How to add multiple POi's with warning message

 

I have tried finding a way to do this, but I just cant get it to do what I want, so maybe I can find an answer here.

I have a Garmin 61-LMTS.

I know how to add poi's to the unit. I want to be able to add poi's like "Starbucks" for example.

And then:

I want ALL Starbucks to show an icon on the map for this road so I can see what's coming up further down the road.

I want a warning message and an icon on the map that a Starbucks is coming up in 2 miles on the road I'm on.

I don't want it as a stop. JUST A WARNING MESSAGE.

I want to be able to load ALL the Starbucks at one time on the route when it is first created so I don't have to pick and choose one at a time from the categories or custom poi's, or 4-square.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

Arnie

We can tell

We can tell by the question that you are new to all this. What you are asking is simple to do, but we can also tell you that it would drive you bonkers in about 5 miles.

What you need is the Starbucks POI file, an icon and a sound file. I suggest you look at the Beginner tutorials and go through them. The will lead you step-by-step into getting all the necessary software pieces and file needed to do what you are asking. This is probably the best route for you to take rather than reading 3 or 4 different ways of doing the same thing from different users as most have developed their own variation of the steps in the tutorial.

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Illiterate? Write for free help.

Tutorials

BoxCar gives you good advice. Specifically, in the Tutorials section (http://www.poi-factory.com/tutorials), read through the two tutorials titled "Beginners Education 4" and "Beginners Education 5"

--
Alan - Android Auto, DriveLuxe 51LMT-S, DriveLuxe 50LMTHD, Nuvi 3597LMTHD, Oregon 550T, Nuvi 855, Nuvi 755T, Lowrance Endura Sierra, Bosch Nyon

I agree

I agree with both comments above.

Given your request, note that you'll also want to add the complexity of a TourGuide.

But to start, learn about loading POIs, setting alerts, adding a custom audio alert and custom icon. Master these before entering the world of the TourGuide. You will need to use wav audio, not mp3.

http://www.poi-factory.com/node/36539

Good luck and have fun!

Oh yeah, welcome to The Factory. Stick around, there's a lot to learn here and a lot of folks willing to assist you.

Welcome

Welcome to the site.

We usually recommend the following.

There is a "Learn" button in the upper right of this page next to "red light cameras" that takes you to a Getting Started page. 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 "Learn" 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.

Note that the Learn Button will give you access to two valuable reference pages -
the "Index" to all of the FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) and the Glossary of Terms and Links.

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

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). It also assures that you put your (newer) unit into a state where you can see all of the folders there.
http://www.poi-factory.com/node/30394

I am adding my voice to those above. You probably do not want to have alerts as you described in your original post. I did that myself when I first got a unit and undid it all that first evening.

Again, welcome!

John

Firstly, I know it will

Firstly, I know it will drive me nuts to have all the Starbucks blasting at me. This is for my learning experience only.

I reviewed all the tutorials again and found a few things that helped. I know how to add POI files including .wav and .bmp, so that's not an issue. Here's what I don't get.

I want to see all the POIs on the map. But, only 1 or 2 show up if I'm near them. Am I supposed to click on the "CustomPOIs" first to set them in place? When I select them in the "CustomPOIs" they all show up, but it always wants to use them as a stop. I only want warnings. I do get audio and the icon for these 1 or 2 that do show as I pass them.

I'm close, but still missing something.

Thanks,
Arnie

Craig, Thanks for the tip on

Craig, Thanks for the tip on the TourGuide. That sounds interesting. I will try that out also.

Good work so far

abhorn99 wrote:

Firstly, I know it will drive me nuts to have all the Starbucks blasting at me. This is for my learning experience only.

I reviewed all the tutorials again and found a few things that helped. I know how to add POI files including .wav and .bmp, so that's not an issue. Here's what I don't get.

I want to see all the POIs on the map. But, only 1 or 2 show up if I'm near them. Am I supposed to click on the "CustomPOIs" first to set them in place? When I select them in the "CustomPOIs" they all show up, but it always wants to use them as a stop. I only want warnings. I do get audio and the icon for these 1 or 2 that do show as I pass them.

I'm close, but still missing something.

Thanks,
Arnie

It sounds like you're well on your way to success.

POI icons are typically visible only at substantial zoom levels. If zoomed out to cover a lot of area, icons (custom POIs as well as Garmin builtin POIs) are not shown. I'm not sure if this is what you're finding but there's no way around this if it is what you're questioning.

TourGuides: The biggest plus for a TourGuide in your situation is that without a TourGuide, your audio alert will not occur if the POI location, often the actual building, is more than 98 feet from the center of the roadway you're traveling. For example, if a Starbucks in a strip mall whose POI file location is 150 feet from the roadway you're on, you will not be alerted regardless of the alert radius you set. Changing this to a TourGuide will alert you to any Starbucks within your specified alert radius set up when running POI Loader in Manual mode. Note that with a large radius, you will be alerted to Starbucks on nearby roads, even those that you're not on. Finally, for a TourGuide to work, it must have a custom audio alert, and for your GPS, it must be a wav file.

