Icons and Sounds (nuvi 680)

REPLACE the .csv with the .mp3 and .bmp on the sound and icon files respectively.

The rest of the name must match the POI file name (exclusive of the .csv) (And if you can't see the .csv on your poi file, then you have to enable showing file extensions on your computer. Just adding the file extensions to existing files that you can't see the originals means you are creating the equivalent of double extension... sort of, but regardless, tht could also be your problem.)

Of course the above assumes you created or are using an mp3 file. If you made a .wav file, run it through a converter. It has to be a real mp3 file. Otherwise you need to leave it as a .wav and also put sox.exe (downloadable) in the same folder with your files so that POI Loader can use sox.exe to embed wav files for you.

Make sure your icons are no larger than 24x24 pixels.

The biggest problems with the alerts and icons not working are the files not being named the same except for extensions and having double extensions. Double-check each of them. The best way to prevent double extensions is to go to your folder options in the control panel and click view then find hide extensions for known file types and remove the check mark. Click ok.This is for Windows XP.See
http://www.poi-factory.com/node/25721 for custom pois.

While you have been pointed to several good writeups, here is a tutorial adapted from material by charlesd45, a-user and motorcycle mama that might help clear some thing up.

STEP 1. Download and install the latest version of POI Loader from http://www8.garmin.com/products/poiloader/. The POI Loader software is how your PC communicates with your Nuvi unit. Let’s assume you install this software into C:\Garmin

STEP 2. Create a Folder to hold all your “Custom POI” files. For these instructions, we will assume that Folder is C:\My POI

STEP 3. Download a few POI files from POI Factory into the folder created in Step 2. POI files may be in either CSV or GPX format (that is, the three character extension following the name will be .csv or .gpx, respectively).

STEP 4. Visit the “icons” page (see the Menu bar in upper right of POI-factory screen) and download an ICON file for each of your POI files. To see what the Icon looks like before you download it, left double click it. To download your choice, right click and choose “Save Target As…” Save the Icon into the folder created in Step 2.

STEP 5. Visit the “sounds” page (see the Menu bar in upper right of POI-factory screen) and download a SOUND file for each of your POI files. These are usually .mp3 files. NOTE: Nüvi 2XX and Nüvi 1XXX units will not play .mp3 files, but require WAV sound files. WAV files require you to install a sound conversion program called SOX. To get it, follow this procedure
A. SOX.EXE can be downloaded from http://rapidshare.com:80/files/139638423/sox.zip.
B. Unzip the folder containing the program SOX.EXE. Select the SOX.EXE file, right click and select COPY.
C. Using Windows Explorer, go to the folder into which you installed the program POI Loader.exe in Step 1 above. Let’s assume this is C:\Garmin. Right click on any BLANK space in C:\Garmin. Select PASTE. SOX.EXE should now be copied to the folder. Check and be certain the folder contains BOTH POI Loader.EXE and SOX.EXE. If SOX.EXE is not copied to this folder, WAV sounds will not play on your Nuvi.

STEP 6. Using Windows Explorer or another program, open the folder containing the files to be loaded into your GPS. *TIP*: POI Loader will only load a maximum of 32 POI files (not counting their icon and alert sound files) from a single folder. If you do not see extensions like .csv and .bmp, follow this procedure:
A. In the Menu bar, click on Tools > Folder Options… and then select the View tab of the Folder Options dialog box.
B. Uncheck the box next to “Hide extensions for known file types.” Click the radio button to select “Show hidden files and folders”
C. Click Apply at the bottom of the dialog box
D. Click the selection bar near the top of the dialog box that says “Apply to all Folders.”
E. Click Ok to accept your changes.
F. Verify that you now see the extensions (like .csv and .bmp) on EVERY file.

STEP 7. Rename each ICON file so it has the exactly the same name as the associated POI file. The file names of the POI file and the ICON must match exactly with the exception of the file extension. NOTE: there can only be one period in a file name. A period in a file name marks the beginning of the file extension. ICON file names can only end in .bmp. Let’s assume the name of the POI file is InterestingPlaces.cvs. The name of the ICON file should be InterestingPlaces.bmp.

STEP 8. Rename each SOUND file so it has exactly the same name as the associated POI file. The file names of the POI file and the SOUND file must match exactly with the exception of the file extension. NOTE: there can only be one period in a file name. A period in a file name marks the beginning of the file extension. SOUND file names can only end in .mp3 or .wav. Let’s assume the name of the POI file is InterestingPlaces.cvs. The name of the SOUND file should be InterestingPlaces.mp3. If you are using any WAV files make certain you have followed the procedure in Step 5 above.

STEP 9. Connect your GPS to your computer using the USB cable. Wait for the GPS to show it is connected and ready to receive files (Black screen with an bar type ICON at the bottom showing it is connected to the computer.)

STEP 10. Run POI Loader using this procedure:
A. Start POI Loader
B. On the opening screen, click “Next >”
C. Under “Save Options”, Select “Garmin Device” as where you would like to save your Points of Interest. Click “Next>”.
D. On the “Select the device…” screen, your Nüvi will be shown in the box labeled “Device”. Press “Next>”.
E. On the next screen, choose “Install new custom POIs on your device and click “Next>”.
F. POI Loader will ask you to select the directory of the files to be loaded. Use the BROWSE button and select the FOLDER containing the POI, ICON, and SOUND (Alert) files.
G. Select the measurement units used for your Nüvi. Feet and Miles per hour or Meters and Kilometers.
H. The Nüvi POI Loader suggests running the program in Express mode. For BASIC file loading, this is sufficient. NOTE: The only two alert sounds that will play automatically are for Red light and Speed cameras. For other alert sounds to play, you must select MANUAL and set either a distance or speed alert trigger. The default alert sound is a bong or ding. TIP: If a file name contains ANY numbers, POI Loader will assume it is a speed alert and play the sound file for that POI automatically. If you have set a speed alert and are traveling faster than the alert speed, the alert will continue to sound until you are at or below the alert speed. Press “Next>”.
I. POI Loader will read and convert the POI files, ICON and SOUND files and load them to your GPS. If POI Loader encounters an error with a source file, it will tell you the name of the file POI file containing an error. When finished, POI Loader will tell you the number of POI successfully loaded to your GPS.

NOTE: Every time you run POI Loader, it will overwrite the previous output file and you will loose any POI not contained in your just chosen source folder so all files you want as Custom POIs have to be present in that folder every time you run POI Loader.

STEP 11. Disconnect your GPS using the “Safely Remove Hardware” icon in the System Tray.

STEP 12. Power up the GPS and select WHERE TO > EXTRAS (for some GPS units, this is WHERE TO > MY LOCATIONS) and see if CUSTOM POI is displayed. Press CUSTOM POI and you should see a list of all the POIs loaded.

STEP 13. Turn on Alerts. Refer to your manual for this procedure.