This discussion has been locked.
You can no longer post new replies to this discussion. If you have a question you can start a new discussion

GPX Tracks and Waypoints

Dear community,
I am a total newbie with GARMIN so my problem may not even be related to Edge 1030.
I used to have a Twonav device that I mainly used to follow predefined tracks which was fine. The 1030 should add value to this by being able to route (which it can do) and also adds online functionality (which I am having issues with but this is a separate thread).

My problem:
I created a lot of POIs (point of interest) and also a lot of GPX tracks. Depending on the track some of these POIs are attached to the GPX files (whenever a track comes "close" to a POI it was added to the track and will show with the tag "<cmt> <name of POI> </cmt> and (optionally) with an assigned symbol (tags <sym> ...</sym> in the XML).
When I import the GPX as an activity into Garmin connect this will work. Converting it into a course will create the FIT file that I can upload/synch with the 1030. Unfortunately the POIs are getting lost although the FIT format obviously supports the handling of POIs. I am able to add them manually to the course - time consuming and boring. I was using CompeGPSLand - a very simple program that allows you to drag and drop the POIs to the track - deal done.
Is this possible with the 1030 as well or will I lose this capability?

Any kind of hint is very much appreciated. Thanks a lot - I am close to giving up frustrated:-(
  • The Garmin Edges don't use POIs as part of the course. So there's no reason to include them in the fit file.

    It's not clear how you are using the POIs.

    The Edges can use "course points", which are sort-of like POIs. These are usually used for turn instructions. They have to match a point on the track.

    Garmin Connect doesn't support course points very well (it includes them only for some units, not all of them).

    You can add POIs as locations (which means they will show up on the map and allow you to use them as navigation targets).

    I list the POIs in Garmin Basecamp (which you install on a PC) and then export the POIs as a gpx file (which gets copied to "\Garmin\NewFiles".


  • Hey dpawlyk, thanks for your reply, that helps a lot already. I can now manage my POIs externally and they are shown on the 1030. But now the challenge remains: How do I add the POIs, that my course touches (or passes by very close) to the course so that the course can show me the list of course points of my course, the distance to the next course point etc.
    This works when I add course points manually to a course in Garmin connect but it does not work when I add the course points to the course outside connect. Adding course point to a course in connect is not funny - connect cannot even show me the course points I have!
    Any idea how this would work?
    Thanks a lot!.
  • Use of POI on Edge 1030 and other Edge products, has mentioned, POI support by Garmin evolved along the product line.
    I started working on POI support on Edge 1030 with experiences coming from the edge 800...and follow on products.
    Why bother with POI on Edge? Edge support only 200 Waypoints and I have a data base of more than 42000 POIs.
    To have them all on my EDGE I am using POI support.
    You have to create a POI folder inside the Garmin folder of you device X:/Garmin/POI/
    In this POI folder you put your GPI file (It's a GPX file containing your POI/Waypoints with their associated Custom Symbols.
    Those POI can be search on the Edge by navigation tools Navigation/Search/Extras/ (All data base or specific one)
    Your POI are displayed by distances, closest first.. Select one to show it on the map then press Ride to navigate to the POI.
    If you do not use search Your POI will display on the map when you get close if you are in the zoom range define in your map setup.
    Proximity alarm do not work on 1030 (at least I am not able to make it work) This was working on Edge 800... and Outdoor Garmin GPSes.
    But to implement this it takes some work:
    First build your Database of Waypoint/POI on BaseCamp, Just a set of point with assign symbol. Each waypoint has location, elevation and name.
    You have to draw your symbols in .bpm (24 bits colors and size 24x24 pix by symbols, transparency is set by rgb (255,0,255) magenta.
    The name of your bmp file and gpx file must have the same name.
    From BaseCamp you export your waypoints in a gpx file.
    Then I am using RTW tool from JaVaWa to convert gpx and bmp files into .gpi file. (Garmin support up to64 symbols) I have been using POI loader from Garmin to do that but it is no longer working...
    http://www.javawa.nl/rtwtool.html
    It might not work the first time but it will... I have a database of 42000 points classified in 15 categories, each catagories has its own symbols.

