did you right click on the EPE program file, select Properties and then click the Unblock button to the right of "This file came from another computer and mighnt be blocked to help protect this computer"?

Works flawlessly for me with Windows 7...

Hmm. It shows up in my list of installed programs.. so I just ran an uninstall and will try it again.

I don't see the unblock button you mention when I rt click the epe program file.

Back in a few...

Rebooted, pinned the epe487.exe to the taskbar and clicked it. I get the mini-window... and when I click it to expand, it disappears.

I know I've seen this before but can't remember what I did to fix it.

Win 7/64 bit.

I think it is on your other monitor or simply outside the visible area.

Have you changed resolution lately?

Maybe you can try temporarily to go to a higher graphic resolution and try to see if it is outside the active area.

This happens because EPE no longer appears at the center of the screen. It remembers the last position where you put the window.

If the problem persists, let me know. I will add a command-line instruction to reset all windows to their defsult position.

Turbo

May I make a small request? It's my first of you...

Can you remove the Nuvi 760 from the left bottom edge? You're in the big leagues now, mon frere!

The program surpasses the 760 for compatibility.

I am a nostalgic... Just kidding. Ok. I removed them. They won't be there on the next release.

Thank you. I thought it really dated the program, for no good reason. It just gets better, and better.

For me, I only have one monitor. I think this is a Win 7 issue. But just can't remember what I did to fix it the last time I experienced it (not with EPE).

Here's all I see:
http://imgur.com/KS7a0.png

Normally, I click it and it expands but currently it just disappears.

I have other things in the fire right now and haven't put any effort into it... which is also why I'm late getting back here.

I have noticed that when you are working on or looking at POI files with an odd number of entries you cannot go to the last page of entries. Example the Scenic Railroads GPX files has 175 entries (unless more have been added), you can only see the 172 entry, you cannot get to 173 to 175. My Ford Dealers of Canada file has 453 (at this time), I can only see 452. I'm running Toshiba Laptop, Win 7 64bit. Just noticed problem with this latest version.
Thanks in advance, Doug

It happens on my system as well (Win 7, 32-bit) but it seems to only happen with files that have an odd number of entries.

I have 519 entries in my Historic Ships POI and I can only access up to entry 516 on the main page. I have to go to the edit page and tap "Next POI" to get to the remaining three entries.

The Canada Rest Stops file I created and posted late last month has 1076 entries. I can access all 1076 entries from the main page.

1076 divides by four evenly (269 pages of 4 entries each), while Historic Ships does not (129 pages of 4 entries each, one page of 3 entries).

Then of course there is still my unresolved issue on Win 7, regarding files opened through the "Open With..." menu function of Windows 7 ignoring the save directory set in EPE and attempting to save the file in System 32.

Tried it on XP with Cracker Barrel with 597 locations.If I highlight the last one it shows 596.Have to use edit page to get the last one.

I can see why not having a multiple of 4 may be a problem. Back to the scroll bar problem.

We don't want you to have nothing to do and get bored.

I can't get bored! I have more projects currently running than I can chew: new GPS nuvi 3750, firmware modifications, RGN_Tool, GIR_Editor, encrypted VPM, EPE, ... Anybody has seen my wife...?

Changes from v4.85 to v4.88

•Removed "Nuvi 760" label by user request
•Fixed a scroll issue preventing from selecting the last 1-3 POIs.
•Added command-line parameter -reset to clear the registry before running EPE. Just type: "Extra_POI_Editor -reset" in a DOS box and this will clear the registry of any invalid EPE entry. This can be used when your EPE does not appear on the screen anymore or if you have a runtime error.

Thanks turboccc, maybe your wife went out Christmas shopping and is spending your hard earned money

Good one!

While I have nothing to add (at least yet), I am compelled to thank you turboccc!

I believe I left-off playing with the best/only tool at the time... the basic PoiEdit which worked using many workarounds. Now after I'm on about my 3 GPS, I'm back to exploring the insides again.

In my past life I was a programmer and used Borland products such as Turbo C and Delphi. I even dabbled in assembly for a while, and I must say this is by far one of the most impressive public domain (see, I'm from the old school) programs that I have seen.

I don't think many can fathom the number of rewrites (and time) it takes to get this far. I by no means ever accomplished a project, paid or not, that was this well done.

Now that my programming hat has been retired for some time, I can now relax and use programs as a 'tool' to get a job done instead of constantly thinking of the interworking of each new tool so I won't be left behind.

Thanks again turboccc for an excellent program and the tons of work you put into it!

What are my odds of getting this feature coded?

- Batch geocoding w/ coordinates compare

Copiks, http://download.cnet.com/Copiks-PhotoMapper/3000-12511_4-106...
works great.

@robertklayton, Thank you for your good comments.

@DRMCMTR, I think you asked me this in the past. I see it in my ToDo list. I apologize for the delay. I have invested a lot of time in other gps projects and no new EPE features have been added lately. Let's hope I will have some time while the Holidays.

Hi all! I hope you had a Merry Christmas!

