TorqueMaster

I won't make any claims on /HOW/ they are integrating the official checker, but that image shows clearly they are. Would it be too hopeful to assume that since it is possible to do, they are still in testing stages of including it in the official app? It would be silly to create an official checker with the intent of forever leaving it out of the official app...

Interesting point. Yes, it is one more breadcrumb of information that could help, however... I just opened a cache in the official app that has uses official solution checker. In the attributes section, the puzzle piece does not show up. That attribute is visible on the web browser description view. Just my opinion, but I believe the average geocacher doesn't even realize that attribute exists, and if they see it, they'd think it means this is a "puzzle" cache. If they are on a pc web page, they can hover and see what it means, but then, it doesn't matter because they can see the checker. The official app is very good at explaining the attribute meanings, too, but this one isn't there. I'd further ask -- does the typical geocacher know the experience will be different/better on a pc web browser or smartphone browser? Seasoned puzzle cachers know all the angles, but I'm not so sure about John Q Cacher, who isn't a computer nerd like me (us?)

Yes a bracketed (always unencrypted) hint as you say could be done, but since I want to add the convenience of a link _right there_ for the less tech savvy, I added the redundant text as well as the link in the body of the description instead. Yes! Part of my point is I am new to cache ownership and I assumed by using the official checker, I wouldn't have to worry about it not integrating well. I too had a cacher ask where is the checker? Only after publishing could I see how it looked on the app, and (foolishly) I just assumed that the app view was consistent with the web view. I'd like to see this modification so future new CO's can avoid this issue, and the inconvenience we newbies cause to the cachers.

The official info says "Note: The Geocaching.com solution checker is not available on the Geocaching® app." Very true, if you use that checker, nothing at all about coordinate checking shows up in description in the app. One can back up one screen, and choose "open cache in browser", and find and use the checker that way. This is not very user friendly. I propose that the official geocaching app(s) should automatically show a similar link on the cache description page. (Ideally the entire checker should be visible and usable in the app description, but one battle at a time.) As it stands, the official app user will not know about the checker, and cannot see it, or how to find it, unless the CO adds text and a link. If the CO adds this text and link, it becomes redundant clutter when the cache is viewed with a web browser (or the third party app.) Hope this makes sense to the powers that be...

Very good, I was just browsing around and saw those forum sections. I will likely start a thread in the Android app section about my proposed change.

Ooooh ok. You're right, he did answer "No." Now through my thick skull that edits I make to my published cache *do not* go through a reviewer. I thought for sure they would want someone looking for inappropriate material before it was published with the changes. I'll keep cursing, threats and extortion to a minimum Ahhh, very good. Well, many thanks to Max and 99 for helping the little guys deal with the corporate entity that makes this possible. And thank you Lynx Humble.

Still a problem - no push notifications of received messages. Android 10 Moto. Followup -- I turned off battery optimization for the app, no effect on the problem: New message notification does not show on any home or lock screens No new message notification on the home screen of the Geocaching app! If I open the "Messages" part of the app, there and only there do I see a dot indicating a new message from another user.

Ok, I wanted to make sure I wasn't "tying up resources" by creating a new cache only for experimental purposes. I'll understand it may not sit there idle forever. Ok, that's exactly what I did -- edit edit edit until it was is functionally "perfect" when viewed through the web browser. So there is no provision to look at it through the app or 3rd party apps before it goes live, one must trust (haha) that it will be displayed correctly? More work for the reviewer if/when it doesn't. Lol, the changes you suggest would never be approved anyway. I just got the impression my reviewer was (at Groundspeak's directive) discouraging *any* edit after publication to not alter the experience for later cachers -- but also probably to minimize CO's nickel and diming him with lots of tiny incremental changes. But the net result is unwelcoming to any post-publication changes. Needing a link to web browse the cache (and checker) in the description is worth adding, I'll just have to make sure I tack on any other less important changes at the same time. Same goes for caches that say "No hint until FTF." -- clearly they plan to edit the cache (shortly?) after publication and "change the experience" for future cachers.... Thanks for your help. I'm guessing you are a volunteer, well versed in all things geocaching? Thank you for your time and expertise. Does Groundspeak have employees here, or somewhere, to hear and consider changes to the system / app? I can and will use the "contact us" form but that just feels like a "black hole" for any suggestions, worthy or not.

