Activating Custom POI

The desktop folder is normally used for your "source" files you want to put into the unit. There shouldn't be any executables in that folder. There are two Garmin folders on the C drive, the one in Program Files has things such as drivers and BaseCamp. The other one, under the Root directory holds POILoader and other programs. This is the one where SOX goes, not on the desktop.

"You will need 2 things. First is the correct version of SOX.exe. This is version 14.0.1. You need only the executable (the .exe) and it must be in the C:\Garmin folder of your computer. This is the same folder that has poiloader.exe. Second, you need the custom audio file. The problem here is there weren't any wav versions so I just converted the MP3s to WAV and sent them to Miss POI."

BoxCar, I have several .wav files in my Garmin folder, in the Custom POI file. Also in the Garmin folder is the Sox.exe whick was unzipped from version 14.0.1. Here are 3 of the .wav I have.
Wal-Mart_US.wav
state park.wav
RestAreasCombined.wav
I got these a while back from this site.
Now these I have to change to read the same as the POI, right? The one for Wal-mart I changed the name as you suggested so I change the name of the .wav to Wal-Mart.wav?
I tried this and it didn't work. Maybe I didn't hold my mouth right LOL.
I really do appreciated you working with me on this..

Poi Loader installs to C:\Garmin\PoiLoader.exe in windows XP. The sox executable needs to be copied to the C:\Garmin folder.

On my XP poiloader.exe wound up with this path:

"C:\Program Files\Garmin\POI Loader\PoiLoader.exe"

On my Vista and 7 computers it is in yet another location.

We need to know what operating system he is using.

And if you're using a Windows 7 PC, POILoader will be (and sox will need to be) in the

C:\Program Files (x86)\Garmin\POI Loader\

directory.

Just in case you're using a Mac, I believe sox is not needed.

I just tested my Poi Loader install again. I previously had version 2.5.4 and installed version 2.6.1 without uninstalling 2.5.4. The version 2.5.4 went to C:\Garmin. Installing version 2.6.1 without taking out 2.5.4 put the latest version in C:\Garmin.

If done properly, you should find Poi Loader as indicated (C:\Program Files\Garmin\Poi Loader\)

The file “POILoaderforWindows_261.exe” you downloaded and put into that folder on your Desktop is an installer file. Every time you double clicked on it, the installer re-installed the actual program in the locations being mentioned above depending on your operating system.

Each time you ran the installer you no doubt came to a window that announced “Setup of Garmin POILoader Complete!” and offered to “Launch POILoader Now”. That starts POILoader but is not the way to do it.

There should be a POILoader shortcut on your desk top and also you can start it from the AllPrograms list at the Start button at the bottom left corner of your screen. Look for a "Garmin" item on the list and when you move your mouse pointer to that item, a list with POILoader on it should appear. Click on that that to start POILoader program.

what you download is the installer for POILoader. When you run the installer it creates the Program Files\Garmin\POI Loader folder and puts a shortcut into Start > Programs That is the POILoader that you run to create .gpi files on your GPS

Box Car, I tried it but when I tried to load into the device I got this message
"Unable to convert C:/Documents and Setting/Desktop/Garmin Info\Test POI/Wal-mart.wav to proper format, therefore this audio file was not transferred". This is really getting old......
Should I delete everything and try to reload all the POI information???? I don't know how I could do any different. Pardon me while I go somewhere and swear..

This error most likely has appeared because sox.exe is not in the same directory as the POILoader.exe you're running. Can you confirm the directory that the installed POI Loader files are in and that sox.exe is there, too?

The good news is that once you've succeeded, this won't need to be done again.

Yep, I am sure that is the problem. But I do have another problem. I run Firefox and the only place I can put downloads is in My Documents/downloads. From there I can not get it into program Files. So I cannot get the POI Loader and the sox together n the same exe file. I am tired of this. Tomorrows another day.

