FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

This section contains the questions and queries that we are most often asked. It also covers some of the ordering info for our other websites such as TOMTOMPOI.NET and HGVSOLUTIONS.COM. We suggest that you take a look through the items here as they touch most subjects.

-  click to see our knowledge base

I paid for the HGV download and I haven't got a link or email - what should I do ?

Where is your phone number ? Can I call you up ? How should I contact you ?

This is the most common query that we receive regarding our HGV products. Please review the following;

After completing the purchase in PAYPAL you should have been re-directed back to our site. A page would have confirmed the order and provided details on how to download the software.

If this didn't happen then you won't have the instructions you need to be able to download the product. You will need to send us your purchase details and name - see order help below.

If you have the instructions but haven't received a reply to your email request for the link then read on.

The most common reason is SPAM blocking. Many mail providers reject the mail as its similar to SPAM (it has a link and the words customer). Please check your SPAM folders for this email. You can also try the following:

  • turn off SPAM blocking and re-send the request
  • try another email address
  • add our domains to your WHITE LIST

The domains you should add to the WHITE LIST list are:  tomtomfree.com, tomtompoi.net, hgvsolutions.com

You can send as many emails as you like to request the download details. Please make sure you have spelt tomtomfree.com and tomtompoi.net correctly, as well as the email address - often people mistype these.

 

Since tomtomfree.com only provide free downloads, we don't expect calls from these users. If you have an issue with your tomtom either seek out our sister site UK PlaceFinder or contact tomtom.

If however you are enquiring about our data, services, or something general then email helpdesk@landis-media.co.uk For any Sales or Business Enquiries you can find our phone numbers in the contact details group website which is Landis Media Ltd.

Customers buying our HGV solutions will already know how to contact us via that site www.hgvsolutions.com

We don't see it as part of our services to teach the basics of computing to people. For example if you are not happy with saving files and copying them, we suggest you get someone to assist you.

Its also very important  that you BACKUP your tomtom - to restore it can take a long time if you don't have a BACKUP.

If you have an order or installation problem email us at helpdesk@landis-media.co.uk Please outline your problem and include an email address and the order copy (receipt from paypal). We also need to know the product, you contact details and when you purchase it. You can alternatively call us and ask for help.

If you use MSN or HOTMAIL or have sent us e-mails and had them returned or not replied to - then please call us. We do not ignore customers your emails are not reaching us.

 

I can't seem to get the POI files from the site onto my tomtom - what do I do ?

Do you have a list of which systems these POI's will work on ?

This is very common - a lot of people as us this one. what we recommend is as follows;

Go to www.tomtomfree.com

Download a FREE POI SET from here

SAVE this ZIP file to desktop

Unzip this file and locate the .OV2 and .BMP files.

Copy these files into your MAP folder on the TOMTOM. This folder is called many names; variations can be GB and Ireland maps, GB and Significant Roads Western Europe, Western Europe maps etc.

Turn the tomtom off. Disconnect from PC and  turn on again. Go into manage POI, then enable/disable POI and turn on the POI

For Fleet & Low Bridges and Keyfuels - we use a separate method for these commercial products using tomtom HOME. Please read the supplied manuals (do not use the method above).

 

The POI sets for download will work on;

  1. TOMTOM ONE
  2. TOMTOM MOBILE
  3. TOMTOM 300
  4. TOMTOM 310
  5. TOMTOM 500
  6. TOMTOM 510
  7. TOMTOM 520
  8. TOMTOM 700
  9. TOMTOM 710
  10. TOMTOM 720
  11. TOMTOM 910
  12. TOMTOM 920
  13. TOMTOM RIDER
  14. TOMTOM NAVIGATOR & PDA's
  15. TOMTOM ONE (includes XL)
  16. "T", TRAFFIC, "E", EUROPE
  17. "R", REGIONAL, CRACKER, XL

All TomTom models will work with our POI sets, in the same way that all TomTom models can run the latest TomTom software. For information on the latest maps and software then please CLICK HERE

We also supply a complete HGV and TRUCK data pack for avoiding Low Bridges, locating Fuel depots and suchlike. See our site www.hgvsolutions.com

How do I fix the jerky screen on a XDA PDA v2.0 running Version 5 software ?

What files do I need to use from the Low Bridge disk and how do I find them  ?

We were sent a fix by Peter Topping for the jerky screen that appears on the PDA's such as the XDA. We have published this file for reference here;

CLICK HERE FOR FIX DETAILS

It is basically using the ability to turn on and then turn off the POI's as the manner in which to reset the jerkiness experienced.

