POI subfolder creating trbl in nuvi660

Let's see if I can assist here.

From my Windows PC, with Windows XP, this is my folder structure;

My Documents ->
GPS_POI ->
Auto
Food
Rest Areas
{various .csv, .gpx, .bmp, .mp3 files}

In the Auto, Food and Rest Areas folders I have the associated .csv, .bmp, etc files.
After I select the "Extras" icon, I then select the "Custom POIs" choice. "Food", "Auto" and "Rest Area" show up as regular choices. If I click on one of them ( e.g. Food ) I see the list of restaurant POIs that I've downloaded ( Applebees, Bennigans, Chili's, etc ). Each of those choices will then display the individual POIs.

I have yet to try your idea of a sub-folder within the 3 folders I listed above but it's worth a try.
What's interesting is that no matter the .csv or .gpx filename you create, the nuvi will show that name on the screen. What the .csv / .gpx file contains is really up to you. So, if you have a big file called "Restaurants" and it has an assortment of food stops, the title "Restaurants" will show on the screen.

I'll check back in a while.

dd

my first update display didn't come up correctly as this posting screen seems to be not recognizing "spacebar" function

all I want when I touch custom poi I will have Toronto, New York, Boston, Canada ete.. etc..

when I touch Toronto I will see restaurants, attractions, etc etc..

and when I touch restaurants I will see all the restaurant sorted by distance.

Try this;

In your main POI folder create a separate folder for Toronto, New York, Boston, Canada, etc.

Then in each of those folders create separate POI files ( i.e. .csv or .gpx files ) using the names "restaurants.csv, attractions.gpx" etc.

In each of those POI files, ( .csv / .gpx ) enter or copy the POI information.

When you open the Custom POIs link, you should see the cities listed above and by clicking on a city, you'll see the categories. When you click on the category, you'll see the individual POIs listed.

dd

I tried like that already.

but when I goto see in my nuvi600 I don't see the immediate folder after custom poi.

my folders are like this:
garmin->poi->Toronto->rstaurant,attractions etc etc

but when I see in nuvi I see like:

extras-> custom poi-> restaurants, attractions etc..

(no folder for Toronto, New York, Boston.....)

In every "city" folder, can you place a dummy .csv or .gpx file? Even if it has duplicate info, this should make the POIloader read the folder name in before the POI file and then the nuvi should display the city names first.

garmin folder
under that poi folder
under that Canada folder and attraction .csv
under Canada "attractions Canada" folder
under that folder is the attraction.csv file

when I load it I get a poi.gpi under
garmin\poi

(anyway, when I load it which folder I should select as source...poi or Canada or attraction_Canada)

I rename that .gpi file to attractions_Canada.gpi and copy-paste it in garmin\poi\Canada\Attraction_Canada folder

but SAME TRBL no Canada folder

I also tried to copy that attractions.gpi file under poi folder as well as under Canada folder as well as under Attractions_Canada folder
and then when I insert my SD card in nuvi, nuvi automatically shuts off. maybe some kind of conflict!

anyway, thanks you for your prompt reply all the way but this is kind of frustration for me!! why its not happenning in my nuvi!

I think the nuvi 6x0 line of GPSr is really neat. I like mine better than I like my iPod.

I believe you were on the right track until you mentioned the file re-naming step. I don't ever access the nuvi filesystem. Everything I do is on the PC and data is transferred via the POIloader program. ( I wish I could look over your shoulder and see the steps you're using )

So, to re-cap, 1) make main folder on PC. 2) make city sub-folders inside that main folder. 3) add .csv or .gpx files into every city sub-folder. You can add .bmp and .mp3 files here later. 4) Run POIloader and click on the "Remove all previously installed..." choice first. This will clear out any stray configurations that may be in the way. 5) Run POIloader again and "Install new custom POIS..." 6) "Eject" the nuvi from the PC and answer the questions about new loactions on the nuvi screen.

That should do it. Please keep trying. Once you get the hang of loading POIs, there are tons of things you can do with them. Having custom POIs was the main reason I went with the nuvi 6x0 line of GPSr in the first place.

