Mapsource?

POIs are not a MapSource product. MapSource is a software program.

The MapSource update that you can download from Garmin's website is only an update. It only will work if you already have MapSource installed on your computer. You can't download the full program. You have to get it on disk.

If you don't have MapSource, you might be able to get it for free from Garmin. Call them and tell them that you want it to manage your Favorites and transfer them between your GPS unit and your computer.

What are you trying to do with MapSource?

Motorcycle Mama,

So, to be honest I am just diving into all of this stuff and am confused with what everything does. Your information is very helpful. I would like to manage my favorites. I also would like to make places appear that don't show up on my GPS map. I'm not sure what program allows me to do that.

When I downloaded one of these POI's onto my computer it went into Excel. I know this is a very elementary question, but after that what do I do? How do I get it into my GPS? Do I just transfer into a GPS folder?

I wish they gave a manual with all the possibilities you have with the new toy. My brother got a unit 6 months ago, and has no idea what I'm talking about when I mention poi's, mapsources, and unlock codes. He just never knew there were more possibilities with the gps unit.

I hate to ask you to explain the ABC's of all this to me. Is there a place I can go that would do so.

Once again,
Thanks for your information!!

No problem asking questions. That's why we are here.

Have you read through the 'getting started' and 'faqs' sections linked at the top of each page? Those sections will provide you with TONS of information.

Forget about Excel for right now. You can open the Custom POI files with Notepad if you want to view the information. At the beginning, it's more simple than Excel.

Here's the basic procedure.

You need to download and install Garmin's POI Loader onto your computer in order to LOAD Custom POI files onto your GPS unit.

http://www8.garmin.com/products/poiloader/

Then create a folder on your computer for your Custom POI files.

Download whatever Custom POI files you want to load onto your GPS unit and place ALL of them in that folder and keep them there.

Connect your GPS unit to your computer.

Run POI Loader following the prompts.

When it asks for the location of the data, browse to the folder that you created.

If you select Manual instead of Express, you can set Proximity and Speed alerts for your POIs.

Once you get that basic procedure down, come back and ask more questions and we will tell you how to set up categories for your POIs.

Now, FAVORITES are a completely different thing on the GPS unit. You can save the Favorites directly on the unit by searching through the built in database, browsing the map, or (on some units) by inputting the coordinates. You are limited to a certain number of Favorites based upon the Firmware of the unit. For many units, the number is 500.

If you have MapSource, you can use it to transfer the Favorites between the GPS unit and your computer. But you can also use EasyGPS (which is downloadable for free), GoogleEarth, and other programs. However, you don't NEED them. You can handle your Favorites directly on the unit.

It all depends upon what you are trying to do. We like the Custom POIs because you can do LOTS of things with them such as setting proximity and speed alerts, loading custom icons and sounds, editing the files easily on the computer. And the number of Custom POIs you can load is only limited by the amount of space you have either on the unit or on the SD (for units that can read them from the card).

MM,
Great explanation.

So if Garmin sends me the free (or $15 depending on which rep you ask) Mapsource disk, I assume it will still not have anything but a base map on it, is this correct? I was told that they could send me a "Data disk" version of Mapsource, and that's what it sounds like to me. Can someone who has received their copy confirm or deny that?

I got the same answer on my first email from Garmin about the 15 dollars for the disk.I kept reading on the forum about poi members getting it free so I fired off another email and got reply back today that they would ship it free to my home address.It is a matter of getting to the right person.If you get the wrong answer on the first email don't reply back to the same person.Send another email from scratch.

I emailed techsupp@garmin.com saying that I just bought my nuvi 650 and that I needed the software to use my gps on the computer. They just told me I needed to register the unit and after I did that, they sent me a free order of the software. I'm not exactly sure what they're sending me as I haven't receive the software yet. I will keep it updated.

