Upgrading from XXL540 to GO520

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Apr 15, 2011
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<img src="/styles/default/custom/flags/ca.png" alt="Canada" /> Canada
TomTom Model(s)
XXL 540 WTE, GO520
Can my old info be transferred to my new device or do I need to enter all my old info manually in to the new GO5020 and build an new list.

Also,planning a trip to the UK and Iceland. Can I pre-plan touring routes by switching to the European Map, planning a number or tours and then save them for use on the trip. I would want to switch back to Canada USA till I go on the trip when I would reinstall European maps and hopefully use the preserved tours.

Thanks for any suggestions.
Thomi
 
Last edited:
I presume yours is a 520 as 5200 are not sold in North America.

I do not use routes now but when testing a few years ago I saved routes in NA and Europe under Menu > My Routes, and they are still there now.
Someone, canderson (?) will alert you to the types of routes and the does and don'ts.

If it is not the actual route but destinations with which you are concerned you can make POI categories on the PC and transfer them via MyDrive Route Planner (web) to your device.
They then will be accessible on your device at My Places, alphabetically, starting below the list of Favourites.

The very first thing that must be clarified is which model TomTom you have.
If not certain, go Menu > ( ? ) > About and tell us the first 2 letters/numbers of the Serial number.
 
Arno,
Thanks, you are right, the correct model of my new unit is GO 520 and NOT 5020 as I had posted.

appreciate your info on putting POIs on my computer then transferring them alphbetically onto the GO 520.

Will try and find Canderson? and see if I can learn about saving Routes as that was what I was hoping for to help with holiday plans in advance.

Thomi
 
For Routes, canderson will jump in here when he gets around to it.
How soon will you be leaving for your European trip?

In the meantime, have a look at this thread as the advice he is giving there applies to your 520.

https://tinyurl.com/y4drfgl5
 
Got the link and will digest thanks, also going through my GO manual and see there is quite a lot of info to digest and might possibly answer my questions on routes/tracks. As for time I have got lots of time till May 2020 so that should not be a problem.

Thank you again
Thomi
 
The new technique for moving routes and POI files to these new devices is through the TomTom website MyDrive Web.
It is no longer possible to move this kind of information direction from device to device.
I see you're in Canada, so you can use he following link to get to that site >> https://mydrive.tomtom.com/en_ca

Once there, you can establish an account with email and password. This will be the SAME account information that you use on your 520 to identify it to the server.

Routes and POI files are uploaded to the MyDrive site, and are automatically transferred to your GO 520 into which you have loaded the same account info
What remains is to sort out the best way to get your route and POI information to the TomTom MyDrive Web server so that it gets transferred.

Your POI files will not be a problem since the server expects them in standard TomTom *.ov2 format. If you look inside your old XXL540 unit, you will find inside the USA/Canada map folder any POI files that you have installed. Those can be uploaded straight to the web server. I'll explain how in a moment.

What I'm unclear about is your use of the word "route". Previously, TomTom devices didn't know about a "route" file in the traditional sense (Garmin set that standard format years back). What it DID know about were "itinerary" files stored in Tomtom's *.itn format, and held in the "itn" folder on the older devices like your XXL540. If those are what you're talking about, let me know and we'll work through converting them for you and moving them to your new device.

As to POI, when you bring up the web page, you will see the following on the upper left part of the page

Upper Left.jpg


Click on the little roundish symbol 3rd down and you'll see this - apart from the redaction, of course!

Upper Left Open.jpg



Click on the "POI FILES" tab and you get this

Upper Left POI Upload.jpg



If you click on the "IMPORT POI FILE", it will offer to accept your contribution of whatever *.ov2 file you want to add. That will then transfer to your 520.

NOW... you may also have noted one my own POI files called _Favorites.ov2. This contains my favorites. This avoids cluttering up the display on the 520 with all kinds of entries, and places all of my favorites into a single POI file. We used to recommend this for XXL540 users as well as a matter of safety and convenience. You always had your favorites backed up on your PC this way. If you wish to have your favorites done similarly, let me know and I'll show you how to accomplish that. Note that the underscore in the name forces _Favorites to the top of the POI list, making it more convenient to find if you have a large number of POI files.
 

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Wow Canderson, that is extensive. Thank you so much for your time and knowledge very much appreciated!

Re my itineraries question, , I only have two I need from the old unit so will just create new ones on the GO 520 won't worry about transferring them but will be wanting to create new ones for upcoming holiday travels.

Will work to transfer my POI Favourites per your instructions.

I'll take a day or two to work through all this as I've just managed to create a new account and do the updates required out of the box
Thomi
 
OK. Creating new routes ... If you are into some self abuse, you can find much of what I'm about to say at https://www.topografix.com/gpx_manual.asp. There is a more recent version, but it's harder to read and adds nothing to this particular conversation.

First, a word about 'routes'. A long time back, the *.gpx file 'standard' (GPS Exchange Format) was released to try to create a common base for all GPS units to share 'route' information. These are human readable files in a unique sort of XML format.
A *.gpx file can come in one of three flavors, though a few packages hybridize them with two flavors at once. TomTom uses only ONE of these flavors -- perhaps the least useful, but at least it's a standard.

