Garmin GPS - upload favourites from PC

Author

upload favourites from PC

philip

2007-12-25, 7:33 am

I have a nuvi 250w.
How can I transfer a set of favourites from a PC? I want to be able to
use a set of favourites that apply to one particular journey only.
Having just one large list of favourites to cover all journeys is very
unwieldy. I have tried changing various files in the Nuvi's file
structure without success. Any ideas?
Philip

Peter

2007-12-25, 7:33 am

On Dec 25, 3:53=A0am, philip <pdsto...@googlemail.com> wrote:
> I have a nuvi 250w.
> How can I transfer a set of favourites from a PC? I want to be able to
> use a set of favourites that apply to one particular journey only.
> Having just one large list of favourites to cover all journeys is very
> unwieldy. I have tried changing various files in the Nuvi's file
> structure without success. Any ideas?
> Philip

Your best bet is to get Mapsource from Garmin support and then upload
or download the favorites to the GPS. I think Garmin charges $15
shipping to get it if you have registed your GPR receiver.

philip

2007-12-25, 10:33 am

> Your best bet is to get Mapsource from Garmin support and then upload
> or download the favorites to the GPS. I think Garmin charges $15
> shipping to get it if you have registed your GPR receiver.

Seems nuvi 250W does not support Mapsource. I downloaded it but the
nuvi is not recognized by the programme. Thanks anyway.

I. Care

2007-12-25, 10:33 am

In article <87a42728-1d62-42ac-a8b7-d35591b596e1
@l1g2000hsa.googlegroups.com>, pdstokes@googlemail.com says...
>
>
> Seems nuvi 250W does not support Mapsource. I downloaded it but the
> nuvi is not recognized by the programme. Thanks anyway.
>
According to the Garmin web site it does. Here is a list of compatible
products for the Mapsource click on Products.

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=1456&pvID=2743

Here is a list of compatible maps for the 250W, click on maps.

https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=134&pID=9121

You might have a program/computer problem. A call to Garmin would
probably solve it for you.
--
I. Care
Address fake until the SPAM goes away ;-}

philip

2007-12-25, 12:33 pm

> According to the Garmin web site it does. Here is a list of compatible
> products for the Mapsource click on Products.
>
> https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do...456&pvID=3D2743
>
> Here is a list of compatible maps for the 250W, click on maps.
>
> https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do...D134&pID=3D9121
>
> You might have a program/computer problem. A call to Garmin would
> probably solve it for you.

Yes - your links do suggest that it supports Mapsource but why does
it costs over =A3100 ?- half the cost of the nuvi itself ! Is this the
same software I downloaded from the Garmin website for nothing? It was
about 34MB in size. I am in UK - perhaps this makes a difference.

Han

2007-12-25, 12:33 pm

philip <pdstokes@googlemail.com> wrote in
news:08978e2c-1400-40b9-aff8- f42c1015d30d@d4g2000
prg.googlegroups.com:

>
>
> Yes - your links do suggest that it supports Mapsource but why does
> it costs over £100 ?- half the cost of the nuvi itself ! Is this the
> same software I downloaded from the Garmin website for nothing? It was
> about 34MB in size. I am in UK - perhaps this makes a difference.
>
The download is free. Activation is mucho mullah. You could look into
shareware such as easygps/expertgps or many others.

--
Best regards
Han
email address is invalid

GeorgeB

2007-12-25, 10:33 pm

On Tue, 25 Dec 2007 03:53:54 -0800 (PST), philip
<pdstokes@googlemail.com> wrote:

>I have a nuvi 250w.
>How can I transfer a set of favourites from a PC? I want to be able to
>use a set of favourites that apply to one particular journey only.
>Having just one large list of favourites to cover all journeys is very
>unwieldy. I have tried changing various files in the Nuvi's file
>structure without success. Any ideas?
>Philip

Prior to playing with a Nuvi 650, I would have given you a different
answer than I will.

