Uploading field notes doesn't work

[+davexg]

Hey,

 

I'm having trouble uploading field notes using the Garmin Colorado / Garmin Oregon format.

 

There's a check-box: "Ignore logs before 12/26/2009 6:02:00 PM" - that time is the exact time of my last entry in the log file, and the box is unpicked, but it seems to still ignore them. I may have uploaded it once with the box ticked, but now I'm trying without it & it still says "0 records were successfully uploaded."

 

Is the setting cached on the server somewhere? What can I do?

 

Dave

[+bittsen]

Hey,

 

I'm having trouble uploading field notes using the Garmin Colorado / Garmin Oregon format.

 

There's a check-box: "Ignore logs before 12/26/2009 6:02:00 PM" - that time is the exact time of my last entry in the log file, and the box is unpicked, but it seems to still ignore them. I may have uploaded it once with the box ticked, but now I'm trying without it & it still says "0 records were successfully uploaded."

 

Is the setting cached on the server somewhere? What can I do?

 

Dave

 

Are you sure there are field notes in the "geocache_visits" file?

Use notepad to open it up from your Garmin and see if there is any data in the file.

[+davexg]

Are you sure there are field notes in the "geocache_visits" file?

 

Yep, I've checked & everything seems right. The first upload I tried had only one entry, at 12/26/2009 6:02:00 PM. Now I'm trying another file of multiple entries - all before that date - and they aren't picked up, no warnings given.

 

But yes, checked the file in notepad & all seems in order.

[+fegan]

Has that geocache_visits.txt file been edited/saved?

 

It's a very odd format (although it looks like a plain text file if you open it in Notepad) and if you're not careful making changes it could be rendered unreadable by the geocaching.com website...found this out the hard way when I was trying to help a friend of mine generate the file from scratch...I believe it's in a variant of UTF-16 format [uTF-16/UCS-2].

[+davexg]

Has that geocache_visits.txt file been edited/saved?

 

Yep, I've edited the file after it didn't work to elaborate on some comments, but it seems UTF-16/UCS-2 and UTF-16 refers to the same type, as UCS-2 was superseded by UTF-16 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTF-16/UCS-2).

 

I'd still have my money on it ignoring all caches from before that time as I said earlier, but am open to other suggestions!

Edited December 26, 2009 by davexg

[+bittsen]

Has that geocache_visits.txt file been edited/saved?

 

Yep, I've edited the file after it didn't work to elaborate on some comments, but it seems UTF-16/UCS-2 and UTF-16 refers to the same type, as UCS-2 was superseded by UTF-16 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UTF-16/UCS-2).

 

I'd still have my money on it ignoring all caches from before that time as I said earlier, but am open to other suggestions!

If you wanted to test your file, you could send it to someone and they could attempt to upload it.

 

Maybe ask a reviewer in your area. As a GS staff member, they might be willing to try it.

[+fegan]

you're welcome to e-mail it to me...I can confirm the format and attempt to upload it as well

 

edit: removed e-mail address

Edited December 27, 2009 by fegan

[+davexg]

Hi fegan & bittsen, cheers for the help:

 

I re-exported the file & downloaded it onto the computer again. I didn't open it, just uploaded it & it all worked. Fegan, you must have been right about the encoding, not sure how it all works, but it did. Thank you.

[+Alibags]

I have just run into the same problem. I edited my geocache_visits.txt file and then it would not upload. I finally sorted this out by copying the data from the edited file into a new geocache_visits.txt file on my unit, which I had not edited, and then saving it. This seemed to retain the correct format. Field notes successfully uploaded!!

[+Chrysalides]

I posted in another thread the file format of geocache_visits.txt a couple of days back after my hand crafted file will not upload.

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=241595

 

Basically, the file is in UTF16 format. The data fields should be clear enough to anyone reading the text file, but the key to having the site accept the file is UTF16. I'm not sure if the fact that it is in Little Endian is important.

