(The image above is an animation - it should start 5 seconds after the page loads)

Begin by either creating a New file, or opening an existing one. If you choose to open an existing .csv or .kml file, rather than a .gpx file, it will be automatically be set READONLY; for .gpx files this is user-selectable, unless they were produced by a 3rd party utility.  The Merge function allows you to 'include' an existing file within the one you are editing. The menu to the left is also used to write your edited data back to a file. "Save" writes .gpx files, with Export options for kml and multi-column .csv  files.

The Waypoint to edit is selected from the Tree on the left hand side and the details are amended on the form to the right. New waypoints are inserted using the Shift+Ins key combination (or the menu option). Although a mechanism is provided to delete Waypoints, you can also simply de-select them in the 'Tree' to the left. Such de-selected waypoints are not written to the output file.

These menu functions are also available by right-clicking in the 'Treeview' area.

View in Google Earth™: Pressing "F9" will generate a .kml file from the currently selected Waypoints and attempt to invoke Google Earth™ to display them. It will annotate the description to highlight the source of the data (ie. address, telephone etc). If you have associated .jpeg files, it will use thumbnail versions as place-markers*. Moving the mouse over them, will expand them to full size. Clicking them will display the associated description. If you have Google Earth™ installed, here is an EXAMPLE of the output.  (*This idea was borrowed from 'Brian' on the  The Zumo forums!)

The "Export as kml" function creates a fairly 'plain' file by comparison, more suited to sharing with other Google Earth™ users.

GeePeeEx Editor can also import .kml files, making Google Earth™ a rich source of ready made Points-of-Interest. Address,  Telephone number and Description data will be imported. Use the Batch Geocoder to refine/reformat Address information.

View in Google Maps™: This creates a Google Maps™ view of the currently selected Waypoint. You can use the embeded controls to zoom in and out, select Satellite, Map or Hybrid views and move around the map. If you drag the map, or the pointer, the coordinates of the Waypoint will be updated in the map window and can be copied back to GeePeeEx Editor, by pressing the "Update from Map" button. Note: Your waypoint coordinates will NOT be updated, UNLESS you press that button.  

Preview: This attempts to simulate how the Waypoint information will display on the currently selected Target Device. Note - this functionality is provided as a "guide" only - it is not guaranteed to be 100% identical to the actual display.

Pressing F2, or selecting "Options" will take you to the Options Page. This is documented separately.

The "GeoCode displayed address" option is used to find the Geographic coordinates for a place, using address information. The service is currently provided using "Web Services by Yahoo!". This Geocoding service is very good at finding coordinates, but the refined address information returned is currently only meaningful for North America. Therefore, the user is given the choice of using "All returned information", or just the "Coordinates". If no information is returned, or is of insufficient precision, you can amend it on the Geocoding form and retry the operation from there. (Please click the image for a larger view).

"Batch GeoCode all entries" is a related function, but applies to all Waypoints currently in the file. It is especially useful, if the input came from non-gpx input (such as an Outlook address book). There are some sub-options that you can use to fine-tune the results: (Please click image for a larger view).

  1. Replace existing Longitude and Latitude. This is selected by default, and tells GeePeeEx Editor to try and improve on the currently stored coordinates. If de-selected, any Waypoints that currently have this information, will be skipped.
  2. Update with returned Address information. This is De-selected by default, since it only works properly for North American addresses. When selected, the full address returned by the Geocoding service, will be used to overwrite any existing data.
  3. Stop on address NOT FOUND. Normally, the Batch GeoCode function runs to completion. If this option is selected, it will abort if any sought address is not found.

There is also a "Minimum Precision Required" option. If the returned data is not of this precision, it will be re-classified as "Address Not Found".  Any entries updated, will have their display colour changed to Magenta (in the Waypoint 'tree').

The geographic coordinates of the Waypoint are normally locked against accidental editing. If you need to change the Longitude, Latitude or Elevation details, click the UNLOCK button on the 'Geo Options' . They will automatically be UNLOCKED if you activate the Google Maps™ display.

To add a photo (i.e. JPEG image), custom Icon (.bmp) or alert sound (.mp3) to the Waypoint, click the [...] link button and select a file. If GeePeeEx Editor cannot find a file that has been previously selected, it will 'blink' the field. 

When saving the file, you have the option to store relative filenames - (relative to the directory containing the .gpx file). This makes it easier to share files with others. If you want to specify a directory, you can type it into the box directly and end with a "\" character (but, see below).  

NOTE: POI Loader 2.4.2, will only utilise a single <LINK> statement, despite the gpx format allowing for multiple such statements. So, for any particular Waypoint, you can use it to associate EITHER a JPEG image, OR an MP3 file for an alert (which you will NOT  be able to 'control' i.e. Start/Stop) OR a BMP to use as a custom bitmap for the Waypoint.

If  an MP3 filename contains "TourGuide" as part of its name, then you will be able to 'control' it. Additionally, the Alert associated with it, will be a true circle, rather than the normal "Along Road" type. Note: the phrase is case-sensitive.

If you require more than one type of file, place them together in a directory and 'link' to that directory instead. The "Automatic Enhancement Detection" feature incorporated into GeePeeEx Editor, will try and detect such groups of files and will offer to automatically change a link to a file, into a link to a directory, in such circumstances.

 It is possible to change the Symbol that is associated with a Waypoint, but please note that this symbol is only displayed if the .GPX file is transfered as a Favourite. POI Loader does NOT make any reference to this symbol in its output file (POI.GPI).  It does however have a big effect on how the rest of the Waypoint detail is handled. Therefore, it is advisable not to change this from its default of "Information". For this reason, the option has to be 'Enabled' before it can be used.

To enter a "Description" which is displayed when you press "More" (Nüvi 3xx presents all information on one Page), click the label "click to edit". This is currently entered in plain text, including any desired markup .(Simple html can be used to change the font size, text colour etc, see this page for examples).  

 Note: left to its own devices, the Nüvi 3xx series truncates this data to about 250 characters. To work around this bug, GeePeeEX Editor will swap the description and Email fields, so that the description appears at the bottom of the screen on these units.

You can also have this field include the Longitude/Latitude and Elevation, by pressing the [INS] button to the right of description.

At the side of each Tree entry (i.e. the Waypoints on the left-hand side), there is a tick/check box. If the entry is ticked/checked then it will be written to the output file. This allow entries to be written selectively and is most useful when used with the "Save As..." function. You will also notice that entries in the tree are colour-coded. Normally they are blue, but when edited or if imported from another file, they are displayed in red. Entries read from . CSV file are always displayed in red. Note: if they are duplicates, they will be renamed and displayed in grey (if the appropriate option is selected).  Their corresponding tick/check boxes will be cleared, so that, by default, they will not be written to the output file. Entries that the Batch GeoCoder has updated will be displayed in Magenta. 

Pressing the "Sort" button, will result in the Waypoints being sorted alphabetically, by name.

If you make any accidental amendments to a Waypoint entry, you can reverse them by pressing the UNDO button. The only exception to this, is the actual name of the entry which is changed as soon as you 'leave' the corresponding field.