Feature Request

[+GeoJunkie]

First of all, many thanks to Jeremy and team for working hard to get PQs back to the way they were! During the period when you had to click a link to reschedule for next week, I was taking advantage of the fact it wouldn't run next week to have on-demand PQs. Before I went caching, I'd click the check box for the day and get a new PQ for my area within a few minutes. That way, I only ran it on the day I wanted it, reducing demand on the server, and giving me the freshest data available.

 

Now that we're back to the way things were, could a "run query now" be added to the PQs. Not the "preview" option, but one that would email you the query once, but not schedule it again for next week. To keep the server load down, it could be limited to once per day and follow the same prioritization rules as other PQs (i.e., lower priority if you just ran it yesterday).

 

So watcha think?

[+mertat]

I'd like that, too. Based on this thread I think it might be in the works.

[+PetsAllOver]

Assuming you're not trying to run it immediately after the day rollover, simply going to your list of PQs and enabling the query for that particular day should net you the query within a few minutes.

[+dkwolf]

Yes, it gets you the query within a few minutes.

 

BUT. say I travel several times a year to a certain area. For the sake of argument, once every three months. I want to have a PQ for that area so I can have caches when I get there. I could go online, create the PQ, select today so I get it right now, wait for it to arrive, and FORGET/NEGLECT to turn off the PQ when I'm done, so I recieve it every week, even though I don't need it for another three months. I do this with say two or three PQ's, and pretty soon the burden of a bunch of unused PQ's bogs down the servers again, TPTB re-implement the auto-disable routine again, and a whole bunch of people get their unmentionables in the proverbial knot because they didn't read their emails.

 

Or, an option to 'Run Now' is added to the PQ page that does not require a date to be selected in the calendar. I'm getting ready to leave for my trip, find the PQ I had created for the area last time, click the 'Run Now' button, get my PQ and it doesn't generate next week again. No excess burden on the PQ servers.

 

Yes, there is a 'Run this query once and delete it' option in the PQ creation page, but that doesn't really do much good if you want to keep that PQ for future use but have no need for it to run automatically.

[+welch]

Now that we're back to the way things were, could a "run query now" be added to the PQs. Not the "preview" option, but one that would email you the query once, but not schedule it again for next week. To keep the server load down, it could be limited to once per day and follow the same prioritization rules as other PQs (i.e., lower priority if you just ran it yesterday).

 

So watcha think?

I like that idea.

Its been suggested at least twice recenty that I know of.

Here I suggested similar in early Aug., Thot also has this 'problem'

[+Anonymous']

Assuming you're not trying to run it immediately after the day rollover, simply going to your list of PQs and enabling the query for that particular day should net you the query within a few minutes.

That's what I do and it works perfectly fine for me.

[+dkwolf]

Assuming you're not trying to run it immediately after the day rollover, simply going to your list of PQs and enabling the query for that particular day should net you the query within a few minutes.

That's what I do and it works perfectly fine for me.

It works fine for everyone, except how often do you forget to uncheck it once it's run? Leaving an unneeded PQ in the weekly qeue (sp?) wastes resources and causes problems, including untimely delivery (can't get pq's right away, so people just leave 'em running to make sure they have them) Turns into a viscious circle with the primary victim being the server at Groundspeak that processes the pq's.

[+Anonymous']

Assuming you're not trying to run it immediately after the day rollover, simply going to your list of PQs and enabling the query for that particular day should net you the query within a few minutes.

That's what I do and it works perfectly fine for me.

It works fine for everyone, except how often do you forget to uncheck it once it's run? Leaving an unneeded PQ in the weekly qeue (sp?) wastes resources and causes problems, including untimely delivery (can't get pq's right away, so people just leave 'em running to make sure they have them) Turns into a viscious circle with the primary victim being the server at Groundspeak that processes the pq's.

I've forgotten to uncheck it once, usually I'll uncheck it once it's run.

[+tozainamboku]

Assuming you're not trying to run it immediately after the day rollover, simply going to your list of PQs and enabling the query for that particular day should net you the query within a few minutes.

