Can I add to the XXL 550TM favorites list using my Mac?

[chemist1]

Just bought an XXL 550TM--my first GPS!

I'd like to add a bunch of addresses to the favorites list, and it would be far easier to do this on my Mac than on the TomTom: e.g., find them on Google Maps, copy-and-paste the addresses into the appropriate field/file/folder, and then transfer them to the TomTom.

Can one do this with the XXL 550TM? And if this is not possible with TomTom's stock software, is there some Mac-compatible aftermarket software product or hack that would allow this?

And if no to both of the above, are there other models that do offer this capability (it seems, at least to me, like an obvious software feature to have).

Thanks!

 

[canderson]

Your favorites are held in a file called mapsettings.cfg in your map folder. Unfortunately, this file contains a good bit more than your favorites information, and it's not in plain text.

The tool that could be used to open and at least extract the existing information (after you weed out the other stuff) is called POIEdit, but it's not available for the Mac.

A lot of people here swear by keeping their favorites in a custom POI instead of the favorites - if for no other reason than units running firmware before 9.XXX have the favorites wiped with each map update. Problem: even the *.ov2 files are also not simple ASCII files that could be created with a text editor.

Perhaps someone can pipe up with something else they've seen out there that could be run without having to do a Windows emulation on a Mac?

One thing you might want to try that may speed things up some is to do your data entry using Home instead of doing it on the face of the unit. Using the "Operate my ..." feature in Home, I find the keyboard to be faster than the touch screen by far.

 

[chemist1]

thanks!

Thanks so much for you detailed reply! I tried the keyboard option, and it is certainly easier.

It is too bad, though, that one can't copy-and-paste; further, even without the copy-and-paste, it would be much more convenient if one could enter address info. all in one screen (as opposed to the separate screens for zip code, street name, and street number). I think I'll offer that as a suggestion to TomTom customer service.