Better free benchmarking software

June 17, 2003

When I use bmgpx, it works great. But when I try to use the resulting .gpx file with gpx2html, it only processes about 1/4 of the benchmarks. Now what's with that?

June 24, 2003

Sounds like a file size problem. Try reducing the inout file size until it works.

5.3k · June 24, 2003

I had that problem, but I'm not certain that I recall the fix. I *think* it was that I had to delete the contents of the output folder for gpx2html before running it.

Max

Often wrong but seldom in doubt

June 29, 2003

I'd be interested in the source, or at least a Linux binary...

3.5k · August 28, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by dr.bob:
When I use bmgpx, it works great. But when I try to use the resulting .gpx file with gpx2html, it only processes about 1/4 of the benchmarks. Now what's with that?

Giving this topic a bump, since it's a few months later and I'm having the same problem.

This happens when I download the file for Edgar County in Illinois.

I run my .dat file through bmgpx and end up with a listing of 77 benchmarks. From there I run it through gpx2html and end up with an html folder and .loc file that each only contain 13 benchmarks.

Any thoughts from the programmers one what to do here? By the way, Plucker doesn't seem to want to play with my .gpx file at all.

Thanks for all you guys do do...you amaze me and make my life a LOT easier! :-)

Bret

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.

When a man found it, he hid it again." Mt. 13:44

1.7k · August 28, 2003

Thanks for the bump, CYBret. I don't know if the poster above you got an answer or not, but I did post source for bmgpx at some point. http://parkrrrr.com/bmgpx-src.zip .

It might be slightly out-of-date at the moment, but it's close enough. The only change is the one to allow dragon droppings in Windows.

pirate.cgi.gif

August 30, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by CYBret:

quote:
Originally posted by dr.bob:
When I use bmgpx, it works great. But when I try to use the resulting .gpx file with gpx2html, it only processes about 1/4 of the benchmarks. Now what's with that?

Giving this topic a bump, since it's a few months later and I'm having the same problem.

This happens when I download the file for Edgar County in Illinois.

I run my .dat file through bmgpx and end up with a listing of 77 benchmarks. From there I run it through gpx2html and end up with an html folder and .loc file that each only contain 13 benchmarks.

Any thoughts from the programmers one what to do here? By the way, Plucker doesn't seem to want to play with my .gpx file at all.

Thanks for all you guys do do...you amaze me and make my life a LOT easier! :-)

Bret

__"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.

When a man found it, he hid it again."_ Mt. 13:44_

I've looked into this. The problem is that the GPX file contains dates earlier than 1970, and the perl script that is gpx2html apparently rejects the entire record without throwing a good error. I installed ActivePerl and used the command-line gpx2html, and was able to get some more meaningful error/output messages. I emailed fizzymagic (at) comcast.net (the only contact info I could find, in the Perl source) but never received a reply. this is from the message I sent:

quote:
...I have run into one small problem...it appears to not handle data in the <time></time> field earlier than at least 1972, and many benchmarks have dates a few decades before that. I've fixed it in my gpx file by replacing the date with the current day and time, but that doesn't really help anyone else who might want to use your script for benchmarks. Here are some examples of the data that throws the error (I had to use the perl command line version to get the error messages from gpx2html):

<time>1935-01-01T00:00:00Z</time>

gives the error

Can't handle date (0, 00, 00, 01, 0, 35) at C:workgpx2html.pl line 489

while

<time>1963-01-01T00:00:00Z</time>

gives

Can't handle date (0, 00, 00, 01, 0, 63) at C:workgpx2html.pl line 489

pretty consistent, really!

I hope that fizzymagic is reading this board, or someone who knows Perl better than I do, and can fix this error. I can work around it (using regexes in EditPadPro is great) but it becomes a pain when you're processing a county with 2000+ BMs (Harris County, Texas).

September 17, 2003

BUMP!

Has there been any progress/change/update for gpx2html to fix the pre-1970's date issue?