I know there are lots of things I am already supposed to do, but my pet project these days is to write .gpi files. Yes, this means you could use EPE to create .gpi files like POI Loader does.

There is a lot for me to learn, but I know already something that POI Loader does not: EPE will be able to create a POI file icon directly in Where-To rather than in Extra. This is somewhat cool.

At first, I will write only the important information (lon, lat, poi name, address, comment and description). Later, I'll add sounds, bitmaps, alarms, and the rest... This will speed things up a bit.

I hope to have a beta soon (today or tomorrow if kids and wife allow).

Turbo

Thanks a bunch!

That sir, would be very impressive! As you are planning to have EPE write its file so it can be displayed on the Where To screen, I assume the input would be limited to a single source file per GPI? Could, or would you look into doing a single level folder so we could have say a Food or Fuel icon for our related POI?

Ok. EPE now writes .gpi files. No, its not ready to be released.

I wrote some predefined fields. I do not know yet what will happen if, say, the State is there, but the postcode is not. I need to double check this with POI Loader.

Also, I did not add any logo (yet) for the POI icon in the Where-to. I need to look at the format to do that.

About multiple levels: yes, it is theoretically possible, but I have not tried yet. Will the multiple levels will come from different files or different categories remain to be seen. Will it be possible to have different icons under the first level? I do not know, but that would be cool for sure.

Status? Many more days (or weeks in real time) of work ahead. Do not expect a release unless I can stabilize things a bit more.

Some (ugly) screen shots for you with no icon and only oner POI shown:

http://turboccc.wikispaces.com/file/detail/Where_To_POI_pict...

looking good Turbo looking good

You are amazing! EPE is awesome & you just keep making it better.
Thank you.

Logo added! Check previous link 2 posts above!

I need to work on the alpha/transparency channel, but you get the picture! LOL!

This is going to be your lucky day. I just converted Cracker Barrel.gpx to Cracker Barrel.gpi using EPE and it worked. Cooooool!

EPE now supports every fields (lon, lat, poi name, description, comment, all address fields, phone 2, fax, email, proximity, speed) except those below which are not part of the .gpi file:

- elevation, symbol, display, category, link

My next step is to insert custom logo, wav files and other poi folders (or category) under the first level.

I'll post something as soon as the logo works.

Just like Christmas morning all over again

I probably rebooted my gps over 200 times today. Changing one byte at a time. In the end, it was worth it.

1- It will be possible to have more than one level for a single file or multiple files. Here's one example with File A and File B. Let's call the POI icon in Where-To "My_POI". In each file, there are categories of POI, let's say Cat1 & Cat2 for file A and Cat3 in file B. The tree will look like this:

My_POI
.. File A
.... Cat1
.... Cat2
.. File B
.... Cat3

Under each category, you will find their respective POIs. Garmin did this very well. While under My_POI, you will see FileA and FileB. Clicking on FileA, you will see a new menu with only Cat1 & Cat2. Clicking on Cat1, you will see the POIs fron Cat1. Back to My_POI, clicking on the "All Categories" button will show Cat1, Cat2 & Cat3. Clicking again on "All Categories" will show all POIs from all categories.

2- There will be some backward compatibility issues: it seems the icon in the Where-To has a slightly different format depending if you are using an old device (like 7xx family) or a new device (like 37xx family). It is basically just a minor color issue. Otherwise, I'll provide a user control to decide which format you want.

3- When using 7xx family gps, there is a possibility to have a user defined icon on the map, but this icon does not appear on my 37xx gps. Not the end of the world, but if you are used to have an icon, now it is not there. Maybe there is a way, but all files I inspected did not have it.

4- I was able to embed a fixed logo with my avatar. I was able to sort POIs by categories from within the same file. I still need to work on the full level of categories as described above. Foreign languages and special characters will certainly be an issue. I need to work on this.

Who cares, right? You are probably just interested by the candy! LOL! Well, not there yet, but very close. If things continue like this, I should be done by the end of the Holidays. Maybe a beta in a day or two.

It sounds as if you have "broken the code" into how Garmin sets up its menus. This will allow a user to essentially take "Extras" and then have a complete set of icons and menus under it the same as Tools or POI.

Truly a great effort.

Hi Box Car, Sorry, but it is not exactly like that. Yes, you will be able to add a POI icon for each POI file you have and put those icons directly in Where-To. No need to navigate to Extra anymore. But, everything under that POI icon will be text menus (different POI files or different categories of POI files.). It would be great to have sub-menus with icons...

It will be in version 9.x...

Turboccc,

In case you haven't heard it lately.....

Thanks for all of your hard work in these "tweaks".

They are really cool and useful.

Tim

I forgot to configure my new installation of VB6 to save automatically. I just had a crash and I lost everything I did today... Rhaaaa!

If it's any consolation, it makes us "amateurs" feel better to know that even the "pros" can have things like that happen to them.

Sorry you lost all your work.

But, I have faith... you'll recover.

Thanks! I am half done now. I have a photographic memory and now I know what I am doing (as opposed as the rest of the day...)