Loading custom list of POIs on GO 2405?

[lam5459]

Has anyone figured out yet how to load a custom list of POIs onto the 2405? I have done this on previous TTs but am struggling with this one. I have my list of GPS coord's and even the .ov2 file from my previous TT XL340.

 

[canderson]

Have you updated your 2405 to firmware version 10.110, and is your MyTomtom application updated to 3.0.2.251? Both of those are minimum prerequisites to loading custom POI files on your unit.

You then use MyTomTom's "Add POI set to device" to upload each *.ov2 file and associated icon *.bmp file to your unit, one at a time.

 

[dhn]

Has anyone figured out yet how to load a custom list of POIs onto the 2405? I have done this on previous TTs but am struggling with this one. I have my list of GPS coord's and even the .ov2 file from my previous TT XL340.

You are using Home3 and not Home 2 as the interface, correct?

https://tomtom.com/en_us/mytomtom/getstarted/

 

[lam5459]

Versions are all correct but I'm fighting to get Home3 installed, it keeps forcing me over to Home2.

 

[Andy_P]

What "keeps forcing you"?

You should be able to install "MyTomTom" (the official name for "Home3") without the Go connected to the PC. Can you do that?

It will look totally different. All you get when you run it will be a (slightly different) TomTom logo in the system tray next to the clock. Right or left click on it and a pmall pop-up window should appear saying nothing is connected.

Can you get that far?

Then try connecting the Go and tell us what happens.

 

[lam5459]

OK I'm all good there, loaded and ready. Took a quick look around but didn't see right off how to load custom list of POIs. ???

 

[Andy_P]

If you've now got the right version of MyTomTom has it updated you to the right software version? - You may need to keep it connected for a few minutes before the update is triggered.

Once it is all in place, you should see this line in the pop-up box.

Click on that and it should open a BROWSER window looking similar to this:

(I've already added one POI group here, called "Family")

From there you can add or remove POI files and their icons (as canderson says "one at a time", unfortunately!)

 

[lam5459]

Got all that done but when I go to TT it see's the POI catagory but when I select it, it indicates "no poi found"

 

[dhn]

You have to be browsing to a poi.ov2 file not a category. The ov2 file may be in the backed up map folder for a previous unit on your computer.

 

[lam5459]

I was able to get the .ov2 file loaded and the 16x16 .bmp. But when I go to navigate to the POI, my list comes up in the catagory section but when I select it, it displays "no poi found"

I must be doing something wrong, I have a .csv file with all the names and coord's and a .bmp icon that's 16x16. I used the csv to OV2 converter found online that says it works for TT. But I'm thinking there may be something wrong with the order in which the names and coord's are arranged with my csv file. Any input?


OK, let's back up. I have a csv file with a list of names and associated lat/lon. What do I need to do to convert this over to an .ov2 file for the TT to recognize? When I did this on the TT 340XL I used a program called My POI Manager and it did all the work for me but this program doesn't recognize the 2405 so I need to do the conversion myself. Does the order in which the data is organized inside the csv file matter before it gets converted? What program do I need to use to convert it? I have been trying this: http://tomtom.gps-data-team.com/poi/csv2ov2.php. Do I need to create my own bmp icon or will the TT default to one if I don't create one? And just to re-cap, I am able to convert and load the ov2 file and an icon but when I try to pull up this list of locations on the device itself, it just displays "no poi found". So I am assuming something is wrong with my csv file or my converted ov2 file.

 

[Andy_P]

First thing to mention is that the bit about using a 16x16 pixel icon is WRONG. You can use the same 22x22 icons you have on any other TomTom.

If you are trying to copy a POI category from another TomTom (or a backup of one) then you should be able to just load the existing .ov2 file and .bmp file and it will all work.

If you are trying to use a .csv file, then it will need to be converted to .ov2 as you know... but the conversion program SHOULD work out the differences in formatting in the file for you.

What convertor program did you use?

My favourite is "POIEdit" (PoiEdit - Main) which has always worked faultlessly for me.

 

[canderson]

I thought you said you had the OV2 file from your 340. Isn't that what you tried to load first? There should be no additional conversion required. This keeps getting more and more muddled, and I feel that at each step, we do not have quite enough information -- e.g., "Versions are all correct" but you did not yet even have MyTomTom (aka Home3) loaded successfully.

So ignoring the CSV to OV2 issue for the moment, does your 340 OV2, when uploaded, work correctly?

 

[lam5459]

Several questions to answer here.

I was never able to load anything manually into the 340, I used a program called My POI Manager to load the pois on my 340. Unfortunately I didn't save this ov2 file from this unit so I have to start over from scratch with a .xls(csv) file. I no longer have the 340 in my possesion.

I did have the Home3 software loaded, just didn't realize it because it was so different and called My TomTom.

So this is what I have to work with going forward:
an xls file that I saved as a csv file with a list(250) of names and lat/lon.
I was using this program:
CSV to OV2 conversion tool - online POI data tools from GPS Data Team
to convert it to ov2. I then created the 16x16 bmp icon to go with the ov2 file (named exactly the same). Loaded both into the 2405. When searching the poi list in the 2405, it recognizes the catagory that was loaded but when you try to find the individual points i get a "no poi found" message.

I believe something is wrong with the converted ov2 file so I will start over with the conversion process.

Is there anything special about the csv file I need to pay attention to?

I have MS OfficePro 2007, xls file, column a=lats, column b=lons, column c=names. Saved as a csv file.

 

[canderson]

Unfortunately I didn't save this ov2 file from this unit so I have to start over from scratch with a .xls(csv) file.