1.3k · September 30, 2003

Bump again...I'm finally modifying my routine to use the county files and I'm looking for the most efficient way to work around this problem until it gets fixed (assuming it does).

Greg

N 39 54.705'

W 77 33.137'

1.7k · October 1, 2003

FizzyMagic told me the other day that he thinks he has a fix for it. I don't think he's "shipped" the fix yet, but if it is fixed, you should know about it soon.

pirate.cgi.gif

5.3k · October 1, 2003

gpx2html now will process bmgpx files properly. We fixed the date issue. You can get the newest version (1.50) here.

5.3k · October 1, 2003

Mercy, mercy, me...merci!

I just noticed under the "advanced options" several things that make this even more useful that I had known it to be (how long have I overlooked these pearls?):

An "ignore list" so found BMs or caches don't show up in output (i.e., I can screen out my found list).

A .loc file generated of waypoints for eventual upload to GPS that will match the html output.

Muy great! This is getting closer and closer to the kind of management level I expect when pocket queries for benchmarks manifest.

Max

Often wrong but seldom in doubt

[This message was edited by embra on October 01, 2003 at 02:36 PM.]

1.3k · October 1, 2003

I agree. Thanks for fixing the date issue!

One other thing I was wondering: Is there any way to take multiple files and process them to get seperate results, not combined results? I'm just dreamin' here (I think), but I thought I'd ask someone who might actually have a clue about these things. I'm a geek, but definitely NOT a programmer!

Greg

N 39 54.705'

W 77 33.137'

5.3k · October 1, 2003

Hmmm. I see that FM has a command line option for processing a single file at a time...I can envision a batch file that could process a gpx file, create a folder, copy the html output over to the folder, delete the html folder contents, and process the next gpx file.

But writing the darn thing is beyond my ken. Anybody else?

Max

Often wrong but seldom in doubt

October 1, 2003

O.K. Im not as dumb as this question will make me sound however, I have to ask it: When I download bmgpx to my files it arrives as a zipped file. When I unzip it how do I get it onto my Dell Axim? If I drag it over to my CF card it wont work and it doesnt load like other programs.

5.3k · October 1, 2003

To get separate results for separate files, just give each one its own folder. The reason that gpx2html is written the way it is has to do with Plucker: Plucker wants to scoop everything out of a directory, so you want a unique directory for each Plucker document.

Just create a shortcut to gpx2html in each folder that has the program start in that folder, and you're off!

October 1, 2003

thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU for fixing the date issue with gpx2html! I don't care what they say about you...*grin* just kidding, I and a lot of other people appreciate the work you've done to help the Geocaching/Benchmarking community!

5.3k · October 1, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Growley:
O.K. Im not as dumb as this question will make me sound however, I have to ask it: When I download bmgpx to my files it arrives as a zipped file. When I unzip it how do I get it onto my Dell Axim? If I drag it over to my CF card it wont work and it doesnt load like other programs.

BMGPX stays on your desktop. The dataflow (as at least partially explained in the bmgpx readme file) goes along these lines:

1. Download a .dat archived set of benchmark data sheets from the NGS site

2. Run that file through BMGPX (on your desktop) to get a gpx file.

3. Run the gpx file through gpx2html or spinner to get html output (still on the computer here).

4. Use some program to scoop up the html pages and move them over to your PDA. Plucker, iSilo, or Avantgo will do the job for Palm OS, but I'm not familiar enough with Pocket PC software for this purpose...sorry.

Hope this helps!

Max

Often wrong but seldom in doubt

1.7k · October 2, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by embra:
BMGPX stays on your desktop. The dataflow (as at least partially explained in the bmgpx readme file) goes along these lines:

If someone with more talent for explaining things to end-users would like to write a paragraph or two to make the readme more understandable, I'd be happy to stick it in the readme and give proper credit. I freely admit that I'm better at writing things for a silicon-based audience.

quote:
2. Run that file through BMGPX (on your desktop) to get a gpx file.

