Rest areas

[kcjohanson]

How do I look for & show Rest Areas on my route? Or are they listed in TLDCN 2010.

[Kevin_T]

How do I look for & show Rest Areas on my route? Or are they listed in TLDCN 2010.

Don't think those are part of TLDCN2010. Hopefully they may have it in TLDCN2011, because I think such information is very helpful.

[glenngirls]

I have just recently received my copy of Trailer Life Directory Campground Navigator 2011. I can't find any indication that they have added rest areas, wish they would.

[Macci3]

Huh? I can definitely see them in my copy of the 2011 version. Unless you have mistakenly turned them off, or something, they should show up on your map, identified with little rectangles that say Rest Area (see below).

[artmart]

Macci,

I haven't noticed them in TLDCN 2011. What scale are you using? What "program options" and parameters did you use?

I am using USER POIs for rest areas and I created a BMP to use as a marker. Maybe I'll turn this off and see if I can find the rest areas.

[Macci3]

Hmm...

I don't think I did anything special, actually, I don;t recall that I did *anything*. Now that you mentioned it, I looked under user POIs and that's where they appear to be coming from! I then took a quick look at the tutorials (I remembered having seen something there about the rest areas) and under the heading Loading an Undertow Software POI file, with the extension UPI) I saw the directions on how to load them. But, I have to say again, I don't know that I actually did that, unless my memory is failing me. I think they were enabled when I installed the program.

[RWinlow]

Hmm...

I don't think I did anything special, actually, I don;t recall that I did *anything*. Now that you mentioned it, I looked under user POIs and that's where they appear to be coming from! I then took a quick look at the tutorials (I remembered having seen something there about the rest areas) and under the heading Loading an Undertow Software POI file, with the extension UPI) I saw the directions on how to load them. But, I have to say again, I don't know that I actually did that, unless my memory is failing me. I think they were enabled when I installed the program.

I don't believe they were installed automatically. I remember reading the tutorial and doing it myself. End result is that the rest areas are all there, so...

[artmart]

Okay, some clarification is needed. I am using the USER POIs to show the rest stops on my TLDCN. It was a conscious effort and required me to locate a .csv file containing the lon/lat coordinates and activating them in TLDCN map displays.

kcjohanson does not imply this was done. Was it? If you'd like I can help you with my Rest Stop USER POIs. Just PM or email me.

I have rest stops because I put them there, it appears maybe Macci3 did the same kind of thing and that's why they're there.

KevinT is pretty much correct as far as current operation, but I'm not so sure I agree with future implementaion because with the User POI feature, TLDCN may not be obligated to put rest stops in there because us end users can now put it many other things via this feature. Same with Truck Stops. I use USER POIs for some truck stops (Pilot and Flying J for now) and now that SP1 is released I may start working on many others (TA, Love's, etc.). The difficulty will be that the sources of this information comes from many places, mostly for free and sometimes requires reformatting which makes the difficult with the computer-challenged.

For the not-so-computer-proficient, make a post in the Forum for what you need and hopefully someone can help.

[RWinlow]

No, I didn't have to go looking for a CSV file. This is a POI file distributed with TLDCN2011 in Undertow's proprietary format (includes a bitmap marker). I run the program, pointed to the My POI folder and the file was there. I added it to my list of POs that that was that.

[artmart]

I think I found them.... and a problem too.

On a fresh install there is a default USER POI file setup and a bmp icon showing rest stops. This is nice to know, but.....

I have existing USER POIs. This default USER POI file did not get installed. It turns out I obtained a .csv User POI file from another source and installed for use with TLDCN and manually created a silly bmp icon to go with it.

Now I understand Macci3's response and attachment that shows the rest areas that come with TLDCN but only on a fresh install or an installation that did not have any User POIs already configured.

Now the appropriate answer to kcjohanson's OP, is that there are rest areas in TLDCN 2011 but you must use the Program Options to have them display and at what scale you want them show up. If you need help with this please repost.

[Macci3]

"Fresh Install"? Is there any other kind, artmart? That's the only kind I know of. But if you are referring to fresh install -vs- the newly released service pack, I think the supplied POIs are there in both. I think undertow should have made a lot more noise about this very helpful addition to their TLDCN2011, but they didn't.

And in terms of instructions, there are detailed instructions on how to do it in one of the tutorials that came with the program (under help, tutorials).

[artmart]

A fresh install means you install on a system that has never had TLDCN before. Not a system like mine that had a prior version and I have manipulated it in so many ways (program options, preferences, User POIs and many other things), that I have changed the program so that an update will not manipulate my customizations.

An update should support this and NOT change user's parameters. The problem in this case, is that the update did not add its sample User POI files since I already had some in place. This is a big difference.

Someone reported seeing something that I was not able to see using the same software and update. To me if the software operates differently on one system than another, one might get a benefit the other does not, or in this case, a new install means the user gets Rest Stops, and another does not. Fortunately, I had some via another means.

I saw plenty of documentation on how to use User POIs and that's how I got some in my system. I have not seen any that says, User POIs in an update WILL NOT get installed. I think the update procedure should ask the installer if they want new User POIs installed if they find there are already some or some similar notification.

[bullaco]

Fresh install here. User, User POIs showed me the file described in their tutorial. I added it to the POI list, set the scale visibility to 20 miles and that was it. I tried it again, after I installed the Service Pack today. The undertow POI file was there again. Are you sure it's not there when you try it?

[Macci3]

Art, all I can tell you is what I see when I select User and then User POIs. This is what I see. Did you try it?

[artmart]

Yup, Macci3. I can see these now and when I first updated the Service pack I have about 6 files of User POIs and that one was NOT there or installed and wonder why. But I did find it on my system and added it manually and now those Rest Stops are on the map. I already had a Rest Areas file in my User POIs and the ones in the file provided by the update just about are right on top of those, so for the most part, the rest area files on the net that I acquired elsewhere are very close.

I'm just trying to understand if TLDCN is distributing Rest Stops as a convenience and as User POIs, they may not get installed if someone already has User POI files. This is a great idea, but the way it operates (some people get them, some don't) doesn't seem right and this should be documented that this should or shouldn't happen or how it is supposed to work.

Note, this is NOT the same as something that was fixed and not documented, because this operation conflicts with other operations and with what one might expect or receive. Big difference as far as I'm concerned from something that is fixed and there is no other affect elsewhere.

[bullaco]

Art, based on your posts, it sounds like you are testing for them, so you probably have installed many different versions ate many different times, possibly hard to keep track, so you may be getting confused. Most of us that got the original release, would NOT have had our own POI files in the POI folder, because we would NOT have had any TL-2011 directories "prior" to installing the DVD product So, the assertion that there might be a problem "if you had your own existing POIs file..." is irrelevant for most of us "common folk"

Just for kicks, I installed the original from the DVD on my wife's HP laptop (that would be th scenario for any *normal* user, who had just gotten their disk in the mail <g>). Immediately after the installation, I run it and did not accept the option to update. I clicked on User and then on User POis, and sure enough, their file was there.

[artmart]

What I'm getting at, is if UnderTow starts bundling more User POI files in the updates, these may not get installed if we start adding our own User Files besides what they provided whether I have patches or not. If they provide patches or pre-release software and the production versions operate differently, to me, that's a big problem.

For a new user, great, but for updated users that have customized TLDCN for their personal use, this should not disregard additional features or files.