Pq Help ( I Think)

[Team VaxCave]

I'd like to get a .loc or .gpx file that returns all geocaches that I have done. I want to run some statistics but it seems that the PQ only allows for queries based on distance from a location. I can get the list from my found caches page, but the list is broken into about 20 pages so it doesn't make it feasible to get the data.

 

Any help with constructing such a query (if it is possible) would be appreciated.

[Keystone]

Don't specify coordinates or a zipcode to limit yourself to a certain distance from a starting point. Leave that section of the PQ setup page blank. Rather, choose countries and states. For example, if you know you've got roughly 400 finds in Pennsylvania, and roughly 200 finds everywhere else, set up two PQ's, one called "Pennsylvania Finds" and one called "Other Finds." In the "Other Finds" PQ, either select all states besides PA, or select just the states where you have finds. Hold down the Ctrl key to select multiple states with your mouse, or the Shift key to select the entire list. (Sorry, I don't know if that works on a Mac, or the equivalent command.) And, of course, select "That I have found" in order to return just your found caches.

 

These queries will NOT return caches that have been archived, but they will return temporarily disabled caches unless you de-select those (which you wouldn't want to do). To get your finds in the file you want for stats purposes, you will need to go through your found caches list manually, and download the individual GPX file from the cache page for each cache in your finds list that has since been archived. Then, merge all the GPX files together into one big "finds" file. If you run your "caches I've found" queries weekly, and merge them into the master file, you should not miss a lot of archived caches unless they are archived very soon after the date of your find.

 

Groundspeak has reacted favorably to feature requests to have a special-purpose pocket query that would return ALL found caches, including archived caches. Unless and until that functionality becomes available, what I've described above is the best option.

[+GeoCraig]

Pick an area central to your finds and use that as the center point of your PQ search. Also set the radius of the search to a very high number. Depending on how many finds you have, you may have to split the job into several PQs.

 

Be sure to select "Caches I have Found."

[Keystone]

GeoCraig, that method will only work for cachers who do not travel very far, and/or do not have a lot of finds. With more than 1500 finds in 23 different states on my player account, I've found that the method described in my post works more efficiently.

[Team VaxCave]

Groundspeak has reacted favorably to feature requests to have a special-purpose pocket query that would return ALL found caches, including archived caches.  Unless and until that functionality becomes available, what I've described above is the best option.

There seems to be some movement in that direction though? It seems like a pretty trivial database query since the profile page already returns similar info.

 

Thanks for the info as well. Seems like it may be a little more work than I'm willing to do if I can't get the archived caches as well.