In practice, with recent versions of bmgpx, this means just dropping the .dat file on the bmgpx icon. Handy, eh?

quote:
3. Run the gpx file through gpx2html or spinner to get html output (still on the computer here).

There are other options for this step, including my own GPXDoc for PalmDoc output. For PocketPC, you might want to see what happens if you use GPXView with the vanilla GPX files; I think someone once told me it was able to deal with them, but I can't be sure.

pirate.cgi.gif

October 13, 2003

I notice that running the datasheets through bmgpx and then through gpx2html I end up with a couple of tables, like the benchmark history.

Not sure why either program would set it up as a table. It causes problems when run through plucker because now what was on one line is in 3 seperate lines, so a 3x3 table now takes 9 lines plus.

I have written a short perl script that strips the table stuff out, but was wondering if it is useful to others, and if not I might contact the developers and see if they can leave the info like it is in the datasheet and not try to get all fancy with it.

Gary

1.7k · October 13, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by YeOleImposter:
I have written a short perl script that strips the table stuff out, but was wondering if it is useful to others, and if not I might contact the developers and see if they can leave the info like it is in the datasheet and not try to get all fancy with it.

I'm the developer in question. The source to bmgpx is available; you could just change the output to suit your specific needs. I wasn't aware that plucker didn't like tables; they look nice in Watcher. Perhaps it needs to be an option or something.

1.4k · October 13, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by YeOleImposter:
Not sure why either program would set it up as a table.

Fomatting. I suppose you could use a few spaces instead. Not as nice but it would work. Unfortunatly CacheMate just ignores it all and runs it together. It would be nice if it did a forced break at the end of each line in the table. I might have to suggest it.

quote:
I have written a short perl script that strips the table stuff out, but was wondering if it is useful to others

Kill the table code or kill everything in the table?

1.9k · October 13, 2003

Now why would he do THAT?!?!?!?

i used bmgpx in virtualpc on a mac and then tried to convert the gpx file for cachemate using MacCMConvert. it didnt work

any ideas? I cant CMConvert to work in VPC

Now where did I set my GPS??? planetrobert.net

1.9k · October 13, 2003

uh oops, bmgpx clipped my bm file the result was a shortened file causing the error. is there a fix for the file size restriction(other than manually shortening the files)?

Now where did I set my GPS??? planetrobert.net

1.4k · October 13, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by SirRalanN:
uh oops, bmgpx clipped my bm file the result was a shortened file causing the error.

BMGPX has a size restriction? CMConvert seems to deal with oversize by truncating but I've not had it cause problems.

October 13, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by GeckoGeek:
Kill the table code or kill everything in the table?

It just strips the <table>, <tr>, and <td> items putting the data back the way it was in the benchmark data sheet. So now it looks like this:

Date Condition Report By

1962 MONUMENTED CGS

1962 SEE DESCRIPTION CGS

1963 GOOD CGS

1971 GOOD NGS

1979 GOOD WADNR

19820728 GOOD NGS

19890620 GOOD NGS

19901120 GOOD NGS

19910901 GOOD WA-077

20010307 GOOD WADT

In my opinion, the way it should be

October 13, 2003

Also just noticed -

When there is no 'reported by' in the data table, it appears that bmgpx is filling the blank with the last 'reported by'?

check out PID SA2371 which is the one I copied above. The note for 1990 does not show who 'found' it, but the output has NGS? I am guessing this is from the routine that creates the table?

October 13, 2003

And I find out why you set up tables...

Just as what happened above - the 'table' got all squished because 'reduntdant' spaces were stripped by the html processor just as it did here on the board.

I ended up replacing <table> with <pre> and kept the formatting.

Guess I will pull the source code and look at it... My skills at programming are pretty meager, but would be interesting to read the code anyway....

