Garmin nuvi 3590lmt zooming

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To make it easy, when you click on the first link below, hold down the "Cntl" key as you left-click. That will open a new "Tab" in your browser in the "Tab" bar. Click on that 'Tab" to do the first exercise - leaving the "Tab" you are now reading open and available to click on and return here.

The first link makes sure settings on your computer are such that you can do more advanced POI loading.
http://www.poi-factory.com/node/30393

You have asked about POI categories and I am assuming that you are talking about Custom POI files.

This next link helps you get a backup by attaching your GPS to your computer. (NEVER do anything to your GPS until you have a backup)
http://www.poi-factory.com/node/30394

To load POI file, you might look at this
http://www.poi-factory.com/node/30396

Zoom zoom

When you touch the screen it will show a + and - button to zoom. When you have zoomed it will stay there unless you are in one of the built in location auto-zoom areas (exits, etc) where it will auto-zoom and then later return to your previous zoom level. I am not sure if there is a way to set a permanent zoom level which will be used as your default. The 3590 also uses pinch-to zoom. Using your finger and thumb on the screen just pinch them in or out to zoom.

Which of the map modes are you using, 3d, north up, or track up? The new models seem to be more Garmin driven auto zoom levels.

Please start with the manual:

http://support.garmin.com/support/manuals/manuals.htm?partNo...

I did. I don't see anything in the manual about changing/locking the default zoom level of the map.

So, the question remains . . .

You have "autozoom" turned on, which is the default setting and on North American Nuvi models there is no way to turn it off without making some other changes.

Basically the ability to turn autozoom off and on is only available if you set your Nuvi up with a default Locale of Australia or some country in Europe. I use Australia as it allows for all other settings to be set so that they are the same as the NA settings.

What you need to do is to do a Hard Reset of your Nuvi and when asked if you want to erase all user data, say Yes. The first screen that will appear will ask for your default Locale. Cycle through the choices and pick Australia. Then answer any other setting questions that are asked anyway you like.

Once the Nuvi restarts you will be able to go to Tools - Settings - Navigation - Automobile - AutoZoom, select Disabled and Save. Now when you start the Nuvi the map will be displayed at a default zoom level. Using the + and - keys on the map screen, set the zoom level to what you want and it sill stay at that level until you change it or turn the device off.

SPECIAL NOTES:

- you may need to go through the various settings on the Nuvi to set things up the way you like after the hard reset (KM or MPH, AM-PM-Auto, etc.)

- the hard reset will delete all your Favorites so be sure to have a current backup of your unit before you do the reset and in particular a backup copy of the current.gpx file found in the GPX folder. Once you have the Nuvi setup rename the backup copy of current.gpx to temp.gpx and place it in the GPX folder on the GPS. Once you reboot the Nuvi your Favorites will be back and you can then delete the Temp.gpx file.

I found it a big disappointment to learn that Garmin removed the "ZOOM" command from the voice recognition commands.

It's one more thing I have to fiddle with on the unit.

I was disappointed in this with my 3790.

I am hanging onto my 765T so I know nothing about voice commands to get a nuvi to do something hands free.

My question is whether the nuvis with voice command capability used to have "zoom" and that particular command is now gone (via software update, I presume) or whether older nuvis had the voice command capability to zoom in and out and newer models do not.

I looked at some manuals and could not find an answer to the question "What voice commands were available" (ie. what could you do?)

I hope I understand your question.

On my older nuvi 855, the voice commands "zoom in" and "zoom out" work and do control the zoom factor when the map is displayed.

Here is a list created by nuvifan back in 2009: http://www.poi-factory.com/node/23695

I can not find anything on the Garmin site that is comparable to what Nuvifan did for the 855 (which did not surprise me since they have a lousy search facility in my opinion).

So, I take it that some older models let you zoom in and out but newer models do not. Since that is software, it is hard to understand why it is still not there on the 3790.

Agreed. With the newer units having better hardware & performance, I see no reason why Garmin would/should remove certain key voice commands, especially those that are most useful while driving. I seldom plug in a destination while on-the-fly and moving and almost always do it beforehand. I use zoom commands on my 3490 much more and these now require multiple screen presses; once to activate the on-screen zoom buttons (they are now "hidden" from the map screen until it's pressed) and again to actually zoom in/out.

Garmin does some pretty silly things which seem counter intuitive and are steps backwards rather than forwards. What's the reasoning behind providing a means to disable the Autozoom feature in one locale (EU, AU & likely others) yet prevent a user from disabling it when the unit is set to the US locale? I sometimes wonder if these units are actually field-tested by actual users or if they simply perform well enough "on paper" or on the drawing board.