Step 4
Step 4: Compile and Copy
OK breathe a sigh of relief your almost there! OK so you’ve exported all 59 samples into the unique ogg file names and save them in your chosen directory (For me, this was “C:\TomTom Voices\Graeme”), all you now need to do is turn this into the .chk and. vif file. And also attach .bmp (TomTom 5+ only) if you want to be snazzy!
a) Create the .chk and .vif files using win:viftool2: win:viftool2 is a windows GUI (Graphical User Interface) alternate to the command line utility VIFTool. Before you continue, please ensure you have installed win:viftool2 from here.
| 1.) Start win:viftool2 by clicking on start > programs > winviftool2 > winviftool2. The main screen should look like this -> |
|
| 3.) Click on the ‘browse’ button in step 1 and when the dialog box appears browse and select the folder containing your OGG files (c:\tomtom voices\graeme in my case).When you have located the correct folder, click on ok |
|
| 4.) In step two, choose a profile number (between 71 and 99 by either clicking in the number box and typing it in, or by using the plus and minus buttons. |
|
| 5.) Next type in a profile name in step 3, this must be between one and eight characters long and cannot contain any illegal characters ( ” / \ ? $ & ) etc. |
|
| 6.) Similarly to step 1, step 4 requires you to select a folder using the ‘browse’ button. Do this and navigate to a folder you wish the completed files to be stored to (for example ‘desktop’), when you have done this, click ok. |
|
| 7.) Once you have completed all 4 steps, click on the ‘check’ button. The program will now double check to make sure all the information you submitted is correct. All going well you should see four ticks appear to the right of each step and the button ‘check’ should now say ’start’. |
|
| 8.) Next click on start, read the warning message and then click next. The program may appear to crash momentarily then, all going well a success message will appear letting you know that the operation was completed successfully.IMPORTANT TIPS: Your firewall program MAY show some security warnings as win:viftool2 works by compiling and running a batch file and also copies and then deletes a few temporary files. Please allow any executions to run as it will not work unless you allow it. I can assure you this will not harm your computer!! Please also ensure all working directories have right access, and that you are logged in with full administrative access. When people experience problems, typically with a ‘Runtime error’, this is what the problem is! |
|
| 9.) You have now stitched together your voice file, and should be located in the specified location of your choice. win:viftool2 gives you the option of either restarting the application, or exiting. | |
REMARKS: win:viftool2 was created by ME using Visual Basic programming language. Please let me know of any bugs you find, and also any feedback is always appreciated, so get in touch with some!
b) Creating the bmp file (not essential) You have now created the two files and are ready to create your bitmap. The bitmap can show anything you wish, however must be exactly 160 pixels wide and 160 pixel high. It must also be called the same name as the .chk file (for example data99.bmp). You can use any type of paint programs, but the simplest would be ‘Microsoft Paint’. Once you have your three files you are now ready for the final task, copying them to your voice folder on your memory card.
c) Copying the three voice files to your memory card: Locate to the root directory of your TomTom memory card, simply copy the three files into the following folder, depending on what version of TomTom you have: TomTom5: Copy to the folder ‘Voices’ located on the ‘root’ of the TomTom memory card. Pre TomTom5: Copy to the folder ‘TomTom’ located on the ‘root’ of the TomTom memory card. IMPORTANT TIP FOR PDA TT USERS: the TomTom folder may be located on the main memory of your PDA, NOT on the memory card. If this is the case, you will need to use your synchronisation software (for example ActiveSync) and navigate to where you originally installed the main software onto.
Congratulations you now have your very own personalised TomTom voice profile, select the voice in the usual way, and away you go.
Happy and Safe Driving, and for heaven’s sake, don’t get lost!
