Alerts - Is it ALL or NOTHING???
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 18 years
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Is there a way to have Alerts pop up for some POI's and not for others? In my case, I can either turn Alerts on or off. If on, ALL my POIs alert me. Every gas station, restaurant, store, bank, red light, covered bridge, waterfall, you name it. I get a tone and a pop-up alert when I get near them. Or if I turn proximity alerts off, then I get no notification whatsoever.
My wish would be for Red Light and Speed Camera POIs to alert me in advance, and all the others just sit there and be quiet. Is there a way to do this?
Before you answer, let me tell you what I have done so far...
- I start with a simple .csv file, with Lat, Long, name, and description columns. Just those four, nothing fancy.
- I make sure each entry has a unique name, which contains no numbers.
- I convert the .csv to .gpx using Garmin GPX Converter Ver 1.1.2, freeware by Adam Mealings.
- I use Garmin's POI loader to load the new POIs to my Zumo 450. I use manual mode, and only check the alert proximity box when I am importing the camera POIs.
- Once imported, I rename the poi.gpi file to a unique name, such as "quiktrip.gpi" or RedLights.gpi.
- I repeat these steps for each POI file I want to install.
When I road test it, the alert tone and banner pops up for EVERY SINGLE one of them. This is not how I understood it to work. Is it really ALL or NOTHING? Is there something special I should be doing? HELP!!!
Garmin GPX Converter Ver 1.1.2??
What was the reason for this step? The software in question is adding <proximity> statements to your gpx files to ensure that they generate alerts...it was written for use with the UK Speed camera database-it's not a general purpose csv to gpx converter. You probably don't want your waterfalls and restaurants being modified by it!
Once assigned in this way, POILoader's manual mode cannot subsequently disable alerts.
------------------------ Phil Hornby, Stockport, England ---------------------- http://GeePeeEx.com - Garmin POI Creation made easy »
GPX converter
I found the same thing you reported about the GPX converter. I opened the GPX files and looked to find: "<Proximity>469.51</Proximity>" in every single entry. I guess there is no reason I was converting from .csv to .gpx, it just seemed "neater" when loading. I was unaware of the special nature of this conversion tool. It was recommended to me, and there is not much information on the web site to suggest that it is not for general purpose use. I have three options as I see it:
Zumo 450, C530, Quest, Quest, GPS III+
Rename file
You could always change the name to something other than "RedlightXXXXX" and put the alerts in the description of the individual POI.
I have a file that has POIs with the description SPEED ZONE@50, SPEED ZONE@60 etc.
You can check here: http://www.poi-factory.com/garmin-csv-file-format
for tips on file naming POI naming etc.
Here's the background on that converter
I was unaware of the special nature of this conversion tool.
Click HERE for the background on that converter.
I guess there is no reason I was converting from .csv to .gpx, it just seemed "neater" when loading. I have three options as I see it:
Well POI Loader reads either type of file equally well, so the reason for converting to gpx (or working in that format in the first place), is if you want access to the additional functionality that the format allows.
------------------------ Phil Hornby, Stockport, England ---------------------- http://GeePeeEx.com - Garmin POI Creation made easy »
Why I was converting to .gpx format`
I remember now why I started converting my POIs to .gpx format. I can open .gpx files using Mapsource, and pre-view the locations. Makes it easy to spot anomolies, such as a POI that is placed in the middle of the ocean or outside the boundries of the country where the POI supposedly resides. I don't know how to do the same with a .csv file.
I decided that for now, I would just edit my .gpx files and remove the proximity information from them using Microsoft Word. It only took me about 20 minutes to edit them and re-load them and now it works just as I want it to.
Zumo 450, C530, Quest, Quest, GPS III+
Visual checking
I can open .gpx files using Mapsource, and pre-view the locations. Makes it easy to spot anomolies, such as a POI that is placed in the middle of the ocean or outside the boundries of the country where the POI supposedly resides. I don't know how to do the same with a .csv file.
My GeePeeEx Editor will let you do a visual check using Google Earth. Load a csv or gpx file and press F3. (This functionality doesn't require registration.)
------------------------ Phil Hornby, Stockport, England ---------------------- http://GeePeeEx.com - Garmin POI Creation made easy »