Can the XT search an area for POIs (restaurants)?

[Peobody]

Yesterday I stopped for fuel and wanted to search the area for restaurants. I am familiar with the "Up Ahead" feature in the XT but was surprised to find that it didn't list any of the fast food places that were visible from the gas station. I was hoping for to find a local full service spot but all the XT presented was a handful of places that I assume were on the route out of town. Does the XT have the capability to search the area based on current location?

[Fxwheels]

was surprised to find that it didn't list any of the fast food places that were visible from the gas station.

Maybe it's programmed to ignore fast food places as they not so good for your health .
I've experienced the same. XT or other nav's. They're no match to google search on the phone.

[Peobody]

Maybe it's programmed to ignore fast food places as they not so good for your health .

Locally owned full service place = Opportunity for better food, better service, and unique experience when compared with a fast food chain.

They're no match to google search on the phone.

That is what I resorted to. Wish I thought to do it before mounting up and pulling away from the fuel pump. My phone is not readily accessible when I am on the saddle so the XT was the convenient device at the moment.

[rbentnail]

[I've experienced the same. XT or other nav's. They're no match to google search on the phone.

Exactly what I was going to say. Garmin sux for searching, it's so far out of date all the time. GPS for traveling, Google for eats and sleeps. I quit using Garmin for POIs and searches long, long ago. It's too unreliable.

[Peobody]

I know that search reliability sucks, but it was the device that was readily available so I considered it worth a try.

My point with this post is that I could not find a way to search the area around my location for food so was wondering if I missed something.

[jfheath]

Yesterday I stopped for fuel and wanted to search the area for restaurants. I am familiar with the "Up Ahead" feature in the XT but was surprised to find that it didn't list any of the fast food places that were visible from the gas station. I was hoping for to find a local full service spot but all the XT presented was a handful of places that I assume were on the route out of town. Does the XT have the capability to search the area based on current location?

Yes, it does.

The option appears in a number of screens, but it is cunningly disguised and invites you not to press it !

Example given in landscape view

Where To ?

Where To.jpg (28.62 KiB) Viewed 1248 times

The search box appears top right and takes up half of the width of the screen - above the display of the first six option - Go Home, Explore, Address, Favourites etc. Yours may look different because you can drag these items around so that the ones that you use the most appear on the first screen.

But unseen to the left of the search box is a blue rectangle that appears to be telling you where you are. It isn't. It is telling you where it is searching. Tap it.

Search Area 1.png (19.13 KiB) Viewed 1248 times

It gives the option of selecting options to search near locations to do with your route
ie

• My active route
• My Destination
• Upcoming exits

And then options to search near other locations

• Where I am now,
• A different Town
• A postcode
• A recent Destination
• A favourite

Do this before entering your search or category. The search area remains while the blue rectangle shows what you have selected.

The blue rectangle reverts to your current location when you go back to the Where To ? screen. Searching near your current position seems to be the default setting.



The same feature appears on other screens, but the blue rectangle is sometimes replaced by a smaller blue button with a tear drop icon - eg when using the FourSquare database, or here in Favourites.

Teardrop.jpg (11.33 KiB) Viewed 1248 times

The accuracy of these databases has left a lot to be desired in my limited experience with earlier versions.

eg

A restaurant could end up being a truckers stop of the wooden hut variety that closed down in the sixties.
Fuel could direct you to a local hardware shop that has a single pump outside still displaying 4/- per gallon.
Restaurants include places like McDonalds - which might be accurate, but not what I was looking for!

So I tend to treat them with suspicion. One long detour for the nearest fuel when I was already running low destroyed my confidence in it really. But that isn't Garmin's fault. Thankfully on that day, what I had assumed to be a 240 mile fuel tank range, proved to be more than 260 miles before I finally found some fuel.

When was the last time you saw an update for Foursquare or Garmin's database. Genuine question. I've never noticed.

[rbentnail]

I know that search reliability sucks, but it was the device that was readily available so I considered it worth a try.

My point with this post is that I could not find a way to search the area around my location for food so was wondering if I missed something.

Sorry I misinterpreted. Given this info, yeah John is spot on as usual but I rarely ever use it. I tried several times and rode to closed restaurants before I gave up on it. I concluded it's Garmin data being so far behind. It seems pretty good for gas stations tho.

[Peobody]

Thanks John for that detailed explanation. I never realized that the blue box to the left of the Search box was clickable or that I could search by category like that. Every day is a school day!

Is there a way to change the order of the categories? Long hold > drag does not work on that screen.

When was the last time you saw an update for Foursquare or Garmin's database. Genuine question. I've never noticed.

My Foursquare map is 2023.20, same as my CN NA map, so it appears to get updated regularly although, like you, I don't specifically recall a Foursquare map update so wonder if it is included with the CN NA NT updates. Regardless, I disabled the Foursquare map. I found its distance to restaurants to be extremely inaccurate. This was via the Up Ahead function. Don't know whether it would be more accurate the Search function would be more accurate.

A restaurant could end up being a truckers stop of the wooden hut variety that closed down in the sixties.

Reminds me of the time I used the Up Ahead feature to add a diner to my route. The location I was routed to contained a ramshackle two-bay garage building in the middle of nowhere. It certainly was never a diner. Luckily it only took me about 5 miles off-route.

[jfheath]

Thanks John for that detailed explanation. I never realized that the blue box to the left of the Search box was clickable or that I could search by category like that.

It was your question that prompted the explanation. I wouldn't have remembered otherwise - it's not something that I use a great deal. I knew that it hadn't been obvious to me, so it probably wasn't obvious to some other people too.

For some reason I knew that it was possible long before I discovered how to do it. That blue box is weird. I genuine 'Sorry Mate I did Not See You' type of box. It is there all the time, but it looks as though it does nothing - so your brain ignores it.

The little tear drop icon on some subsequent searches does the same thing, without dispalying any text. So you can select or modify where to search AFTER you have started searching for (say) a restaurant.

[FrankB]

If I understand this post well, as expected the XT can search. But because of Maps the results are not always usable. So I guess it comes down to an old IT saying: Rubish in, rubish out!

My personal experience, for the Netherlands & Germany, is fairly good.