Updated Custom Garmin Theme for DriveSmart Series

 

Hello everybody. It's been a long time since I've posted.
A long time ago I posted my custom Garmin theme that I created because I felt that none of the themes included with the device were very good.
The theme I created emphasizes better visibility. Colors have been changed and sharpened with the background, streets and borders are bigger, etc.
I bought my wife a new DriveSmart 65 for Christmas and loaded the theme I've been using forever onto it, and it did *not* translate well. I have now updated the theme. If anyone else is interested, I am sharing it here. The base color theme of the custom theme is Italia.

To download the theme tested on the nuvi 37xx/3597 the link is
http://s000.tinyupload.com/?file_id=46927666243235190146
updated link: narvick-nuvi.kmtf

To download the new theme tested on the DriveSmart series the link is
http://s000.tinyupload.com/?file_id=69666251765943889881
updated link: narvick-drive.kmtf

I don't know how to upload these files, so I used a simple file hosting service.
To load the theme, simply copy the .kmtf file into your Garmin's Themes -> Map folder. It will show up as "Custom" when you browse with the Garmin.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Moderator Notes July 30, 2022:

Frequently Asked Questions

<<Page 2

Themes

zx1100e1 wrote:

Stupid question, how does one install custom themes? Is there a specific theme directory on the device?

Yes, if you view the files and folders on your Garmin GPS, the devices that do themes have a folder called, wait for it...Themes and you will find multiple Garmin-made themes there. wink For a custom theme like Narvick's, you will need to copy the custom theme into that folder.

You don't mention what Garmin model you have. The older devices didn't do themes. I tried to find a list of devices with themes and apparently, there was a Garmin FAQ at one point listing them but it's now defunct. I haven't found a list in a quick internet search. I did find messages and FAQs here like this one:

http://www.poi-factory.com/node/43193

that indicate that themes existed at least back to models made in 2012. I can confirm that the nuvi 2460 has themes but the nuvi 855 and 750 do not and the release dates do suggest that 2012 or a little earlier may have been when themes came to Garmin devices.

While looking for when themes came to be, I did come across a few FAQs that may be of interest.

Once installed, themes can be selected thusly:

https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=tIxwccf02L57tCBExZjznA

Who knew? But we should have guessed it. There's a theme editor available which should avoid the need to speak "HTML" to edit a theme:

https://www.pinns.co.uk/osm/theme_editor.html

One thing of interest in the last link is that it shows how automobile's built-in GPS devices, if made by Garmin and if the vehicle can update maps via USB, then it's possible to add custom themes to the built-in GPS. Caution: I'm only reporting what I've read. I have no way to test this.

ta

Thank-you for your effort and post Narvick, looking forward to trying it out!

@CraigW Thanks for the

@CraigW

Thanks for the detailed response. I limited tinkering with the gps to once a year. Never messed with themes nor paid much attention to other folders in the file system other than /.System, /garmin, and /garmin/gpx.

For some reason I was thinking this may get installed similar to poi's, with a poiloader tool of sorts. I sit corrected.

Units in my possession include DS61 and DS65.

Just downloaded

and will check it out!
Thanks

Not boring

I've never particularly liked the Themes that come with these things. Did they ever change or add others? Either way both these work fine on both our units. Ive had it on now for a couple of weeks now. I enjoy the detail of the theme Narvick and its pleasing to the eyes. Two thumbs up. smile

--
2 DriveSmart 65's - We do not live in Igloo's and do not all ride to work on snow mobiles.

After hooking up garmin to your computer...

You should see a file marked "Themes" You'll notice all the files in the folder have the same type of file as the one you will download. Once you download it either download to this folder (Themes) or drag and drop here after downloading. Unplug your garmin from computer
Let it boot up or turn on
Under settings go to "Themes"
Scroll down till you see the file name "Custom3"
Click on it to make it your theme.
Back out and click on map to see the effects/colors of new theme.

Nice!

Really nice!

--
Garmin DS55 with Traffic

I'm Glad

I'm glad everyone likes the theme! Once again, if you have any suggestions for the theme, let me know and I'll see what I can do.