Look in your nuvi file system and see if you have either a .gpx or
..adm file. On the 650, the waypoints are in the .gpx file. I used
gpsu to create another gpx file with desired waypoints, then put it on
the nuvi in the gpx folder. Upon power up, it was loaded and renamed
to the name Garmin used (I forget the name).

The author of gpsu answered my email saying that he had heard that
some use an .adm file. He suspects that gpsu will open it.

I also understand that Mapsource is compatible, but it doesn't work
the same with the 650 as with the Quest and C330 I own.

dold@84.usenet.us.com

2007-12-25, 10:33 pm

philip <pdstokes@googlemail.com> wrote:
> I have a nuvi 250w.
> How can I transfer a set of favourites from a PC? I want to be able to

I would try G7toWin http://home.attbi.com/~g7towin/
I don't know if it supports the nuvi or not.

--
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley Lake, CA, USA GPS: 38.8,-122.5

Jack Erbes

2007-12-25, 10:33 pm

philip wrote:
>
> Seems nuvi 250W does not support Mapsource. I downloaded it but the
> nuvi is not recognized by the programme. Thanks anyway.

The nuvi, as I understand it anyway, does not connect to a PC the same
way as many other Garmin receivers. So it is not recognized as USB
connected GPS receiver by MapSource.

When the nuvi is connected it goes into the "PC connected mode" or
something like that. The main memory on the nuvi and the SD card (if
one is in place) are then seen as removable drives from Windows Explorer
or any applications that use the Explorer windows for managing files.

So from MapSource you can use File > Open to look at the contents of the
nuvi and the SD card and, of course, you can save files to the two
removable drives. I think the two drives are seen as Garmin drives or
Garmin removable drives with the main memory being assigned the first
available letter and the SD card the next letter.

If you place waypoints in MapSource and build a route from those with
the Route tool, or build a route by placing via points, and then save
that to the SD card as a *.gpx file, the nuvi will read the card and add
the waypoints or via points to the favorites on the nuvi.

I don't have a nuvi and may not have the details right, but that is the
way I understand it from previous discussions here.

Jack

--
Jack Erbes in Ellsworth, Maine, USA (jackerbes at roadrunner dot com)
(also receiving email at jacker at midmaine dot com)

Jack Erbes

2007-12-26, 4:33 am

philip wrote:
<snip>
> Yes - your links do suggest that it supports Mapsource but why does
> it costs over £100 ?- half the cost of the nuvi itself ! Is this the
> same software I downloaded from the Garmin website for nothing? It was
> about 34MB in size. I am in UK - perhaps this makes a difference.

The pages in those links are for the Garmin United States pages and
those are the prices for the various MapSource mapping products in that
market.

If you change to the UK pages the MapSource offerings and prices change.

When you buy a nuvi in the US, the MapSource City Navigator North
America NT mapping is already loaded to the nuvi. In Britain, the
comparable model would have different mapping preloaded. I assume that
you would get MapSource City Navigator Europe NT.

On either the US or UK pages, the current version of the mapping that is
preloaded is also listed on the Maps tab. It, of course, would not make
any sense to buy the same version of the mapping you already had
preloaded but you might be interested in buying it if you have an
earlier version.

MapSource by itself is an application that handles the various Garmin
mapping packages. When you buy a MapSource product on CD or DVD it
first installs the MapSource application and then installs the
optionally purchased mapping data. MapSource hosts the data and handles
all your interactions with it. If you had two or more optional mapping
products MapSource would host them all.

Garmin never made MapSource available as a free download, you generally
had to buy an optional mapping product and then you got MapSource along
with it.

It was recently noticed that you can get MapSource for free by
downloading and installing the free Garmin Training Center and then
running a MapSource update (which can also be downloaded for free). The
update will change the Training Center install to a MapSource install.
If you do it that way you will not have any optional mapping, just the
MapSource install. In that case you just see a blank map or maybe low
resolution world base map.

I replied to your question about uploaded favorites separately. If you
have MapSource installed now, but without any mapping, then it would not
be of much use. The US nuvis don't come with a DVD to let you install
the mapping that was preloaded to the nuvi to a PC. I assume the UK
nuvis do not come with the mapping for a PC install either.