Chuck,

One of the Wal-mart MP3 audio files was stereo. it needs to be mono. I'm not certain that conversion was done or not with all the earlier WAV files that were on the site. I know Bobdee's files were correct, but he asked for them to be removed. For the purposes of this test, try another file you have, we just want to be certain all the pieces parts are in the correct place and everything plays well together.

Once you get any custom audio to work, they all should work following the same procedure assuming the audio file is correct.

This is where you said that you put the sox.exe file:

That is where you can get the sox.exe to copy to the

……\Garmin\PoiLoader folder.

In the posts above you will find the paths to the
……\Garmin\PoiLoader folder for various operating systems.

Otherwise you can find the POILoader folder here:

You are going to have to tell us what operating system you are using if you want more detailed instructions.

You may want to seek out someone locally to get you up to speed on some basic computer skills and terminology. Either that or get a good book or two and study them.

Having those skills would greatly alleviate your frustration level when you attempt to do so this and other similar tasks on the internet or even when just trying to manage pictures and documents on your computer.

As stated before I use Windows XP.
I stayed with this until late last night and I know a lot more than I did when I started this post, of course still not enough, but every day is a learning experience. The POI loader is in the programs file under Garmin. After running a search I found that sox.exe is also there in the same file. I don't know why but the POI loader in Garmin program files is a shortcut but the search show the full file is in Garmin.
BoxCar when I ran the sim just now I got the same message.

I just did more and the POI Loader.exe in in the Garmin file. I will check it out now and see if it works.

I don't see anywhere you stated that in this thread.

But anyway, now we know.

BoxCar I changed the .wav to MP3 and lost the message why it would not load, but still no Audio when I ran the sim. Like as someone said before my GPS only uses .wav files.

Wife and I wen out for a drive and tested the new 752 MB Junction View file. I'm getting views where i never did before.

Chuck, we're down to the last little bit on this. As others are stating, the location of the SOX file and POILoader.exe are the final keys.

I suggest you open Windows Explorer and search the entire C drive for the two files. Look for SOX.exe and then POILoader.exe. There is the very distinct possibility you have more than one copy of the files on your computer and they are in different folders.

As a note, I'm also running XP, but I move files around so my program folders may not be the same as yours. That's why I'm a little hesitant about telling you which folder files should be in.

Once we get the sound files working, we can then play with TourGuides and the differences between CSV and GPX files.

Here's a little homework for you. Go to the AT&T site and make yourself a speech file. Follow the instructions on entering the words into the form and have it speak a phrase you can use. For this test, why not build yourself a custom Wal-Mart alert. Save the file to your computer and rename it to match your test file. We know this file is both WAV and the correct format for POILoader and SOX. Then we only need SOX and POILoader playing nicely together.

Box Car ran a search of C:. Only Sox.exe and POILoader.exe are in the ProgramFiles/Garmin.
Went to ATT and made a wav, followed the instruction twice, renamed it to Wal-mart.wav and still get the same message on downloading to GPS. Excuse me while I go find something to kick................................

I am able to get the same type message, “Unable to convert C:/Documents and Setting/Desktop/Garmin Info\Test POI/Wal-mart.wav”, by deleting the sox.exe file in my POILoader folder.

That was after running successfully with sox.exe present, so that shows the error message will appear when a working .wav is present but sox.exe is not.

Also sox.exe is capable of converting a wide range of .wav file specs to Garmin's required specs (that is why POILoader runs sox), so I do not think the wav file is the problem.

I also ran POILoader with a purposely corrupt wav file and no error message resulted - it simply created the custom poi without a sound alert.

I believe that somehow you are still running POILoader from a location that does not contain sox.exe

Describe exactly and in detail how you are starting up POILoader .

Evert, The way I start POI Loader in Windows XP
1. click on "start" lower Left corner
2. click on "All Programs" just above start
3. click on "Garmin" in the listed programs
4. click on "POI Loader", top of three items listed.
Then POI Loader starts.
As I have stated before as the results of a search of C:/ I have one POILoader.exe and one sox.exe and they are both listed in the ProgramFiles/Garmin. I am going to delete sox.exe and reload it again. It is possible I screwed that up but I don't know how.