@Narvick Is there a way to

@Narvick

Is there a way to make the purple line a different color? Red?

Got to actually road test

Got to actually road test the gps today with the new theme. Looks good except for the track log. A bit thin and difficult to see (ds65).

I reverted it back to the garmin color/thickness. Can't post xml code in here, so see the link below.

https://pastebin.com/cWy09ppG

As for the red route, i believe that's MAP_RTE_ACTV_LEG_CLR. Trying different shades of red, none look good. Looks washed out, not bright enough on this display, blends in with some of the other map elements. I guess purple it is.

What's a good vehicle icon? The blue arrow is not bright enough.

Track Log

zx1100e1 wrote:

Got to actually road test the gps today with the new theme. Looks good except for the track log. A bit thin and difficult to see (ds65).

I reverted it back to the garmin color/thickness. Can't post xml code in here, so see the link below.

https://pastebin.com/cWy09ppG

As for the red route, i believe that's MAP_RTE_ACTV_LEG_CLR. Trying different shades of red, none look good. Looks washed out, not bright enough on this display, blends in with some of the other map elements. I guess purple it is.

What's a good vehicle icon? The blue arrow is not bright enough.

I'm not sure the track log routes are in the theme file at all, they may be hard-coded. If they are, I didn't edit them. The traffic indicators on the roads are also something that is hard-coded and cannot be edited.
I agree that nothing else seems to work on the route arrow. I believe purple is the default because it doesn't conflict with any other map elements and really stands out.
Red would also be the same color as the high traffic indicator along roads (as would yellow).

Thank u

Thank u

Change the name to "Narvick"

I'm going to give this a try on my Overlander.

One change I made to the file (it's just XML) was to change the title from "Custom3" to "Narvick".

I think, "Narvick", is a far better name AND then when we reference the "Narvick Theme" everyone will know what we're talking about.

Really nice job, Narvick. My

Really nice job, Narvick.

My only complaint, which isn't your fault, is that Garmin doesn't have a style for ROAD_TOLL. I wish they did. I like seeing toll roads as they once appeared on old paper maps as lime-green. It immediately gets your attention of, "Oh, I'm going to have to pay to drive there." I don't understand why they don't add it when they obviously know which roads are tolls.

My drive smart 65 does not

My drive smart 65 does not show up on my mac.

Mac topics

TnPapa wrote:

My drive smart 65 does not show up on my mac.

If you don't get an answer here on the Garmin Forum, try posting also in Mac Topics. This assumes you haven't already done so but I wouldn't know as I have that and some other forums blocked in the areas that don't apply to my with my Windows PC and Garmin devices.

That's Correct

That is correct. Garmin doesn't support Mac USB C and the DS 65 or 55 will not show up on older MACs even with USB2. Take a look at Garmin Compatibility chart. (I don't have the link handy

It will not even show up on a Virtual Win Machine with USB 2 or USB C.

You will have to see if you can find a friend with a Windows laptop to help you out.

--
Frank DriveSmart55 37.322760, -79.511267

Would changing the device

Would changing the device storage mode from mtp to mass storage help?

Any particular technical reason why these don't show up on macs?

No, i'm not a mac user, in fact, i'm anti-apple in every possible way, just curious why it's not working.

No, changing the mode won't

No, changing the mode won't help. The technical rain is the Garmin does not support Mac on the 55 and 65 Series, because they don't support Usb c.

--
Frank DriveSmart55 37.322760, -79.511267

Links not loading

I just tried both links and they time out. Am I doing something wrong?

--
DriveLuxe 51, 2017 VW Arteon w MIB3, nüvi 3597LTMHD x 2, 1450 died, 205w retired, iQue first and possibly the best

No

cassel wrote:

I just tried both links and they time out. Am I doing something wrong?

No, it appears that the links and the entire

http://s000.tinyupload.com/ site are dead. They did work when offered since a few of us downloaded them.

A website monitoring site states that tinyupload has been down 8 of the past 30 days including today and the prior three days.