Some US nuvi buyers asked for and received the mapping after they
purchased nuvis that did not come with it. Garmin has been erratic
about providing the mapping and many got it for free, others have paid
US$15 to get it, and other were told that it was not available (the
implication being that they would have to buy it at retail if they
wanted it).

I'm not sure how all this went down for UK buyers and how the Garmin UK
or Europe is handling it all.

Jack

--
Jack Erbes in Ellsworth, Maine, USA (jackerbes at roadrunner dot com)
(also receiving email at jacker at midmaine dot com)

philip

2007-12-27, 4:33 am

On 26 Dec, 02:02, d...@84.usenet.us.com wrote:
> philip <pdsto...@googlemail.com> wrote:
>
> I would try G7toWinhttp://home.attbi.com/~g7towin/
> I don't know if it supports the nuvi or not.
>
> --
> Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley Lake, CA, USA GPS: 38.8,-122.5

Thanks for the link - but the link is dead; please would you check it
and perhaps send me a new link if you can.
Many thanks,
Philip

philip

2007-12-27, 7:33 am

Jack Erbes, many thanks for both your postings. I tried unlocking the
maps which are already in the nuvi; this had the effect of changing
the error message when trying to run Mapsource from "no recognizable
device" to "no applicable media" (or words to that effect). The
Mapsource programme does not even start up, evidentally, unless the
garmin product is already connected and has the expected software
installed.

I don't believe Mapsource is the way to go anyway. All I want to do is
to upload a set of favourites - not POIs- so that they can be applied
to one particular journey.
Why is it not possible to merely substitute one 'current.gpx' file
with another?

dold@84.usenet.us.com

2007-12-27, 12:33 pm

philip <pdstokes@googlemail.com> wrote:
> On 26 Dec, 02:02, d...@84.usenet.us.com wrote:
> Thanks for the link - but the link is dead; please would you check it
> and perhaps send me a new link if you can.

Oh, dear, where did I have that old link stored ;-(
The proper one is G7toWin http://www.gpsinformation.org/ronh/

But, it seems that won't work for the Nuvi anyway.
It might still be a good tool for managing multiple sets of waypoints if
you have some other method for using GPX files with the Nuvi.

--
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley Lake, CA, USA GPS: 38.8,-122.5

Jack Erbes

2007-12-27, 12:33 pm

philip wrote:
> Jack Erbes, many thanks for both your postings. I tried unlocking the
> maps which are already in the nuvi; this had the effect of changing
> the error message when trying to run Mapsource from "no recognizable
> device" to "no applicable media" (or words to that effect).

Maybe I don't understand what you are trying to do. The mapping that
comes preloaded to any of the Garmins cannot be copied or downloaded to
a PC and used under MapSource. That includes basemaps on the handhelds
and the detailed mapping on the nuvis.

And the mapping on the nuvis is also locked to the hardware serial
number or Unit I.D. of the nuvi it comes on. You cannot copy the
mapping to a PC and see it or use it with MapSource.

On the the nuvis that go into the computer connected mode, you can see
the files that are in the unit's memory and also on the expanded memory
on the SD card. The files in main memory are things like the unit
software and the preloaded mapping. The mapping which will be the
largest file and will have a *.img name generally, and some other files
can contain things like user loaded POIs.

The specifics about the files seen in main memory is not explained by
Garmin anywhere and if you start messing with those files you run some
risk of causing the unit to quit working.

> The
> Mapsource programme does not even start up, evidentally, unless the
> garmin product is already connected and has the expected software
> installed.

Which MapSource program are you talking about? Did you install it to
the PC? If so, what is the version number from the Help > About screen?

> I don't believe Mapsource is the way to go anyway. All I want to do is
> to upload a set of favourites - not POIs- so that they can be applied
> to one particular journey.

The process for doing that as it has been described here is to have a
MapSource mapping product like MapSource City Navigator North America
(or Europe, or whatever) installed on a PC. For you to see the same
mapping in MapSource on your PC as is on your nuvi, you would have to
buy or acquire that MapSource product and install it to your PC.

