Any way to separate my custom POIs into folders under Xtras, and be able to search for them?

There are several threads on how to accomplish this along with some ery good FAQs written by Charlesd45 and I believe jgermann.

To save you the trouble of looking for them, here is a procedure first posted by a_user and recently updated by me to cover the new POI Loader. For categories, start with the OPTIONAL section.

WINDOWS POI Loading Procedure

These instructions will teach you how to load custom POI, icons, and alert sounds to your Garmin unit. These instructions show one process on how to load and categorize POI to either your unit’s internal memory or to an SD card for your unit.

REQUIRED FILES

1. Download and install the latest version of POI Loader from http://www8.garmin.com/support/collection.jsp?product=999-99...

2. While some units can load and play MP3 files, all the newer NUVI units can only play WAV alert sound files. WAV files require a sound conversion program called SOX. SOX.exe can be downloaded from http://rapidshare.com:80/files/139638423/sox.zip. Unzip the folder containing the program SOX.exe. Select the SOX.exe file and right click and select COPY. If you load and use SOX.exe, any unit can use and play WAV alert sound files NOTE: You only need to load SOX once.

3. Using Windows Explorer or a similar program, go to C:\Garmin. (Windows 7 puts the Garmin folder in Program Files (x86) folder.) This must be the same folder that has the program POI Loader.exe. Right click on any BLANK space in this folder. Select PASTE. SOX.exe should now be copied to the folder. You can also drag and drop the file from the unzipped folder and drop it into the POI Loader 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 in any unit.

Preparing to load POI Files

4. Create a Folder to hold all your Custom POI. NOTE: I put my folder on my Desktop.

5. Download the desired POI files from POI Factory and put them into the folder created in Step 2.

6. Visit the Icon library and download the desired icons for your POI files and put them into the folder created in Step 2.

7. Visit the Sounds Library and download the desired sound files for your POI. All Gamin units can play WAV sounds, but newer NUVI units can only play WAV sound files. WAV files require you to install a sound conversion program called SOX. SOX.exe can be downloaded from http://rapidshare.com:80/files/139638423/sox.zip. Unzip the folder containing the program SOX.exe. Select the SOX.exe file, right click and select COPY. NOTE: You only need to load SOX once.

8. Using Windows Explorer or another program, open the folder containing the files to be loaded into your NUVI. A single folder can contain only 32 POI files ending in GPX or CSV. Alert sounds and icons are not counted.

9. Match the file name to the ICON file. Rename the ICON file so it has the same name as the POI file. POI files can be either CSV or GPX it doesn’t matter. These file names 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.

10. Match the file name to the SOUND file. Rename the SOUND file so it has the same name as the POI file. POI files can be either CSV or GPX it doesn’t matter. These file names 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. Using WAV files requires another program not found on POI-Factory. (See step 5.)

O P T I O N A L Creating Categories

11. The number of POI files you have for your unit can be increased by using subfolders. You can have 32 subfolders each holding up to 32 POI files with their alerts and icons. Subfolders also allow you to organize POI files by type into categories. Garmin’s POI Loader will process only one level of folders within a top-level folder.
NOTE: There are other methods of increasing the number of custom POI that can be loaded but this method is one of the easiest to use.

12. Open the folder you created for your custom POI. Using Windows Explorer or another program, create additional folders to hold POI files. Each of the subfolder names will be listed in alphabetical order as a category when you select Custom POI from your Garmin screen.

EXAMPLE:
MY POI - This is the top-level folder
>>Auto Repair - subfolder and category
>>Fast Food - subfolder and category
>>Gas Stations - subfolder and category
>>Misc Stuff - subfolder and category
>>Restaurants - subfolder and category

The folder MY POI now has 5 subfolders to categorize POI. You can have 32 subfolders.

13. Copy or move the POI file and its icon and/or sound file to the category subfolder.

EXAMPLE:
MY POI (Top Folder)
>>Auto Repair (Subfolder)
>>>Ford Dealers - Connecticut.GPX
>>>Ford Dealers - Massachusetts.CSV
>>>Ford Dealers - Connecticut.bmp
>>>Ford Dealers - Connecticut.wav
>>>Ford Dealers - Massachusetts.bmp
>>>Ford Dealers - Massachusetts.mp3
>>>Tire Kingdom, Merchant Tire & NTB.CSV

E N D of Optional Categories

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

15. Run POI Loader.

16. Select Garmin Device as Where to save your Points of Interest.

17. Press Next and wait for the program to find your NUVI. The NUVI will be shown in the box labeled Device:.

18. If you use an optional SD memory card for extra file storage space with your NUVI, the SD card must have a Garmin folder. (Note: POI Loader 2.6.1 and later create the correct folders on an SD card if they aren't there.)

19. Press Next. The program will ask the location of the files to be loaded. Use the BROWSE button and select the FOLDER (or top-level folder if using categories) containing the POI, ICON, and SOUND (Alert) files.

20. Select the measurement units used for your NUVI. Feet and Miles per hour or Meters and Kilometers.

21. The NUVI suggests running the program in Automatic. 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. NOTE: If a file name contains ANY number, POI Loader will assume it is a speed alert and play the sound file for that POI automatically. Press Next.