OK. That means we can't use the old *.ov2 ... "and even the .ov2 file from my previous TT XL340".

I'll tell you what I would use in your shoes, but primarily because I'm already using it .. GSAK (Geocaching Swiss Army Knife), available at GSAK (Geocaching Swiss Army Knife).

Save your CSV file in the following form:

1) Be sure you have a header row at the top. I would use
CODE,LATITUDE,LONGITUDE,NAME

2)The format of the data rows must be
GCXXXXX,S 32 15.000,E 115 12.000,GIVEITANAME

• The "GCXXXXX" can be anything you like since it really won't much matter to you. GSAK expects one, but it doesn't much matter what it is.
• The latitude and longitude can either be in decimal minutes as shown (DD MM.MMM) or in decimal degrees (DD.DDDDD).
• The fourth field is the name you wish to give the point. I called them stuff like MY SECOND DMINUTES below, but they could as easily be "UNCLE JOE'S HOUSE" or "7-11"

So your file might look something like this:

CODE,LATITUDE,LONGITUDE,NAME
GC00001,N40 01.334 W105 03.552,MY FIRST DMINUTES
GC00002,N40 03.256 W105 05.335,MY SECOND DMINUTES
GC00003,N40 02.225 W104 58.005,MY THIRD DMINUTES
GC00004,N40.12345 W105.12345,MY FOURTH DDEGREES

ETC

Once built, import the *.csv file into GSAK as follows:

"File" tab, "Load GPX/LOC/ZIP file"
Uncheck box for "Use defaults"
For "File type", select "Text with first line field structure"
Use the top line to navigate to your CSV file
Click OK.

To export the *.ov2 file:

"File" tab, "Export", "TomTom POI File"
Use the top line to decide the *.ov2 filename to create and where you want it located.
Click on "Generate"

 

[Andy_P]

Or why not just try loading your EXISTING .csv file into POIEdit (link in my post above) and see if it shows you the locations?

POIEdit can import .csv files in Destinator, Navman, Navio, Garmin and Mio flavours.

If it does, it's an OK csv file and you can convert it to .ov2.

 

[lam5459]

Looks like I have issues with the csv file. I thought it was as easy as doing a "save as" .csv to a xls file but maybe I'm mistaken?

OK, figured out the csv file is crap. I was able to convert the Garmin gpi file to ov2 using a file converter.

So I'm loaded and good now, but.....

this still seems like the backwards way to do this. I should just be able to save my xls file as a csv file convert it to ov2 and load it. Pretty much that easily. Even without creating a bmp icon the 2405 just assigns it a default icon which for now is good enough. So what am I doing wrong when I'm creating this csv file?

I'm not giving up on this yet, I'm doing something wrong when creating this csv file and I need to figure it out for peace of mind (old unix programmer's habit unfortunately).

canderson - thank you! I really appreciate your input on this and may still follow your suggestions but for right now I'm a little more familiar with the basic format of the poi edit tool Andy_P suggested. Even the program I used on my TT340 "My POI Manager" is the full version of the poi edit tool he recommended but thank you again.

So my issue is in creating the csv file. Is there a standard layout the TT wants to see? I have a xls file with no heading information, 3 columns of data that appear like this:
36.12345 -115.3456 Cliff Valley
and then I save this as a csv file and when I open what looks like a notepad file now because its csv it looks like this:
36.12345,-115.3456,Cliff Valley
Is it the spaces in my naming convention?

 

[canderson]

So my issue is in creating the csv file. Is there a standard layout the TT wants to see?

It's really more a question of what format POIEdit needs to see. It's POIEdit that needs the data in the correct order to create a good *.ov2 output.

As you may have noted with you used the "Open" feature of POIEdit, it is prepared to import *.csv files in a variety of formats. You need to be sure that what you have created is one of those, and select that particular format. It's not that there's anything different about the *.csv format (which is no more than a delineated text file), it's the order and content of the data.

ONE that I can assure you should work is the "Garmin Comma Separated" *.csv layout. The columns work thusly:

-110.12131,44.91422,"Public Restroom",""

Note that the coordinate order is reversed (longitude first, and be sure to use a "-" value if you're in the western hemisphere), that the name of the point must be in quotes, and that there is a 4th field that must be a double quote (it's normally used for phone numbers and such).

I would recommend re-ordering your data accordingly and appending the ,"" on the end and seeing how you do when you tell POIEdit to "Open" "Garmin Comma Separated (*.csv)", then "Save As" the "TomTom Binary *.ov2".

 

[lam5459]

I think I have it now. Yes the format of my csv file was the issue all along. Once I put it into the Garmin type csv I was able to work with it. The thing now is getting Excel to cooperate with the quotes, but that is yet another battle.

The 16x16 bmp icon doesn't seem to take, if I remember correctly wasn't there supposed to be two icons? One at 22x22 and one at 44x44??

 

[Andy_P]

I think I have it now. Yes the format of my csv file was the issue all along.

When I last looked into this (a long time ago), I took a working ov2 file, opened it in POIEdit, and then re-saved it into several of the different .csv output formats (Garmin, Mioi etc.), to see what the differences in layout were.

The 16x16 bmp icon doesn't seem to take, if I remember correctly wasn't there supposed to be two icons? One at 22x22 and one at 44x44??

As I said above, the 16x16 reference is a mistake. Use a normal 22x22 and it will work.

The "X2" 44x44 icons have been seen working too, but I'm investigating a slight oddity with loading those at the moment.
More news when I have it.

 

[mikealder]

Another option with csv files is to use NotePad to open them rather than Excel, the csv files are simply comma delimitted text files - Mike