Anyone having luck converting .csv files to .gpx files?

Actually, I should say that about 8 of them came back with Runtime error 13, but most or all of them seem corrupted, or atleast dont come up in GE.

Try Extra Poi Editor and see if you have the same problem.

You can download Extra Poi Editor at http://turboccc.wikispaces.com/Extra_POI_Editor . When you download the program if you get message about OCX file missing scroll down on the main page and under troubleshooting you will find the Extra Poi Editor Installer that you will need to download.

Open up the csv file in EPE and save as a Garmin GPX file

I expand all the csv files out, use epe to convert to gpx, and ov2. Haven't had problems yet

I also use EPE to convert my Target Stores csv file to gpx format for uploading to The POI-Factory. Hasn't failed me yet.

Just asking, why would you want to convert the csv files to gpx. Can you do the opposit converting gpx files to csv.

Gpx shows a better display on gps screen on some models plus use of phone numbers.See http://www.poi-factory.com/node/6203 .

Yes EPE can changed gpx to csv.

Ok, thank you for the suggestion, I will try it
-Chris

You may want to look at this also http://www.poi-factory.com/node/28521 .

http://www.poi-factory.com/node/33782

OK, well, I have been trying for over an hour now, and cannot install/run EPE. I downloaded the installer version, because I don't have the .OCX files, and even with that I get errors that a file is missing or not registered. I believe MSJET35.DLL and another one, as well as an .OCX file. Even if I click "Ignore", the setup finishes but once I try to run, I get those same errors and the app refuses to launch. I tried running setup and the app itself as "admin", but no good.
Any suggestions?
Thank you.

By the way, the installer .zip file includes a .cab file as well, with these files in it, so why is it not grabbing the files from there?

Edit: Well I truely am out of ideas, I tried unzipping all the .cab files into a separate folder along with the setup.exe and setup.lst files and then it asked for a disk, claiming it couldn't find the .cab file, which i didn't put in there since I extracted the contents. Then I did put the .cab file in there too and it did the same as before, gave me errors about the .dll and .ocx files.
One of the files it couldn't find or register was mscomctl.ocx. I don't know where to go from here.

...Well, what'dya know, I was in fact missing MSCOMCTL.OCX. Wonder how that happened. Working now.

Hi Chris77,

Sorry for my crappy installer. You are right: the files are in the .cab, but I just removed them from the setup.ini file. I thought they were not needed.

Instead, try to run the installer v4.70: http://turboccc.wikispaces.com/space/showimage/Extra_POI_Edi...

Again, ignore all errors that appear. Once installed, you may overwrite the old EPE v4.70 by the .exe of v5.2x

Hi

I have had some success with POI converter in the past maybe it might help.

http://rjdavies.users.btopenworld.com/html/poiconverter.html

Best of all it is a free download!

No, the installer is fine, the problem was I didn't have the MSCOMCTL.OCX file...got it to work!!

Now, got another question: I want to use Google Earth to create some POIs from scratch- is it best practice to set the point at like the entrance to the parking lot, on the road, or right on the building? Thank you.

When you navigate to a POI, you need to think of the "along the route" as a rectangular box with your vehicle as a point on the rear end of the box. This box is about 180 feet wide and its length is whatever distance you set when you run POILoader in manual mode.

The POI must come within the box to sound an alert.

So, best practice is to locate the coordinates of some enterprise at its parking lot entrance off the major road on which someone would approach.

Consider Walmarts. Often the front entrance is some good distance (more than the 90 feet allowed on each side of the road). If one sets the coordinates at the front entrance, then someone expecting an alert might not get one.

Of course, the GPS will take you to the entrance is you do a Where To, regardless of whether or not the coordinates were set based on best practices.

Ok, thank you very much. This stuff is so cool...

I got another question:
I am in no way cutting anyone down, and there has to be a good reason anyway, but why do people make POIs for things like restaurants and stores? Atleast in my Garmin Nuvi, there are POIs of things like that already in there. Is it for the customizable icons and sounds? That is the only reason I can think of. And is there a way to remove the "factory" icons for things like that? Makes no sense to me to have 2 icons for the same thing.
Thanks again.

(by that I mean, an icon for the custom POI and one for the preloaded content. I don't want to get rid of the preloaded stuff)

The built in POI's you get from Garmin/Navteq are neither comprehensive nor up-to-date and accurate. Many of the files you download at POI Factory are both.

ah, ok, that makes sence, but is there a way to only remove the preloaded icons, or what do people do about duplicate icons?

...And while I'm at it, does anyone have a problem with no icon showing up at all at times while in the 3d view, while driving? I updated the firmware/software and still happens.
Sorry to be a pain, but just getting started with this.

