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Release Notes 4/29/10


OpinioNate

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In fact, I would be perfectly happy having my PQ1K generation delayed to a less busy time if I could still get them by email. Then I get what I want, a bigger emailed PQ, and Groundspeak gets what they want which is less peak load on their servers.

 

Emailing the larger PQ's would definitely up the load on the GC.com mail servers. The other thing to consider is some ISP's are pretty stingy on the size of attachments allowed. You might find your getting your PQ's mailed but that they are stripped by your ISP.

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In fact, I would be perfectly happy having my PQ1K generation delayed to a less busy time if I could still get them by email. Then I get what I want, a bigger emailed PQ, and Groundspeak gets what they want which is less peak load on their servers.

 

Emailing the larger PQ's would definitely up the load on the GC.com mail servers. The other thing to consider is some ISP's are pretty stingy on the size of attachments allowed. You might find your getting your PQ's mailed but that they are stripped by your ISP.

 

If the only concern with e-mailing them is possible file size restrictions, then an option button should make everybody happy.

 

Thanks for the upgrade folks!

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The other thing to consider is some ISP's are pretty stingy on the size of attachments allowed. You might find your getting your PQ's mailed but that they are stripped by your ISP.

My "My Finds Pocket Query" is 2.14 MB and a test PQ1K I did is 976.14 KB.

 

The maximum GMail attachment size is 25MB. Those people who have ISP attachment size issues could always get a free GMail account.

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Add me to the list of 1 stray cache very far from home showing up in Google Map view of PQ. Home is central MA. One stray cache way out in Utah showing.

 

It actually happens on all my PQs, not just ones centered on home. 1 stray cache 1/2 way across the country somewhere.

Edited by wandering4cache
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Ok, I have a question for the powers that be, if I may. Consider this setup (hypothetical!):

  1. Firefox opens /pocket/ (user logged in previously and used 'remember me').
  2. Greasemonkey script detects a PQ is ready and initiates the download.
  3. Firefox is set up to automatically open ZIP archives (no prompt) with an app that extracts the GPX file, invokes GPSBabel and sends the waypoints to the GPS receiver.

So, is that a TOU violation in Groundspeak's eyes? My instinct says 'no', it's just a GM script and careful browser configuration. But what if the process was invoked by a scheduled task or perhaps even an email filter that detects the 'your PQ is ready' email?

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Me too.....

 

Would like to have at least an option to have the 500+ PQ's to be send by email and not to have to download it manually even by means of a link.

No problem at all over here to download larger attachments.

Having the PQ's sitting in my own mailbox makes me independent of the downloadserver and the GC site being busy or not (or down!).

Another advantage is that I can store the PQ's as long as I want too. On the GC server they are only available for download for 7 days at the most. If you forget to (or cannot) download in that timeframe, you loose that PQ.

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By the way, I read through the thread a couple of times, and I don't think the list of bug fixes in this site update was ever posted. Am I blind (again)?

 

see the end of post #1

That's what prompted me to ask. OpinioNate said "I will post bug fixes soon." The definition for "soon" is expiring for some values of "soon" :anibad:

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[*]Greasemonkey script detects a PQ is ready and initiates the download.

If GM gets the URL of the PQ and initiates the download, wouldn't it be considered screen scraping technically? You'll also need to detect that you haven't downloaded it before (might be possible - need to check JS documentation). And you may need to open a few download sessions when you have more than one PQ.

 

Interesting idea. For now, just so that I don't get into trouble for violating the TOU, I'll look into hiding PQs that I've already downloaded.

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By the way, I read through the thread a couple of times, and I don't think the list of bug fixes in this site update was ever posted. Am I blind (again)?

 

see the end of post #1

That's what prompted me to ask. OpinioNate said "I will post bug fixes soon." The definition for "soon" is expiring for some values of "soon" :anibad:

 

This made me lol. How about by the end of the work day today.

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Nate, don't forget to post in the Release Notes thread.

 

We also will default to 500 on the screen like we always have.
Nope -- it's currently defaulting to 1K.

 

If I preview a PQ in the map, it only shows 659 caches.
I'm seeing this too. Both >500 queries I have set up return over 800 caches in the list preview, but 600-and-something in the map. One of them also includes a spurious faraway cache, in the map.
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Love the new PQ1K.