I'm going to describe each of the three types, starting with the one that is closest in nature to your TomTom *.itn files. The reason for this explanation is to provide a rationale for the tools you will now need to create your routes. It won't likely be any of the tools you have used before.

The first flavor of *.gpx contains 'waypoint' information, and each location identified in the file with a <wpt> designator. When following a <wpt> file, the device is expected to manage its own navigation, only concerning itself with hitting each of the <wpt> locations in the sequence in which they are specified in the file. Sounds just like an *.itn file, doesn't it? [For no good reason that I can explain, TomTom does not support the old *.itn files except on their Rider (motorcycling) series of devices.]

The second flavor of *.gpx contains "routepoint' information, and each location identified in the file with a <rtept> designator indicates a mandatory point for a turn in the navigation. Rather than allowing the device to make its own choices about how to get from A to B, it must follow the turn by turn directions of the <rpt> entries in the file. Therefore, this type does not allow the device to take into account current traffic situations, etc.

The last flavor of "gpx contains 'trackpoint' information. Think of this as the 'breadcrumbs' approach. A track is created of <trkpt> entries in the file that the device must follow, come hell or unexpected high water. They are often built using a timer that records a traveled route's location every X seconds. Lots of little dots marked along a route on a map, each to be achieved one after the other. Unfortunately, this often very large and less useful file version is what TomTom currently supports on these new devices, including the 520. That said, a tool that will create a <trkpt> style *.gpx file can also be used similarly to other types by spreading out the track points more than is typical. You can place them at intersections or waypoints alone, allowing the device some flexibility in creating a route. However, if you create these routes using your 520 (it has an option to follow your route and create them as you go) for later use, be aware that it will create a trackpoint every 1 second, which will allow no deviation whatsoever from the route you take.

All of the above to say that not every took that can create a *.gpx file is created equal. Not all know how to create a <trkpt> style *.gpx file.
The actual content of the file needs to look something like this:

<trk>
<name>TrackName</name>
<trkpt lat="47.72051" lon="9.39098"></trkpt>
<trkpt lat="47.72064" lon="9.39099"></trkpt>
</trk>

I believe all of the following remain viable candidates:

TYRE and its older brother whose name I cannot immediately recall (see http://www.tyretotravel.com/ ) will create a decent track file.
Google Earth using this method >> http://livelikepete.com/how-to-create-your-own-gps-tracks-using-google-earth/
Here is an online site, but I believe it requires at least registration >> https://www.gpsies.com (just create track, don't add waypoints)

I am sure there are other methods to generate them as well.

Once you have a *.gpx file in <trkpt> format, now using the fourth icon from the top, you upload it to the MyDrive Web server at this point

GPX Import 1.jpg



and select "IMPORT A GPX FILE"

However, beware of the baloney in the next screen that you'll see ...

GPX Import 2.jpg


as the word "any" is about as untrue as it could be. The majority of *.gpx file creators do not generate the requisite <trkpt> style files!

At this point, you can "Select File" from whatever you have created on your PC. It will then sync to your 520 the next time it connects to TomTom's server.
 
Many thanks to both Canderson & Arno.

My questions have been answered, all my old info is now working on my new GO 520 as 'My Places' and also I have been able to already create and save 3 routes for my upcoming holiday. So I am now confident I have things in hand and wish to say how much I appreciate your help!!!

Thomi

Not sure how/if I should close this thread
 
Glad we were able to clarify all of that for you, Thomi.
Which tool did you finally decide upon for the creation of your routes / tracks, and what did you think of the various alternatives?
 
Hi again canderson,

I ended up just using My Drive.

once I had synced my GO 520 with "TomTom My Drive" all "My Places" were on the GPS and the web page. I found the easiest way was to work on my iMac on My Drive. all l had to do to create a new route for "My Routes" was to click on the place marker that was to be the starting point for for a route and click on "plan a route'. After that it was a matter of 'adding points and if necessary dragging them into the order I wanted and then naming & saving the route to "My Routes" Once synced they are available on the GO 520 and the web page. I have named them Day 1 (+descrition)- Day 2 (+description) and so on. Now I will be able to call them up as needed on my trip.

Thomi
 
Sounds good.
What would be REALLY nice is if they would display one or more of the user's uploaded POI files on the MyDrive map so that they could be used to create routes that involve them. That would make some planning jobs a lot easier. We keep hoping...
 
So do you still have 'favorites' (not POI files) that you would like to transfer to your new device from your 540? If so, you can use the previously mentioned tool POIEdit to load a file from your North America map folder called mapsettings.cfg.

That file will contain not only your favorites, but recent destinations and other dross, but you can delete all the entries that don't fit into your idea of 'favorites' and save what is left as your _Favorites.ov2 file for you 520.
 
In that case Arno perhaps you can modify my original subject I tried to but couldn't after the second post. My incorrect subject Upgrading from XXL540 to GO5020 should be "Upgrading from XXL540 to GO520". The original GO5020 was incorrect and someone searching for anything related to GO520 wouldn't find it.
 

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