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geocaching_visits.txt


Alan White

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Though I don't have a Colorado I've been using this very useful feature as a means of uploading all logs for a caching trip in one go. This is much quicker than doing them manually. There's one problem, however.

 

There's a length limit on the size of the log text. No matter how long the text is in the geocaching_visits.txt file the upload process silently truncates it to around 483 characters, if I count correctly. Of the 10 logs I've just uploaded 2 were truncated. Luckily I noticed before actually posting them.

 

Please could this be corrected?

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Though I don't have a Colorado I've been using this very useful feature as a means of uploading all logs for a caching trip in one go.

 

Just curious, if you don't have a Colorado are you creating this file by hand, or is there a program out there that creates it for you? I don't have one either, but it would be handy to be able to type all my logs in one place and upload them.

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is there a program out there that creates it for you? I don't have one either, but it would be handy to be able to type all my logs in one place and upload them.

I wrote a GSAK macro to create the file from the logs I've created there. You're right: it's very handy, and much quicker than the way I was doing it before.

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is there a program out there that creates it for you? I don't have one either, but it would be handy to be able to type all my logs in one place and upload them.

I wrote a GSAK macro to create the file from the logs I've created there. You're right: it's very handy, and much quicker than the way I was doing it before.

 

What was that macro called?

 

I too would be interested in logging all my caches in a txt file, and uploadng it. Tell me more! :)

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What was that macro called?

Well, mine is called "Upload Field Notes.txt" but that's probably not what you want to know :blink:.

 

Tell me more!

Just create a CSV file (must be UTF encoded) with the fields mentioned elsewhere (briefly: GC#, date/time in ISO-8601, log type, log text) and upload it at http://www.geocaching.com/my/uploadfieldnotes.aspx.

 

Then just choose "Post log" on each field note and the field note will be transferred to the usual log page ready for you to alter it/add TBs/complete the log because it's been truncated (trying to get back on topic :)).

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Back to the originally reported problem:

 

I am also seeing this truncation - which I find very disturbing, since it takes this potentially very useful interface... and renders it simply annoying.

 

I'm using a macro to pull geocache_visits.txt file off the Colorado, massage to the timestamp a bit for the offset (and geocaching.com's handling thereof) - and finally, inserting my full (typically verbose) logs into the file.

 

When I upload this file to geocaching.com - I find that every log is truncated to 496-500 characters (including spaces - according to MS Word's "character count"). I just logged four caches tonight, and each and every log was truncated. The original logs ranged from 700-1000 characters, as represented in the geocaching_visits.txt file.

 

No sign of any 'special character' or delimiter that might be prematurely terminating the field - the truncation usually takes place right in the middle of a word.

 

So, now I have to pay careful attention - and, more times than not, go back to my full log, and copy/paste it into the log page on geocaching.com.

 

Any reason why this interface would not much the existing log size limit?

 

Please advise - and, thanks for this new feature! Looking forward to seeing it get a bit more polish - but it's definitely a big step in the right direction, and (at least has potential to) simplify some of my paperless caching processes significantly.

 

Thanks!

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They know about the issue. I've always seen it at exactly 500 characters (so character 501 and up were all truncated).

 

Knowing about it is one thing: Claiming to do something about it is another story entirely. Is there an official 'defect' list somewhere, with this issue listed, and a sense of the prioritization of when it might be resolved?

 

I know I'm a bit unique with my verbose logs, but - I also know (from this thread, if nothing else) that I'm not the only one who's noticed the limitation. For me, it's a deal breaker: As cool as this new interface has the potential to be, I'm stuck still using the old tried and true logging from a GSAK macro, until this gets resolved.

 

Can Jeremy and team at least provide some background on why the limitation is there - and whether or not they even PLAN to fix it? On the one hand, since the Colorado (which is what is supposed to be generating the input file, by design) doesn't currently allow text entry into this file - and, even if it did, no one would be masochistic enough to try and enter more than 500 characters with the Rock-n-Roller UI - I can completely understand if that was a conscious decision. But as Alan points out above, it didn't take long for the community to catch on, that this is a really powerful tool for logging, regardless of what GPSr you're using. In that regard, having the character limit be different than what is actually allowed in a single log entry doesn't make sense.

 

I'm hoping this one can bubble towards the surface and get some attention - as it's so close to being a really valuable tool, especially for 'paperless' cachers.