 

The only thing I would change on the download tab is the order. I would prefer them to be sorted in reverse chronological order (newest on top).

 

+1

+2

Or, make it sortable. So, you can have it your way or any way.

Edited by W8TTS
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The new system is really slick. My one wish is for a checkbox on the PQ setup to get only download regardless of size. I have to remember to go to the gmail account now and delete the unwanted emails.

 

+1 on that suggestion too. It really makes sense.

Yep. #1 on my list too.

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Nate, don't forget to post in the Release Notes thread.

 

Will do, thanks Corey.

 

We also will default to 500 on the screen like we always have.
Nope -- it's currently defaulting to 1K.

 

If I preview a PQ in the map, it only shows 659 caches.
I'm seeing this too. Both >500 queries I have set up return over 800 caches in the list preview, but 600-and-something in the map. One of them also includes a spurious faraway cache, in the map.

 

We're working on this now.

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We also will default to 500 on the screen like we always have.
Nope -- it's currently defaulting to 1K.

 

If I preview a PQ in the map, it only shows 659 caches.
I'm seeing this too. Both >500 queries I have set up return over 800 caches in the list preview, but 600-and-something in the map. One of them also includes a spurious faraway cache, in the map.

 

We're working on this now.

 

I sure hope the fix is not to limit the maps to 500 caches :anibad: 1000 caches on a google map performs fine on my computer. (i can do it using gsak google map macro...)

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I would love to see this enhancement: On the Downloads tab, next to the Delete link on the bottom line of the table, I would love to see a link for "Download" (i.e. to download all the checked ones) as well as a link to "Download and Delete".
+1 - good suggestion.

+1

 

+1 on the ability to turn off all emails. This would be to have one avenue of downloads. I can have one avenue if I keep it under 500 caches, but then I can't be part of the saving to the site. If I go the other way, I've data sitting in my inbox that I don't need.

 

The sort order is fine with me as long as it's chronological.

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This made me lol. How about by the end of the work day today.

Thank you, any time is good, just wondered if I missed it. It's mostly of academic interest - most if not all of the bugs have already been found by the folks here.

 

Ok they're up. A couple good bugs were addressed (trackable maps reversed, google map refresh toggle) but I admit the list is short. The reason is because none of the bugs that have been resolved since Apr 8th were included in the release, as a consequence of branching the code for the membership upgrade that began on Wednesday.

 

So next release will contain about 7 weeks of fixes as opposed to the usual 4.

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Think it's about time that cache size's are redone and guidelines as to what size fits into each. Definately need one for nano and probably another two mid range sizes.

 

Also, have the site show GMT time for those of us in United Kingdom, there are quite a few of us now!

When you say "site will be down in the afternoon tomorrow" we don't know when that is. Or at least give us the option to change it to another time and make your downtime messages more specific, in a number of time zones.

 

TAG

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I can't get the GPX file from the new downloading method to work in GSAK or dumping it directly in to my Oregon. :anibad:

 

Tapeworm, I downloaded 3 PQ's this morning into GSAK by telling Firefox to open the file with GSAK and they worked fine.

 

Can you be more specific about what you did and what happened?

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:anibad: I am happy to have the new features, but I admit that the delivery mechanism is significantly less convenient. Previously, I had an outlook filter to save the pocket queries to my GSAK folder. Now I have to fire up a browser, log in, find the new query in the list, save it, unzip it, and move it to the folder. I’m not really that disgruntled, but it’s a pain Raine. : ) Doing this several times a week, possibly 35 times a week (if I were to max out my PQs per day) is not super fun. I know that Groundspeak always works to delight their customers/users, so I’m providing feedback in an attempt to be helpful. Keep up the good work!
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Ok they're up. A couple good bugs were addressed (trackable maps reversed, google map refresh toggle) but I admit the list is short. The reason is because none of the bugs that have been resolved since Apr 8th were included in the release, as a consequence of branching the code for the membership upgrade that began on Wednesday.

 

So next release will contain about 7 weeks of fixes as opposed to the usual 4.

