Making changes in POI csv files

Welcome to the site.

And thank you for being so "wordy". If we have a good idea of what you want, then it is much easier for us to respond.

But, first things first.

There is a Getting Started button in the upper right of this page right under POI Files. It is worthwhile visiting this page.

To make navigation easy, most browsers provide the following option. When you want to follow a link - but still keep your current page open - you can hold down the "Ctrl" key as you left-click on a link. That action will open a new "Tab" in your browser up on the "Tab" bar. When you then left-click on that new "Tab", you will follow the link - leaving the "Tab" you are now reading open and available to click on and return here.

So, using the "Getting Started" link, you might try the "Ctrl" - left-click sequence and then return here. You can return by either "X-ing" out of the "Getting Started" page (using the "X" on the "Tab" itself) or just left-clicking on the "Tab" for the page you are on right now.

Since you are new here, I encourage you to go through a couple of the Beginner Education FAQs.

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

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

Now, to your question.

You appear to want to associate considerable information with each "location" and it would seem that you really do not want to "route" to a station. Is that right?

Considering all of the data you are wanting to include, I think we want to start with the requirements for a .csv file which POI Loader can use as input to create a .gpi file on your 205.

If I were you, I would try to come up with a "structure" for your data before doing anything else.

You said that when I load them in my Nuvi 205, they either won't load or only load an item or two.

This sounds to me like there are pieces of data you are using in the [comment] that are causing POI Loader to fail. Remember that commas are what separates fields in a .csv file and, as seen above you want 4 fields. So, quotes (") are going to be a requirement for you.

I always suggest starting with a small number of entries - in your case maybe 10 or so - and see if you can create a .csv file that will work.

Welcome to the site. While Mr.Germann gave you some excellent advice, I'm going to suggest you do what you want a little differently. If you look through the recent posts you will see that Extra_POI_Editor has been updated to fix a problem and that's the program I would use to figure out the layout of your database.

You can use EPE to create a file by entering the elements into the edit screen. The advantage of using EPE is it will show you how the information is displayed on the screen if you were to search for a location. The EPE editor screen also shows you the various fields and how they are used in a Garmin. There are some FAQs which also tell you how to set up EPE and the output options available. Saving your "test file" from EPE as a Garmin CSV will also show you how the data needs to be entered as a four colum spreadsheet.

Eric,

I will second the suggestion of Box Car. indeed, I almost suggested it myself.

look at
Downloading and Installing EPE {G}
Configuring EPE {G}

Then decide which will be easiest for you.

Be sure to download ver 5.35. Both 5.32 and 5.35 are shown on Turbo's site.

I am curious why you need that much detail.

The stations will show up, in order of distance from your current location, regardless of power level of the station. It will be necessary to click on each station to get all the detail displayed that you're asking. If you're trying to find a suitable station while you're on a long trip, you could run afoul of distracted driving laws, if you do so while on driving.

@Eric, GPSgeek is right - get the ver 5.35 which contains an update that brings back the geocoding feature of EPE which - for a while - was inoperable because of a change made by Google.

Even so, anyone who had ever routinely used EPE in the past continued to use it and sing its praises even tho that feature was missing. BOY were we glad when Turbo fixed it.

Now I'll tell a story on myself. I was so eager to get the ver 5.35 installed that - without really thinking - I followed my practice of using Revo Uninstaller to remove the previous version of programs before installing new ones. What that meant, of course, is that I inadvertently lost the setting I had in EPE.

But - not to worry - I went to the FAQ written by Box Car
Configuring EPE and followed all his suggestions as to the settings (Thanks, Box Car).

Now if Box Car will write another FAQ on "4-column CSV Fields Assignment" lots of people will benefit.