Garmin nuvi 3597LMTHD Custom POI Icons larger?

You can make them bigger but if you have a lot of Custom POIs I don' think you want them as big as those ugly built in icons.

In order to make them larger you just need to use a graphics program like Microsoft Paint which is built into the Windows OS or a free program like Irfanview (see Irfanview.com).

Load the .bmp file into the software program you pick and increase the size from the 24x24 pixel default. I personally use 48x48 but you can try to make them bigger. I'm not sure what the size of the default built in icons are however.

I try to keep my 3597 icons to no more than 36 pixels at either the widest or tallest. Takes up a lot less real estate and still easily visible.

You sir have better eyes than I do.

My problem is that there is only one option on my Nuvi 3597 and that is to display all the icons, including the built in ones OR display NONE. Of course I want to see them but I have so many custom POIs installed that the screen is a sea of icons at some intersections. I know that's my fault however.

excellent I will try that

I also use 48x48, The red light icon already has a magenta border shows up on the screen a little narrower and I have put a magenta border around my speed trap triangle so that also is a little smaller.

Just changed all my icons to 48x48. I'll transfer them to my Garmin tonight and will see how much better they look. the default of 24x24 for the custom POI icons are too small for me. it's giving me a complex...

I have a nuvi3580lmt and I'm trying to custom build and use my own icons. I've down loaded and downsized icons to 48 x 48 using Preview on a Mac. Saved as BMP files. Named same a CVS file. Used POI to load. POI alerts on cue. My problem is they don't show up, I get a white balloon like box with a small dot in the middle. I had success with the BMP files I downloaded from hear but I just found them too small.

Although you seem to have all your icons a workable size your problem maybe color depth. Insure your home made icons are saved as 256 color bitmap only and see if they then appear for you.

I thought of that but can't figure out how to set that with the Preview App. The file is showing Color Model as RGB. Not sure what that is and like I say I can't find a way to change it to 256. I see that the downloaded BMP file i've used and work show the sale RGB color model.

I'm not a MAC person so I don't really have a good answer for you. To make the changes to icons in Windows I always use the built in Paint program which has a Save As setting of 256 Color Bitmap.

You could try searching the Apps store or Google for a program that is similar to Windows Paint. I believe I heard of one called Paint X Lite. Don't know if it has a 256 Color Bitmap option but may be worth a look. Also on http://mac.appstorm.net/roundups/graphics-roundups/microsoft... are a number of programs that you may want to try as they are Paint programs for the MAC.

I believe 256 Color Bitmap is also sometimes referred to as 8 Bit. Your Preview program may have that Save As option and could work for you.

to see icons the device must be zoomed in to 200 feet or below.

Not sure where your Quote came from but it isn't correct for at least the 3597 custom POIs. They do need to be properly named and saved as 8Bit color but they will display at most any zoom level with a destination entered.

Also the reloaded POIs will display whether they are saved favorites or not. I have zero saved favorites for Chase Bank, for example, and they pop up all the time on my map screen.

Here is the source

https://support.garmin.com/support/searchSupport/case.faces?...

As you see, this FAQ is fairly current. Are you saying that Icons for Chase Bank appear on the map as you drive along?

Yes as long as I have a destination entered, and I have seen others appear as well. For example here are 2 screenshots I just took:

This one shows a Chevron built in icon and I have no Chevron POI and only 1 Chevron Favorite (55 miles away) setup on my Nuvi:

http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad75/t923347/19577.png

Note that the icon is a real Chevron logo, which I don't think is possible if it is picking up Favorites/Saved Places.

This one shows a QuikTrip built in icon and I have no QuikTrip POI or Favorites on the GPS:

http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad75/t923347/20895.png

Tried different levels of zoom but still nothing. I do agree the preloaded fav icon do show up. Shell gas, Starbucks etc. Don't recall needing a destination set. Those icons are very clear and a nice size, that's what I'm hoping to duplicate.

@t923347: If a custom icon has no transparency, then the color depth can be set to whatever the creator desires. For example, I recently remade my custom icons in Photoshop and set them to 24-bit color depth. They showed properly in my 1300. It stands to reason that later units should also be able to handle high color depth icons. Certain older devices may be limited to 8-bit color, though my 200W did use the 24-bit color depth icons.

If transparency is involved, it's best to stick with 8-bit color depth. Using a higher color depth may result in portions of magenta surrounding the icon shifting color. The end result is specks of magenta on the border of the icon.

I would disagree that the color depth can be higher on the 3597 although this maybe the case on your older 1300. Although I have owned any number of Nuvi models, I was never really into displaying Custom POI icons on the map screen until I got my 3597 and learned that they could be displayed so clearly.

I worked with various size and color depth settings and was initially disappointed that I could not get the icons to display on the map screen. It wasn't until I learned (or stumbled on to the fact) that 8bit/256 Color was the answer. Once I got all the icons resized and saved at the correct color depth they all looked pretty good on the 3597. It was at this point that I reviewed them all and for most of them, added transparacy (megenta).

Thanks for all the comments, interesting discussion..

I decided to remake my custom icons because I lost the master copies of the originals, so I figured I'd experiment with the color depth while I was at it. Perhaps if I go to Best Buy tomorrow I can stick my POIs on the demo unit and try it.

There simply seems to be no reason for Garmin to limit the screen's color depth to 8-bit. Other than Garmin being Garmin of course. I don't believe they do, and I believe the 3597 can use 24-bit icons.

Well good luck with that. Maybe to save you a trip here is a thread from 2010 discussing that fact that even on a 3790 you needed to have 256 color icons.

http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/pop_printer_friendly.asp?...

The 3790 was, and still is just a bear, to get sized correctly even to see them on the screen. There was no hope of seeing them at all without them being saved as 256.

Here is another thread from here where user cubfanbob was having "ghosting" issues with displayed icons until he converted them to 256 color on a 2555:

http://www.poi-factory.com/node/38826

Well thanks for all the info. I am convinced that the Mac preview app is not the way to go. Used my Windows 8 PC at work, downloaded icon images, opened with the Windows built in Paint app, saved as BMP, downsized to 48x48 pixels. Still loaded with my Mac using POI loader of course and everything looks great. Got some flickering on 1 of them but others look good. Might replace it with a different downloaded image and see what happens.

I made several bmps 48 by 48 and tried them on the Nuvi 2597.They look pretty good. Hard to miss them on the screen.

I tried making a Hyundai icon 48x 48 pixels with pc paint but had no luck don't know what Iam doing wrong .

I found that if the colors are light (Like the Steel one that I saw on the internet) it will not show up well during the conversion. If you use a darker one, and depending on what software you are using, it looks better.

also make sure it is 48x48 with 256 colors (8bit) that works the best for a GPS

Interesting - I had a 2555 and found I had to reduce to 4bit in order to avoid ghosting, or sometimes completely disappearing (a problem I have with my current 68lm).