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Gsak (geocaching Swiss Army Knife)


ClydeE

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How can I have more finds than records ?

 

Let me explain: I have a database with all of my finds.  Last week there were 389 records in this database and the "yellow" count was 389.  Most of the finds come from a PQ but a few of them I've added by hand over the months.

 

In the last week, I've found 9 caches, making a total of 398.  I just got my weekly PQ and dragged the GPS file into GSAK.  It contains about 366 records (it's normal for there to be fewer than the total finds, as the archived ones don't appear).

 

The bottom line of my GSAK screen now says:

 

Subset: None  398 Shown (all waypoints)  Counts: 403 0 0 24.

 

So the number of records is correct, but the "yellow" count has gone up by 14 instead of by 9.  Where should I start to look to find the 5 extra "found" entries ?

 

As MotleyCrew suggested, first try a Database=>Repair/defrag. I doubt that will fix your issue, but it will make sure we are starting from the correct point.

 

Please see my recent previous post about how GSAK recognizes finds.

 

In your situation what you must be aware of is that Groundspeak allow more than one find for a cache (That is, you can have more than one found log - an event cache for example)

 

So this means that in your GSAK database you have (intentionally or not) 1 or more caches will multiple found logs.

 

Use the log filter to find and isoloate these caches. Then depending if the logs are valid or not you can use the right click menu option to delete the individual offending logs.

I'd already done the database repair, of course. :D

 

There might be multiple Found logs but I don't see how 5 of them would have appeared in the last week (I was on 389 caches and 389 yellow a week ago). Also, my Found total on GC.com is 398 (which is correct) and if I had multiple Found logs, they would presumably count multiple times there too.

 

About all I can think of is that in some cases (but more than 5!) recently, I have logged a find via WAP and then when I got home, deleted the find log and created a new one. Perhaps those WAP finds are still in the database somewhere and the PQ is finding them.

 

When I get home (I'm on my PC at work right now - no GSAK) I'll try the log filter. I'll also grep the .GPX file for "WAP" - all of my WAP logs contain that string.

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There might be multiple Found logs but I don't see how 5 of them would have appeared in the last week (I was on 389 caches and 389 yellow a week ago). Also, my Found total on GC.com is 398 (which is correct) and if I had multiple Found logs, they would presumably count multiple times there too.

 

About all I can think of is that in some cases (but more than 5!) recently, I have logged a find via WAP and then when I got home, deleted the find log and created a new one. Perhaps those WAP finds are still in the database somewhere and the PQ is finding them.

 

When I get home (I'm on my PC at work right now - no GSAK) I'll try the log filter. I'll also grep the .GPX file for "WAP" - all of my WAP logs contain that string.

This is exactly the point I am making when I say "intentionally or not"

 

Because GSAK accumulates logs, if you delete one from Grounspeak, they do not tell GSAK you have deleted it so you must do this in GSAK manually.

 

Bottom line is that you have multiple found logs in your GSAK database and this is the reason for the discrepency.

 

As per my previous post, track these down using the log filter, then delete as required to correct the problem.

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OK, I’m about to show my nOOb mode again, but I am keeping with my one stupid question a month rule so… :(

 

I have both a meriplat and an eX600 (the wife thinks I’m obsessed) :(

 

I am converting my plat to a driving/routing/get me to the cache parking area machine and will use the eX 600 for actual groundwork. I only used my plat for a few months before I got the eX, so all I know how to do is manually put in caches, one cache at a time. I have poured over the meridian FAQ and the GSAK cache but I can’t really find the answer I’m looking for.

 

I would like to download the maximum (200? or 500?) nearest caches and throw them into the plat. Then I can autoroute to the cache, hop out with the eX and find the loot! Is there a way, or better yet, how do I transfer the waypoints to the plat and then do I have to do any additional steps? I can do this for my eXplorist, but my experience with the plat is limited. I am headed out to get a decent SD card for the plat to dump maps on, and I assume I would transfer the waypoints to the SD card also. Do I have to import the waypoints from the SD to the internal memory to use them?

 

ClydeE RULZ! :(

Wish Magellan would hire you to fix all of their geocaching software issues.

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I'm trying to use the e-mail feature and I keep getting the following error:

 

Mail download error. Error message is: Socket Error #10061

Connection refused.

 

Why would I get that error? Could it be an issue with getting through a proxy or firewall?

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I'm trying to use the e-mail feature and I keep getting the following error:

 

Mail download error. Error message is: Socket Error #10061

Connection refused.

 

Why would I get that error? Could it be an issue with getting through a proxy or firewall?

Yes, this sounds like a firewall/proxy issue.

 

GSAK get mail works best with a direct connection to the Internet but I also have reports of it working with some proxies. However, some of the more elaborate proxies/firewalls that you find in an office environment are known to stop the GetMail function working

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Clyde,

I just upgraded to the latest software version and it tells me I'm not registered. I enter my name and S/N and it tells me I am now registered. Then it look like another popup comes up awith a 120sec countdown and says I need to register. If I wait till it times out and press OK, I get an error message as shown below.

I've tried rebooting and uninstalling and reinstalling the software but no luck.

Any ideas?