 

If you don't want to read through my post or the wikipedia article, UTF16 format :

• File starts with FF FE
  
• Each character occupies two bytes, lower order first (the character A is stored as 41 00
  

If I'd paid more attention to this forum I'd have seen fegan's post in December and saved myself a few minutes of time playing with hexedit

Edited February 8, 2010 by Chrysalides

[+MartianRabbit]

Interesting that posters are indicating they cannot upload after editing. Hmm, perhaps the editor you are using is corrupting the file.

 

I find using the Colorado Import an Export scripts written Lignumaqua and SnoWake to be awesome! I don't even have to touch the file, only GSAK does. If you don't use GSAK, may I suggest that you upload the visits file directly into the site direct, and then edit the logs at post time. MR

[+BigBadger & Li'l SG]

.

I'm having the opposite problem. It uploads every cache every time. I don't recall editing the file but I do know I looked at it with notepad.

 

.

[+Chrysalides]

I'm having the opposite problem. It uploads every cache every time. I don't recall editing the file but I do know I looked at it with notepad.

Do you mean caches you already logged are still uploaded?

 

After you upload, delete the file from the Oregon / Colorado (or rename it something else).

[+BigBadger & Li'l SG]

 

Do you mean caches you already logged are still uploaded?

 

 

Yes. but what I really mean is every time I try to upload my field notes I get them ALL and I think this is why.... now uh, why? Why on earth would GC.com default to the year "0001" and why does it not change each time. It has nothing to do with my Oregon. this appears to be strictly a bug in the website. No?

 

 

Then I upload the file and the website shows something like this -

 

 

But it almost always goes back to the first screen shot next time I upload..... I say 'almost' always' because if I upload twice on the same day, sometimes it will just re-show the same ones I was supposed to see the first place.(say the 5 caches I did that day)

 

.

Edited February 21, 2010 by BigBadger

[+Chrysalides]

 

Do you mean caches you already logged are still uploaded?

 

 

Yes. but what I really mean is every time I try to upload my field notes I get them ALL and I think this is why.... now uh, why? Why on earth would GC.com default to the year "0001" and why does it not change each time. It has nothing to do with my Oregon. this appears to be strictly a bug in the website. No?

 

 

Then I upload the file and the website shows something like this -

 

 

But it almost always goes back to the first screen shot next time I upload..... I say 'almost' always' because if I upload twice on the same day, sometimes it will just re-show the same ones I was supposed to see the first place.(say the 5 caches I did that day)

Yes, it is a bug on the site already acknowledged by Groundspeak, though when it will be fixed is anyone's guess. It would be nice too if we can edit that date.

 

What I do to avoid the issue is to delete geocache_visits.txt after it finished uploading. If you want to save the file, rename it to something else (e.g. geocache_visited_001.txt).

 

bittsen mentioned once that he needs the file there so that found geocaches remain found. He's using a Colorado. I don't know why it behaves so strangely, but on the Oregon, found geocaches remain found after I deleted the file.

[+BigBadger & Li'l SG]

bittsen mentioned once that he needs the file there so that found geocaches remain found. He's using a Colorado. I don't know why it behaves so strangely, but on the Oregon, found geocaches remain found after I deleted the file.

 

All I know is that on the Oregon you can have your current found count go up in relation to what you recent have also found. So if you originally set the found caches count at 125 and find 25 more, it will indicate 150. Maybe that is what he means.

 

.

[+genegene]

 

Do you mean caches you already logged are still uploaded?

 

 

Yes. but what I really mean is every time I try to upload my field notes I get them ALL and I think this is why.... now uh, why? Why on earth would GC.com default to the year "0001" and why does it not change each time. It has nothing to do with my Oregon. this appears to be strictly a bug in the website. No?

 

 

Then I upload the file and the website shows something like this -

 

 

But it almost always goes back to the first screen shot next time I upload..... I say 'almost' always' because if I upload twice on the same day, sometimes it will just re-show the same ones I was supposed to see the first place.(say the 5 caches I did that day)

 

.

 

This is the same problem that I mentioned in a previous post and no one took me seriously. Glad I'm now not the only one that is having this issue. Will it ever be fixed?

 

It used to work awhile back and then when they did an update (not sure now what one) everything went haywire with the upload feature.