GPX & OV2 files

[ed_lovatt]

I am trying to add some routes which I have planned to my TOM TOM One XL. So far I have found out that the files which are in GPX format need to be converted into OV2 format but that is all I know.
If anybody knows how to then transfer it to the Tom Tom and get the route on screen it would be much appreciated!
Thanks

 

[dhn]

Try here:
http://www.poi66.com/gpxconv.php?ext=ov2&allow_cookies=1

or this downloadable tool should do it:
http://www.poiedit.com/

The itineraries created (they will have an .itn extension) go into the itn folder on your unit. Use Explorer and then get to the itineraries via the Itinerary Planning icon on your device.

 

[canderson]

The POIEdit page is a bit confusing these days, so I'll add that you want to be here:
http://www.poiedit.com/downloads.htm
and pick up the English 2007.2 version.

 

[ed_lovatt]

Thanks for your speedy reply. I can't download it at work unfortunately (permisions etc)

Will this allowed me to follow a pre planned route on the Tom Tom?

 

[dhn]

Understand this. An itinerary is a list of waypoints and a final destination. An itinerary tells TomTom what points to get to but not HOW to get to them. Tom Tom's routing algorithm includes IQ routing, etc. to determine that.

So, if you want the route to follow roads YOU want to take from waypoint to waypoint (and final destination) then the more waypoints you add (each itinerary can have up to 48 waypoints), the less likely it is Tomtom will deviate from the precise route you want to travel.

Make sense?

 

[Andy_P]

Just to reinforce what dhn has already said, a TomTom itinerary is NOT an OV2 file - that's a POI (points of interest) file.

If your model is capable of full Itinerary Planning, you need to convert the GPX file into an .itn file instead.

 

[ed_lovatt]

Ok, I must be pretty useless at this. Is there any chance i could send you the files and then you can convert them for me?

 

[Andy_P]

What's going wrong?
Were you trying the POIEdit program or a different one?

I'm used to POI Edit so let's try to lead you through it with that one....

1. Download and install POI Edit from the link in post #3

2. Once it is up and running, you should be presented with a pretty blank screen.

3. Go to the "File" menu at the top and select "Open"

4. A normal file selection window should open, use it to find the .gpx file, wherever you have it saved on your PC.

5. Select it with the mouse and click on "Open"

6. You should now see a list addresses of of the "waypoints" in the .gpx file on the right half of the screen

7. Clicking on any one of them should bring up some sort of map of the location on the left half of the screen.
(but if you want to use Google maps, you'll need to do a bit of tinkering as per THIS TOPIC. - however getting the Google maps bit working is NOT necessary for the job you want to do.

8. Go to the "File" menu again and select "Save as..."

9. Another file selection window should open up. You need to go to the BOTTOM of that window and where it says "Save as type..." use the drop down list to select "TomTom Itinerary (.itn)" - it's the second item in the list.

10. Type a name for the file AND choose a location where you want to save it (in the normal Windows way)

11. That's it!
Connect up the TomTom, copy that new .itn file into the "itinerary" folder on the TomTom and you should be able to select it and load it when you go to Itinerary Planning on the unit.

 

[ed_lovatt]

Ok, thanks I have done that! It seems to work although it say on the Tom Tom 'no route planned' does this mean it has loaded or not?

 

[dhn]

Nope. Just means you do not have an existing route created.

Go to Itinerary Planning and Load itineraries and you should see the one you created as being listed there.

 

[ed_lovatt]

OK. I have loaded the Itninery but it only takes me about 1 mile of the route (77 miles) so it must be that there are thousands of waypoints.

 

[canderson]

That's entirely possible. In fact, It could be that someone has built a "track" of gpx waypoints taken every second. A file with that kind of resolution won't be useful to you.

 

[Andy_P]

When you were in POIEdit, you should have been able to see all the waypoints listed. Were there thousands? (You can re-load the gpx file to check).

TT's are limited to something like 48 or 64 waypoints, so you may need to delete a load of the wayppoints while you are in POIEdit and jiggle it to make sure the main route is still followed before you save it to itn format.

 

[ellenacharlie]

HI i'm thinking of getting a tomtom start 50 5" I know that their file format is OV2 and that they told support ITN, I have gpx files of routes that I would like to convert to OV2 or I can download the ITN format to convert, can you advise which files would be better to convert, The routes will have waypoints as they are driving test routes.

 

[canderson]

I don't think the 50 supports *.itn files yet, but it is definitely possible to convert *.gpx to *.ov2 files. However, be careful that the *.gpx files aren't super high density (a new waypoint every hundred feet or so). That would make a complete mess of things.

Assuming the *.gpx file is a reasonable point-to-point file in terms of distance between points, once the *.gpx has been converted to *.ov2, you can use your 50 to create a route from *.ov2 points, but the route will not automatically exist nor will it be automatically 'ordered' for you. It will be a matter of adding them to a new route one by one until the route is complete.

When *.itn support is made available someday, you will be able to convert *.gpx to *.itn and tell your unit to 'drive' the route. If I'm wrong and they slipped *.itn support into the 50 already (let me know!), then it's a done deal.

A good conversion tool is POIEdit. You can load your *.gpx and spit out all kinds of different formats. Find it here >>> http://poiedit.com/downloads.htm and grab the English version at the top of the list.

 

[ellenacharlie]

hi thanks for the quick reply, Also can i ask, would it not be better to download the route in ITN format instead then convert itn to OV2 ?? rather than gpx to ov2 or does it not make a difference

 

[Arno]

As canderson said, at this time the Start 50 cannot read itn.

 

[ellenacharlie]

As canderson said, at this time the Start 50 cannot read itn.

Thanks moderator, but I already know that start 50 does not support ITN, that was not my question

 

[canderson]

hi thanks for the quick reply, Also can i ask, would it not be better to download the route in ITN format instead then convert itn to OV2 ?? rather than gpx to ov2 or does it not make a difference

Really irrelevant whether you start with *.itn or *.gpx file. Converting the same content from either will produce the same *.ov2.