Mike

 

 

EurekaLog 4.6.4

 

Application:

-------------------------------------------------------

1.1 Start Date : Wed, 27 Jul 2005 16:29:40 -0300

1.2 Name/Description: gsak.exe

1.3 Version Number : 5.6.0.16

1.4 Parameters :

 

Exception:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2.1 Date : Wed, 27 Jul 2005 16:33:09 -0300

2.2 Address: 00474B91

2.3 Module : gsak.exe

2.4 Type : EAccessViolation

2.5 Message: Access violation at address 00474B91 in module 'gsak.exe'. Read of address 000002CC.

 

Active Controls:

--------------------------------------------------------

3.1 Form Class : TfmNag

3.2 Form Text : The GSAK Spouse - Nag, Nag, Nag....

3.3 Control Class: TButton

3.4 Control Text : Enter Serial Number

 

Computer:

---------------------------------

4.1 Name : USMAYLEFTON01

4.2 User : lefton

4.3 Total Memory: 254 Mb

4.4 Free Memory : 17 Mb

4.5 Total Disk : 37.24 Gb

4.6 Free Disk : 23.61 Gb

 

Operating System:

---------------------------------------

5.1 Type : Microsoft Windows 2000

5.2 Build # : 2195

5.3 Update : Service Pack 3

5.4 Language: English (United States)

 

Call Stack Information:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

|Address |Module |Unit |Class |Procedure/Method |Line |

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

|0070D377|gsak.exe |fNag.pas |TfmNag |btnRegisterClick |111 |

|6665F332|USP10.dll | | |ScriptStringAnalyse | |

|6665DF8D|USP10.dll | | |UspFreeMem | |

|6665DF6F|USP10.dll | | |UspFreeMem | |

|6665F396|USP10.dll | | |ScriptStringFree | |

|6CA61270|LPK.DLL | | |LpkPSMTextOut | |

|77F5EDF5|GDI32.dll | | |GdiReleaseDC | |

|77E15608|USER32.dll| | |ReleaseDC | |

|77E5078C|USER32.dll| | |NotifyWinEvent | |

|77E155F2|USER32.dll| | |ReleaseDC | |

|77E2500E|USER32.dll| | |CallWindowProcW | |

|77E1735C|USER32.dll| | |SendMessageW | |

|77E1731D|USER32.dll| | |SendMessageW | |

|77E16B5F|USER32.dll| | |CallWindowProcA | |

|77E16B4B|USER32.dll| | |CallWindowProcA | |

|77E1A361|USER32.dll| | |CallNextHookEx | |

|77E1A38D|USER32.dll| | |CallNextHookEx | |

|77E15B72|USER32.dll| | |DispatchMessageA | |

|77E15B6C|USER32.dll| | |DispatchMessageA | |

|00771C0E|gsak.exe |fOffline.pas|TfmOffline |RegChk |10821|

|007713C0|gsak.exe |fOffline.pas|TfmOffline |RegChk |10729|

|0074057E|gsak.exe |fOffline.pas|TfmOffline |FormCreate |1187 |

|004CB0B6|gsak.exe |ovcstate.pas|TOvcAbstractState|FormCreate |384 |

|77F82091|ntdll.dll | | |RtlLeaveCriticalSection| |

|0078F483|gsak.exe |gsak.dpr | |GSAK |86 |

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Modules Information:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

|Handle |Name |Description |Version |Size |Path |

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

|00230000|oziapi.dll | | |137728 |C:\Program Files\GSAK |

|00400000|gsak.exe | |5.6.0.16 |1656832|C:\Program Files\GSAK |

|01470000|LgWndHk.dll |Logitech Call Window Hook Library |9.79.25.1 |6144 |C:\Program Files\Logitech\MouseWare\System |

|01B50000|shdocvw.dll |Shell Doc Object and Control Library |6.0.2800.1622 |1337344|C:\WINNT\system32 |

|02230000|SDE60.DLL |SDE |6.0.0.14 |81920 |C:\Program Files\GSAK |

|02720000|LgMsgHk.dll |Logitech Message Hook Library |1.1.0.0 |24064 |C:\Program Files\Common Files\Logitech\Scrolling|

|02910000|MSI.DLL |Windows Installer |2.0.2600.2 |1994240|C:\WINNT\system32 |

|10000000|AMInit.dll |Altiris App Metering Init |6.0.1024.0 |61440 |C:\WINNT\system32 |

|1A400000|URLMON.DLL |OLE32 Extensions for Win32 |6.0.2800.1485 |495104 |C:\WINNT\system32 |

|60000000|MSCTF.dll |MSUIM Server DLL |5.1.2409.7 |273408 |C:\WINNT\system32 |

|63000000|wininet.dll |Internet Extensions for Win32 |6.0.2800.1496 |592384 |C:\WINNT\system32 |

|66650000|USP10.dll |Uniscribe Unicode script processor |1.325.2195.4506|315664 |C:\WINNT\system32 |

|690A0000|PSAPI.DLL |Process Status Helper |5.0.2134.1 |28944 |C:\WINNT\system32 |

|695E0000|olepro32.dll| |5.0.4518.0 |164112 |C:\WINNT\system32 |

|6C920000|mapi32.dll |Extended MAPI 1.0 for Windows NT |1.0.2536.0 |131072 |C:\WINNT\system32 |

|6CA60000|LPK.DLL |Language Pack |5.0.2195.4506 |20240 |C:\WINNT\system32 |

|70A70000|SHLWAPI.DLL |Shell Light-weight Utility Library |6.0.2800.1612 |402432 |C:\WINNT\system32 |

|71710000|comctl32.dll|Common Controls Library |5.81.4916.400 |529680 |C:\WINNT\system32 |

|74FD0000|msafd.dll |Microsoft Windows Sockets 2.0 Service Provider |5.0.2195.4874 |105744 |C:\WINNT\system32 |

|75010000|wshtcpip.dll|Windows Sockets Helper DLL |5.0.2195.4874 |17680 |C:\WINNT\System32 |

|75020000|WS2HELP.DLL |Windows Socket 2.0 Helper for Windows NT |5.0.2134.1 |18192 |C:\WINNT\system32 |

|75030000|WS2_32.DLL |Windows Socket 2.0 32-Bit DLL |5.0.2195.4874 |68368 |C:\WINNT\system32 |

|75050000|wsock32.dll |Windows Socket 32-Bit DLL |5.0.2195.4874 |21776 |C:\WINNT\system32 |

|752F0000|oledlg.dll |Microsoft Windows™ OLE 2.0 User Interface Support|5.0.2134.1 |118032 |C:\WINNT\system32 |

