"My Finds" Pocket Query

[danoshimano]

I find the implementation of the "My Finds" pocket query to be very non-friendly. It says it can only be run once every seven days. That is fine, but why does it have to measured to the exact hour? This makes it very troublesome.

 

For example, if I want to run the query every Sunday evening, after I have completed my caching for the weekend, I can press the button at, say, 7:00pm. The next week, I have to wait until that time again. If I'm not there at 7, and do it at 8, now I'm stuck with 8 or later. The time keeps creeping later until eventually I can't get it on Sunday night because I had to go to bed.

 

Now I'm stuck with Monday morning before I go to work, then Monday evening, then Tuesday morning.

 

How about just once every seven days, and don't worry about the hour of the day? It would be a lot more customer-friendly.

[+Prime Suspect]

I find the implementation of the "My Finds" pocket query to be very non-friendly. It says it can only be run once every seven days. That is fine, but why does it have to measured to the exact hour? This makes it very troublesome.

 

For example, if I want to run the query every Sunday evening, after I have completed my caching for the weekend, I can press the button at, say, 7:00pm. The next week, I have to wait until that time again. If I'm not there at 7, and do it at 8, now I'm stuck with 8 or later. The time keeps creeping later until eventually I can't get it on Sunday night because I had to go to bed.

 

Now I'm stuck with Monday morning before I go to work, then Monday evening, then Tuesday morning.

 

How about just once every seven days, and don't worry about the hour of the day? It would be a lot more customer-friendly.

Why don't you run it once every 8 days?

[+TeamHarrison]

I have a utility that specifically requires the "MyFinds" PQ. Is there any way to duplicate this PQ type via a standard PQ?

 

I guess I'm not clear on why we can generate a variety of other PQ's daily, but this particular one is restricted to once a week. What makes it special?

 

Thanks for your assistance!

[+The Leprechauns]

I have a utility that specifically requires the "MyFinds" PQ. Is there any way to duplicate this PQ type via a standard PQ?

 

I guess I'm not clear on why we can generate a variety of other PQ's daily, but this particular one is restricted to once a week. What makes it special?

 

Thanks for your assistance!

Well, for example, I have 2,026 finds right now. When I order an "All My Finds" pocket query, they need to give the hamsters a yummy treat of extra seeds and nuts before they will run fast enough on the little wheel that powers the pocket query server. Recently when I was visiting CCCooperAgency for a caching weekend, she ran her very first successful "All My Finds" query for her 16,000+ finds. She had to set up a different e-mail account for that because of file size limits! And Groundspeak had to buy a whole truckload of hamsters before running that query. Translation: It's database-intensive.

 

Also, the "All My Finds" pocket query differs from regular pocket query in a couple of ways. First, archived caches are included. Second, only your own logs on the cache are included -- not the five most recent logs from other accounts.

[+TeamHarrison]

So, how many hamsters does $30 buy?

 

LOL!

 

That makes sense, The Leprechauns! Thanks for the helpful information!

 

I'll definitely start thinking of this stuff in the numbers moreoften associated with more active cachers. It definitely changes the scope.

 

Thanks, again!

[+GreyingJay]

I agree about timing it to the exact hour, though. I too noticed the "date creep" problem. I started using LogicWeave's CacheStats program, which I would update with a new My Finds PQ on Monday mornings when I arrived at work. I saw myself having to wait from 8:30 to 9:30 to 10:00 because of this restriction. And last weekend was labour day and I forgot -- so now I have to wait until Tuesday.

 

If I ordered a My Finds query on Monday, why not let me do it again anytime after midnight the following Monday? I mean, we're talking about waiting 7 days anyway.. a couple of hours earlier isn't going to make that much of a difference, is it?

[danoshimano]

Why don't you run it once every 8 days?

 

Because I want to update my Logicweave cache stats program once a week on Sunday evening when I have completed my weekend caching.

[+cullumclan]

I want to update my logicweave stats also but for the past 3 weeks my finds still has the same number. It is not showing any of my new finds. Any suggestions?

[danoshimano]

I want to update my logicweave stats also but for the past 3 weeks my finds still has the same number. It is not showing any of my new finds. Any suggestions?

 

Were you sure to copy the new PQ to the same location as the old one? The Logicweave app looks to the same file, so you have to overwrite it.

[+benh57]

This exact problem has has been discussed before. No resolution.