Good luck.
dd

no, I don't touch the nuvi file in the nuvi drive.

all .csv files I have in my PC
I load the custom poi in the SD card and run from the SD card and I don't copy custome poi in the nuvi itself.

I will try your previous steps later and update here.

renaming issue... if you have 1 attraction .csv file for New York and you load it with poi loader it makes a poi.gpi file. so I rename it as attractions.gpi so next time if I want to add another file under New York, I don't mix up with the previous poi.gpi

Thanks again.

POI loader only handles files 2 deep. What you see is what the system is capable of, and you need to work within those parameters. You will always go to Extras>Custom POIs and from there you can have two breakdowns.

I'm not getting one thing, I create a poi folder and try to put all .csv files under that but when I load it with poi loader it creats a new directory called "garmin" and under that poi sub directory. thats an extra directory.

is it always like that or else?

All custom POIs you create are located under the Extra selection on your GPSr and then under Custom POIs. On some units the titles are different. I believe that the Red Lights that Garmin creates are at the same level as the Custom POIs, but you don't have that option. If you have a folder on your PC with your POIs (the one you point POI Loader to), the first level of folders will show up when you select Custom POIs on your GPSr and the next sublevel of folders can be selected from those choices. You cannot go any deeper than that.

Hope this response is not too confusing.

ok, I run these POIs from my SD card.

default folder in my SD card is garmin\poi
the trbl is I cannot create any new folders.

and also I cannot get rid of garmin folder and have only POI folder. by default when I delete and add anything it automatically creates garmin\POI folder

and under that I cannot create any new folder.

do you think it can be some kind of bug in my NUVI?

thanks.

Ok, the confusion is coming in that you don't create the folders on your nuvi, you create them on your PC.

You WANT the Custom POIs to end up in the GPI files in that folder on your nuvi. The categories come from how you set your files up on your PC.

For example, here's how I organize my Custom POIs.

>My POIs (this is the main folder)
>>Honda Dealers (this is a subfolder)
......Honda Dealrs VA.GPX (this is a POI file)
......Honda Dealers NC.GPX (this is a POI file)
>>National Parks (this is a subfolder)
......National Monuments.CSV (this is a POI file)
......National Seashores.CSV (this is a POI file)
......National Parks.CSV (this is a POI file)
>>Krispy Kreme (this is a subfolder)
......Krispy Kreme.CSV (this is a POI file)

etc.....

On my Zumo under the Custom POIs, I have a category for each of the folders, with a subcategory listing each POI file.

As has been pointed out, you can't have more than one layer of subfolders under your main folder.

ok, my .csv files are in the following drive:

c:\Canada\Canada_attractions.csv
.............\Canadian_casinos.csv
.............\Canada_hotels.csv

when I load it in my SD card through POI loader I see following:

extras -> custom POIs -> Canada_attractions
.........................-> Canadian casinos
.........................-> Canada hotels

(no CANADA subfolder under custom POI)

I was able to duplicate this problem on my nuvi 650. I think the 2 models are close enough for the purpose of this exercise.

Now here is what I suggest you do.

1) Create a "master" POI folder on your PC, e.g. C:\POIfiles
2) In that folder create 2 or more sub-folders, i.e. Canada, USA, Boonies.
3) In each of those sub-folders add the appropriate .csv, .gpx, .bmp files.
4) Run POIloader and erase everything.
5) Re-run POIloader and point it to your "master" POI folder "C:\POIfiles"

I will bet you a lunch that you will see the sub-folders ( Canada, USA, ... ) listed first, then the POI files from step 3 listed within those selection.

I humbly await your reply, and my stomach is growling already.

dd

They could have all of their POI source files saved to an SD card on a nuvi. I don't recommend it but the SD card is read like any other file-system on a door-stop, er, PC.
Then when you run the POIloader, it would read all the files from the SD card folder and load them right back into the main .gpi file on the nuvi.

Like I said, it is not for the faint of heart and I'll try to keep my exotic ideas to a minimum until we can help ama get their 660 up to snuff.

dd

When you run the POIloader program, select the "Manual" rather than "Express" mode.
During manual entry, every file to be scanned and loaded will be displayed in the POIloader window.

This is how I set the proximity alerts for my "XXX_speed.csv" files. I see every file before its loaded and I can click to add it or ignore it if I want.