|759B0000|LZ32.DLL |LZ Expand/Compress API DLL |5.0.2134.1 |10000 |C:\WINNT\system32 |

|75E60000|IMM32.DLL |Windows 2000 IMM32 API Client DLL |5.0.2195.4314 |96016 |C:\WINNT\system32 |

|76620000|MPR.dll |Multiple Provider Router DLL |5.0.2195.6824 |54544 |C:\WINNT\system32 |

|76B30000|comdlg32.dll|Common Dialogs DLL |5.0.3315.3727 |226576 |C:\WINNT\system32 |

|772B0000|RICHED20.DLL|Rich Text Edit Control, v3.0 |5.30.23.1209 |431888 |C:\WINNT\system32 |

|77430000|MSASN1.DLL |ASN.1 Runtime APIs |5.0.2195.6905 |53520 |C:\WINNT\system32 |

|775A0000|CLBCATQ.DLL | |2000.2.3511.0 |552720 |C:\WINNT\system32 |

|77800000|winspool.drv|Windows Spooler Driver |5.0.2195.6032 |114448 |C:\WINNT\system32 |

|77820000|VERSION.dll |Version Checking and File Installation Libraries |5.0.2134.1 |16144 |C:\WINNT\system32 |

|779B0000|oleaut32.dll| |2.40.4518.0 |626960 |C:\WINNT\system32 |

|77A50000|ole32.dll |Microsoft OLE for Windows |5.0.2195.7021 |957200 |C:\WINNT\system32 |

|77D30000|RPCRT4.DLL |Remote Procedure Call Runtime |5.0.2195.6904 |449808 |C:\WINNT\system32 |

|77E10000|USER32.dll |Windows 2000 USER API Client DLL |5.0.2195.7032 |380688 |C:\WINNT\system32 |

|77F40000|GDI32.dll |GDI Client DLL |5.0.2195.6945 |231184 |C:\WINNT\system32 |

|77F80000|ntdll.dll |NT Layer DLL |5.0.2195.6899 |497936 |C:\WINNT\system32 |

|78000000|msvcrt.dll |Microsoft ® C Runtime Library |6.1.9359.0 |290869 |C:\WINNT\system32 |

|780C0000|MSVCP60.dll |Microsoft ® C++ Runtime Library |6.0.8972.0 |401462 |C:\WINNT\system32 |

|782F0000|SHELL32.DLL |Windows Shell Common Dll |5.0.3900.7032 |2359056|C:\WINNT\system32 |

|7C2D0000|advapi32.dll|Advanced Windows 32 Base API |5.0.2195.6876 |388368 |C:\WINNT\system32 |

|7C570000|KERNEL32.DLL|Windows NT BASE API Client DLL |5.0.2195.6946 |712464 |C:\WINNT\system32 |

|7C740000|CRYPT32.dll |Crypto API32 |5.131.2195.6824|543504 |C:\WINNT\system32 |

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Registers:

-----------------------------

EAX: 00000000 EDI: 0012F070

EBX: 01329014 ESI: 00000000

ECX: 00000000 ESP: 0012EE94

EDX: 00000000 EIP: 00474B91

 

Stack: Memory Dump:

------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

0012EE94: 00000000 00474B91: F6 86 CC 02 00 00 08 74 0F C7 86 34 02 00 00 02 .......t...4....

0012EE98: 00000003 00474BA1: 00 00 00 E9 80 00 00 00 8B C6 8B 10 FF 92 D0 00 ................

0012EE9C: 01329014 00474BB1: 00 00 84 C0 74 72 80 BE 17 02 00 00 01 75 15 F6 ....tr.......u..

0012EEA0: 0070D37C 00474BC1: 86 10 02 00 00 02 74 06 C6 04 24 03 EB 0A C6 04 ......t...$.....

0012EEA4: 0012F220 00474BD1: 24 00 EB 04 C6 04 24 01 8B D4 8B C6 66 BB B3 FF $.....$.....f...

0012EEA8: 00403A98 00474BE1: E8 FE E8 F8 FF 80 3C 24 00 74 3D A1 20 10 7A 00 ......<$.t=. .z.

0012EEAC: 0012EEF8 00474BF1: 3B 70 38 75 0C A1 20 10 7A 00 E8 7C 3A 00 00 EB ;p8u.. .z..|:...

0012EEB0: 0012F070 00474C01: 27 80 3C 24 01 75 09 8B C6 E8 2D 01 00 00 EB 18 '.<$.u....-.....

0012EEB4: 0132E0B8 00474C11: 80 3C 24 03 75 0B B2 01 8B C6 E8 80 DE FF FF EB .<$.u...........

0012EEB8: 00000000 00474C21: 07 8B C6 E8 AF 01 00 00 5A 5E 5B C3 8D 40 00 53 ........Z^[..@.S

0012EEBC: 00000000 00474C31: 56 57 51 8B D8 80 BB 17 02 00 00 02 75 2E C6 04 VWQ.........u...

0012EEC0: 00000000 00474C41: 24 00 8B C3 E8 F2 D7 FF FF 8B F0 4E 85 F6 7C 1C $..........N..|.

0012EEC4: 00000000 00474C51: 46 33 FF 8B D7 8B C3 E8 2B D8 FF FF 8B 10 FF 92 F3......+.......

0012EEC8: 00000000 00474C61: D0 00 00 00 84 C0 74 22 47 4E 75 E7 C6 04 24 01 ......t"GNu...$.

0012EECC: 00000000 00474C71: 66 83 BB 82 02 00 00 00 74 10 8B CC 8B D3 8B 83 f.......t.......

0012EED0: 00000000 00474C81: 84 02 00 00 FF 93 80 02 00 00 8A 04 24 5A 5F 5E ............$Z_^

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OK, I’m about to show my nOOb mode again, but I am keeping with my one stupid question a month rule so… :(

 

I have both a meriplat and an eX600 (the wife thinks I’m obsessed) :(

 

I am converting my plat to a driving/routing/get me to the cache parking area machine and will use the eX 600 for actual groundwork. I only used my plat for a few months before I got the eX, so all I know how to do is manually put in caches, one cache at a time. I have poured over the meridian FAQ and the GSAK cache but I can’t really find the answer I’m looking for.