O P T I O N A L Creating Alert Points

22. POI Loader can set alert points to notify you before you reach a point of interest. Alerts can trigger by either speed or distance. There are 2 simple methods to create a speed alert. One method is to include the speed in the file name. School Zones 20.CSV will create a speed alert for every POI in the School Zones file. You will receive a single warning when you are about 30 seconds from entering a school zone listed in the POI. If you are traveling more than 20 (MPH or KPH depending on your settings) you will receive multiple alert tones until you slow down to 20 or below every time you approach a school zone in the file. The second method is when loading a POI file using POI Loader in MANUAL mode. You can set alert points for each file. NOTE: Sound and icon file names must match if a custom alert sound or icon is used.

23. POI Loader lets you select either a SPEED or DISTANCE alert when you load files in the manual mode. POI Loader makes you choose to set one, but not both if you check the box saying “This file contains proximity alert points.” Enter either a speed that will trigger an urgent (repeating) alert or how far from the POI you want to be notified.

24. Speed Alerts - If a file name contains a valid speed number (School Zones 20) or if all records in a file have speed encoded in the name (by adding the @ symbol and a number after the name of the POI), then all records in the file will include speed and proximity alerts. For example, a data file with the file name “School Zone_15” generates speed alerts of 15 mph (or kph, depending on the type of units selected in POI Loader) for each POI in the file but if a POI in the file has the @ symbol followed by a valid number, this is used instead. The file School Zone_15 can contain individual locations with either a higher or lower trigger speed. If a POI is named Brook High School @25, the urgent alert will only trigger if I am over 25 when approaching Brook High School. All other locations will trigger the urgent alert at 15.

If a file contains certain key words such as “GATSO,” “mobile,” “SPECS,” “safety,” “speed,” or “camera,” but does not have a speed, POI Loader defaults to an alert speed of 0, which means you will always be alerted. You can override this default value by entering a value for the speed in Manual mode or including a speed in either the file name or use the @ for individual POI.

25. Distance Alerts - Distance alerts can also be set using POI Loader in Manual mode. Distances are entered in either feet or meters depending on the unit settings. Common values for distance settings are 1320 or 400 for approximately ¬ mile, 2600 or 800 for around a half-mile, and 5300 or 1600 for a mile. You can set this value to suit your need. This setting will set the same distance for all locations in the file. Different alert distance settings for individual POI can only be done using the GPX format.

POI Loader calculates a proximity alert distance based on speed. You can enter proximity alert distance for individual Custom POIs in a .gpx file. You can also enter proximity alert distance for all Custom POIs in a data file using Manual mode.

26. Combination settings - You can set both distance and speed alerts with either CSV or GPX files. If you use CSV files, you can have only one distance or proximity alert when the file is processed by POI Loader. GPX allows setting speed and distance for each POI. POI Loader will set both speed and distance alerts for CSV files if the file name has a valid speed and a proximity distance is entered. EXAMPLE: Loading School Zones_15.csv and specifying the file has a proximity distance of 1300 feet will provide 2 alerts. One alert will be when you are approximately ¼ mile from the school zone, and a second alert if you are traveling over 15.

If the file name contains “redlight”, POI Loader assumes all records (locations) in the file have proximity alerts with a distance of 400m/0.25 miles.

27. POI Loader will begin to convert the POI files, ICONs and ALERT sounds and load them to your NUVI. 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 NUVI.
NOTE: Every time you run POI Loader, it will overwrite the previous output file and you will loose any POI not contained in your source folder.

28. Disconnect your NUVI using the Stop or Eject USB device.

29. Power up the NUVI and select WHERE TO -> EXTRAS and see if CUSTOM POI is displayed. Press CUSTOM POI and you should see a list of all the POI loaded.

TROUBLESHOOTING:

30. If you do not see a custom icon or hear the custom alert sound for a Custom POI that successfully loaded, it is most likely because you have a double file extension (two periods in one or more of the file names.)

31. Open Windows Explorer. Select TOOLS. Select Folder Options. Select VIEW. Under FILES AND FOLDERS uncheck the box that states: Hide extensions for known file types.

32. Using Windows Explorer, open the FOLDER containing the custom POI files, icons, and alert files. Verify each file name has only ONE period just before the 3 character file extension. Rename any files containing more than one period so the file contains only ONE period.

33. Restart this procedure at Step 8.

Repeat as necessary.

'Search' is your friend, Todd...

Thanks for the replies, sorry I didn't search, I figured out the sub folder thing.

I tried searching and am just a bit confused, maybe one of you can clear it up, does my 260w support alerts when getting near a POI? and Is there a Mac equivalent for SOX, as far as I can tell there isn't... Also should I be able to search for the POIs by name? If I look at the list, and then go back and search for the exact name that shows up in the list it doesn't find anything? Sorry to sound dumb, but Im new to all this.

Categories are simple ways of finding POI's fast(er). Friends, biz, food etc.

I got that much figured out....

I'm not a Mac person but from what I've read here, Macs don't need sox.exe to be able to load wav file audio as alerts for your POIs. So if you have identically named POI and audio files (except for the csv/gpx and wav extension), the Mac POI Loader will incorporate the audio alert. Be sure to use POI Loader in manual mode and set an alert. And to handle a future question, you might want to read up on forum topics discussing TourGuide for a "radius alert."

Welcome to The Factory!

If you want to search the custom pois using categories.You have to use the spell and look for the category first example food.Once the list comes up using spell again select example Cracker Barrel.You can also use spell again to refine the location. Note using the near tab at bottom of screen after where to screen will give you several options including a different city.