YeOleImposter.DoesntExist.com

October 13, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by SirRalanN:
i used bmgpx in virtualpc on a mac and then tried to convert the gpx file for cachemate using MacCMConvert. it didnt work

Email me:

1) I can let you have a copy of my Mac build of bmgpx (no need to use virtual PC)

2) I would like to know if you are still having problems with MacCMConvert so that I can fix it.

JeremyA

1.9k · October 13, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by JeremyA:

quote:
Originally posted by SirRalanN:
i used bmgpx in virtualpc on a mac and then tried to convert the gpx file for cachemate using MacCMConvert. it didnt work

Email me:

1) I can let you have a copy of my Mac build of bmgpx (no need to use virtual PC)

2) I would like to know if you are still having problems with MacCMConvert so that I can fix it.

JeremyA

thanks... the email is in the system...

Now where did I set my GPS??? planetrobert.net

1.4k · October 13, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by YeOleImposter:
So now it looks like this:

Date Condition Report By

1962 MONUMENTED CGS

1962 SEE DESCRIPTION CGS

1963 GOOD CGS

Well, that's an improvement over CacheMate's display on the Palm. Here's an actual one:

HistoryDateConition Report By 1925

MONUMENTED CGS1965 SEE

DESCRIPTION CGS19990323GOOD

USPSQD

quote:
And I find out why you set up tables...

Yup. HTML. It doesn't care about redundent spaces or even carrage returns. BTW, your code lines up nicely in my reply window - but not the reading window. Interesting.

I think you were interested in my code for reducing the datasheets? I'll have to dig it up and give it a few comments, etc. It's coded in QBASIC (sorry, my programming skills are a case of arrested development.). If you can still dig up the QBASIC.EXE from a old system you can run it. Otherwise I can compile it for running on Windows/dos box.

1.2k · October 15, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by GeckoGeek:
Well, that's an improvement over CacheMate's display on the Palm.

Thanks to a change made a while back to CMConvert for <pre> tags, that should work well there as well. It just turns off whitespace stripping between <pre> and </pre>.

That change was actually made in response to the description for a friend's cache (GCA916), which used <pre> tags to simulate IRC session excerpts.

1.4k · October 15, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by Maeglin:
Thanks to a change made a while back to CMConvert for
 tags, that should work well there as well.  It just turns off whitespace stripping between <pre> and 
.

I don't see any <pre> tags in the GPX file created by BMGPX. It uses tables. Or at least the version I ran did.

1.2k · October 15, 2003

I was referring to what YeOleImposter had come up with, in his reformatting of the tables. That's something I could probably do the same way in the next CMConvert release.

October 15, 2003

Warm Fuzzies - Fuzzy,

On BMGPX - can you put a 'space' in the date field? Right now you have it output as a 8 character field "YYYYMMDD", the datasheets have it as "YYYMMDD ". I finally found out that the new version of Plucker handles simple tables - but displays them as formated - so if no space in the table then no space between fields. I notice that you leave the spaces on the other two table fields.

Also, while you are playing, might want to look to see if the problem I mentioned when the 'Reported by' is blank on the datasheets, BMGPX is putting in the same info as was in the previous 'reported by'? I am guessing the string you are parsing is not 'blanked out' and so the old data is still in there when the string is shorter?

Anyway, thanks. And for someone "... who don't do anything" I sure appreciate what you do do!

Gary

YeOleImposter.DoesntExist.com

3.5k · October 15, 2003

HUGE THANK YOU to Fuzzy and Fizzy. I LOVE my Benchmark PQ's now. You guys made my day!

Now if only I had time to go hunt a few....anyone wanna do my job for a few days?

Bret

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.

When a man found it, he hid it again." Mt. 13:44

CYBret's Geocaching Page

1.9k · October 19, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by JeremyA:

quote:
Originally posted by SirRalanN:
i used bmgpx in virtualpc on a mac and then tried to convert the gpx file for cachemate using MacCMConvert. it didnt work

Email me:

1) I can let you have a copy of my Mac build of bmgpx (no need to use virtual PC)

thanks a mill it works great

quote:
2) I would like to know if you are still having problems with MacCMConvert so that I can fix it.

