Keep annotations when I download routes

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• Ian Sherman   Tuesday 05 Aug 2025 13:46:47

  Apologies if this has been covered already but can't find anything when I search the topics.

  Also apologies for any stupidity but this is the first time i have ever posted on a forum.

   

  Essentially the annotations I have added to my routes save on my Plotaroute account but when I download them to my computer or Garmin they disappear, irrespective of the format I download them in (gpx, tcx, fit).

   

  I'm pretty sure that this wasn't a problem in the past.

  Any help would be greatly appreciated

  Thanks in advance

  Ian

• Julien Plotaroute   Tuesday 05 Aug 2025 19:29:02

  Hi Ian!

  No problem, it's not always easy to navigate the forum!

  There was a similar topic not too long ago, which you can find here.

  Are you adding annotations on the map, or are you adding directions and notes to the route?

  Kind regards,
  Julien

• Ian Sherman   Wednesday 06 Aug 2025 08:21:21

  Thanks Julian,

  I'll check out the link you sent but in answer to your question, it's annotations on the map

  Ian

• Peter Höglund   Wednesday 06 Aug 2025 09:09:04

  Actually you can get annotations in an exported gpx file.

  I've used it to get annotations outside route/course into my Garmin watch from Plotaroute. In my Garmin Fenix watch they end up in Navigation-> Saved Locations. The will also be seen on map if that is activated.

  Unfortunately not with the correct symbol, but that can be changed in device. If I remember correctly Plotaroute doesn't try to save the correct one in the exported gpx

  (Sorry, but I don't remember now if I used a gpx track or route, but you can open the file in a texteditor to verify before copyingto device.)

• Julien Plotaroute   Wednesday 06 Aug 2025 11:50:22

  Thanks Peter!

  I've just tried downloading a route in every format we have on Plotaroute.
  When using GPX-Track-Direction, annotations do appear in the GPX file as waypoints.

  "</wpt>
  <wpt lat="48.5871383" lon="7.7382508">
  <time>2025-08-06T00:00:00Z</time>
  <name>Test1</name>
  <cmt>Test1</cmt>
  <desc>Test1</desc>
  <sym>Flag, Blue</sym>
  <type>Waypoint</type>
  "

  If I upload the same GPX to Plotaroute again, the annotations and symbols disappear, but some get added to the directions panel.

  If the annotation was on the route, it is in the directions panel at that place.
  If the annotation was near enough, it gets added to the route's directions panel at the nearest place on the route.
  If the annotation is too far from the route, neither an annotation nor a direction is displayed.

  I get the same result on Garmin Connect's website.
  I don't have a Garmin device ready to test it on a device itself.

  Has this always been like this?
  I'm wondering because Ian says, "I'm pretty sure that this wasn't a problem in the past."

  Julien

• Peter Höglund   Wednesday 06 Aug 2025 12:41:21

  Yes, actually Plotaroute has always been rather bad at file imports.

  I've never been able to import routes (fit or gpx) from other platforms with preserved directions/waypoints/course points in an acceptable way.

• Julien Plotaroute   Thursday 07 Aug 2025 05:39:06

  Thanks Peter,

  I'll add this to the feature requests to see if this is something the devs could improve.

  Julien

• Ian Sherman   Thursday 07 Aug 2025 07:52:19

  Thanks everyone,

  In answer to Julien,I'm sure the annotations were visible in the past.  Unfortunately I have no way of proving it as I delete old courses from my Garmin, but I do have old couses with annotations in my route library on Plotaroute and I'm sure the annotations were visble on my garmin when I cycled these routes. The routes in particular were cycled about 2-3 years ago.

  Any help would be gratefully received

  Ian

   

• Peter Höglund   Friday 08 Aug 2025 13:27:01

  Julien, is there a bug in the gpx-route-poi download/export?

  Route: https://www.plotaroute.com/routeplayer/3069956?init=download

  If I download the above test route as a gpx with the options Route and POI selected I do not get any route point data at all.

  If I select the options gpx, route and dirs, then I get the directions as route points as expected. 

• Julien Plotaroute   Tuesday 12 Aug 2025 08:58:39

  Hi!

  @Ian: I don't know if the fact that annotations aren't visible on your Garmin device anymore comes from a change on our side or Garmin's side.

  @Peter: You said in your previous message that you can get annotations from Plotaroute to Garmin. Does this require a specific setting in the Garmin device (like activating Navigation-> Saved Locations), or do you change your GPX-files beforehand (and if so, how)? I haven't been able to find another topic in which you (or someone else) might have explained this specifically (most questions are about directions). If you have done and can remember the topic, would you agree to share the link to it?

  Also, on the POI export, I get the same result as you.
  I'll report this bug to the devs.
  Thanks for bringing this up.

  Julien