Does anyone know if the DVD comes with map data? Is it pretty useless without the map data?

but, not for my hard drive. All the 2008 NT DVD did was ask me to connect my Garmin device (once the S/N was entered). Once connected, all it did was update the maps on the 660 (VERY-VERY slowly--I can't believe anyone would ever make a fairly new device that needs gigabytes of data and operates with USB 1.1, instead of USB 2.0 that has been out for several years). This is contrary to the other Mapsource maps I have (Topo, World map, City Nav). With those programs I could bring up Mapsource on my PC & find streets..., manage waypoints and a few other functions.

I e-mailed Garmin yesterday asking for Mapsource, with the following email:
"I recently purchased the Nuvi 760. My nuvi did not come with a Mapsource DVD I realize that I cannot transfer maps and routes. I would like the Mapsource dvd in order to manage your favorites. As I understand with the dvd I can keep a back up copy of my "Favorites" on my computer in the event I ever need to perform a "Hard Reset". I would also like to utilize the "TourGuide" capability of my 760, so I would like the dvd in order to create my own TourGuide files. Thank You"

Here is Garmin's response:
Thank you for contacting Garmin International,
I'm happy to help you with this. If you want that disk you will need to call into customer support at 1-800-800-1020 so that they can place the
order and obtain credit card information. The disk is $15. With Best Regards,

Nathan T
Product Support Specialist
Automotive Team
Garmin International
913-397-8200
800-800-1020
913-397-8282 (fax) Att: Nathan T
www.garmin.com

I emailed them the day before yesterday. I was cordial, and asked how I might get a copy of this software so that I could manage my POIs. Yesterday, I got an email back asking for my shipping info. Cost was never mentioned. I emailed it to them, and quickly got a reply back that it would be in the next day's mail. Can't beat that for customer service, eh?

As you know I requested the Mapsource DVD two days ago and was refused but thanks to the advice and heads up from this forum regarding Garmin's inconsistencies with their support. I e-mailed Garmin support again yesterday and a different rep agreed to send it out free of charge.

If at first you don't succeed with Garmin, keep trying until someone agrees to help you.

Thanks again for the advice!

I'm not imposing absolutely anything and just in case, you may want to take a look at http://www.poi-factory.com/node/7723 as a plan B.

I tried getting MapSource for my Nuvi via emailing tech support. The response back was essentially that Nuvi doesn't support MapSource, so I would have to buy it.

I called Tech Support and talked to a very nice agent that told me they would send it out ASAP for free... no problem, no issues. He did caution that it wouldn't work for way-points, but I could use it for POIs.

As suggested in prior posts.. it seems to depend who you get to respond. If you don't get what you request the first time, try again.

It won't work with Routes, but will work with way-points as you can transfer them to your GPSr as favorites.

I just ordered my mapsource DVD. The tech didn't even question it and is sending it out for free (on the first try too!). But alas, they are on back order. About 5 weeks he said.

I did the exact same thing and got the exact same result.

i had sent garmin an email about problems with web updater ( communication error ) and also mentioned to them what a great site poi factory was for help and whoever sent me the email agreed and in the same breath asked for the dvd and they said it would be in the mail . so far thumbs up for garmin support.
mike

I also called Garmin and they are shipping my CD to me. I don't know why they didn't just include it with the GPS. If all of us are calling then there must be thousands of people calling for them.

I received the DVD promptly without charge after emailing Garmin Technical Support. Will you answer the following questions for me:

1. What does MapSource do after I load it in my PC?
2. What and how can I manage my "Favorites"? by category of POI's? by city?
3. After I "manage" my "Favorites" and my own "TourGuides", do I use Webupdater or POI uploader to get them into my Nuvi 660?

Pardon me for my newbie Nuvi ignorance. I really do want to know. Thanks in advance.

1. It will allow you to "manage" your Favorites. That's send them back and forth between your GPS unit and your computer. Thus you can have a backup on your computer should you need it.