    I had no success implementing Custom Waypoints on Edge 820 and 1030 but I will try again.
    You need to setup custom symbols in BaseCamp. Then you can assign your custom symbol to any point of a given track prior to export it to your device....
    Normaly if you have your symbols copied into a CustomSymbols folder on your device, Symbols specified in a gpx file should be recognised.... but not on edge.
    https://support.garmin.com/faqSearch/en-US/faq/content/VTS8XTdjCW5Tx3HyfJ3eQ6
    Good luck and happy new year.
  • Hi, this is all very valuable information for me, thanks for this.
    Unfortunately it does not meet my problem, maybe I was not precise enough:
    I want to create a course where I want to ride from Point A to Point B to Point C etc. This works fine when I import the course (created as gpx file) in Garmin Connect and add "course points" to the course manually. As a result, when I select the course in the 1030 it will create all routing information plus it holds some valuable information about the "course points" (e.g. distance to next course point, hight of next course point etc.). In the information pages of the course you will see this information as well. I created a screenshot with a course where I added the course points manually - very time consuming and boring as I do have the waypoints already in a database (I could create any format out of this). In the GPX file that I use to import the course into the 1030 (or Garmin Connect) the course points are there (marked with the tags <cmt> and </cmt>) but this seems to be ignored by Garmin.


    Maybe there is another or better solution for Garmin to get this solved but I do not know. Thanks for any help.
  • Maybe there is another or better solution for Garmin to get this solved but I do not know. Thanks for any help.


    The simple answer is that you can't do what you want.

    You'll only get course points using a tcx file.

    Using ridewithgps (rwgps) is probably a better way to see how this works.


    When you create a route on rwpgs, it creates cuesheet items.

    It writes these items as course points in the tcx file it exports.

    You can add custom cuesheet items (these also get written out to the tcx file). Since the course points were intended to provide turn information, there aren't many different types available.


    The tcx file is a text (XML) file like gpx.
  • Thanks to everybody who tried to help me. In my eyes this is such a fundamental function that I really cannot understand why it is not supported any better. But this may be know by Garmin...
    Together with the other flaws (like WIFI not working properly, synchronisation always to be done manually, re-routing after you left the track is weird - it will guide you with your mountainbike to the next major road! No matter into which direction you wanna go!...my first and definitely my last Garmin device.
    What a waste of money.
  • I don't know of any bike computer that will do what you want. What other options do you have?
  • it seems as if this is still not understood correctly...the 1030 could do what I want. It is just not manageable the way you I would have to do it. I would have to go to Garmin Connect every time I want to add course points to a course and add them manually one by one...
    But: this is only one issue I have that obviously cannot be solved.
    The more important: crashes of the software, routing, WIFI issues cannot be solved.

    Anyway, thanks to all.

    PS: any Twonav device can manage waypoints via drag and drop easily. I never tested routing with a Twonav but it can't be any worse than what I have seen now.
  • The easiest way to get coursepoints into your course is by using www.plotaroute.com on-line course editor. When preparing your course you can just add coursepoints on the fly. Then you export the course into .tcx file and connect your Garmin to the desktop by cable and move .tcx file into the NewFiles directory. The only drawback is that I did not find out how to transfer .tcx into Garmin by bluetooth from smartphone. With plotaroute.com you can edit your course even on a mobilephone pretty well (e.g. in the pub when on a ride), because their web has a quite good mobile version. But then you need an OTG cable to transfer it (on Android devices at least, but you have no chance on iOS). And I don't usually have a cable with me on my rides. But I consider this drawback neglectable.
  • I've been looking a long time how to add points to the route to have a warning, but nothing works well.
    The only way is to use garmin connect and add points manually one by one. But I do not know how to find the exact position. I tried to find the GPS coordinates, but it does not work. Is there any way to look for coordinates? Thank you very much for your advice