 

Thanks for listening! :D

Edited by SnoWake
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They know about the issue. I've always seen it at exactly 500 characters (so character 501 and up were all truncated).

 

Knowing about it is one thing: Claiming to do something about it is another story entirely. Is there an official 'defect' list somewhere, with this issue listed, and a sense of the prioritization of when it might be resolved?

 

Likewise for the broken timezone handling. Having a majority of caches logged on the "wrong" day is a drag.

 

Bonus points for pushing that timestamp field all the way through the stored log and returned in a PQ instead of the current 7:00 used everywhere.

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I'll add my gripe about the log length limit as well. I too use SnoWake's tools and the limit seems a bit on the low side. I think moving this to 1000-1500 characters would probably make everyone happy.

 

I'll also put in my plug for getting the timestamp issues fixed.

 

Groundspeak -- how about an ETA for fixes on all these fieldnotes issues that all of us Colorado users were promised?

 

GO$Rs

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Bumping this thread, and adding:

 

Is there any reason why the character limit would be any different than the max logfile size? According to the "Log your visit page" - the max log legth seems to be 4000 characters?

 

<snip>

Your log length can't be more than 4000 characters.

</snip>

 

Believe it or not - I've written logs that bump up against THAT limit - so imagine how often I'm hitting the < 500 character limit??

 

I would at least appreciate some acknowledgment of these issues, even if a specific timeline for resolution isn't available. As Robert points out, the timezone thing is a total drag, with finds being logged on the wrong day.

 

My closing comment is that, while launched in support of the Colorado and it's new features - this interface isn't limited in scope to just Colorado users (as I believe Alan pointed out, in his initial post).

 

Thanks for the new functionality - it IS much appreciated. Unfortunately for me, it's still 'more trouble than it's worth' since I have to A) detect, and :) go back and cut/paste each individual log separately.

 

Peace,

Billy

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It's been quite some time, so I'm bumping this thread, hoping to get it noticed by someone. C'mon, Jeremy - after I was enough of a Wherigo / GPS Maze Adventure groupie that I ran into you on both coasts within a month of each other - can't you hook a brother up with a little field expansion? It would be one thing if the problem was understood and communicated - but given the discrepancy between the 500 character Field Notes limit, and the 4K character log limit... I'm just having trouble understanding the reason this isn't working. I'm guessing very few people must use this interface (though, as we've commented repeatedly, it's certainly not just for Colorado users) - since it doesn't seem to even get acknowledged, much less worked on. What a shame, too - as it totally cripples the feature, for my particular (wordy) use case.

 

Thanks for any acknowledgment - or better yet, scheduled resolution. [;)]

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It's been four months since I last bumped this thread - so just re-iterating my frustration with this apparent defect. Any chance that we could at least get acknowledgment from TPTB, so that we know it's at least at the bottom of some "to be fixed" list - or, if not, the discrepancy explained?

 

Thanks again for adding this great feature - it's so close to being REALLY useful - but I'm grateful for the incremental increase in functionality, even if it causes me some cut/paste grief. :)

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I honestly don't see the usefulness of all this.

 

Do you create the text file on your GPS in the field using those little buttons, or a touchscreen? Or do you create it at home on your computer?

If it's the second one, then why not just log into the site and write your log there, you kind of have to do so, unless you know all the GCnames of all the caches you have done.

 

But question 2. When you upload your field notes, does the site send you a status report listing all the successes or failures? Or MUST you have to parse through your account Quick View to see that you didn't make a typo in a GC name and log some cache in some other country, or try to log a cache that is unpublished or archived?

 

I can see many people asking for you to implement this to be able to log hundreds of geocoins at once. Please don't allow that.

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But question 2. When you upload your field notes, does the site send you a status report listing all the successes or failures? Or MUST you have to parse through your account Quick View to see that you didn't make a typo in a GC name and log some cache in some other country, or try to log a cache that is unpublished or archived?

When you upload Field Notes, they get saved and displayed on a special page which simply contains links to log each cache with the text from the file filled in for the log.

 

But good point, why not just copy/paste into the box, or compose the logs entirely on the website?

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Please let's not sidetrack this into a "why do you do it that way?" debate. I posted the OP to make Groundspeak aware - in case they were not - that there is a problem with the otherwise wonderful Field Notes feature whereby the log text is limited to significantly less than that of the normal Post a New Log page.