If anyone else has any useful or relevant tips for any of the versions of tomtom software or devices then don't hesitate to send them in and we will publish them here for the community.

If you have the download link then you need first to save it to DESKTOP. You then need to double click this file to OPEN it and get the UNZIPPER to work. It will suggest a folder that it will create, just click UNZIP. Once it complete you will have a new folder called Fleet & Low Bridge or Services Fuels (depending on the product) on your C: drive.

In this folder are a couple of directories and a few files at top level. Open the file called menu.htm (or just menu on some file explorers). This open sup what looks like our website , but is the manual. It will give you the instructions you need.

If its a CD ROM  - just insert it into the drive - it will either auto-start or open the disk up and activate menu.htm. If not then see the sticker on the reverse of the CD packet.

 

I have paid for the DOWNLOAD and I now think that I would find it easier if I used the disk or CD ROM version  - what do I do ?

Why should I renew my subscription after the first year ? I can just keep on using the old Low Bridges ?

A number of people do this - they buy the DOWNLOAD thinking they can UNZIP and EXTRACT the files.

They then find that its a little bit harder than it first seems. That's just fine - we have a service where you can UPGRADE to the CD ROM version.

Just visit this page HERE and you can pay a small fee and get sent the CD ROM version. You will need to fill in details of your original purchase, email address, house, street and postcode.

 
 

There are a few good reasons - First its illegal, since you only buy a yearly licence.

Secondly you will miss out on the updates - and last year we issued 5 updates to everyone, that's a lot of new info, bridges, lay-bys and so on.

Finally - you are getting a great deal - we scour the country for bridges, correct them, survey them and make sure you get to use them, with add on where we can, voice alerts, flashing icons.

You get the functionality of a £500 system like the Snooper for just £10 ?  

How do you check the quality of your POI files are good ?

What is the purpose of the alerts list that you run?

We have a dedicated team of Quality Assurance staff, who's job is to make sure that every process we use keeps the quality high.

They set the standards we use from sourcing data, loading, storage, collation, conversion and manual creation. They then check the data after we have created our files, as we run the de-duplication and verification process and finally the publishing.

They also test the files randomly (in effect an audit) and data at every stage of the process to make sure that it remains consistent and high quality.

Having robust quality controls ensures that we produce consistently good files.

 

The alerts list is simple. Its a list that we send out to anyone who subscribes to it to receive an alert when there are new files to download.

This means that when we add some new files of any type, or update a file type we send a list out. This way you can watch out for the alert and either download  new file, or check for a favourite and get the latest copy that's up to date.

This will save you a lot of checking of the site, in fact there is no way other than through the list to know when a file has been updated (without downloading it and checking the date tag).

So please send us an e-mail to our UPDATES/ALERTS list - or see CONTACTS page for more details.

What do you do about data going out of date ?

Where do you source all your information to make these POI data files ?

All the data we supply is very dynamic and will in many cases be out of date as soon as we have created them. we try to combat this in two ways;

We create and use the most up to date data we can get or hands on We manually attribute and verify data sources.

The issue of out of date data, is based (as across the GIS industry) on file size. So the smaller the file size generally the more accurate the data should be. Many free POI files are of varied quality and completeness.

We like to ensure that all the files we supply have been verified and checked. for example our IKEA POI set is up to date, using the latest address of the IKEA stores and contact numbers. Given that the locations are few, we will manually check every entry for this set.Making sure that all the details are correct.

However on larger sets this cant be done, if there are for example 9000 petrol stations. We think it would be hard to improve our POI data sets.

That's why we have joined up with UK PlaceFinder as we know they use similar techniques to ours to supply verified and complete files.

Be safe in the knowledge that we are already using the best techniques for ensuring our data is top quality and up to date.

 

Our data comes from several sources, these include;

Manually captured data - created by our GIS specialists from source materials (e.g. directories, guides etc)

Business or public domain data with Postcodes - these we convert and then Geo-code to get the co-ordinates we require. Provided generally from the owners or company.

Business listings or other address information - these provide a name, address, often telephone and POSTCODE. We Geo-code the POSTCODE to get the co-ordinates we require.

Other sources - such as existing POI data sets that are freely distributed. These we check against all the other collected sources.

We also have a number of contributors and agents who provide us with data. To make the files we then bring this data together into a single propriety format that we have created.

This is then manipulated as required using various data transformations our technicians created. The changes are applied to the data, to standardise formats, values, abbreviations etc.