FWIW
dd

Change it to

c:\MyPOIs\Canada\Canada_attractions.csv

and you should be go to go.

Be sure that you select the MyPOIs folder when you run POI Loader.

Absolutely true. You can STORE your Custom POIs files on your SD card and load them from there. But I think sometimes people get confused and think that if they put the files on the SD card that the GPSr can read them directly from there which, of course, it can't.

Do I understand what you are saying correctly, that a POI cannot be left on the SD card and read and used from there? If so, I'd have to agree and disagree. You are correct that our Zumos will nag us to manage the new data every time we boot. (I don't know about the Nuvi series). However if you decline to import the POIs, the unit will still use them, directly from the SD card. So in that respect, the statement is partially incorrect. Moreover, the Streetpilot C530, (and presumably others in the C5xx series), will utilize the POIs directly from the SD card, and will allow you to permanantly skip the import process. My daughters C530 has about 11000 POIs on her SD card, and she can use them all. But with the card removed, she only has the Redlight Cams, which I had loaded into her main memory first. This is the one and only feature that she has that my Zumo doesn't, and I would love to see it added.

I keep my data files in folders (Pictures, My POIs) on my SD card in the nuvi. That way, if I am away from home I can still edit my CSV files and load them to my nuvi.

The only problem with this is you cannot put GPX files on the SD card. The nuvi will find them and load the POIs directly into Favorites. Since I don't use GPX files, this hasn't been a problem for me.

dd[/quote]
Absolutely true. You can STORE your Custom POIs files on your SD card and load them from there. But I think sometimes people get confused and think that if they put the files on the SD card that the GPSr can read them directly from there which, of course, it can't.
[/quote]

The nuvi will find JPG and GPX files on an SD card. The JPGs show up in the picture viewer. The GPX POIs are loaded into Favorites.

What was said is that you can keep and run your POIs from the SD card (in most GPSrs), but if you download POI files from this cite (i.e. .csv or .gpx) and store those on the SD card, the GPSr doesn't recognize them. You need to load them to the SD card with POI loader. However, for "convenience", you could store those files on the SD card and run POI loader pointed to the SD card as the source.

You are, of course, correct. I did mis-read the post from MM, for that I offer my regrets. However, for other dim-bulbs such as myself, a blanket comment that

might be construed to imply that POIs can only be utilized if stored in internal memory. I was, of course, only thinking of the .gpi file as created by POI Loader, not the .csv or .gpx files. It never even occurred to me that the "raw" files might be stashed away on the SD card.
I am not sure what value putting the raw files on the SD card would have. Don't I still have to have my PC, USB Cable and POI Loader software to do anything with these files? If I must be plugged into the PC anyway, what benefit do I receive from putting the data files on the (inherantly slower and less reliable) SD card instead of my hard drive?
I'm still learning, so any tips, tricks or secrets I can glean from the experts are always appreciated.

I might re-consider saving the "raw" POI files ( and .bmp and .mp3 files ) on my SD card for one particular reason. I have more than one PC ( actually 3, i.e. laptop, work, etc ) that I use to access poi-factory. I am constantly copying files from a given PC to a flashcard and then copying the files from the flashcard to my next PC. It's a vicious race to keep all the PCs I use in sync.

I hope ama1970 is keeping up with us and can get their 660 to work.

dd ( not quite an expert but a pretty good hack on the nuvi650 )

I keep all my GPS stuff on my SD card that is in the GPSr. That way I will always have the stuff with me and I don't have to keep up with what is new

I see how having your stuff in a common place that is always with you would be useful for someone with multiple PC's to keep up with. While I have 3 PCs and 2 Laptops at home, I only use one for my POI and Map loading, so I don't really need any portable copies right now.
Wouldn't it be sweet if POI loader was embedded inside the GPSr, instead of on the PC? Then even if you were on a friends PC, or at a library, you could get POI files and load them up. Those SD resident files would become very useful to me then.

Yeah, that would be nice. I keep everything on the sd card, even the POILoader.exe. That way, I can install it temporarily if I need to.