2. You can't create categories of Favorites on the units you have nor sort them by city. You can, however, edit the information of the Favorite in MapSource (which sometimes is easier than on your GPS unit). You will also be able to see the latitude and longitude of the locations. You can also save your Favorites as a GPX file and make a Custom POI file from it.

3. If you want to keep the Favorites as Favorites on your GPS unit (as opposed to Custom POIs), then you would use the "Send to Device" button in MapSource to send them to your nuvi. If you decide that you want them to be Custom POIs, then once you save the file as a GPX, you could load that file with POI Loader.

I would Call them..!. it really depends on the person on the other line..

I believe what you downloaded is only an update file for Mapsource. You need to get the program disk from Garmin. After you install that, then, running the download file will work because the Mapsource program has been installed.

Thank you for your reply. Sounds like MapSource is quite a dumb-downed software, singular in purpose. I guess I'll mess with it when all the "honey do list" items are completed.

I actually is extremely useful for planning routes. I also use it to download tracks from my Zumo after I ride. The track file contains position, elevation, and speed data so that I can see where I went, and I can share that data with others if I wish.

It also can be used, as others have stated, for creating POI files.

So it's usefulness depends upon how you use it.

Mapsource is very useful if you have a hand-held unit, like any of the higher-end Etrex models, that can download routes from your computer. You can easily build a route with numerous waypoints, just by clicking on the map in Mapsource, then load that into the GPS and you're set to go. It is also useful in loading maps into a handheld unit with a limited memory capacity (like the older grey screen Etrex Legend), since it lets you highlight and load only those map panels you want. It also gives you an easy way to look at your map (including waypoints or POI's) on a large screen. In short, Mapsource may not be so useful with Garmin's "on the road" products, but it is very good with their "on the trail" products, especially if you're into geocaching.

You should contact Garmin and they will send you a Mapsource CD. I just got mine after about 2 weeks. Make sure you are registered with Garmin and either email them (like I did) or call them. I told them that I was surprised and disappointed that it wasn't included with the GPS and they sent it with no questions.

Got my CD today from Garmin.They sent it just like they said they would.Make sure you have the un-lock code that came with your unit to use it.

I just received Mapsource City Navigator NT 2008 from Garmin and the first thing I noticed is that it doesn't have the streets in my local neighborhood which is a fairly new neighborhood, yet my Nuvi 760 has most of them. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to create routes from Mapsource. Any ideas?

Mapsource has a "Details" setting, in the same way that the Nüvi does - unfortunately, Mapsource's zoom levels and the Nüvi's don't match (Garmin eh? ) ... there are seven of them, from 'Lowest' through to 'Highest'.

Does that resolve things?

Thanks for the tip, Mapsource just doesn't have the streets in my immediate area like my Nuvi does. Very interesting discrepancy. I guess I cannot route from my home.

That's odd. If you want, I can check the areas out on my Zumo and my copy of MapSource which where both updated from the same v2008 update and see if they are missing from mine. You could send me the street name(s) or lat/long or post them here if you want.

The other thing that I would add is to double check that both the GPS unit and MapSource are in fact showing the same version of City Navigator. In MapSource, you go to View > Switch to Product. On the GPS unit, you go to Wrench/Settings > Map > Map Info.

Ok, here are some coordinates of areas near where the recent California wildfires burned in San Diego. I know for a fact there are many streets immediately to the west of these coordinates that are omitted in Mapsource but are in the Nuvi.
N33 01.286 W117 06.078

I was just about to type the words "That's odd"

What about checking out the street's on Garmin's online Map viewer?

http://tinyurl.com/25ysct

The online viewer yields the same results for that area. If you look at the I-15 and Rancho Bernardo, you will see wide open space just west of it and I know for a fact there are many streets there that have been there for years and when looking on my Nuvi, most of them are there. Interesting. I am going to look for other communities in the San Diego area to see if there are more cases of this.

It was such a big box, I thought they send me another GPS.