Making a data set that's consistent and retains as much useful information for the users. We then remove duplicates, sample and check the data and upload it to our database server "factory".

Additional data checks are then made and if necessary examined by a human being and corrected. We then perform quality checks against the position and information we have, to ensure the data is reliable. Then the actual POI files are created in the various formats we need.

 

 

What's this thing I keep hearing about Geo-coding ?

 

What size does a POI bitmap have to be in TomTom ?

Geocoding is a technique where you use  tool called a "Geocoder" to generate the latitude and longitude of a place from the postcode. This is very useful for POI creation as most places you would want to visit have an address.

In the case of Postcodes the point we use (the lat/lon) is normally the centre of that postcode. Generally this is fine as the postcode areas are small and this is close enough to the required location. Occasionally there are difficulties, think of a supermarket. The shop is the postcode location, whereas the entrance to the car park is the desired "location". 

What we do then is either adjust these manually, or leave them in, knowing that drivers are "savvy" enough when nearing the destination to look out fore the place they need.

 

All ICONS must be no larger than 22 x 22 pixels, anything larger will make the software unstable or crash. They can be smaller but you wouldn't really want them to be much smaller would you ?

an ideal way to create these images is to find a larger picture and use a Photoshop type package to resize them to 22x22. However good an artist you are the resize function will always turn out a better pixelated 22x22 image than you drawing the same in that size.

Full 24 bit colours are supported in the bitmap on all the TomTom Go series of devices. We don't need plain old black an white icons then we can branch out !

We took great pains to produce a special set of very attractive icons for your viewing pleasure on the website. If you take a look you will see that we have carefully selected these and it shows in the quality for the display.

Why won't some of the POI phone numbers dial directly from the TomTom ? I can see them on-screen ?

 

Why do you think that you have the best POI's around ? What makes you different from all the other suppliers ?

This is to do with a formatting issue we encountered. Over time when we update the files, all the phone numbers will be able to dial direct.

The format error doesn't prevent the numbers being viewed, it only prevents the direct dialling from TomTom.

We will aim to fix this in the next release of each file, we have had some difficulties because the formats changed.

Many of the numbers will allow you to dial them from the screen and we are adding more all the time.

 

Well we would do naturally otherwise why are we in business ? Seriously we feel that we offer the best service for the TomTom of POI data files that have useful and clearly presented information

Our files have the dates clearly marked and you know what you are getting.

There's also a service so that you can be alerted to any changes. We have not so far found any other sites offering a similar service, or indeed anything that comes close.

What do you do about data going out of date ?

 

Why when I lots of POI's don't some show up ? Why do you supply the "collections" ?

All the data we supply is very dynamic and will in many cases be out of date as soon as we have created them.

we try to combat this in two ways;

bullet

We create and use the most up to date data we can get or hands on

bullet

We manually attribute and verify data sources.

The issue of out of date data, is based (as across the GIS industry) on file size. So the smaller the file size generally the more accurate the data should be.

Many free POI files are of varied quality and completeness. We like to ensure that all the files we supply have been verified and checked.

for example our IKEA POI set is up to date, using the latest address of the IKEA stores and contact numbers.

Given that the locations are few, we will manually check every entry for this set. Making sure that all the details are correct. However on larger sets this cant be done, if there are for example 9000 petrol stations.

We think it would be hard to improve our POI data sets. That's why we have couple up with UK PlaceFinder as we know they use similar techniques to ours to supply verified and complete files. Be safe in the knowledge that we are already using the best techniques for ensuring our data is top quality and up to date.

 

We noticed two things when we used the TomTom and pushed it to the limit;

bullet

That it was annoying to keep having to update 100's of different POI files to get the range of places we were interested in.

 

bullet

That we hit a limit when we had added 29 new files (40 on other versions of the software). This prevented us from installing all the great POI's we had made.

The limit of 29 was extremely annoying, because most of us will want to be using the Speed Camera Database for certain with the proximity warnings by each category of camera or speed. If this is the case then that's 10 file spaces used up with just that set.

So we came up with the idea of collections. By stretching the format used in TomTom for POI files and creating a new method of handling data we were able to cram a lot more into each of the files.

By combining these POI's together into a single file, you can download say all 10 petrol station types in one file rather than have to download all 10 files.

The name of the brand will  be clearly displayed at the start of the POI entry and so no data is lost in this process. See the panel to the right for a detailed explanation of using these collections and scrolling through them.


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