Understanding POI Loader Screens

 

POI Loader Screens

Note: POI Loader is used to compile .csv and .gpx files into "Custom POIs". These Custom POI files are different from Favorites/Saved Places (which can be added to a device by putting a .gpx file anywhere on the device).

When you run POI Loader, you will get the following screens.

1. Welcome Screen - if you left click on the "Icon" in the very top left corner, you can determine what version of POI Loader you are running by then clicking on the "About POI Loader" entry of the drop down dialog.

Click Next to continue

2. Custom POI Location destination - You are given the opportunity to save Custom POIs to
a. your "Device", or
b. your "Computer".
Usually you will choose Device and then click Next to continue. See 3b.

However, if you choose "Computer" then you will be given:
3a. Location Selection - You will be asked to specify a folder into which POI Loader will place the .gpi file(s) it is about to create from your Custom POI input files.

Why might you want to put the .gpi files on your computer. Let's say that you have several devices that you want to update and you want all of them to have exactly the same POI files. Rather than use POI Loader to go through the procedures of loading POIs onto several devices, you could load them to a folder on your computer and then "copy" the files later to the POI folder on each device.

Note also that you can load POIs to the SD card in your device (assuming it is attached to your computer). In this case, they would need to be loaded to a folder on the SD card named POI.

When you press Next, you will be taken to 5.

3b. Device Selection - If a device was attached to the computer before you started POI Loader, it should have already found the device. If not, then you can connect the device and wait for the computer to recognize it. Once the computer has recognized the device, you can click the "Find Device" button and allow POI Loader to locate it. then, click Next to continue

4. Override or Remove POIs - The screen gives you the opportunity to
a. Install new custom POIs onto your device, or
b. Remove all previously installed custom POIs from your device.

At the top of this screen is the message:
"Please choose whether you would like to override the custom POIs on your device with new ones or if you would like to remove all custom POIs from your device."

Why "Override"? Well, in the past, POI loader ALWAYS created a file named poi.gpi (giving you no options). When Garmin changed POI Loader to give us the option to name the .gpi file being created, they failed to make the above wording more understandable. Actually, what you can do is
i. install new POIs,
ii. override previously loaded POIs, or
iii. remove all existing POI from the device.

However, to override a file already on the device, you will have to know its name. This is usually no problem because you are soon going to point to a "Folder" which contains the actual .csv or .gpx file(s) you are about to load. POI Loader "defaults" to the name of this Folder but you still have the option of giving the POI file another name. So, If the last time you loaded the file you used a name other than the name of the folder, you must remember that name to do a successful override. If you previously used the Folder name, then you will be asked "The custom POI file names "...." exists. Would you like to overwrite the file?" Answer "Yes" to do so.

If you choose the option to Remove POIs and click Next, you will get the message "To reinstall your custom POIs you will need to run POI Loader again. Are you sure you want to proceed?". Clicking "Yes" will remove all POIs on the device and give you a "Finish Screen" . When you press "Finish", POI Loader will close.

Typically, you would be adding new POIs to your device. Select " Install new custom POIs onto your device" and press Next to get to screen 5.

5. Select POI Folder and other settings - At this screen you select
a. Folder where the POI files (.csv, .gpx. .bmp, etc) reside
b. A name for the .gpi file on the device (where POI Loader will default to the name of the folder selected in step a).
c. the units you desire to use (Feet and MPH or Meters and KPH)
d. Settings Mode - Express or Manual

Note: the Folder you select can contain both files and one more level of Folders containing files.
Note: if you accept the recommended Settings mode of "Express", then you will not be able to specify Alert proximity or speeds for individual files. But, note that there may be Alert information in the POI files themselves. For example, the "camera" files from poi-factory contain information in the file name or the individual entries themselves which POI Loader will use to set alerts - so you load these "camera" files using "Express" mode.

To understand this a bit better, let's consider how POI Loader goes about determining Alert information - Speed or Proximity

POI Loader determines Speed information in the following way, listed from highest to lowest priority:

Highest: If there is Speed information in the name of an individual Custom POI entry (eg., a POI named "SpeedZone@30"), then POI Loader will set an alert speed using that specific number regardless of any speed information specified in Manual mode or in the file name. This is how the "speed-cameras.csv" file from poi-factory creates its alerts using Express mode.

Next: Speed information entered in Manual mode.

Speed information included in the file name. NOTE: POI Loader tries to interpret ANY numbers in the file name as speed information.

POI Loader determines Proximity Alert Information based on the following criteria, listed from highest to lowest priority:

Highest: Proximity Alert information listed for an individual Custom POI entry in a .gpx file. This information overrides all other proximity alert information.

Next: Proximity Alert information entered in Manual mode.

Next: Proximity alert distance will be calculated by POI Loader based on speed information in the file name or in individual POI names, using the following formula: Prompt Distance = 36 seconds * Speed (where Speed is the speed information determined by POI Loader - NOT the speed at which the device is later traveling).

A default proximity alert distance of 400 meters/0.25 miles will be used if the POI file name contains the word "redlight." This is how the " Redlight-Cameras.csv" file from poi-factory creates its alerts using Express Mode

If the "Manual" settings mode is chosen, then you will be presented with a screen asking you to select
a. Ignore this file, or
b. This file contains proximity alerts

If you select "This file contains proximity alerts", then you are then asked to select either:
i. "Alert when speed is greater than the Alert Speed", or
ii. "Alert whenever you get close to a point"

If you select the Speed alert, you will enter a speed which will generate an alert if the device is traveling above that speed when you approach the coordinates of the POI.

If you select the Proximity alert, then whenever your device enters the bottom of an imaginary rectangle which is centered on the road on which the device is traveling and which rectangle's height is the proximity distance you entered and which rectangle's width is 60 meters (approximately 196 feet) AND the coordinates of the individual POI fall within the rectangle, THEN a Proximity alert will occur.

This last point is important. If the author of the Custom POI file has set the coordinates of individual POIs to be 30 meters or less from the roadway on which the device will be traveling, then Proximity alerts will be triggered. If the coordinates are more than 30 meters from the roadway on which the device is traveling, no alert will be sounded.

After POI Loader has cycled through all the files in the Folder to which it was pointed, it will provide a message as to how many individual POIs it has loaded. Then, you can click Finish to close POI Loader.