That's what I do and it works perfectly fine for me.

The run now suggestion has two advantages that I can see

 

1. If you didn't intend for the PQ to run every week, you have to go back to your list of PQs and uncheck after it runs. Run now will run once and not every week.

 

2. If you live in Asia or Australia you might have to remember to run this yesterday (today in Seattle) or you'll have to wait several hours. This is also true if you run your PQ in the wee hours of the AM in Europe, Africa, South America, and Eastern time zones in North America. If you live in Alaska or Hawaii and you run your PQ very late at night, you might need to run it tomorrow (today in Seattle) or you'll have to wait a week for your results. Run now will eliminate having to know what day of the week it is in Seattle.

[+PetsAllOver]

The question I'd have is, on the server side....

 

I go to my PQ page, and click to enable a query. Does that click instantly submit the run request to the queue if ClickDay = Today()? Or does a sweeper process run through the PQ lists every X minutes to figure out what still needs to run?

 

If I then immediately disable the query, does the PQ generator already have the request running/queued, and does disabling it from that list delete it from any queues it may have ended up in?

[+Lil Devil]

I think its more like the sweeper process. I've changed my mind a few times and disabled a query right after enabling it and it correctly did not run.

[+GeoJunkie]

Assuming you're not trying to run it immediately after the day rollover, simply going to your list of PQs and enabling the query for that particular day should net you the query within a few minutes.

That's what I do and it works perfectly fine for me.

The run now suggestion has two advantages that I can see

 

1. If you didn't intend for the PQ to run every week, you have to go back to your list of PQs and uncheck after it runs. Run now will run once and not every week.

Exactly why I was asking for this. It's not that I get particularly upset in having to make two trips to the site (once to enable it and again to disable it, since I may not want it to run next week). It's just that it would be easier to do it in one visit, and doesn't seem like it would be that much work to implement. If that's the case, why not make it happen? (Which, looking at the Markwell that was posted, is what Jeremy is already looking at doing )

[+Prime Suspect]

So basically, what you're asking for is a "Run Once and Save" option in addition to "Run Once and Delete"?

[+welch]

So basically, what you're asking for is a "Run Once and Save" option in addition to "Run Once and Delete"?

yes

[+GeoJunkie]

So basically, what you're asking for is a "Run Once and Save" option in addition to "Run Once and Delete"?

Eggsactly!

[+budd-rdc]

There has been a discussion on this feature request in our local forums (GBA, Geocachers of the Bay Area) and there's support for this in our area as well.

 

My caching trips do not run on schedule like a train, so it'd be nice to have it unchecked automatically. I believe most people like to run their PQs on short notice before a trip, and having the "run once and save" option will be nice.

[+Semper Questio]

I'd really like a 'run it once' button or checkbox on the list screen instead of having to either go into the PQ and edit it to run once and save (if that option were available) or having to check it to run today then having to go back and uncheck it once the PQ is received (if I don't forget to do that).

 

Sure, neither of those options is a big deal for a person to do, but is adding another box or button on the list that big of a deal and wouldn't it save on at least some traffic on the PQ server when multiplied over a potentially large number of users?

 

Also, how many folks forget to go back and uncheck the box so the PQ reruns unnecessarily? It has happened to me a few couple of times, but multiply that by an unknowable percentage of the PQ users and it may add up. May not. I, of course, don't have that data.

[+dkwolf]

I'd really like a 'run it once' button or checkbox on the list screen instead of having to either go into the PQ and edit it to run once and save (if that option were available) or having to check it to run today then having to go back and uncheck it once the PQ is received (if I don't forget to do that).

 

Sure, neither of those options is a big deal for a person to do, but is adding another box or button on the list that big of a deal and wouldn't it save on at least some traffic on the PQ server when multiplied over a potentially large number of users?

 

Also, how many folks forget to go back and uncheck the box so the PQ reruns unnecessarily? It has happened to me a few couple of times, but multiply that by an unknowable percentage of the PQ users and it may add up. May not. I, of course, don't have that data.

My points exactly.