 

I would like to download the maximum (200? or 500?) nearest caches and throw them into the plat. Then I can autoroute to the cache, hop out with the eX and find the loot! Is there a way, or better yet, how do I transfer the waypoints to the plat and then do I have to do any additional steps? I can do this for my eXplorist, but my experience with the plat is limited. I am headed out to get a decent SD card for the plat to dump maps on, and I assume I would transfer the waypoints to the SD card also. Do I have to import the waypoints from the SD to the internal memory to use them?

I am not 100% sure but I think 500 is the limit for the number of waypoints for the plat. However, like most of the Magellan models only the first 200 can contain comments.

 

To export waypoints to any Magellan model that supports the SD card just take the File=>Export=>eXplorist and SD card option... and be sure to select the "Magellan Protocol (SD card)" from the required format drop down box

 

You should then be able to use the waypoints directly from the SD card. I am not aware of any need to "import" them into memory, but a plat user might like to chime in here and clarify.

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Clyde,

I just upgraded to the latest software version and it tells me I'm not registered. I enter my name and S/N and it tells me I am now registered. Then it look like another popup comes up awith a 120sec countdown and says I need to register. If I wait till it times out and press OK, I get an error message as shown below.

I've tried rebooting and uninstalling and reinstalling the software but no luck.

Any ideas?

Mike

 

 

Very strange.

 

You shouldn't have to, but try this.

 

Start GSAK and let the nag screen time out. Now register GSAK from the Help=>Register option.

 

If this doesn't work or you can't get into GSAK to do this, email me your GSAK.ini file (located in the install folder of GSAK)

 

If you are in a hurry, you could also try taking a copy of your GSAK.ini file then deleting it and restarting GSAK. You will loose your settings but it should let you back into the program. If you do this please email me the results to I know if it worked or not.

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I have some pertinent Magllan experience and a little bit of experience power caching.

 

You can create multiple files on the Meridian SD card and then use card utils to load them into memory. You're still bound by the 500/200 at a time rule. I find that for all but the most diehard caching trips that 200 waypoints is enough and it's not worth the trief to bank-switch them. I find that removing the batteries and mem chip in order to put the wpts on SD in the meridian and then power cycling it to check that things worked takes longer than just loading them serially and forgoing the waypoints on SD.

 

I've used multiple GPSes in the configuration described (one in the car, optimized for street routing, one in the hand, optimized for finding tupperware in the woods) and the biggest problem is keeping them synchronized for marking the ones you'f vound. Doing it in the car is wrong becuase you want to it on the handheld so while you're walking back to the car you can strategize your next find. Doing it on the handheld is wrong becuase then the maps you're driving by are cluttered. Doing some on one and some on the other is the most wrong of all. :-)

 

You wouldn't really _need_ SD in your expolorist if that's the choice of the one to take in the woods. You need SD in the Meridian in your car to get maps.

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Clyde, et al.

 

What does the filter setting "Watching This Cache" do?

 

Whenever I check only "yes" (or uncheck "no"), GSAK returns no caches.

 

I have two caches on my watchlist, those are the two I was hoping to return with this filter, but obviously I am doing something wrong.

 

Any advice?

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Hey Clyde - have a couple road trips coming up so I'm into GSAK heavily these days and have a few questions.

 

I have a bunch of pocket queries that I process via batch file. Each query goes into its own database, and I also have all of them going into default as a big non-overlapping aggregate database.

 

- right now, I delete/create/load each database because I don't know how to delete all the waypoints 'in' that database. Is it possible for me to in batch mode to (1) check conditionally for a database's existence and (2) delete the waypoints therein, if any exist

 

- currently since I don't know how to do the stuff above, when I delete the database before recreating it, it seems to delete my 'deleted waypoints' for that database. Is that expected ?

 

- is there a way to make the deleted waypoints global, so if I have overlapping queries while building a route I only have to delete them once over all ther databases that might have that waypoint in it ?

 

- when I export, GSAK resets the export name that goes into Streets+Trips to the long cachename. Is there a settings="<foo>" set of parameters I can do in my batch commands to cause the exported result to have the format I'm looking for. FWIW, I'm finding the settings=whatever stuff impossible to find in the docs/help.

 

Here's an example batch file:

(some queries deleted for brevity)

===================

cd c:\tmp\gpx\in

"c:\program files\winzip\wzunzip" -o 11152.zip

"c:\program files\winzip\wzunzip" -o 248161.zip

copy 11152.gpx c:\tmp\gpx\import

copy 248161.gpx c:\tmp\gpx\import

cd c:\tmp\gpx\out

"C:\Program Files\GSAK\gsak.exe" /run "c:\tmp\gpx\gsak.cmds.txt"

 

Here's the gsak commands I run in batch:

(some sets deleted for brevity)

===========================

 

DATABASE name="default" Action=select

 

DATABASE name="fw (11152)" Action=delete

DATABASE name="fw (11152)" Action=create

LOAD file="c:\tmp\gpx\in\11152.gpx"

EXPORT Type=gpx File="c:\tmp\gpx\out\fw.gpx"

EXPORT Type=snt File="c:\tmp\gpx\out\fw.csv"

 

DATABASE name="kirkland (43952)" Action=delete

DATABASE name="kirkland (43952)" Action=create

LOAD file="c:\tmp\gpx\in\43952.gpx"

EXPORT Type=gpx File="c:\tmp\gpx\out\kirkland.gpx"

EXPORT Type=snt File="c:\tmp\gpx\out\kirkland.csv"

 

DATABASE name="Default" Action=delete

DATABASE name="Default" Action=create

LOAD file="c:\tmp\gpx\out\fw.gpx"

LOAD file="c:\tmp\gpx\out\kirkland.gpx"

EXPORT Type=snt File="c:\tmp\gpx\out\default.csv"

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Something I've noticed and keep forgetting to mention. 