Good luck. Keep reading and asking for clarifications as needed.

Not all will show

Even though you may have a POI file and icon installed, not all of them will show. Personally I believe this is by design to keep the display from being too cluttered as it takes processing power to display an icon and then to move it as the display changes as you drive. If the units spends too much time trying to update the screen drawing and redrawing icons, then its ability to provide routing information will be severely impaired. It's like the old saying, you can't put 10 pounds of fertilizer in a 5 pound bag. A lot of my poi locations show on the screen as a blue dot (3597) so I'm aware something is there, but I don't necessarily know what it is.

Also, you are limited in that icons normally show only if they are close to the road you are traveling on and the level of display selected in your setup. The typical amount of map shown on the display is only about a mile and the level of detail varies with the speed of your car due to the autozoom feature.

--
Illiterate? Write for free help.

Thank you

Thank you

Alert Distances

I want to amplify on the parameters of alert distances.

As was mentioned, for an other than "TourGuide" file, the coordinates for any particular POI entry must be within 98 feet of the centerline of the roadway on which the GPS is traveling for an alert to be generated. Therefore, it is important whenever you download a POI file to understand how the creator of that file has decided where to place a particular entry's coordinates. While this may not be immediately obvious, a number of us will make some comment concerning our placement of coordinates. For example, on my Jo-Ann Fabric file, I make this statement.
"The coordinates have been placed at an intersection into the (usually) strip malls in which these stores are located. Whenever possible, I have tried to pick entrances that also contain signage indicating that there is a Jo-Ann store in the mall (whenever I was able to find such using Google street view)

Your help would be appreciated in refining coordinates: for example, if you visit a store and find an alternative intersection with signage I was unable to locate, please let me know."

Note, also, that the placement of coordinates can be such that the GPS may alert for something that you can not easily access - and so, one may wish that the alert had not happened at all. For example, a GPS may alert for an upcoming "Rest Area" that is on the other side of a divided highway that one would not be inclined to backtrack in order to take a pit stop. This situation is caused by the REVERSE of an alert not occurring because the coordinates of a particular POI are not within the 98 foot distance for alerts (see note below).

The upshot: a user must understand what may or may not happen when setting alerts for POI files.

Note: 98 feet is also 30 meters. The logic is a GPS is programmed in meters since most of the world uses the metric system.

Thanks for all the great feedback

Thanks for all the great feedback. I'm still learning about the operation of the gps and what capabilities it has. Your comments are very helpful. I will continue to "play" and experiment.

There is a lot to learn. More than I expected, but I enjoy the challenge.

I will also take notice of the coordinates of POIs using the TourGuide, which I hope to be mastering soon. I can see from Jaggermann's explanation of alert distances how easy it is to miss a poi or get false indications.

More

abhorn99 wrote:

I will also take notice of the coordinates of POIs using the TourGuide, which I hope to be mastering soon. I can see from Jaggermann's explanation of alert distances how easy it is to miss a poi or get false indications.

TourGuides are a different animal than a typical POI alert. The typical use for an alert is to notify you if something is close to your location AND along your route as John stated. A TourGuide changes the alert trigger from a rectangle the length of the alert distance to a circle with a radius of the alert distance. You only have to encroach the TourGuide radius to receive an alert while the other has to be within the distance stated from your route.

--
Illiterate? Write for free help.

And most important on TourGuide

TourGuide must be spelled with the capital T and capitol G and all one word.
Using TourGuide with a distance radius will get whatever you want within the radius. Even on parallel streets.

--
Nuvi 2460LMT.

As has been stated..

Would think this would drive one crazy with a POI file like Starbucks or similar with many stores using sounds and TourGuide.

Absolutely

Try a TourGuide on a McDonalds or Burger King. It will drive you bonkers. Dunkin Donuts and Tim Hortons are fast approaching that level with 1 on every corner and in a lot of gas stations.

--
Nuvi 2460LMT.

Try a smaller file

abhorn99 wrote:

Firstly, I know it will drive me nuts to have all the Starbucks blasting at me. This is for my learning experience only.

I reviewed all the tutorials again and found a few things that helped. I know how to add POI files including .wav and .bmp, so that's not an issue. Here's what I don't get.

I want to see all the POIs on the map. But, only 1 or 2 show up if I'm near them. Am I supposed to click on the "CustomPOIs" first to set them in place? When I select them in the "CustomPOIs" they all show up, but it always wants to use them as a stop. I only want warnings. I do get audio and the icon for these 1 or 2 that do show as I pass them.

I'm close, but still missing something.

Thanks,
Arnie

Why not test this with something that won't have as many locations close together. Try something like a Home Depot, Lowe's, Walmart, etc.

This will allow you to easily test, without going off every five minutes.

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DriveSmart 65, NUVI2555LMT, (NUVI350 is Now Retired)