No way to alter the built-in POI's. They are what they are. Depending on your nuvi model, POI icon display may be completely missing in 3D mode, or may only be visible when zoomed in close. This has been a common complaint on the 1xxx series. On some older models like the 8xx, you can actually select the categories of POI's you want displayed.

In order to see icons, one must be zoomed in to. say. 200/300 feet. For me that is too close. On my 765T, I like the .2mi view (a little over 1000 feet) and I do not see any icons which is what most of us want.

You can not delete the internal POI files and you really do not want to. Think about how you will use a GPS. More on vacation or business trips than any other time. That is why people decide on what POI files they would like to be able to navigate to on a trip and download them from poi-factory and install them into "Custom POIs" using POILoader. The files from poi-factory are kept current while the internal POIs may be several years old.

Welcome to the site. Play around with the GPS in your home area and you will get a feel for how it will help you on a trip.

Good point. Although, we live in a small town/village about 30 miles NW of the state capitol of Wisconsin. We go to Madison pretty regularly on weekends, so we would like to be able to see the icons most of the time just to get a feel for where new places are that we discover on sites like this.

Anyway, another question!! (Feel free to stop me any time)
Does anyone know what the Navipro.gpi file is on the Garmin Nuvi 255W? Trying to figure out what all the files are on the thing. There is a [numbered].gpi file, which I think is the preloaded content, and a Navipro.gpi, and my custom poi file. Just curious. Thanks.

Garmin POI, so you are saying there's no way of removing garmin POI completly?

Is there any way of removing Garmin maps completly which would also remove the POI's?

You can easily delete all the garmin maps but then unless you put on a third party routeable map you would get a message something like "no routeable maps available, cannot startup". If you left on the Garmin basemap it may boot up but you would not have much of a map to work with.

We have 3rd party maps which are free here, I think they are better than Garmins, but when you load them many of the poi are doubled up. if I could get rid of gamins POI I would run both.

The maps are made by an open source site, us as users contribute to both the maps and the POI which make them more reliable, and as I've said before they are updated each Friday. That means a new round about or new road opens today it will be on the new maps on Friday

The numbered file is probably 006D135900.gpi, if so that has to do with MSN Direct but required a signup and a receiver cable so I ignored it on my 255W.

The Navipro.gpi is a third party file which you or someone else must have loaded , (it did not come with my 255W).

In that case you could delete all the garmin maps (should back them up first)

The main map is gmapprom.img
The base map is gmapbmap.img
Mine also has a timezone map: gmaptz.img

Above you said "We have 3rd party maps which are free here"

Where is here?

according to his profile.

I didn't load any third party files, that I remember, which is weird 'cuz I looked up Navipro, and it is a third party service, but how it got on my device, I don't know.

Ok, time for another question:
How do people get the exact coordinates for their POIs? Some POIs are off a main road, but some are off a side road. Some are in the parking lot, etc. Do people just click a spot or are they using some other resource? I asked a similar question before, what is the best practice, but are people doing that or just sorta randomly around the spot? just curious how I should really be doing this. There are some POIs that I downloaded that don't include a location for my town, so I want to add them. Thank you.

To try and answer your question the location can be at a driveway entrance or further off the road. We try and do the best we can. I use EPE (Extra poi editor) which one of our members created. I will also use google maps to try and verify a location. If you keep the location within about 75 feet from center of the road then the alerts would work. We also rely on the members here to tell us if we are to far off and then we will correct our file
Something we have found is that coordinates that are posted on a site or mass geo-coded are wrong.

EPE http://www.poi-factory.com/node/6678

Ok, cool. I wasn't complaining at all, I think the files are done really well. I just wondered how I should do mine.
Thank you everyone very much for answering all my questions

Didn't think you were complaining. We just do the best we can to get them correct.

A word of caution is that if you have a "store" that is way back in a mall and you set the location way back in, then if someone wants an alert for the "store" they may not get the alert. That would be what we call "along the route" type of alert.

Ok, that makes sense. Pretty much within 75 feet of where a person would likely drive through, either direction, right? And I'm thinking if there is a choice between a side road and a main road, I would probably put it closer to the main road.

If a store is located in a mall then you should always set the location at the entrance to the mall parking lot. If you set the location in the middle of the mall then the gps may take you on an unintended route.

Remember that the gps doesn't recognize shopping malls, it only "sees" a big empty space surrounded by streets. For example, lets say you have a big shopping mall in the shop of a square. The mall entrance is at the top of the square but the store is at the bottom of the square. If you place the location at the bottom of the square then the gps will direct you to the street closest to the bottom of the square.