 

GSAK (or CMConvert?) isn't sending Corrected Coordinates to the PDA, but sends just fine to the GPSrS. 

 

(CymSnip)

Hmm, I can't replicate this, so if it is happening it is a bug.

 

Are you sure your cache in Cachemate is being updated with the GSAK export?

 

Please check the file CMATE.GPX in the "temp" folder of the install folder of GSAK. This is the GPX file that GSAK generates and passes on to CMConverft. Does this file have the corrected coordinates?

 

If it does, then it would appear your cachemate database is not being updated with the export you are doing from GSAK and we then need to track down why this is so.

Sigh.

 

It's working now. I recently upgraded to latest cachemate from a dotlevel behind, so maybe that fixed it.

 

I can't get it to replcate, but I'll keep an eye out for it in case it happens again.

 

Sorry for the false alarm.

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Hey everyone, this is probably some newbie mistake, but I don't know what's going on. I just got my new Garmin 60C and downloaded GSAK. I'm loving learning about the features, but I can't make it send waypoints to my GPSr. I, of course, installed the MapSource Trip & Waypoint Manager CD and installed the drivers, so my laptop should be recognizing the 60C fine.

 

In GSAK, when I go to GPS -> Send Waypoints... and click OK, I receive the error: GPS_Packet_Read: Time-out GARMIN: Can't init COM1

 

I've tried going to GPS -> Setup... and switching between my only two options, COM1 and COM3. I also read through all 10 pages of this thread and thus unplugged all other USB and modem cables, turned off my HotSync manager, and rebooted to start fresh in case another program was "hogging" the COM port like some suggested to an earlier question that seems similar but received a different error message.

 

I'm anxious to get GSAK up and running so I can pay my registration fee. It seems like this program is worth 5 times the asking price. Can anyone help me out with what I'm doing wrong?

 

Thanks,

--Mike

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Wow am I a moron. I swear I spent hours looking at what I did wrong, and as soon as I sent away that last message, I looked one more time at the Setup and saw that I didn't have the "Use USB" box checked. Hehe, well.... at least it didn't take too long to feel like an idiot in front of all you folks.

 

Later,

--Mike

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GPS_Packet_Read: Time-out GARMIN: Can't init COM1

Welcome. Glad you figured this out. Humour me while I mumble out loud for a moment.

 

I included the device name that we didn't get a response from ("COM1" in your example) in the hopes that people would know "oooh, it's talking to a serial port and I have USB; I need to tell it to use USB". Perhaps that nudge did register with you, but obviously not in time to save you some frustration. You're not the first to fall for this, so perhaps there's something we can do to lead folks to the correct water.

 

I could change the prose in the error to explictly call out "if your goal was to communicate via USB, you should choose usb: instead of WHATEVER" but then the folks using USB/Serial adapters to talk to their serial Garmins (that seem to never know which random COM port Windows assigned to their device nor how to coerce Windows into telling them) would be confused.

 

I'm a fan of errors leading to solutions. How can we strengthen this one?

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Clyde, et al.

 

What does the filter setting "Watching This Cache" do?

 

Whenever I check only "yes" (or uncheck "no"), GSAK returns no caches.

 

I have two caches on my watchlist, those are the two I was hoping to return with this filter, but obviously I am doing something wrong.

 

Any advice?

Yes, this is exactly what this filter is for.

 

However, the GPX files from Grounspeak do not contain your watch status so it has to be updated manually for this to work.

 

The very fact you are asking this question would imply you are missing out on a very important help feature in GSAK.

 

Every dialog box in GSAK has a help button and when you click on it it will usually bring up a picture of that dialog. Just about all pictures have "hot links" (the filter dialog certainly does). Move you mouse over the picture and you will see the cursor change to the "hand" symbol when you move your mouse over a "hot link". So just click your mouse to get more information on any section in the dialog.

 

So in your case, bring up the filter dialog, click on the "other" tab and then click on the help button. Now move you mouse over the "watching this cache" area and click your mouse. This will bring up a help topic with a link to "more information about the watch status".

Edited by ClydeE
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- right now, I delete/create/load each database because I don't know how to delete all the waypoints 'in' that database. Is it possible for me to in batch mode to (1) check conditionally for a database's existence and (2) delete the waypoints therein, if any exist

 

1 - use the DatabaseExists function (see macro functions in the help file or online here )

 

2 - To delete all the waypoints in a database, first set up a delete setting for all user flagged waypoints(see notes below for saving settings) then use the USERFLAG command to set the user flag for all waypoints and then the DELETE command to delete this "setting" for all user flagged waypoints.

 

currently since I don't know how to do the stuff above, when I delete the database before recreating it, it seems to delete my 'deleted waypoints' for that database. Is that expected ?

If you delete the whole database, then yes this is the expected behaviour. If you use the method above to just delete the waypoints without removing the database then your "permanently deleted waypoints" will remain

 

when I export, GSAK resets the export name that goes into Streets+Trips to the long cachename. Is there a settings="<foo>" set of parameters I can do in my batch commands to cause the exported result to have the format I'm looking for.  FWIW, I'm finding the settings=whatever stuff impossible to find in the docs/help.

 

Yes, this is exactly what the settings= is for. To find help on "settings" click on the "settings" hotlink after clicking on the help button for the Cachemate export (or Steets+Trips). For more information on "hot links" in the help file please see my previous post here

 

Basically all you need to do is bring up the Streets+Trips and CachMate export dialogs, change all the options to what you would like for the export in the macro, then click on the "save" button and give them a name. You can now use this name in the settings= token of the respective commands. Settings are very poweful as you can have as many named settings as you like, and they allow you to specifiy the exact set of options you want before an export is done.