I see that with the help of mkahn you all got clarification on what I was saying. Since the post I was replying was talking about the CSV and GPX files, that's what I was referencing. However, I see where the confusion could have come.

Thanks to both of you for clearing that up. You have both taught me so much, just reading your past posts. You really provide the community a great service. Don't mind me, I'm easily confused.

thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts and helping to come out of this trbl.

Drdevo.....I tried your following way and it worked.

Now here is what I suggest you do.

1) Create a "master" POI folder on your PC, e.g. C:\POIfiles
2) In that folder create 2 or more sub-folders, i.e. Canada, USA, Boonies.
3) In each of those sub-folders add the appropriate .csv, .gpx, .bmp files.
4) Run POIloader and erase everything.
5) Re-run POIloader and point it to your "master" POI folder "C:\POIfiles"

I did the express way only.
since its working now, I would be able to try different varieties.

Thanks again all of you.

nice site, nice support )

I will try to do more research later today and find out when it works and when it don't.

it doesn't matter you have main folder name as poifiles or mypois or poi, it works for all of them.

and it doesn't matter you have your source in your PC or in SD card. works for both type of source.

I think the real trbl was before my .csv files were as a source not in any POI main folder.
they were in Canada\attractions.csv
.............USA\attractions.csv

like that. and maybe this is the reason they were not working.

you need the word "POI" as a main source folder.

thanks again everyone.

Now about that lunch???

Just kidding, we're all here to help each other.

Enjoy your 660.

dd

another reason it was not working cause when I was testing I was just creating one folder "Canada" and under that attractions.csv and was loading with that. this way it will not work.

you have to have minimum 2 or more folders to see any subfolder. i.e Canada, USA, Toronto etc etc.

also you have to have 2 or more .csv files to have the category under subfolder.
suppose if you have only casinos.csv under USA folder you will see custom poi -> USA -> all casinos by distance.

but, if you have casinos.csv and attractions.csv (which is 2 or more) under USA folder then you will see

USA-> attractions -> attractions by distance
....-> casinos -> casinos by distance

when I was testing I was just testing with only one folder and that was also the reason it was not working.

I keep my data files (CSV, BMP) on my SD card also so I can mod them and load them even when away from home. However, I do not have any GPX data files.

Be warned. If you put a GPX file on the SD card, the nuvi will find it upon start up and merge the POIs into the Favorites current.gpx file.

Concerning the gpx files.... Are you copying / drag / dropping the gpx files from the computer to the sd card? OR are you loading the gpx file using garmin poi loader??

When using the garmin poi loader to load a "custom poi.gpx" file the file is actually converted to a poi.gpi file.

You are correct in that the Favorites are kept in the Current.gpx file. If copying a plain .gpx file to the sd card (not converted to gpi by poi loader) the merge you speak of would seem to be what's happening.

I save and edit the data files on my SD card using various Windows programs, not POI Loader. I only use POI Loader to load the data from the POI folder on the SD card to my nuvi's internal memory.

I could not use POI Loader on the GPX file the one time I tried because as soon as I turn on the nuvi, it searces for GPX files on the SD card, transfers the POIs to Favorites and deletes the GPX file. Therefore, there wasn't a GPX file anymore for POI Loader to load.

Since I only use CSV files and not GPX files, this hasn't been a problem. If I ever start using GPX files I will have to move my data files from the SD card to my harddrive.

It just sounded (from a previous post) that the warning of gpx file on sd card would alter ones Favorites... I just wanted everyone to be clear as to why this was happening. When gpx files are loaded using the poi loader those files will not alter "Favorites"

There shouldn't be a problem loading a gpx file or csv file (they load the same). I've loaded gpx and csv files from the same folder on the same install and have never had a problem.

I suppose if you are just using the SD card as another storage device, it's fine. Then basically you're just using the sd card and slot as a holder.
I don't think anything would happen with a "raw" csv file on the sd card. I've never tried it.
If you were to insert a SD card into the card slot, run poi loader and direct the files to the SD card instead of the internal memory, you'd have a SD card with custom poi ready to use on any garmin unit (should you have more than one gpsr this could be useful)
you would probably also have the option to install those poi from the sd card to the internal memory when turning on the gpsr.

In the overall scheme of things, do whatever works best for you.