Communicator Plugin 2.2.0 for Mac has arrived!

35 responses to “Communicator Plugin 2.2.0 for Mac has arrived!”

1. Joe commented on August 3, 2007 at 8:57 pm

   Is this supposed to work in any site that uses the Garmin plugin like on http://www.geoaching.com?

   If so the plugin site ( and the garmin test page) still says Not supported in your browser.

   But hey, thanks! You know us Mac users are waiting

2. developer.connect commented on August 4, 2007 at 12:06 am

   The plugin won’t work on sites using the older API. This early release is primarily meant for developers to play around with, before we release the next version of the API. You should be able to test the plugin on our demos, though. The control demo is a good one, and more demos for the Mac plugin can be found on the 1.3-SNAPSHOT API page.

3. Brad Carter commented on August 4, 2007 at 9:16 am

   This plugin works for me in the lastest Firefox but not in Safari Beta 3.0.3. The error in Safari is a popup window that says “HtmlTagNotFoundException: Plug-In HTML tag not found.” Just an FYI. Thanks for the plugin!

4. dchow commented on August 6, 2007 at 10:33 am

   Brad – Thanks for letting us know. Would you mind e-mailing us at developer.connect at garmin dot com and telling us how you got this error? Thanks!

5. J-F commented on August 7, 2007 at 9:37 am

   I sent an email to the support team with a snapshot in jpeg format of the error when trying to access to demo plugin page using the latest plugin version 2.2.0.

   Thanks

6. dchow commented on August 7, 2007 at 2:13 pm

   This bug has been fixed as of this afternoon. It was an issue with Safari’s method of embedding object tags. Clear your caches and try running it again as it should work now. Thanks for helping us out.

7. J-F commented on August 7, 2007 at 2:58 pm

   Yes it works !!! Keep coming !!! )

8. Graham Mack commented on August 9, 2007 at 4:38 am

   Just a little feedback,
   I’m running Mac OS X 10.4.10 with FF 2.0.0.6 and Safari 2.0.4, after installing the plugin and restarting the browsers
   the test page returns “Internet Browser is NOT supported” although It is possible that I may have misunderstood something somewhere. All suggestions welcome,
   Thanks !

9. dfred commented on August 9, 2007 at 10:04 pm

   10.4.9 and FF 2.0.0.6 – definitely says it is not supported after installing – safari doesn’t work either on test page. I’m excited for it to work on geocaching.com eventually though.

10. developer.connect commented on August 9, 2007 at 11:44 pm

    The Garmin product test page should report unsuccessful right now because it is using the official API release (which doesn’t support Mac) to detect the plugin.

    The test page will work once the official release with Mac support comes out, as this one is still a preview. In the meanwhile, you can try one of our demo pages or if you’re really savvy, write up your own.

11. J J commented on August 10, 2007 at 11:19 pm

    What version of OS X is needed to make this run? Can’t seem to get it to work under 10.3.9?

12. J J commented on August 11, 2007 at 12:00 am

    I didn’t provide enough info on my previous post. I’m running OS X 10.3.9 with Firefox 2.0.0.6 The plug-in is showing up as being installed in the Library directory, but when I got to test it on the various sites listed above, I get a “Plug-in not detected error” or “Plug-in not supported in your browser” I’ve cleared the Firefox cache as well as restarted the computer. Only conclusion is that it won’t run under 10.3.9 — but the required OS X version isn’t listed anywhere.

    Thanx

13. Graham Mack commented on August 11, 2007 at 6:53 am

    Dear JJ
    Read the post previous to your first entry which may help shed some light on the subject.
    Best regards.

14. glh commented on August 11, 2007 at 7:23 am

    Just tried to install and test it on the demo page:
    http://developer.garmin.com/web/communicator-api-1.3-SNAPSHOT/apidemo/garminDeviceControlDemo.html

    works using OSX 10.4.10 and Safari 3.0.3
    Great!!!