[+pppingme]

Recently when I was visiting CCCooperAgency for a caching weekend, she ran her very first successful "All My Finds" query for her 16,000+ finds. She had to set up a different e-mail account for that because of file size limits!

 

I know regular PQ's can be redirected to another email address, but how did you redirect the "My Finds" PQ?? I don't see a way to do it??

[+darus67]

I wonder if it would make sense to have an incremental "My Finds" PQ. In other words, have a second button that generates a PQ containing only my new finds since last time I ran it. My old finds are never going to change. Why keep running the search on the old ones over and over again. I would think that this would save a few database hits.

 

heck, it could even be set up kinda like the weekly new cache notification. Every week it automatically sends me a gpx of my finds for the past week.

[danoshimano]

This exact problem has has been discussed before. No resolution.

 

Perhaps if paying customers keep bringing it up, TPTB will listen and make a change. Or maybe not.

[+xplorer7]

Sorry this is about three weeks after the last post, but I was all set to open a new thread on this exact same topic if it hadn't already been discussed.

 

So for what it's worth, I'm adding my voice that I'd like to see the query become available on midnight of the 7th day or barring that, at least after 167 hours instead of 168 to allow for half a chance to combat creep.

 

Another workable solution (from my perspective) would be to allow the "My Finds" query to be repeatable, so that it runs at the same time every week, although this might not be so attractive from the website's perspective, since it would make it easy to casually schedule a repeating resource intensive PQ.

 

I also might add that darus67's suggestion for an incremental "My Finds" query was an excellent idea, and I'd be quite happy with a solution like that as well. Or, if PQs were made flexible enough to write your own that looked just like an incremental "My Finds" query with just your log and including archived caches...

[+brosch]

Why don't you run it once every 8 days?

 

Because I want to update my Logicweave cache stats program once a week on Sunday evening when I have completed my weekend caching.

 

Okay,

this is not a problem at all. I update CacheStats from GSAK everyday that I go caching, and have only run the My Finds once.

 

To do this:

 

1) Filter the view to show just the found caches (My Found Caches, a GSAK default filter)

2) Export the view to a GPX file, specifying in the Log section to export 0 logs, and check the box that says Always Include My Logs"

3) Import the file into CacheStats.

 

Works here.

 

Bill

[+Loch Cache]

Working with a database and queries everyday I understand the reasoning TPTB only allow runs once every seven days. I also understand that the customer (users of the database) should be listened to when there are suggestions for improvements. I the case of GC.com some are even paying customers.

 

Here is my suggestion: Limit the run to once every 6 days. That will allow the habitual PQ runner to run it on the same day every week and those who miss the time due to work, sleep or Geocaching to make up a day if needed. I suspect that if TPTB checked to see how many MY Finds are ran exactly 7 days since the last one, they would see most are not.

 

Loch Cache

 

Edit: Spelling

Edited October 5, 2006 by Loch Cache

[danoshimano]

Why don't you run it once every 8 days?

 

Because I want to update my Logicweave cache stats program once a week on Sunday evening when I have completed my weekend caching.

 

Okay,

this is not a problem at all. I update CacheStats from GSAK everyday that I go caching, and have only run the My Finds once.

 

To do this:

 

1) Filter the view to show just the found caches (My Found Caches, a GSAK default filter)

2) Export the view to a GPX file, specifying in the Log section to export 0 logs, and check the box that says Always Include My Logs"

3) Import the file into CacheStats.

 

Works here.

 

Bill

 

I had tried this before and got an error. I guess the problem was exporting logs. You also have to uncheck "export child waypoints". Unfortunately, it still does not work because a lot of the caches in my GSAK database do not have my found log. That is because I purge logs over a certain date to keep the database size in check.

[+ClydeE]

Unfortunately, it still does not work because a lot of the caches in my GSAK database do not have my found log. That is because I purge logs over a certain date to keep the database size in

 

[danoshimano]

Unfortunately, it still does not work because a lot of the caches in my GSAK database do not have my found log. That is because I purge logs over a certain date to keep the database size in

 

 

I'm in luck... I did have that checked, and I do have all my logs. The problem turns out to be that I didn't have "Always include my logs" checked in the export dialogue.

 

Works like a charm now.

 

Thanks

[AZcachemeister]

Why don't you run it once every 8 days?

 

Because I want to update my Logicweave cache stats program once a week on Sunday evening when I have completed my weekend caching.