 

Settings are not just limited to use in macros. For users not familiar with the marco language, you can still save settings in this manner then select them from the drop down box when you open that dialog. This saves you having to remember what options are required for certain dialogs.

 

is there a way to make the deleted waypoints global, so if I have overlapping queries while building a route I only have to delete them once over all ther databases that might have that waypoint in it ?

Not natively, but there is a work around. Permanently deleted waypoints are stored in the file "delete.txt" stored in the same folder as your database. So if you want to synchronize this file with other databases, then copy this file from your master database to the folder of all your other databases. However, you do mention the word "route" so I am not sure you are going about this the right way. If you are trying to find caches along a route, you should take a look at the arc/polygon filter as this allows you to select waypoints within x miles/kms of your selected route.

Edited by ClydeE
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... Humour me while I mumble out loud for a moment.

 

I included the device name that we didn't get a response from ("COM1" in your example) in the hopes that people would know "oooh, it's talking to a serial port and I have USB; I need to tell it to use USB". ...

 

I'm a fan of errors leading to solutions. How can we strengthen this one?

I think the main roadblock in this case was my own supidity. I read the error log and should've understood it, but was so anxious to get going I tried disabling anything else that would be sharing the port and tracking them down before I let the error wording sink in.

 

I think you did a good job, but I showed the error to my wife (who doesn't know the difference between interfaces) and she had no idea what it meant, so you might be on to something by being more explicit like you suggested about "Make sure you're using the USB and not....." for those that aren't computer savvy.

 

Anyway, I appreciate your response and your desire to help. That goes for everyone on here by the way. As I was reading through the 10 pages of this GSAK thread, I was AMAZED at how much time/effort everyone, especially Clyde, has put forth to try and help users. Keep up the good work! It allowed us to find our first cache last night. I think we're hooked!

 

--MeanStreaker

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- right now, I delete/create/load each database because I don't know how to delete all the waypoints 'in' that database. Is it possible for me to in batch mode to (1) check conditionally for a database's existence and (2) delete the waypoints therein, if any exist

 

1 - use the DatabaseExists function (see macro functions in the help file or online here )

 

2 - To delete all the waypoints in a database, first set up a delete setting for all user flagged waypoints(see notes below for saving settings) then use the USERFLAG command to set the user flag for all waypoints and then the DELETE command to delete this "setting" for all user flagged waypoints.

 

.

Another option: Use the setting of the Load command (see the rest of Clydes post) and have the "Clear Database before loading" box checked.

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Yes, this is exactly what this filter is for.

 

However, the GPX files from Grounspeak do not contain your watch status so it has to be updated manually for this to work.

 

The very fact you are asking this question would imply you are missing out on a very important help feature in GSAK.

 

Every dialog box in GSAK has a help button and when you click on it it will usually bring up a picture of that dialog. Just about all pictures have "hot links" (the filter dialog certainly does). Move you mouse over the picture and you will see the cursor change to the "hand" symbol when you move your mouse over a "hot link". So just click your mouse to get more information on any section in the dialog.

 

So in your case, bring up the filter dialog, click on the "other" tab and then click on the help button. Now move you mouse over the "watching this cache" area and click your mouse. This will bring up a help topic with a link to "more information about the watch status".

Thanks for the help. Sorry I didn't RTFM before asking... :)

 

I was missing the "hot link" aspect of your help system. I appreciate knowing that.

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Do you permit user-defined subroutines?

Doing this for multiple databases screams for one function and a foreach loop

 

Here's what I cooked up (works pretty well)....set a couple variable names and call a few lines of code to automate select/deleteAll/reload/export. Much cleaner :-)

 

# name of the database

set $MYDB="olympia (95478)"

 

# filename

set $MYFN="olympia"

 

IF DatabaseExists($MYDB)

 

# select it

DATABASE name="$MYDB" Action=select

 

# set a user flag for all

USERFLAG type=set range=all

 

# delete all user ticked waypoints using a named/saved delete 'setting'

DELETE settings=ticked

 

# load in cleanly from the pocket query

LOAD file="c:\tmp\gpx\out\$MYFN.gpx"

 

# export to S+T using a saved format (aka settings)

EXPORT Type=snt Settings=s_and_t_export file=c:\tmp\gpx\out\$MYFN.csv

 

# export gpx for GpxSonar using the default format

EXPORT Type=gpx file=c:\tmp\gpx\out\$MYFN.gpx

 

ENDIF

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Do you permit user-defined subroutines?

Yes, Please see the MACRO command. It is sort of like a subroutine/function rolled into one.

 

As all GSAK declared variables are global in scope this command can also be used to roll your own functions. Just set values to the required variables in your called macro and those variables are now set and available to any macro you call in the current session.

Edited by ClydeE
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I signed up as a premium member and downloaded gsak.  How do register this to keep away the nag screen?  Now do I have to buy gsak too, or is that part of the premium membership?

 

Thanks

GSAK is developed independantly from Geocaching.com. It's developer, Clyde (a 1 man band), is very responsive and can be found on the forums regularly giving help, advice and listening to requests for enhancements.

 

In short the registration fee for GSAK has nothing to do with gc.com 'premium membership' but premium membership will allow you to download pocket queries (PQ's) which will lets you utilise the whole 'power' of GSAK or you can just use it to manage your waypoints.

 

Try it and see how you get along.

Edited by Motley Crew
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I could change the prose in the error to explictly call out "if your goal was to communicate via USB, you should choose usb: instead of WHATEVER" but then the folks using USB/Serial adapters to talk to their serial Garmins (that seem to never know which random COM port Windows assigned to their device nor how to coerce Windows into telling them) would be confused.

 

I'm a fan of errors leading to solutions.  How can we strengthen this one?