 

Yes, there are other ways of posting logs, but Field Notes is extremely useful and much easier and quicker than doing each one individually. It just needs to allow more than 500 characters :).

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The ability to upload field notes is a VERY HANDY feature.

 

I've always composed my notes offline, and will always continue to do so. I did this before the field notes feature was even available.

 

There isn't always an available internet connection when you want to start typing your logs, and the website isn't exactly reliable. I could probably name 100 more reasons to compose my notes offline.

 

With the cut/paste method and other ideas, its too easy to mess up, and the field notes eliminates that.

 

Even after uploading you still have to individually approve them on the site, so it doesn't eliminate the site visit.

 

This is a feature that more and more people are using every day and should be fixed.

 

To the complainers: People, please quit going negative on a feature just because you don't understand how people are using it and you don't use it that way, this is what causes GC to ignore bugs. Your way isn't the best way for everyone, and the only thing you can do is complain about how we do it rather than give valid input on the bug. Come back when you have valid input on the bug.

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To the complainers: People, please quit going negative on a feature just because you don't understand how people are using it and you don't use it that way, this is what causes GC to ignore bugs. Your way isn't the best way for everyone, and the only thing you can do is complain about how we do it rather than give valid input on the bug. Come back when you have valid input on the bug.

Of course it depends on what you consider a bug. The field notes feature was clearly implemented to allow uploading of short notes that you take in the field and upload from your phone using Trimble GeocacheNavigator and I assume in a future release of the Groundspeak iPhone application. Later it was used to allow you to upload short notes taken in the field with on a Garmin Colorado or Oregon. At this point it became easy to reverse engineer the format of the geoaching_visits.txt and that probably made sense for people to develop application to upload short field notes from their PDA. Some people have decide it would be a nice feature to be able to compose full offline logs and use geocaching_visits.txt to upload these as well. The original intent of the field notes was to enable geocachers to take short notes in the field and then compose their logs online later. It's all well and fine to point out that an ability to write full logs offline and upload these might help some individuals who have slow dialup connections or who find that they sometimes want to log their finds when the website is slow. The field notes functionality may be one easy way to implement this.

 

I rely on the user notes in GSAK and the semi-automated logging capability to do this. GSAK can import my field notes from Cachemate and then I can used that to compose my logs offline using GSAK. Then I just click the log button in GSAK and type ctrl-v to paste the log. To me, exporting my logs from GSAK in geocaching_visits.txt format, uploading that file to geocaching.com, and then clicking each field note to make it a log, seems like extra work.

 

When people propose a new feature they have the burden of explaining why the existing capabilities are lacking. The people who are providing explanations of how they do it within the current capabilities are trying to be helpful. They are not trying to shoot down a suggestion just because it is new. The problem is exacerbated here because some people tried to use an existing feature for a purpose it wasn't meant for. Nothing wrong with trying to get what you want done using something that seems like it should work. Since they've already decided it's a bug they don't want to listen to suggestion of how you could do this with current capabilities. It may be that using geoaching_visits.txt with an offline logger is a better way than the current GSAK solution for some people. They would have to make that case before Groundspeak should consider changing the length of text for a field note.

Edited by tozainamboku
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To the complainers: People, please quit going negative on a feature just because you don't understand how people are using it and you don't use it that way, this is what causes GC to ignore bugs.

I'm sorry, but are you reading this thread. Nobody has gone negative whatsoever.

I commented on just 'what is this feature, how is it used, how is it different from logging online..."

I got my answers, and I'm positively NOT going to use this feature, thank you.

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Field Notes is one of the best features associated with the Garmin Colorado and Oregon units. I don't write full logs but I use it to note bug/coin drops, caches in need of maintenance etc. AND, it allows me to log my finds in the order I found the caches. AND, I don't have to try and remember which caches I found.

 

I can see the value of the proposed change. Often on a Sunday, gc.com is either not available or pitifully slow. Being able to write your logs while your knowledge is fresh and upload them later would be cool.

 

Awesome feature.

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Often on a Sunday, gc.com is either not available or pitifully slow.

Whenever www.geocaching.com is SLOW for me, I just go to wap.geocaching.com and never have any trouble. Different server. Both servers have never been down simultaneously to my knowledge. Don't know if the database server ever went down, but then perhaps these field notes would be good, expect you might not know that NONE of them ever got through. That's why I like to be in total control of my logs, all aspects of my log entry that is.

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