I start out by finding addresses of locations I am interested in - say, a chain of restaurants - usually from an Internet site.
Then put the information (Name, Address, Town, Province or State, Telephone Number) into separate columns of a table in MS Word or MS Excel.
Then copy all of the information into the GPS Visualizer web site (http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/geocoder/) to generate latitude and longitude coordinates.
Then copy and paste the geocoded information from GPS Visualizer back into an Excel spreadsheet, do some editing to clean up extraneous information, and save it as a CSV file.
I routinely import the files into Google Earth just to see where the locations are, and I might adjust
the coordinates in the Excel file to the "best" location for access by a car, as depicted on Google Earth.
I am sure many others have much quicker ways of creating their own POI files, but I am comfortable with my method and I think I develop an appreciation for the locations.
I maintain my POI data in Microsoft Access. If I'm creating a CSV POI file I just dump the records to a 3-column CSV file. If I'm creating a GPX file I dump the records to a 9-column CSV file, import it into Extra_POI_Editor (EPE), and Save As GPX. I also use EPE for batch geocoding, but for getting the coordinates of a single address I still use good old Google Maps.
And, because I own a TomTom I always run my OV2 files through my (free!) ov2optimizer utility before copying them to my device.
I typically download the Garmin csv format file from this site because it contains the more information than the ov2 format. I will then use MS Excel to pull out the city, state, zip, address, phone number and any other information that is available. The TomTom ov2 format only allows for a commment and a phone number, so I try to put as much information as possible in the comment field. Typically I will use the following format:
Wal*Mart@123 Main St. Anytown, OH 12345>(321)555-1234
This allows the address to be displayed in my TomTom in case the coordinates are not completely accurate. Most ov2 files on this site only contain the location name.
I like open office.org It has a spreadsheet program very much like Microsoft's Excel and word processor like word. Best of all it is free. click on http://www.openoffice.org/download/ then use the program to create a .csv file. Placing the coordinates in the first two columns and description and additional information in subsequent columns.
I use NOTEPAD. I just type long,lat,"name","street address,city & state,phone number"
(Note the use of quotes. Theoretically they're not necessary if there are no commas in the information but I use them to improve readability.
Once I have the text file created in Notepad, for example, Restaurants & bars.txt, I use the DOS copy command to create the .CSV file:
copy "Restaurants & Bars.txt" "Restaurants & Bars.csv"
Now you have a beautiful .csv file that can be fed into EPE to create the .GPX file.
Phil
-- "No misfortune is so bad that whining about it won't make it worse."
I'm reading up here to see if there is an easy way or software that does it on Auto.
I did create one this evening by just comparing a csv file and entering the data.
I wanted to share a mapper I like to use that helped me get the long/lats called Flashearth.com. The little search field will let you enter just a zip or the wholee address but it provides the lon & lat and if you click on it the state or format will change.
Webb based so its a light foot print. Faster than G-earth or Maps. A good utility to have in your arsenal.
My Cumbersome Method
Actually, creating POIs is pretty easy.
I start out by finding addresses of locations I am interested in - say, a chain of restaurants - usually from an Internet site.
Then put the information (Name, Address, Town, Province or State, Telephone Number) into separate columns of a table in MS Word or MS Excel.
Then copy all of the information into the GPS Visualizer web site (http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/geocoder/) to generate latitude and longitude coordinates.
Then copy and paste the geocoded information from GPS Visualizer back into an Excel spreadsheet, do some editing to clean up extraneous information, and save it as a CSV file.
I routinely import the files into Google Earth just to see where the locations are, and I might adjust
the coordinates in the Excel file to the "best" location for access by a car, as depicted on Google Earth.
I am sure many others have much quicker ways of creating their own POI files, but I am comfortable with my method and I think I develop an appreciation for the locations.
Good luck!
.
What software do you use to create POI files?
I maintain my POI data in Microsoft Access. If I'm creating a CSV POI file I just dump the records to a 3-column CSV file. If I'm creating a GPX file I dump the records to a 9-column CSV file, import it into Extra_POI_Editor (EPE), and Save As GPX. I also use EPE for batch geocoding, but for getting the coordinates of a single address I still use good old Google Maps.
And, because I own a TomTom I always run my OV2 files through my (free!) ov2optimizer utility before copying them to my device.
Creating POI's
Thanx, for the Info Dan..
Don Duke aka Joe Casino
Tools I use
I haven't ventured into the EPE world, but here are some tools that I use:
To get lat/long for a single location I use the following site:
http://itouchmap.com/latlong.html
To visualize the locations in a POI file I use "My POI Manager"
http://www.mypoiworld.com/index.php?id=418.0.html?&L=1
To convert from a csv format to an optimized ov2 format I use POIedit 2007:
http://www.poiedit.com/
I typically download the Garmin csv format file from this site because it contains the more information than the ov2 format. I will then use MS Excel to pull out the city, state, zip, address, phone number and any other information that is available. The TomTom ov2 format only allows for a commment and a phone number, so I try to put as much information as possible in the comment field. Typically I will use the following format:
[Location name]@[street][city][state][zip]>[phone]
So it may look like this:
Wal*Mart@123 Main St. Anytown, OH 12345>(321)555-1234
This allows the address to be displayed in my TomTom in case the coordinates are not completely accurate. Most ov2 files on this site only contain the location name.
Jim F.
Open Office.org
I like open office.org It has a spreadsheet program very much like Microsoft's Excel and word processor like word. Best of all it is free. click on
http://www.openoffice.org/download/ then use the program to create a .csv file. Placing the coordinates in the first two columns and description and additional information in subsequent columns.
260, 295W, 1490T,2455LMT
I use Notepad
What software do you use to create POI files?
I use NOTEPAD. I just type long,lat,"name","street address,city & state,phone number"
(Note the use of quotes. Theoretically they're not necessary if there are no commas in the information but I use them to improve readability.
Once I have the text file created in Notepad, for example, Restaurants & bars.txt, I use the DOS copy command to create the .CSV file:
copy "Restaurants & Bars.txt" "Restaurants & Bars.csv"
Now you have a beautiful .csv file that can be fed into EPE to create the .GPX file.
Phil
"No misfortune is so bad that whining about it won't make it worse."
For simple .CSV files,
For simple .CSV files, Notepad ++ to type them up, and Excel to organize them.
Extra POI Editor for GPX files.
"Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job." --Douglas Adams
POIs
For simple .CSV files, Notepad ++ to type them up, and Excel to organize them.
Extra POI Editor for GPX files.
I do the same.
Anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90% probability you'll get it wrong.
Flash Earth?
Hi Folks, New guy here.
I'm reading up here to see if there is an easy way or software that does it on Auto.
I did create one this evening by just comparing a csv file and entering the data.
I wanted to share a mapper I like to use that helped me get the long/lats called Flashearth.com. The little search field will let you enter just a zip or the wholee address but it provides the lon & lat and if you click on it the state or format will change.
Webb based so its a light foot print. Faster than G-earth or Maps. A good utility to have in your arsenal.
excel
just excel
non-native nutmegger