New Feature Request: Download 2 Gpx On Search Page

[geode hunter]

i imagine this has been thought of before, but a quick search through the forums has not revealed it.

 

How about allowing a .gpx download , in addition to the .loc one on the 20 caches each nearest search generates?

 

Also it would be great if the checked marked boxes on the search pages could accumulate to one download from the several pages. This might even help in finding caches along a quick highway route.

[+gnbrotz]

That's what Pocket Queries are for.

 

You can learn more about them here.

[geode hunter]

maybe as a part of pocket query to custimize even further the waypoints need to complete a file?

 

The site allows for gpx downloads on individual pages,

 

"Download individual listings to GPX

 

You have the ability to click on a link to download a cache page directly to GPX format. GPX files contain all the information on the cache page which can be read by applications that support this file format."

 

Why not the search pages?

[Jeremy]

Because it is an extremely complex query that needs to be batched, which is why Pocket Queries exist in the first place.

[+wildlifewriter]

Because it is an extremely complex query that needs to be batched, which is why Pocket Queries exist in the first place.

Sorry Jeremy, but that doesn't make sense.

 

As I understand it, the OP is asking for .gpx. file format to be available instead of (or, as well as) .loc format where the latter is currently the only option.

 

I would support his request. - and if it's a Premium Member-only facility, then so be it.

 

One reason is that Garmin's Mapsource application - in its newest version - no longer supports the import of .loc files directly. (No idea why they made this change.)

 

Even if the .gpx file contained no additional information over .loc, it would still be useful for this reason.

 

-Wlw.

[Jeremy]

Sorry Jeremy, but that doesn't make sense.

If you see the information in a GPX file and information in a LOC file it does make sense.

 

If you're saying, instead, that a GPX lite version sans the Groundspeak namespace is an option (with just lat/lon), it is. But we did start with LOC as the basic lat/lon file format. We have considered a GPX lite version but I think it may cause some confusion between what people think LOC is compared to GPX. Most geocachers when they think of GPX files they think of it containing all of the geocaching listing information, not just Lat/lon.

Edited June 9, 2005 by Jeremy

[+planetrobert]

One reason is that Garmin's Mapsource application - in its newest version - no longer supports the import of .loc files directly. (No idea why they made this change.)

you could use gpsbabel to change your loc file into a gpx formated file. wouldn't have the extra data, but it would have name/lat/lon and it would be in gpx format.

[geode hunter]

Well, is was just a thought. I can download each individual page as a .gpx then open them up into cachemate for paperless caching. and, with my new found plugins, upload coords to my gps.

 

Maybe this is better anyway. I can keep finding the next nearest cache , say west, and created a highway route of caches.

 

Thanks for looking into it.

[+Record Holders]

One reason is that Garmin's Mapsource application - in its newest version - no longer supports the import of .loc files directly. (No idea why they made this change.)

 

Even if the .gpx file contained no additional information over .loc, it would still be useful for this reason.

MapSource has never supported the .loc format. It has deprecated suport for the pcx5 format, which is pretty antiquated. If you want .loc support added to MapSource, I would suggest submitting a request to Garmin. For now you have to use a third-party app (EasyMps, GSAK, etc) to convert the .loc format into .gpx or .mps.

 

I do agree with your point, that you could have a .gpx file with just the .loc info in it. This would make for one less file type to support. I don't think a gpx lite format would be any more confusing than getting either a .loc or a .gpx file depending on where you do the download from.

[Jeremy]

Well, is was just a thought. I can download each individual page as a .gpx then open them up into cachemate for paperless caching. and, with my new found plugins, upload coords to my gps.

You're just reinventing Pocket Queries, and this Premium feature is available now. GPX to most people equals all cache info already.

[Jeremy]

I don't think a gpx lite format would be any more confusing than getting either a .loc or a .gpx file depending on where you do the download from.

True this is ancedotal, but from experience with incoming emails, the difference between GPX Lite and GPX would cause a lot of confusion, which tends to make LOC more effective.

 

For example, User A sees "download to GPX Lite" and clicks on the nearest cache page, receiving just coordinates. There's no other info in there? Email to the contact address I go...

 

Is it my desktop application stripping that info? Is there an error on the site that doesn't contain that info? Those are the sorts of questions we'd get.

 

I believe Garmin does not support LOC because there is no formal spec for it. They're in the GPSBabel forums on occasion and have concerns with even the GPX spec since the XSD file sits on the Internet and not locally. But I am paraphrasing.

[geode hunter]

As a premium member, the loc (isn't that an amway product) files are never used. The programs I use, if they don't need the extra info strip it away and use what they need . As a matter of fact the only program I use that needs the gpx files is cachemate. It sure is handy to have the description, the past logs, and the hint out in the field. Only wish it could deal with the pictures.

 

the shot gun effect of the pocket queries works just fine. Just thinking of finer ways.

 

Thanks again

[+sbell111]

... As a matter of fact the only program I use that needs the gpx files is cachemate. It sure is handy to have the description, the past logs, and the hint out in the field. Only wish it could deal with the pictures. ...

Try Plucker. Having the pictures in the field is nice.

[Jeremy]

As a premium member

Your account doesn't indicate you are a premium member. I was going under the assumption that you were doing so as a regular user without access to GPX files.

[geode hunter]

I have talk to support and it seems my geocaching name is too long to enter the forums. so I created a new account with the abbreviated name. In the beginning it was enough that my profile page let me enter under another name, but this stopped working last year. I have not retried it since talking to support.

 

Plucker sounds like a good idea , I'll look into it.

[geode hunter]

Nope still don't work.