15. J J commented on August 11, 2007 at 2:15 pm

    Hey Graham,
    No light has been shed. I can’t get ANY of the demo’s to run. I know the “test page” doesn’t work for anyone, but the demo page under 1.3 snapshot should load according to other users. My only conclusion is that I need 10.4.10 to make the communicator work, but the OS X version isn’t listed anywhere. And based on the previous posts it looks like some people are getting it to run under Firefox and others aren’t. Oh, well.

16. Mike commented on August 12, 2007 at 4:04 am

    Any word on WHEN Mac support will be available on the official release?

    By the way, it’s somewhat dishonest to advertise Mac plugin support, when in fact it’s not yet in production. But this is par for the course for Garmin as far as Mac user support goes…. I’m still waiting for a Mac-compatible Garmin Training Center that doesn’t look like it was built using 1990’s technology.

17. dchow commented on August 13, 2007 at 3:02 pm

    Mike,

    If things run smoothly, we’re aiming for an official release in early September. What determines the date is the amount of testing to make sure everything’s ready for public use. That’s where we’re hoping you developers out there come in to let us know how things are working in addition to our own tests.

    Keep in mind that the Mac plugin support was released on the Garmin Developer site and announced on the developer forum and the developer blog, rather than being released and announced on the official Garmin site and blog. This is not a dishonest advertisement, this is an honest developer release that was stated as such.

18. dchow commented on August 15, 2007 at 4:37 pm

    J J,

    The test mac in our office is using OSX 10.4.10 and unfortunately we don’t have a 10.3.9 version available to test. So for now I will say that you at least need 10.4.10.

19. KathyLee commented on August 19, 2007 at 7:46 am

    The plugin works for OS 10.4.10 and Safari 2.0.4 with USB 2.0 ports (intel Core Due iMac) with a Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx. Perhaps it doesn’t run on 10.3.9 because the machine you are running on only supports USB 1.1? My G4 iMac is at 10.3.9 and is “stuck” with USB 1.1 ports – I learned this when trying to connect a 5G video iPod to it. Haven’t tried to connect the Garmin to it, however.

20. Ryan commented on August 21, 2007 at 11:42 pm

    So I’m a brand new Garmin Developer and I know this is a silly question, but perhaps you can help me. Where can I download the snapshot of the 1.3 api? I’ve been hunting around for quite a bit and can’t seem to find it, thanks!

21. dchow commented on August 22, 2007 at 3:31 pm

    Not a silly question. The distribution for each build can be found in the dist directory:

    http://developer.garmin.com/web/communicator-api-1.3-SNAPSHOT/dist/

    Links to this folder are available in the official build pages but not the snapshots, although that may be changed soon..

22. Chris commented on August 24, 2007 at 4:02 pm

    Demo pages not working, for either Safari or Firefox.
    When trying to Find Devices, I simply get the response “No devices found.”

    I tried both Firefox 2.0.0.6 and Safari 2.0.4
    I have iMac Intel Duo-Core with OSX 10.4.10.
    I have Garmin etrex.
    I am connected through Keyspan to USB port.

    FYI, I can talk to etrex through other software such as GPS Connect.

    I am anxious for September release. [:-)]

23. Klondike Kid commented on September 2, 2007 at 12:58 pm

    As a long time Mac user and owner of 3 Garmin receivers in the eTrex and Legend series and having the possibility of acquiring a depth finder/plotter unit within the next year, I have waited with much anticipation for the Garmin support in the Mac platform. I’m an avid GEOCACHER and each decision I made to purchase a GPSr was based on two things: Quality/features, and Mac Support for downloading geocaching.com cache information into my units. I’m on my 3rd Garmin unit and although I commend Garmin for completing the Mac plug-in project, a 4 day old message thread posted on Groundspeak forums asking the Geocaching staff when their API will be completed has received a total of 64 views and 4 notes, two of which are my own.

    Since Mac users who are planning on getting involved in Geocaching are at a severe disadvantage because they cannot download coordinates of caches into any brand of GPSr unit, the fact that Garmin advertises “Mac Support coming soon” has swayed thousands of purchasers to BUY GARMIN over your competitors.