At step 4 right-click “POI Loader”, click on “Properties” , click on the Shortcut Tab and then click in the Target box and use your right arrow key to see the full path to PoiLoader.exe

If the path is "C:\Program Files\Garmin\PoiLoader.exe"

instead of "C:\Program Files\Garmin\POI Loader\PoiLoader.exe", then that item in the Programs list is possibly pointing to a version of POI Loader older than 2.6.1 and may indicate that you have more than one version of POI Loader installed.

When POI Loader first starts up , click on the little symbol on the left of the Title Bar at the top of the window. Then click on “About POI Loader” and report what version it says.

Also go to Control Panel and select “Add or Remove Programs” and see if there is more than one listing of Poi Loader.

I know you did a search and found only one poiloader.exe but this will double-check the issue.

BTW What is the source of your SOX?

Also you can click on the “Find Target” button on the Shortcut Tab and the folder holding POILoader.exe will open up. In that folder you should see sox.exe

"BTW What is the source of your SOX?"

http://www.poi-factory.com/images/csv/sox-14-0-1.zip

"Also you can click on the “Find Target” button on the Shortcut Tab and the folder holding POILoader.exe will open up. In that folder you should see sox.exe"

I did not see sox.exe in that file.. They were all poiloader files except for license, notice and a dll.
How do I get it there?

Get to where you can see sox.exe and right-click it. Then click on "Copy".

Open the POILoader folder again using the Find Target button. Right-click anywhere in the area where you see all the files and click on "Paste". You should now see sox.exe in the folder.

BTW What is the path shown in the "Target" text box?

E, I predict C will have POI alerts by the end of the day. Good work!

Thanks Craig, but sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train.

Hopefully the fat lady will sing now.

All right guys, first off, I am not a FAT LADY.
Second, IT WORKS< DA DA DA (in case you were wondering that was a FAT GUY singing)
I thank you all very much for your patience. You couldn't believe all I learned about this typewriter keyboard attached to a TV screen over the last few days.
Now to push your patience a little more, What next?
Maybe one little unimportant thing, How do I get a shortcut to my desktop to run POI Loader?

To create a shortcut..
Right click on the PoiLoader.exe and scroll down the list to you get to "Send To". It will give you another list. Click on the "create shortcut - send to desktop"

One last call from the White Knight:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3178rR26J84
White Knight 10-10 on the side.

That's a big 10-4. Big Thank You. Guess I'll drift on down the road. Keep your eyes on the road and Smokies off your tail

and thanks to everyone that helped on solving Chuckd's problem.

Now that SOX and POILoader can play together nicely 9in the same sandbox even) you are now on your way to unlocking a lot of the capabilities of your unit.

As you can tell, there are a lot of options you can use in creating your own custom poi file.

You have learned the poi file, icon and sound file all share the exact same name. The only difference being the 3 character extension. You have also learned how to set a proximity alert, so now we'll play with some new things.

TourGuide files aren't any different than a standard custom POI file other than the way in which they operate A standard proximity alert can be pictured as a box approximately 200 feet wide and as long as the alert distance. The POI location is in the middle of the back edge of this virtual box. Now, in order for an alert to trigger, the road you are driving on has to come inside the box. The other limitation to this virtual box is it only runs parallel to the closest road or street to the POI location.

That explains why you only got an alert on NE Terry for the Grants Pass Wal-Mart and not on the other streets. Changing the file to TourGuide changes the alert from this virtual box to a radius around the POI location. So any time you come within the radius (distance) of the POI you will get an alert regardless of the street the POI is actually near.

Be cautious about setting too many alerts or using too many TourGuide files. You can drive yourself to distraction with the unit sounding off too much.