Thank you for responding -- Max and 99 and IceColdUK! The help article does indeed say "The Geocaching.com solution checker is not available on the Geocaching® app." which blows my mind. Doesn't even add text or a link in the description to assist the cacher in finding and opening the geocache page in a web browser so they can use the checker there. I realize they can back out one screen and the option is there to open the cache in a browser (on Android, I presume iphone is similar) but that's not terribly friendly. Solution is *I* add a link to the geocache page in the description. Along with a snarky explanation. What I don't understand is this -- in the c:geo app, there *IS* a link on the description page "geocaching.com coordinate checker available via browser." It knows it's supposed to be there and provides a link. How do I lobby Geocaching official to implement that in their app? I have investigated two third party apps so far, and both work as expected -- a link in the description, inserted there by the CO, leads one to a browser page coordinate checker. The link shows up in a web browser, in the official app, and in c:geo. I presume all the other checkers will behave similarly, which is acceptable. I see some are more diverse in what they can do, which is great -- I'll keep that in mind for future caches. As for the second problem, all three of us, and probably 99.999% of the world can see the coordinate checker if we open the cache page in a web browser. Android chrome and iphone safari seem to work... Any ideas on what I can tell my cacher (the screenshot I posted) who can't see it? A setting to check in the browser? I can suggest using a different browser app, but I'd rather solve the problem than hand wave the issue away. And finally...if I want to experiment before creating a new cache, can I go through the process of making a new cache, but never send it for review/publishing? If I do that, is it visible to me, the creator, in the official phone app, or other apps, for diagnosing these types of issues before it goes live? The local reviewer is polite, but made me feel like it should be buttoned up tight before publication, that changes after publication are...frowned upon. I frequently see in the description props given to the FTF on a given cache, which seems like a nice touch, but that triviality had to go through the reviewer, right? Thanks for your input!

I just released my first puzzle cache. I used the official coordinate checker. I was completely unaware that it would not show up on the official smartphone apps. When I built the cache description page, did I miss a warning that the checker would NOT BE VISIBLE in the official apps? Are there 3rd party checkers that WILL show up in the official app? (guessing no) Had I know this, I would have added a note in the description telling cachers to use "Open in browser" to find the checker. 2nd problem -- I have a cacher that *did* open it in a browser (not sure which phone or browser) and the checker still does not show up. It should show up between the "legalese" and the hint, but nothing is there. Another good reason to move to 3rd party checker? I'd appreciate tips from anyone who has already figured out the best way to make a coordinate checker as findable as possible, and universally accessible regardless of device and app used. Thanks for any help!!!

Agreed. Make the last digit a zero. *IF* the device had 4 decimal resolution, and rounded the display to 3 digits, 0 would fall in the "middle" of the possible coordinates. Say N40 08.6825 through N40 08.6834 gets rounded to N40 08.683. If it truncates, make it a 5. No way to be sure, so just use zero. This is all pretty moot since those 4th digits are only going to change GZ by 8ish feet at most. We're geocaching, not surveying.

Following up -- 2 new cache alerts. For the first one, all three notifications -- Groundspeak email to Gmail, Gmail forward to Cell SMS, and Groundspeak "email" to cell SMS arrived immediately. On the second one, Groundspeak email to Gmail, Gmail forward to Cell SMS arrived immediately, but Groundspeak "email" to cell SMS lagged by 30 minutes.

Thanks barefootjeff, you nailed it. I did not see the tiny encoded text/plain section when I looked through the email, but sure enough, it is there. Since my cell provider seems to be the problem, it will be interesting to see if the email forwarded from my Gmail to my SMS address will be delayed the same as the email from Groundspeak to my SMS address... Still waiting for the next new cache alert.