Robert,

 

Love your attitude - that's what makes your software so great! I'm a fan of error messages that contain explicit troubleshooting tips. I don't know how many characters you have to work with, but perhaps something like: "Can't init COM1: check connection type (USB/Serial)or assigned port (COM1, COM2, etc)"? This seems to cover most of the bases.

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Clyde, et al.

 

What does the filter setting "Watching This Cache" do?

 

Whenever I check only "yes" (or uncheck "no"), GSAK returns no caches.

 

I have two caches on my watchlist, those are the two I was hoping to return with this filter, but obviously I am doing something wrong.

 

Any advice?

Yes, this is exactly what this filter is for.

 

However, the GPX files from Grounspeak do not contain your watch status so it has to be updated manually for this to work.

Clyde,

 

This program has too much functionality! :laughing: My screen's not wide enough for all the GSAK columns I want to use and I hate scrolling!! :)

 

Any chance of having GSAK set the check in the (hidden) watch column for a waypoint when you right click>Custom URL>Add Cache to Watch List?

 

For your consideration...GSAK (and it's creator) never cease to amaze me!

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vds 

Posted: Jul 28 2005, 10:32 AM

Report PostQuote Post

 

Danger Will Robinson !!!!

 

Posts: 321

Joined: 29-March 02

 

Do you permit user-defined subroutines?

Doing this for multiple databases screams for one function and a foreach loop

 

If your using the macro you wrote here the If-endif commands are not needed, because there is no action taken if database does not exist. In fact it should be removed because as written the macro does nothing if DB does not exist, but you will get an error message to alert you with the IF statements removed that tells you the DB does not exist.

 

I take it you want to make this macro a loop to do this for a number of databases. If so: you need three txt files. First one should be assigned a macro button and it is three lines.

 

set $loop=1

macro file="C:\Program Files\GSAK\Macros\YourFile.txt"

cancel

==========================================================

 

YourFile.txt This is the calling loop. Notice the first cancel to end the loop!!!(there are two) This makes it easy to add or delete databases from the routine.

 

if $loop=1

set $MYDB="olympia (95478)"

set $MYFN="olympia"

macro file="C:\Program Files\GSAK\Macros\YourWorkFile.txt"

endif

 

if $loop=2

set $MYDB="different (123456)"

set $MYFN="different"

macro file="C:\Program Files\GSAK\Macros\YourWorkFile.txt"

endif

 

cancel

 

# this was removed from the routine until later.

if $loop=3

set $MYDB="differentagain (78901)"

set $MYFN="differentagain"

macro file="C:\Program Files\GSAK\Macros\YourWorkFile.txt"

endif

 

cancel

==============================================================

 

YourWorkFile.txt

 

DATABASE name="$MYDB" Action=select

USERFLAG type=set range=all

DELETE settings=ticked

LOAD file="c:\tmp\gpx\out\$MYFN.gpx"

EXPORT Type=snt Settings=s_and_t_export file=c:\tmp\gpx\out\$MYFN.csv

EXPORT Type=gpx file=c:\tmp\gpx\out\$MYFN.gpx

 

set $loop=$loop+1

macro file="C:\Program Files\GSAK\Macros\YourFile.txt"

cancel

===============================================================

 

The loop is stopped in the YourFile.txt

 

Hope this helps

Edited by papatom2
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papatom2,

 

Your solution seems a little over complicated. Why loop at all? Use two macros:

 

YourFile.txt

set $MYDB="olympia (95478)"
set $MYFN="olympia"
macro file="C:\Program Files\GSAK\Macros\YourWorkFile.txt"

set $MYDB="different (123456)"
set $MYFN="different"
macro file="C:\Program Files\GSAK\Macros\YourWorkFile.txt"

cancel

# this was removed from the routine until later.
# add as many of these as you need
set $MYDB="differentagain (78901)"
set $MYFN="differentagain"
macro file="C:\Program Files\GSAK\Macros\YourWorkFile.txt"

 

YourWorkFile.txt

DATABASE name="$MYDB" Action=select
USERFLAG type=set range=all
DELETE settings=ticked
LOAD file="c:\tmp\gpx\out\$MYFN.gpx"
EXPORT Type=snt Settings=s_and_t_export file=c:\tmp\gpx\out\$MYFN.csv
EXPORT Type=gpx file=c:\tmp\gpx\out\$MYFN.gpx

 

BTW, you don't need a seperate macro for loops:

Set $loop=0
While $loop<3 
 commands
 .
 .
 .
 set $loop=$loop+1
EndWhile

 

Just set the "while $loop<?" to the number of loops wanted.

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Future Upgrade Request:

 

It was discussed in an earlier thread that .mps does not supposed custom icons. While .gbd does, I'm told that babel does not support it currently.

 

I've found a work around that takes two steps and hoping to get it down to one.

 

If I save it as a .gpx file and open it, it works fine. I'd love if you could add something to the output (a pull down maybe) with a check mark that causes it to automatically be loaded into the program of your choice after it's made. (Much like the "Load file into mapsource after generation").

 

Thanks for consideration.

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Future Upgrade Request:

 

It was discussed in an earlier thread that .mps does not supposed custom icons. While .gbd does, I'm told that babel does not support it currently.

 

I've found a work around that takes two steps and hoping to get it down to one.

 

If I save it as a .gpx file and open it, it works fine. I'd love if you could add something to the output (a pull down maybe) with a check mark that causes it to automatically be loaded into the program of your choice after it's made. (Much like the "Load file into mapsource after generation").

 

I don't have MapSource but if it supports loading a file at start up (confirmation from a MapSource user ?) then you can do this now via the macro language with the RUNPGM command

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I don't have MapSource but if it supports loading a file at start up (confirmation from a MapSource user ?) then you can do this now via the macro language with the RUNPGM command

Well, since I can't program my way out of a bag (yes, I've looked at the quasi macro language), I guess I'm stuck to doing it in two steps. Just figured I'd let you know about this work around.

 

Is there a tutorial somewhere on how to use it? I've looked at the help files and only things I find there didn't give me enough info on how to do it.

