396 File Name Question

[white wing]

Anyone familiar with the 396 know what the file name length (i.e., number of characters) limitations are when importing a gpx file?

[jfheath]

Welcome to the forums from Yorkshire, UK.

Do you mean 'filenames' or do you mean the name of the route ?

If you mean the name of the gpx file, Eg My 3000 mile trip of a lifetime 2023.gpx for FAT32 formatted storage it is typically 255 characters, but it can vary.

But

The files - that are transferred and imported into the Zumo - may contain many different routes, so the name of the file is not used by the Zumos. Instead, it uses the name that you give to each route.

The route names - There must be a limit, but I have never reached it. That is because you hit a practical limit on the Zumo screens first. The screen will only display so many characters - and that number can vary depending which screen you are looking at eg the import list, the edit list, the route selection list.

I don't know the 396, but the 590 had a cunning trick which made the character size smaller in some lists so that you could read more of the name, and one earlier Zumo (550 or 660 ? ) would break the route name into two lines if you used a particular word in the middle. Memory fails, but it was something like 'from'. Eg 'My next destination from Last location' - that would be displayed as

My next destination
Last location

Create a route with a long name eg ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ and see how it displays on various screens. Whichever displays the fewest number of letters - that is your practical limit.


Behaviour may depend on which software you use to create a route. Some will use a file for each route, and name the file exactly the same as the route. If this is your experience you will wonder what I am talking about! But Basecamp, which still is the preferred option for many of us allows a lot of routes, tracks and waypoints to be saved in a single file.

[white wing]

Thanks for the detailed reply. I only recently started using the 396 and planned a couple routes using myrouteapp. I saved each route as a separate gpx file, with route name and file name being the same. There seemed to be some strange behavior with route name as displayed after importing it into the 396, so I thought maybe it was related to the length. I really appreciate the suggestion to do some testing with file names to see the practical limits. I will do that and see what happens!

[jfheath]

I really appreciate the suggestion to do some testing with file names to see the practical limits. I will do that and see what happens!

Just a heads up

I think that with MRA you give the route a name and it then creates a file using the same name.

However, the Zumo picks up the route name from inside the file - so changing just the filename after MRA has created it will probably not work.

Best just to a single create a single route with a very long name - like the alphabet - and see how that displays.

[white wing]

However, the Zumo picks up the route name from inside the file - so changing just the filename after MRA has created it will probably not work.

Best just to a single create a single route with a very long name - like the alphabet - and see how that displays.

I created a route with a filename using the alphabet as suggested and all the letters displayed fine. I suspect the strange behavior I saw with the filename was a result of the Zumo picking up the route name from inside the file as you suggested. I must have renamed the file to something close but not the same as what was IN the file from MRA.

Thanks for that insight!

[jfheath]

Late addition - cos I missed your previous post.

If you are using Basecamp, it will automatically name the route based on the first and last route point - but you can turn off the automatic naming of the route and put in your own name.