Think about it, do you need to be told "Approaching a Wal-Mart" as you drive near EVERY store or is it enough to know you have them in your unit and can find the nearest one? Some things you do want to know about, Highway rest areas is a good one. Don't set this as a TourGuide as each Rest Area from Mr. Ken's file is usually paired with one on the other side of the highway with its own marker. Using a TourGuide will guarantee you will get alerted for both the east and westbound areas when you can only get to one.

Now some files just naturally fall into a logical use of the tour guide function. One I can think of is Bobkz's Roadside Attractions. Some of these are a little off the beaten path, so knowing about them when you are in the vicinity would be useful. Some set a TourGuide alert for their favorite restaurants as they travel. They may be close to the road, but not close enough to warn you of their being near.

When you're comfortable with setting alerts and using TourGuide, let us know and we'll get into organizing your custom POI and touch on using GPX files.

Thanks Box Car. First question I have, the word TourGuide goes into the name of the POI. Does "TourGuide also have to be in the name on the BMP and Wav names?
My test point for this will be a nearby State Park which is just off I-5 south of Grants Pass.
I have tried a test with and without the names the same and nothing happens.

Set it up like this:

Walmart TourGuide.csv
Walmart TourGuide.bmp
Walmart TourGuide.wav

"Set it up like this:

Walmart TourGuide.csv
Walmart TourGuide.bmp
Walmart TourGuide.wav"

BoxCar said earlier that the .wav file on site were not good. Should I make my own or get them elsewhere? Thanks for your help

You did state you had made a file, and I stated one of the MP3 Wal-Mart files was in stereo. While the 'canned' alerts are nice (some are quite good) using the AT&T site to make your own personal alert is quite easy. The point being made by pohwrlab(?) is the word TourGuide has to be in all three files in exactly the same place. it doesn't matter if it's Walmart Tourguide or TourGuide Walmart. All three files have to be the same.

It can be Restareas or Dunkin Donuts or mcDonalds or any one you choose.

you can have more than one TourGuide set of files.

Notice the capital T and the capital G in TourGuide. Think of "TourGuide" as a case sensitive keyword.

Thanks for the help. John, Why would I want more than one TourGuide set of files?

Here we go again. Ran test POI. I know every thing is exact, including Caps, spelling. The only difference is the .wav or.bmp or Csv, I am leaving Wednesday on a five week trip around 5 states, including Yellowstone, so you can guess why I want this to be right. Thanks for the help

Yep, the light was an oncoming train.

Evert, I needed that!!! Don't bother. I'll figure it out. See, the train missed you.

Don't worry, I stepped aside and let it pass.

I figured long ago you have been spoofing us. I said so to another member via personal message.

At least that is what over forty years of experience on bulletin boards/forums being spoofed by the best and the worst of them makes me suspect.

When I worked in the Nuclear Weapons Program at Sandia Laboratories in the 1960s, even the usually serious guys at JPL, LLNL, LANL, and NASA would spoof us occasionally. Course some were in my graduating ME class at UNM, so I was aware of their ways.

Now, every once in a while someone comes along that is actually as inept as you make yourself appear to be, so there is no way to be 100% sure. That is why I always try to help – I figure if nothing else others viewing the thread later on can make use of the information.

In your case, I am 99.9999 % sure and would be suprised if you are actually that inept.

However if you are truly inept we will further try to help you but as Boxcar told you, you are going to have provide better information.

Again you report a failure with no details. It is not possible to go forward without grilling you again about:

What was the actual failure: did POILoader give an error message and stop or what?

What wav file did you use? Last you mentioned, you were wondering whether “to make one or get one elsewhere” even though you had previously mentioned that you had made one.

You have the above file working. Use that one and just add "TourGuide" to the bmp, csv, and wav.

Then run it through Poi Loader the same way using the same alert distance.

As already asked, we need to know what failed.

For lack of a better word I will choice inept, as you did. I am in my 70's and did not work with computers until I started getting e-mails etc. And that is the extent of it. No experience, inept, whatever. Thanks for the previous help. I won't ask for any more.