When you start MapSource you see that mapping. When you use the
Waypoint tool and click on spots on the mapping, it will create
waypoints at those spots.

Then you can save those to a *.gpx file. If you have a nuvi connected
via USB it will be seen as a Garmin removable drive or two drives if it
has a SD card in it. You can save the *.gpx file to the Garmin drive
that is the SD card. Or you can simply have the SD card in a card
reader (without having the nuvi connected) and save the *.gpx file to
the SD card.

You also may be able to save the *.gpx file to the Garmin drive that is
the main memory on the nuvi instead of the SD card. But I don't like
writing to main memory, that can be a little dangerous and I would not
do that if I did not have to.

Then, with the *.gpx file on the SD card and the SD card back in the
nuvi, when the nuvi is disconnected from the USB port or powered up if
it is turned off, the *.gpx file will be read and the waypoints added to
the nuvi as Favorites. I think you'll be prompted to OK this as the
process happens.

As far as using something other than MapSource to do all the above, I'd
think that would be easy enough to do as long as you had a software that
would, at the end of the process, save the locations that you want to be
Favorites into a *.gpx file on the SD card.

> Why is it not possible to merely substitute one 'current.gpx' file
> with another?

Why do you say that is not possible? If you can see that file and write
a new current.gpx file to the same location, I'd think you could do that.

I would copy the file to the hard drive first to save a copy of it.
Then I'd like to open the file with MapSource or another third party
application that will open *.gpx files to see what is in it. Once I was
sure it all worked, and that I had a way to restore the original file if
necessary, I would not be afraid to replace it.

Some of the files on Garmins have to have a specific name and even be in
a specific folder for the software to recognize and use them. For
example, to use supplemental mapping to add different detail maps to
many Garmins, the mapping has to be in a file named gmapsupp.img in a
folder named \garmin off the root of the memory card. There may be some
similar limitations on using *.gpx files to add Favorites to a nuvi.

Jack

--
Jack Erbes in Ellsworth, Maine, USA (jackerbes at roadrunner dot com)
(also receiving email at jacker at midmaine dot com)

Jack Erbes

2007-12-27, 12:33 pm

philip wrote:
<snip>
> Thanks for the link - but the link is dead; please would you check it
> and perhaps send me a new link if you can.
> Many thanks,
> Philip

Here is a link to a page with many third party softwares including
g7towin. All of these softwares have been much used and are well
tested, some lend themselves to more purposes than others but you can
probably find one that will meet your needs:

http://gpsinformation.net/#3rdparty

I use the GPS Utility software listed there, I've had that for several
years and find it very useful.

Jack

--
Jack Erbes in Ellsworth, Maine, USA (jackerbes at roadrunner dot com)
(also receiving email at jacker at midmaine dot com)

philip

2007-12-27, 10:33 pm

>
>
> Why do you say that is not possible? If you can see that file and write
> a new current.gpx file to the same location, I'd think you could do that.
>
> I would copy the file to the hard drive first................

Jack; I have proved to myself that you cannot edit the 'current gpx'
file which is part of the nuvi's system. This is the file that
contains all the favourites information. Even if this file is deleted
using the PC - disconnect usb and boot up the nuvi on its own - all
the favourites get rewritten as if by magic and interrogating with the
PC connected again reveals the same gpx file as before. I have read
somewhere that there is another memory in the nuvi which cannot be
touched via the usb connection and this is where the rewrite info is
stored.

Before I saw your further post I had discovered a free programme
called poiEdit and have used that to make custom POIs (in conjunction
with MS AutoRoute) then used Garmin's own POI loader to upload to the
'Extras' folder. This does work and the nuvi can display a list of
these custom POIs any of which can then be transferred to the
'Favourites' list within the nuvi when disconnected from the PC.

So all in all I have achieved what I wanted to do albeit in a rather
messy and roundabout way. Very many thanks Jack and to everyone else.
I shall no doubt post again after finding more short comings.

Philip

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