JeremyA

operator error in bmgpx in windoze

anyways... do you plan a gui version of this or just leave it. no matter to me, just wonder.

this prog makes hunting bm's enjoyable.

Now where did I set my GPS??? planetrobert.net

October 20, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by SirRalanN:
anyways... do you plan a gui version of this or just leave it. no matter to me, just wonder.

this prog makes hunting bm's enjoyable.

Sorry, I have no plans to GUIfy bmgpx on the Mac. I wrote myself an applescript droplet for it but it is pretty computer specific so there is no point in distributing it.

JeremyA

1.9k · October 20, 2003

quote:
Originally posted by JeremyA:

quote:
Originally posted by SirRalanN:
anyways... do you plan a gui version of this or just leave it. no matter to me, just wonder.

this prog makes hunting bm's enjoyable.

Sorry, I have no plans to GUIfy bmgpx on the Mac. I wrote myself an applescript droplet for it but it is pretty computer specific so there is no point in distributing it.

JeremyA

ah ok, i was thinking of something similar for myself if you didnt plan on it.

Now where did I set my GPS??? planetrobert.net

1.4k · November 27, 2003

I just wanted to bump this thread back up for the benefit of those that haven't seen it.

This really is a great solution for paperless benchmark hunting. Cheers!

November 28, 2003

I can't get BMPGX to load on to my Dell Axim X5. When I unzip the file I have a readme file and a square icon that looks like an .exe file. When I click on the icon it opens to what looks like a DOS window but I can't go any further. What am I doing wrong? Can someone help me? Please.

1.4k · November 28, 2003

I can't get BMPGX to load on to my Dell Axim X5. When I unzip the file I have a readme file and a square icon that looks like an .exe file. When I click on the icon it opens to what looks like a DOS window but I can't go any further. What am I doing wrong? Can someone help me? Please.

Open a DOS window and run it from the command line. Start | Run |CMD will do the trick.

1.7k · December 1, 2003

Open a DOS window and run it from the command line. Start | Run |CMD will do the trick.

Alternatively, just drag your .dat file and drop it on the bmgpx icon and it'll automatically generate a .gpx file in the same directory as the .dat file.

December 1, 2003

O.K. Benchmarketeers I need your help. When I download the program to my Dell Axim X5 everything appears to have transferred with no trouble UNTIL I try to open ANY benchmark. When I click on the bm the screen flashes and goes back to the main screen. None of benchmarks will open I would be happy to have someone explain why this is happening. Thanks in advance. Dave.

1.7k · December 1, 2003

O.K. Benchmarketeers I need your help. When I download the program to my Dell Axim X5 everything appears to have transferred with no trouble UNTIL I try to open ANY benchmark.

I assume you're using something like GPXView on the Axim? bmgpx by itself doesn't have any PPC support, so it's unlikely that this is a problem with just bmgpx. Probably what's happened is the software you're using on the Axim has made certain unwarranted assumptions about the content of data fields in the GPX file. Unfortunately, I don't have a PocketPC machine and have no desire to acquire one, so debugging this problem will have to fall to someone who does.

5.3k · December 5, 2003

When I download the program to my Dell Axim X5 everything appears to have transferred with no trouble UNTIL I try to open ANY benchmark. When I click on the bm the screen flashes and goes back to the main screen. None of benchmarks will open

This is just a stab in the dark, but if you're trying to read the files in an HTML viewer, you may not have the depth of your HTML generator set to a sufficient level. I'm using Plucker for the Palm OS, and I have to have that set to a level of 3 to make sure the link takes me to an existing page. Your benchmark link may be a link to nowhere.

Edited December 5, 2003 by embra

January 6, 2004

bump

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