That word fits you by your own admission and by your actions. My use of it was not meant to be disparaging.

You are only about 6 months older than I am and you can develop better computer skills if you did as I suggested:

Your lack of skill in working with people trying to help you on a forum is also very evident. You need to realize we cannot see over your shoulder or read your mind.

Folks have been busting their butts trying to help and your lack providing adequate information and answers to questions has made the job much more difficult. But as I said we are still willing to help.

If it is just me you are PO'd at I can just quit trying to help and you can work with others.

I t may be too late for your upcoming trip now but later maybe we can help take the "in" out of "inept" then you would be "ept" instead of "inept".

Enjoy your trip. Come back and work on your skills some more.

BTW If you are going to Devil's Tower on your trip, you won't be all that far from Rapid City. If you want, you could come see me and I would help you get the alerts working.

I am the computer activity leader at Canyon Lake Senior center. Just stop in and have some coffee. There is a large parking lot behind the center where you can dry-camp with your RV.

Oh, also you need to ask for Clint. I use Evert online in honor of my Uncle who took care of me for a while when neither the orphan's home or any other relative wanted to help me.

I keep all my Garmin files in a folder on my desktop also. I don't have any problem loading POIs b/c the POI loader program asks which file to use. I don't think this is a problem but I am not a computer expert.

The problem he was having was that the PoiLoader executable file he had in a folder on his desktop was the installer file rather than the actual POILoader program.

He kept re-running the installer program every time he went to use POILoader.

And although the sox.exe was in the same folder as the installer file, it needed to be in the standard folder where the actual program is on his computer.

By default the installer puts the actual program in a standard place but you can tell it to put it in a folder on the desktop.

I would not recommend doing that though. For one thing if you did that with all your programs it will clutter up your desktop with program files and it makes it too easy to accidently mess them up.

This thread has turned out to be very interesting to me. I appreciate your helping me by offline following and responding to a new Beginners Exercise. Hopefully, I was some help to you.

Thanks for being honest about your experience level. Maybe we can learn something from that.

It has always been my feeling that FAQs need to assume that someone has minimal knowledge of computers and their GPS. That means that if one writes a true "getting started" response, it will be more likely to be successful because it will cover more bases.

That said, the comments immediately above are very true. It seems we need to have some suggestions as to what information would be most valuable in helping to answer a question. It would have helped initially if we had known you were using Firefox, for example. Now, this is not your fault - nowhere is there a checklist of pieces of information that will help members help you.

There are lots of 'gotchas" about. One of them occurs when someone requesting help has not changed their computer settings to NOT “Hide extensions for known file types” and TO “show hidden files and folders”

There are some conventions we on this site have determined to be helpful concerning the naming of Folders on your computer but they are not explicitly stated in a complete way. As you found out, certain things need to be in certain folders.

We often assume that everyone knows how to install the programs we suggest. Of course, that is not always the case.

It was not true in your case, but often we fail to ascertain whether someone asking a question is using a PC or a Mac (and that makes a big difference in many cases).

I have only touched on the things that would be helpful for us to know. Maybe we need a FAQ we can direct someone to when it becomes obvious that more information is needed. Here are a few:

• computer skills: beginner to expert
• PC or Mac
• GPS make and model
• browser
• Garmin tools installed
• Explorer shows extensions
• Backup: yes or no
• Have a POI folder: yes or no
• Name of POI folder

Maybe others will add things we ought to know to be helpful.

I am not sure what you mean by that. Do you mean that all of us have been dishonest about our computer experience or do you have a mouse in your pocket?

This has been an interesting thread to follow. I'm 67 and likely a lot more PC savvy than most my age but I too had difficulty getting a TourGuide to work. Unlike most others, I have infinite patience and I will try innumerable tests to get it right. Long way of saying that the advice posted on this thread was right on and I am surprised (pleasantly) at the candor of several of the messages - most refreshing.

And one more observation from the sidelines, If I was ChuckD, I'd take up Evert's offer to visit.