Hopefully, Narvick will read this and let us know if they're reposted elsewhere.

Time to try it

When this topic first started I was interested but happy enough with the theme I had on my 2597; 2689. I now have a DS65 and YUk Don't like the colors at all.

Can one change the color and/or size of the top bar, that ugly green has to go.

With all the choices Garmin gives one in Themes, one would think they would include previous Garmin Themes.. for folk that don't like change.

--
Lives in Edmonton AB A volunteer driver for Drive Happiness.ca and now (since June 20 2021) uses a DS65 to find his clients.

Samples won't download

Narvick wrote:

Hello everybody. It's been a long time since I've posted.

To download the theme tested on the nuvi 37xx/3597 the link is
http://s000.tinyupload.com/?file_id=46927666243235190146

To download the new theme tested on the DriveSmart series the link is
http://s000.tinyupload.com/?file_id=69666251765943889881

Let me know if you have any questions!

I have tried to download these two samples but time out before connecting to the files. Anyplace else they might be hosted?
Thank you for sharing. wink

--
Lives in Edmonton AB A volunteer driver for Drive Happiness.ca and now (since June 20 2021) uses a DS65 to find his clients.

garmin drive smart 55 backlight bleeding

hi

I have backlight bleeding issue with garmin drive smart 55 it appears when i choose night colour mode is there anyway to add different colour mode

kind regards

Map & Vehicle

cistanche wrote:

hi

I have backlight bleeding issue with garmin drive smart 55 it appears when i choose night colour mode is there anyway to add different colour mode

kind regards

What Brightness Setting are you using when there's bleeding? You can also try different Themes.

Check the Map & Vehicle Settings portion of your owners manual or by going to your device's Settings:

https://www8.garmin.com/manuals/webhelp/drivesmart55-65/EN-U...

and go to:

Map and Vehicle Settings

Select Settings > Map & Vehicle.

Vehicle
Sets the vehicle icon that represents your position on the map.

Driving Map View
Sets the perspective on the map.

Map Detail
Sets the level of detail on the map. More detail may cause the map to draw slower.

Map Theme
Changes the color of the map data.

Map Layers
Sets the data that appears on the map page (Customizing the Map Layers).

Auto Zoom
Automatically selects the zoom level for optimal use of your map. When disabled, you must zoom in or out manually.

myMaps
Sets which installed maps the device uses.

You should have a few themes you can try.

Thanks!

Thank you for the custom theme. Terrific. I made two changes, the width of the local roads and dirt road to be narrower. Otherwise all left as is.

Wish we could still change the dashboard to show more than two things at a time like older Nuvis.

More on Custom themes

tampa8 wrote:

Thank you for the custom theme. Terrific. I made two changes, the width of the local roads and dirt road to be narrower. Otherwise all left as is.

Wish we could still change the dashboard to show more than two things at a time like older Nuvis.

See the FAQ:

http://www.poi-factory.com/node/52412

That all seems to be what I

That all seems to be what I have done, install and change some of his theme?
The dashboard could be changed on previous models - Garmin had their own you could download, one was cookie monster as an example. Then just like for the Themes people made dashboards you could download I'm sure I must have got them from here. They added information, so instead of just speed and one other thing, you could have speed, direction, time of arrival and miles to go all at the bottom of the screen at the same time. That's what I wish was still able to be done. My Drivesmart has only one changeable one, the speed on can't be changed. There are no dsbd files that I see now.

Good to know, may try it

Good to know, may try it

Thank you for the themes.

Thank you for the efforts that you put into the themes. I never paid attention to the themes. Now I have something else to tinker with. The explanation on switching themes was very straight forward.

Thanks

I have been using your theme on my DS65 and it seems to bring the screen to life. Vibrant colors and definitive distinctions between different elements on the screen. Makes it much easier to distinguish at a glance what your heading into. I'm going to play with the dirt road some. We have many dirt roads in our area that I try to avoid. A couple miles on a dirt road and I have to wash the car. Thanks!

--
Four out of five Great Lakes prefer Michigan
<<Page 2