 

As Mick and the boys say: 'You can't always get what you want, but you get what you need!'

 

So, if your logicweave stats are not updated on Sunday night, do your friends laugh at you?

Do women you see on the street snicker and look away?

 

Seriously, I keep a separate GSAK database of allll my finds. After I post my log on a cache, I download the individual .gpx for that cache, and after I am done logging I load them all into GSAK, then filter and move them as needed, KEEPING my (and only my) log for those caches.

 

Sometimes I mess up.

 

Occasionally I notice the GSAK list count, and the find count at Geocaching.com do not agree, and then it's time to run the 'My Finds' query to straighten things up.

 

There is not always a paved path through the woods, and you must find your own way.

The trees do not care how much you may complain.

[+Running Ray]

After reading all the previous posts on this topic, I have an inkling of why the My Finds PQ does not have an option to download an ebook file. I have a desire to put that info on my PDA in a format I can share with inquiring minds. So I will continue to do without until incremental My Finds queries are available.

[+xplorer7]

At least there are some very usable workarounds. I still think either an incremental "My Finds" or a grace period would be a good idea, but your suggestions from this thread work just fine for keeping CacheStats as current as I want without much effort, and that makes me happy (thanks)! I'd never bothered to download or try GSAK until today, since other tools allowed me to do anything I wanted so far, but it sure solves this problem and looks like a pretty versatile app.

[+Paul, Kim, & Kids]

I still like the idea of the My Finds PQ running every 6 or 6 1/2 days. I know there are other ways around it, but how much more of a strain on all of those hampsters would 12 or 24 hours be?

 

I also like the incremental idea, but that could get more complicated on the user, as well.

 

Personally, I end up using GSAK and updating my own "Found" database, but it would be nice to be able to just use the PQ from the gc.com website.

 

Just adding my 2¢ - for whatever that's worth.

[+Isonzo Karst]

I wonder if it would make sense to have an incremental "My Finds" PQ. I...... My old finds are never going to change.

 

Yes, I'd like to be able to date range the "my finds" query. I run it occasionally. I'd just date range it from the last query to get only the new finds, if that was an option. It's a big file, just grabbing the last couple hundred finds would be nice. The only possible error would be if a find had been deleted by a cache owner (or myself) along the way, and I'd likely remember that.

[+The Cheeseheads]

Another workable solution (from my perspective) would be to allow the "My Finds" query to be repeatable, so that it runs at the same time every week, although this might not be so attractive from the website's perspective, since it would make it easy to casually schedule a repeating resource intensive PQ.

I can see this being a bad idea. The site is slow enough on weekends. I can foresee everyone scheduling theirs to run on Sunday evenings or Monday mornings after all their weekend finds have been entered, whether they actually entered finds or not. Groundspeak would be getting a call from PETA for hamster abuse.

I also might add that darus67's suggestion for an incremental "My Finds" query was an excellent idea, and I'd be quite happy with a solution like that as well. Or, if PQs were made flexible enough to write your own that looked just like an incremental "My Finds" query with just your log and including archived caches...

You could also make a query with "Caches I've found" and "Found in the Last 7 days" as the only two conditions to collect all your new finds. The only caches that wouldn't grab are ones that got archived right after you found them.

 

Edit to say that I'm also in favor of changing the delay time to 167 hours.

Edited November 22, 2006 by The Cheeseheads

[+ThePropers]

I think I had a dream about this thread last night, and now here it is bumped again. Is that a bad sign?

 

I too dislike the current system. I don't think we should be able to schedule it, but if I run it on Sunday at 4:00PM, why can't the timer reset so I can run it anytime the next Sunday, rather than anytime after 4:00PM on Sunday?

 

Rather than adding 168 hours to the run time, I think you should just add 7 days to the date (i.e. if I run it anytime on Sunday, I can run it anytime the following Sunday or thereafter).

Edited November 22, 2006 by ThePropers

[+Markwell]

You could also make a query with "Caches I've found" and "Found in the Last 7 days" as the only two conditions to collect all your new finds. The only caches that wouldn't grab are ones that got archived right after you found them.

Make sure to select all states...

[+The Cheeseheads]

You could also make a query with "Caches I've found" and "Found in the Last 7 days" as the only two conditions to collect all your new finds. The only caches that wouldn't grab are ones that got archived right after you found them.

Make sure to select all states...

Or at least the states in which you cached the previous week.