    If one of your competitors comes out with a plug-in AND helps Geocaching programmers complete their API before Garmin is truly compatible with Geocaching and Macs, I’m bailing and all my units go on eBay and I’m buying whoever will support me. And from that time on the buzz on the forums will be, “If you own a Mac, buy XXXX brand GPSr for Geocaching compatibility.” That’s marketing. And it will have an impact. Geocaching is probably the single most blossoming outdoor activity in the world to promote purchasing a GPSr….far more effectively than any advertisements Garmin can put out. Your stock is doing well right now; don’t blow your lead by sitting by the wayside while Geocaching drags their feet on completing the build for a Mac API. Just do it! as Nike would say.

    Regards, -KK-

24. Isaac commented on September 5, 2007 at 4:23 pm

    I also wish there were some more updates about Garmin Mac software. I’ve searched Google many times, but the only thing I ever find is the announcement from 2006 that Garmin would be adding Mac support to their products. I bought my brand new eTrex unit under this impression, and was disappointed to find that I could not use the Topo software that was bundled with it, and I also can’t even download waypoints onto it. So far this is pretty useless for geocaching, which is why I bought it….

25. Ron commented on September 8, 2007 at 10:42 am

    To Garmin Developers:

    Help me understand why you’d come out with a Mac plugin that DOESN’T work with the most popular geocache website http://www.geocaching.com? I fail to understand what value it is to me.

    Like others here, I am so disappointed in Garmin in not providing support for Mac users… even when you say there is support… so dishonest.

26. dchow commented on September 10, 2007 at 12:41 pm

    Chris,

    Thanks for the report. We’ll look into this to see if we can reproduce that error.

    Klondike Kid,

    We are now communicating with Geocaching.com directly to get their API updated. Hopefully this will speed up the process. As for why we are not making such updates on our side, please refer to the following forum thread: http://developer.garmin.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=202

    Ron,

    Please refer to the following forum thread concerning your comment: http://developer.garmin.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=202

    Diana

27. Chris commented on September 17, 2007 at 11:19 pm

    Diana,
    I continue to have no success connecting to my eTrex via my Mac. I read about a possible upgrade, so I connect back to my old PC (which I had previously abandoned). I seccessfully upgrade from version 3.50 to 3.60 using my PC. I tried to connect back to my Mac and still no luck.

    I am waiting for other ideas. Is the planned Garmin communicator plugin supposed to make this all work?

    Chris

28. Mike commented on September 20, 2007 at 3:31 am

    The Test Page is now working — I’m using Firefox 2.0.0.7 on OS X 10.4.10. Does this mean the full Mac support is in place?

29. Graham Mack commented on October 25, 2007 at 4:58 am

    Is there some possibility of a development status update please.

30. Leslea commented on November 26, 2007 at 1:27 pm

    I’ve got a brand-new Garmin GPS, two different kids of mac gps software, and over a decade’s IT experience, and I can’t figure out how to get geocaches from geocaching.com (where I paid for a premium membership) into my Garmin GPS. I’ve downloaded every plug-in and read every “readme” and I am baffled.

    Are you any closer to making this thing work? Or should I get my $ back and go back to using google maps?

31. Graham Mack commented on December 1, 2007 at 8:44 am

    My feeling is that this is now dead, I had been hopeful of some sort of update but as yet the lack of response
    implies that this project has been rendered obsolete.

32. dchow commented on December 13, 2007 at 1:46 pm

    A new plugin version has just been released which supports Forerunner 50.

    http://developer.garmin.com/2007/12/13/communicator-plugin-2310-released/

33. Mike Sneed commented on March 1, 2009 at 5:34 pm

    I wanted to report that I had been using the communicator to pull newly published caches into my 60csx directly from geocaching.com using osx 10.5.6 and safari 3. With a recent update to Safari 4 the communicator now fails to work — the site advises that it can’t find communicator; to reinstall. Subsequent reinstallations do not fix the issue.

34. Chip Roberson commented on July 26, 2009 at 11:21 pm

    I would like to second MIke Sneed’s comments. Garmin Communicator is not installing for Safari 4.

35. Robert Walker commented on October 8, 2009 at 10:07 pm

    Works with firefox 3.0,7 not Safari 4.0.3