Hrmrmrh... If it is greylisting, really nothing I can do. I am relying on gmail address (android phone already forces me to the have app and account) to get alerts when they actually happen. I have since setup forwarding from gmail to my sms address, we'll see what happens there... The reason I believe Groundspeak is altering the body of the message sent directly to sms is because of the language used: "Subject: New Multi-cache: cache title (GCxxxxx) x.xxmi E (xx.xxkm E) Go find GCxxxxx: http://coord.info/GCxxxxx" The link seems to be a shortcut to the cache page. In the Gmail email, the exact same subject is used. The body appears to be completely different. No where does it use the text "Go find GCxxxxx: http://coord.info/GCxxxxx" not even in the "original message" unless it's encoded in to the base64 part. The text "Go find CGxxxxx:" is coming from Groundspeak, not a 3rd party stripping things out. Can they encode the same message such that if it's going to SMS one part is sent/visible, and if it's going to email, a different part is sent/visible? Anyway, the point is to figure out why the alerts sent directly to SMS are so delayed. If Cricket is greylisting Groundspeak (why?) that's that I'll not pursue further. If the delay is something Groundspeak can fix, or pressure Cricket to fix, that'd be great! Thanks for everyone's input.

I currently have notifications set to send Newly Published alerts via email to my cellphone's SMS email address. (For Cricket users its your cell phone number + @mms.cricketwireless.net). The problem is that the new cache notifications rarely arrive in a timely manner -- usually 30-60 minutes later than ones sent to an actual (Gmail) address. It appears that the body of the outgoing message is altered for the SMS recipient as compared to the email recipient. Pretty sure this has to be happening before it leaves Groundspeak, since it isn't just the same information, but truncated. It has much less information, just a link to the cache page. Annoying, but tolerable. As a test I sent myself an email from my computer to my cellphone's SMS address. It arrived almost instantly. It seems likely the delay is with Groundspeak, not my wireless provider, and reformatting the message is probably part of it. Is Groundspeak the bottleneck? What can be done to get these "emails" to SMS out faster? 30-60 minutes of delay is way too much in a FTF situation. Thanks...

Thank you! Thought my old app was headed for the bit-bucket. Descriptions seem to be hit or miss, but it's sure nice to see maps again! I have a Nokia E71 - anyone know if version 0.99(1) is the latest? Thought it was a beta when I installed it... Crap just read this. Live beta is being dumped completely. Happiness turns to rage. somebeach, somewhere... http://live.geocaching.com/livebetaretirement.html

There was a similar explanation in all those other threads. You just didn't like it. Use the wap site with your cell phone and go geocachin' I only recall one reference to an explanation, and it said the reasons coordinates weren't given in insta-notify were never made clear. It's ok, it makes sense now. Very good points! While these restrictions are very rare, they do occur. Even though I use my best judgement going in blind, clearly these are things I could not possibly know about without consulting the web page. I just did a google search for what WAP means--a brief look at the forum discussing it here did not seem to define it--I presume to use that feature, I need to: I mentioned I only have SMS on my phone, same as most people with cell phones. The GPSr was enough of a splurge, I have no intention of getting cell phone web access until it is much more affordable. The "Get WAP" answer comes off sounding as if it's as affordable as a pack of gum. I looked at the wap web site, and the "view cache" is a very brief form of exactly the info a cacher needs, including the necessary warnings! Hints, TBs, and Logs are nice, but not needed. Well...maybe hints. The information is already compiled, so is it a great stretch to ask that this info be sent in the insta-notify for new caches via e-mail? Just makin' trouble...

If I run into a locked gate, my tuff luck. Or if the info is so critical, include it in the notify. With the coordinates.

Tried out insta-notify recently and mostly like the way it is set up. I searched through the other posts to see why the coordinates aren't included in the message, but found no good explanation. I would think the core info should be there...and coordinates are about as core as it gets! Coordinates, type, size, waypoint name. Distance would be nice, too. Looks like coordinates and size are the only missing data. I see where if you were getting this info on your desktop computer, it's no big deal to log onto the website for more details, but out and about on an sms cell phone...I just want the basics. If a computer is handy, I'll look at all the details, if not, I'll take my chances. Saw mention of FTF-hounds, and yeah, that would describe me (just got my first today.) Seems like the way it is setup now gives those who can afford web-enabled cell devices the best FTF chance, leaving SMS users in the dust (and heck, even most AARP members I know have an SMS capable cell phone). If insta-notify isn't for assisting in FTF, then why have it? Or be fair about it, and send the needed info. Or send them at some pre-determined time every day...maybe they are??? If so everyone should know what time that is.... Ok enough ranting. Hope this makes sense. TorqueMaster out.