Ok, first of all Phil, you need to get out of my head. : )

Now, here's what that area looks like in my MapSource.

http://i15.tinypic.com/80xhxe8.jpg

And here's what it looks like on my Zumo.

http://i1.tinypic.com/6lt04cz.jpg

If I'm looking at the right area, they look the same to me.

Has any one loaded mapsource on two computors using the same unlock code. I just got mine free the other day and have it on my pc but haven't put in the unlock code yet. Would like to put it on the laptop to but not sure which one to use it on if I can only use the unlock code once.

You can load MapSource on as many of your computers as you want. You are limited to the GPS units to which you can load the maps.

MM thanks for the quick reply. One more how id you make a backup?

A backup of what?

I just spent over an hour on the phone with tech support.

I waited over 30 minutes to talk to the first guy in tech support. When I explained that I wanted to manage my favorites from my Nuvi 750, he said "You need Mapsource to do that and you can download it for free". He gave me a link to the Mapsource "update". I explained to him that this wouldn't work unless you had the Mapsource product already installed. He tried to install it on his machine and said "Oh that didn't work...let me transfer to you software support".

I waited another 30 minutes to talk to software support. The guy there told me to just copy the files from the unit manually since it would show up as a USB drive on the PC. When I said I wanted to utilize the TourGuide capability of my 750, he said "you don't want to do that". I said "Why not?". He said "You need to buy Trip and Waypoint Manager to do that and that I could pick up a copy at Best Buy or Wal-Mart". When I mentioned "Mapsource" he said "Mapsource is an operating system. You don't need that. What you need is Trip and Waypoint Manager which you can pick up at Best Buy or Wal-Mart".

I explained my disappointment in buying a model from the top end of their line that doesn't come with needed software. He said that you could do everything you needed to do with the 750. I told him about the difficulties I had planning routes using the touch screen only and that how planning on the PC would make the process a lot better. He argued that he didn't have problems planning routes on his GPS in Kansas City. I gave up.

In this thread when you refer to "Mapsource" are you referring to the "Trip and Waypoint Manager", one of the City Navigator DVDs, or something else?

I sent an email to their tech support hoping for a different response.

Thanks,

phil

I got the response to the email that I had hoped for:

Dear Phil
Thank you for contacting Garmin International
I have placed a order for you to recieve the maps source for your
computer . It will take approx 7-10 days for you to recieve it.

The question from my previous post still remains: In this thread when you refer to "Mapsource" are you referring to the "Trip and Waypoint Manager", one of the City Navigator DVDs, or something else?

In the email above I received from Garmin, they refer to "maps source" so I'm still not clear on which software they are sending me.

phil

I believe the Mapsource they refer to is the Trip and Waypoint Manager.

I didn't have to work very hard to get the software from Garmin. I wrote to them indicating that I'd received an unlock code but not the media to install the software. I got the following response...

Dear (me),

Thank you for contacting Garmin International. I have gone ahead and sent a mapsource disk out to you, it should arrive in 7-10 business days. Once you receive the disk, you will be able to use your unlock code to unlock the mapping to your unit, so you can transfer and receive waypoints.

With Best Regards,

(him)

Product Support Specialist
Automotive Team
Garmin International

This topic was a savior to me and asking another dumb question. but i e-mailed garmin to see if i can get a mapsource dvd and i will see what responce i get. hopefully it will be the right one and i will get a free one.

Well garmin is sending me a free mapsource dvd. Im supposed to get it in the mail in 2 weeks.

I just called garmin the other day. They did not want to give me a free copy at first. I expressed I wanted to manage my pois and that the poi loader recommends using mapsource. The service rep put me on hold for a minute and came back and asked for my mailing info. I am now getting it totally free, however it is on backorder for a few weeks.

I emailed support saying I needed Mapsource to plan waypoints, and I guess they got my address from the My Garmin account, because a few days later I got a reply saying the CD was in the mail. It's installed on my PC now... still learning how to use it, but getting it was fast and hassle free.

to Google Earth and pictures taken along your route.