 

Edited June 10, 2005 by geode hunter

[+planetrobert]

Nope still don't work.

 

hello fellow mac user =)

 

anyway, it is a bit involved to monkey the code to allow longer names. I looked into it on my server which has this same forum SW. I think you have a good enough solution.

 

the mass GPX dl would be nice, BUT I also see the reason for not having it.

[+Tharagleb]

Because it is an extremely complex query that needs to be batched, which is why Pocket Queries exist in the first place.

Please bear with me, but I am having a problem understanding this statement of yours. I am not trying to argue with you, I am trying to understand... so:

 

Which of the following assumptions that I am under is incorrect?

 

1) There is code written so that when you click on the GPX link on a cache page it goes out and pulls the GPX info from the database for that cache.

 

2) This same code could be implemented on the search page to download multiple waypoints at a time in GPX format.

 

3) This would not be difficult thing to do.

 

I expect the answer is that #3 is wrong. It may be that becuase the cache page already has the data needed to create the GPX then #1 is wrong, but in that case the search page is *already* calling the routine to get the cache page/GPX info.

 

I don't doubt that I am oversimplifying things. Please set me straight.

[+The Leprechauns]

I am a far cry from a database programmer, but it strikes me intuitively that it is less strain on the database to say "here's GC1234, download just its cache information in GPX format" than it is to say "find all the caches meeting the user's search criteria and download all the cache information in GPX format for each of them."

[+Tharagleb]

I am a far cry from a database programmer, but it strikes me intuitively that it is less strain on the database to say "here's GC1234, download just its cache information in GPX format" than it is to say "find all the caches meeting the user's search criteria and download all the cache information in GPX format for each of them."

Sure, what I meant was that *after* the search you click on the check boxes for each cache you want and then click on a button that says "Download GPX". This would download the selected caches as GPX.

[+The Leprechauns]

And I assumed that the GPX data wasn't just sitting there, waiting to leap out of the search results page into a single handy file. It needs to be compiled separately from the search results, doesn't it?

[+Tharagleb]

And I assumed that the GPX data wasn't just sitting there, waiting to leap out of the search results page into a single handy file. It needs to be compiled separately from the search results, doesn't it?

The GPX data does seem to leap out of the cache page, which leaps out of the search page...

 

I *think* that when you click the "download gpx" button on the cache page it peforms a routine that does something like "go get GPX data for GCxxxx". I am suggesting this routine get called multiple times from the search page, and that the results be passed back in a single file.

 

I am not saying it is necessarily easy.

[+Maeglin]

As a matter of fact the only program I use that needs the gpx files is cachemate. It sure is handy to have the description, the past logs, and the hint out in the field. Only wish it could deal with the pictures.

CacheMate doesn't do images on its own, no, but the file converter can create an HTML file linking to all of the images found in the GPX files, grouping them by waypoint ID. That file can be run through Plucker, or whatever else HTML reader you want to use.

 

That capability has been there for some time now.

[azbithead]

I believe Garmin does not support LOC because there is no formal spec for it. They're in the GPSBabel forums on occasion and have concerns with even the GPX spec since the XSD file sits on the Internet and not locally.

I am a Garmin software engineer and work with the MapSource development group. I just wanted to clarify a few things regarding this topic and Jeremy's post.

 

First, we are strongly in favor of the GPX format and have written our own extensions for it. We would very much like to see Groundspeak replace its use of LOC files with a so-called GPX Lite file. This is perhaps selfish on our part as we don't want to add support for LOC files because, as Jeremy stated, there is no formal spec. Also, we believe that having fewer file formats is less confusing to users.

 

Second, we have no issue with the GPX XSD file being on the Internet. In fact, it needs to be there in order to promote its greater use if not for other reasons.

[+as77]

As a matter of fact the only program I use that needs the gpx files is cachemate. It sure is handy to have the description, the past logs, and the hint out in the field. Only wish it could deal with the pictures.

CacheMate doesn't do images on its own, no, but the file converter can create an HTML file linking to all of the images found in the GPX files, grouping them by waypoint ID. That file can be run through Plucker, or whatever else HTML reader you want to use.

 

That capability has been there for some time now.

I don't think the GPX files contain any images or links to images.

[+Maeglin]

I don't think the GPX files contain any images or links to images.

HTML cache descriptions in GPX files do.

 

The base GPX 1.1 schema allows for multiple URLs per waypoint (1.0 technically does, too, but it's not very obvious), so perhaps they'll be in there when/if the transition is made.

Edited June 13, 2005 by Maeglin

[+webscouter.]

Not that I know anything of value but it would seem to me that the only thing that a GPX light file would need to make it valuable is having the geocache symbol embedded in it. So how difficult would it be to change the LOC file so that the <symbol=geocache> is included? You could still call it a loc file

[+as77]

I don't think the GPX files contain any images or links to images.

HTML cache descriptions in GPX files do.

That's true, but images that are simply uploaded to the cache page but not included in the description do not appear in the GPX file in any form.

[geode hunter]

it may look, to the casual reader, we have gotten off topic. The original question was for Groundspeak, but it seems Cachemate will do what I was asking for,

 

Running pocket queries to gather info on several caches, converting them to Cachemate database, then running a nearest search with quantity, direction, and distance filters, I can download just the needed waypoints to my gps and have the paperless info on them as well. This will be very useful when traveling long distances from my current 500 point radius of home. It will take many pocket queries, but it will save time at the computer and leave more time out in the field.

 

The pictures will be nice to do the puzzle caches. ie: corrds are here, then look for this picture, go there, look for this pic..... ect. as soon as Jeremy Atherton tweaks MacCmConvert abit.

 

Thanks again for all the useful advice and help .