Fixing a coordinate in a POI ?

In general, making a change to a .csv POI file using Excel, saving the change, and re-running POI Loader should get you a corrected (for that one DD) file.

You may have inadvertently messed up the file before you saved it. The row for your DD might not be still a row but two rows. Have you looked at the file again?

Bring up the file in Wordpad and do a "find" for your DD and see what the "row" looks like.

Strange as it is the DD goes missing whenever I alter the original file. I took your advice and used Wordpad and changed the original coordinates to -74.44585,40.59743. The DD is in Andover, NJ. For some reason this doesn't work.

Those coordinates that you have posted bring up an address in a residential neighborhood on Rushmore Avenue in Plainfield, NJ 07063.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=40.59743%2C%20-74.4458

open Google maps
http://maps.google.com/

click on Get Directions

in "A" enter 40.946335, -74.730377
in "B" enter 40.59743, -74.44585

(you can cut and paste from above)
and then press the "Get Directions Button"

What I did was to download the Dunkin Donuts file and opened it with Wordpad. I did a find on "Andover,NJ" and found one entry. I made a copy of that entry and changed the coordinates from -74.730377,40.946335 to -74.44585,40.59743. this meant that I had both sets of coordinates in the file, both pointing to "DD-Andover,NJ","204 Route 206 N, Andover,NJ 07821, (973) 786-5185 "

I then loaded this file with two different entries for your DD into my 765T. Then I went into simulation mode and put myself at Andover,NJ. Then I looked in my 'Extras" DD-US POI file and it gave me the original entry.

How did you determine the coordinates you specified?

Try these coordinates for DD at Andover NJ 40.995838,-74.743132 .See http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=...

Load the file in Extra Poi Editor and pull up that location and make the change.Save as a csv or gpx.

did this get resolved??

Virgo

jf1963, could it be that the original coordinates were near correct but you were getting an alert about a quarter mile from DD? If this is so it is alerting properly. The reason is that the default alert distance for Poi Loader when running in auto is 1320 feet or a quarter mile. This will give an alert a quarter mile before you reach the location of the Poi.

If you think the alert is too far away, run Poi Loader in manual and insert a shorter proximity alert distance for the DD file.

dobs108

A .csv file, or comma-separated variable, is just a text string with a single line for each Poi. It is sensitive to extra spaces or incorrect punctuation marks. It opens in Excel, but it may be hard to see and make sure extra spaces weren't added. A single extra space or carriage return will cause that Poi not to be loaded into the nuvi.

I like to edit in Notepad. I first rename the file from dunkin_donuts.csv to dunkin_donuts.txt
You get a warning from Windows but just click okay.

Then I open it in Notepad and increase the font size a lot. I pay attention to the spaces or lack of spaces, and make sure the commas are all there and that they are really commas and not periods.

After editing is done I save it and then rename the file back to .csv

I check my work by opening the Poi file in Extra_Poi_Editor and see where each Poi is that I am interested in.

Another option is to do the actual editing in E_P_E and never use Excel or Notepad.

dobs108

I got the coordinates from my Garmin. I looked at WHERE AM I while I was at the DD. Those are the numbers I put in the POI file.

Are you sure that you were looking at the correct coordinate FORMAT?

It's important that you don't switch one format for a different one.

The coordinates you posted (and the ones used in Custom POI files) are decimal degrees.

Very often the GPS unit is set to show a different FORMAT.

The coordinates from Charlesd45 were correct. The reason for it missing was it put DD in Plainsfield as was stated in an earlier reply and my Garmin doesn't list DDs that far out. Thanks for all your help.

The best way to get a coordinate changed is to send it to the maintainer of the file. That way the file on poifactory will be updated for all.

Sometimes it is not so easy to find, much less send the correction to the maintainer of the file. I have found errors on a few POI files. Some I have found links to send the corrections to the owner. Others, the owner is not listed or does not have a link to send a note. When the owner has no way of being contacted, I have put the corrections on this thread. Sometimes the corrections get picked up, sometimes not.

If all else fails send the corrections to Miss POI

In some cases the file maintainer has moved on to other things and no longer keeps their files updated.Still if the file is active with the author listed they should be contacted first using the contact tab.That way the changes can be made in a timely matter and made available to the members for updating.

Did excel change the format possibly?

Opening and saving the file with Excel will not change the format of the file. The problem happens when you use Excel to edit a Poi, for instance to correct the coordinates of a location. Because each field usually separated by commas appears in separate cells on the Excel page, it is difficult to make sure there are no extra spaces or carriage returns in each line of the file you modified. It is much easier to see it in Notepad because the entire text string of each line is clearly displayed together.

Since Notepad uses .txt files, change the name of the Poi file from .csv to .txt beforehand. Click okay on the Windows warning about changing the filename extension. Open the file in Notepad and do the editing:

http://www.poi-factory.com/garmin-csv-file-format

Save the file as a .txt - After that, rename the file from .txt to .csv and you are finished.

dobs108

Save as: "filename.csv"