 

Basic idea:

 

If export .gpx, then load mapsource. (May need to auto rename .gpx to .gdb as it seems to be able to load a .gpx as a .gdb and that would autoload mapsource.)

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I don't have MapSource but if it supports loading a file at start up (confirmation from a MapSource user ?) then you can do this now via the macro language with the RUNPGM command

Well, since I can't program my way out of a bag (yes, I've looked at the quasi macro language), I guess I'm stuck to doing it in two steps. Just figured I'd let you know about this work around.

 

Is there a tutorial somewhere on how to use it? I've looked at the help files and only things I find there didn't give me enough info on how to do it.

 

Basic idea:

 

If export .gpx, then load mapsource. (May need to auto rename .gpx to .gdb as it seems to be able to load a .gpx as a .gdb and that would autoload mapsource.)

You can dowload or view sample macros here http://gsak.net/Macros

 

To do what you are asking all you would need is two macro commands:

 

Export type=GPX File="c:\temp\ms.gpx"

RunPgm Pgm="c:\MapSource Path\MapSource.exe" Parms="c:\temp\ms.gpx"

File and path names depend on your setup (I am also assuming the MapSource program is MapSource.exe )

 

What is after the Parms= depends on what MapSource requires to load a file on start up.

Edited by ClydeE
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Just started using Google Earth Plus - is there a way for GSAK to export waypoints in a format that can be loaded into Google Earth. Took a minute to scan a few pages and did not see this discussed before. Sorry if I missed it.

Google Eearth supports GPX files (I think?)

 

So all you need to do is File=>Export=>GPX

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Future Upgrade Request:

 

It was discussed in an earlier thread that .mps does not supposed custom icons.  While .gbd does, I'm told that babel does not support it currently.

 

I've found a work around that takes two steps and hoping to get it down to one.

 

If I save it as a .gpx file and open it, it works fine.  I'd love if you could add something to the output (a pull down maybe) with a check mark that causes it to automatically be loaded into the program of your choice after it's made.  (Much like the "Load file into mapsource after generation").

 

I don't have MapSource but if it supports loading a file at start up (confirmation from a MapSource user ?) then you can do this now via the macro language with the RUNPGM command

Yup, Clyde is correct on this. The mapsource application name is mapsource.exe and the usage to open the .gpx file is just like he said. path\mapsource.exe fromGSAK.gpx

 

I would use the macro that Clyde mentions.

 

Export type=GPX File="c:\temp\ms.gpx"

RunPgm Pgm="c:\MapSource Path\MapSource.exe" Parms="c:\temp\ms.gpx"

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Just started using Google Earth Plus - is there a way for GSAK to export waypoints in a format that can be loaded into Google Earth.  Took a minute to scan a few pages and did not see this discussed before.  Sorry if I missed it.

Google Eearth supports GPX files (I think?)

 

So all you need to do is File=>Export=>GPX

Yes Google Earth supports GPX files. Great program for visualizing the altitude change during a caching run.

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File and path names depend on your setup (I am also assuming the MapSource program is MapSource.exe )

 

What is after the Parms= depends on what MapSource requires to load a file on start up.

This macro works perfectly for what I wanted. It saves much time and I appreciate you helping me with it.

 

Export type=GPX File="C:\Documents and Settings\User\Desktop\MapSource.gpx"
RunPgm Pgm="C:\Garmin\MapSource.exe" Parms="C:\Documents and Settings\User\Desktop\MapSource.gpx"

 

Above is what I used which includes the default setting for mapsource. You may need to insert your own log-in name where it says "User". It leaves the .gpx in your desktop if you need it (which I usually do).

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Just started using Google Earth Plus - is there a way for GSAK to export waypoints in a format that can be loaded into Google Earth.  Took a minute to scan a few pages and did not see this discussed before.  Sorry if I missed it.

Google Eearth supports GPX files (I think?)

 

So all you need to do is File=>Export=>GPX

Thanks - works like a charm

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File and path names depend on your setup (I am also assuming the MapSource program is MapSource.exe )

 

What is after the Parms= depends on what MapSource requires to load a file on start up.

This macro works perfectly for what I wanted. It saves much time and I appreciate you helping me with it.

 

If you do this often, don't forget you can allocate a macro to a tool button (Macro=>Add button to tool bar). Then the generation is only one mouse click away. :blink:

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Google Eearth supports GPX files (I think?)

 

Yes, it does. Google Earth supports GPX and receiver connections in much the same way as GSAK supports all those 'alien' formats.

 

Couldn't get them to go for the 'powered by GPSBabel' logo when they did it, though. :-)

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I just paid by paypal to register GSAK, how long does it take to get a serial number by email?

You should get immediately after the PayPal payment is made.

 

However, as there are several servers involved here there can be delays at times.

 

Also note, that unless otherwise stated the registration details are sent to the email address in the PayPal Payment. Many users forget to change their PayPal payment email address when getting a new contact address.

 

Just to make sure I will also try through your geocaching.com account

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Clyde:

 

I would like to export to my palm and remove the quote (") markes from the cache name. Having the quote markes at the start of the name throws them out of sequesce. I know that I can use CMConvert to do this but is there a way to do it directly from GSAK when I export to the palm file? I have not found a way to dothis. If this has been posted please give some ideas on where to locate the information.

 

I searched for the word "qoute" but did not find anything that pertained to removing the Quote Marks.

 

Cheers

 

Muddler

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I would like to export to my palm and remove the quote (") markes from the cache name. Having the quote markes at the start of the name throws them out of sequesce. I know that I can use CMConvert to do this but is there a way to do it directly from GSAK when I export to the palm file? I have not found a way to dothis. If this has been posted please give some ideas on where to locate the information.

 

Currently there is no way of doing this in GSAK

 

However, In the next version of GSAK you will be able to do this (and remove any character for that matter) via the macro language

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