Thank you for the update, appreciate it. Hope you guys at HQ have a great weekend at the 10 Years! events. (and yes, I get a kick out of typing that exclamation mark every time :anibad: )

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A little help here please from Chrome users. When I download the new 1K PQ from GS, Chrome opens the .zip file and only will allow extraction. I want to save the .zip file intact. I tried the options area but the Downloads section says "You have chosen to open certain files types automatically...." The "Clear auto-opening settings" button is grayed out. Thus, I can't change it. Any ideas?

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:anibad: I am happy to have the new features, but I admit that the delivery mechanism is significantly less convenient. Previously, I had an outlook filter to save the pocket queries to my GSAK folder. Now I have to fire up a browser, log in, find the new query in the list, save it, unzip it, and move it to the folder. I’m not really that disgruntled, but it’s a pain Raine. : ) Doing this several times a week, possibly 35 times a week (if I were to max out my PQs per day) is not super fun. I know that Groundspeak always works to delight their customers/users, so I’m providing feedback in an attempt to be helpful. Keep up the good work!

There should be no need to unzip when using GSAK. GSAK can handle that just fine.

 

Brian

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A little help here please from Chrome users. When I download the new 1K PQ from GS, Chrome opens the .zip file and only will allow extraction. I want to save the .zip file intact. I tried the options area but the Downloads section says "You have chosen to open certain files types automatically...." The "Clear auto-opening settings" button is grayed out. Thus, I can't change it. Any ideas?

 

Chrome, by default, saves all downloads to the default download folder (usually "My Documents\Downloads\"). You can either browse to that folder and move the zip files to a folder of your choice or in the Chrome options, put a check mark beside "Ask where to save each file before downloading". You can then tell Chrome to put the zip file(s) in the folder of your choice.

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firefox 3.5.9 on linux here.

 

ps: the mime type from the server correctly reports the file as zip file, but the filename still doesn't have the extension. maybe some browser/OS combinations add the .zip extension in that case themselves?

 

If I select "Include Pocket Query name in download file name", I don't get an extension.

 

If I don't select that, I do get the .zip.

 

Is that the issue (and not browser/operating system)?

The issue seems to be with how FireFox is handling the download link when the file name has an embedded space it in. I have the exact same problem with the PQ name included when I run FireFox under Windows or MacOS, but not with any of the other browsers I have tested on either OS.

 

Thanks for all your effort in defining the problem. (You come by your moniker honestly.)

 

I guess now I just have to see if TPTB think this is a permanent restriction for FireFox and then decide about dropping PQ names from downloads or removing the embedded blanks.

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What looked to be a nice extra feature when announced, turned out to be a step backwards. See also http://searchjaunt.idizaai.be/pickpocket/

From blog:

Honestly, I don’t see what the benefit would be for Groundspeak nor for their customers by making PQs downloadable.

 

Seriously? Well, for one thing, IT TAKES MAIL SERVERS OUT OF THE EQUATION. No more lost queries. No more having to deal with white/black lists, or some company that's set itself up as a spam authority having the power to block you from getting your queries.

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:anibad: I am happy to have the new features, but I admit that the delivery mechanism is significantly less convenient. Previously, I had an outlook filter to save the pocket queries to my GSAK folder. Now I have to fire up a browser, log in, find the new query in the list, save it, unzip it, and move it to the folder. I’m not really that disgruntled, but it’s a pain Raine. : ) Doing this several times a week, possibly 35 times a week (if I were to max out my PQs per day) is not super fun. I know that Groundspeak always works to delight their customers/users, so I’m providing feedback in an attempt to be helpful. Keep up the good work!

There should be no need to unzip when using GSAK. GSAK can handle that just fine.

 

Brian

Correct, I am using FF and when I select the folder to download it opens a pop up window asking me to "save" or "open with". I choose open with and then select GSAK and it is now the default downloader for these type of files.

 

Works pretty quick and easy. Nice having them in one spot.

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Seriously? Well, for one thing, IT TAKES MAIL SERVERS OUT OF THE EQUATION. No more lost queries. No more having to deal with white/black lists, or some company that's set itself up as a spam authority having the power to block you from getting your queries.

Almost, anyway. They still use the mail server to send out the notification that the PQ is ready for download. It resolves the problem of messages with large attachments being blocked, but spam blockers and over-zealous ISPs can still block the notifications.

 

Then again, you can simply check the Pocket Queries page in a few minutes and check that way. And the pocket query data files themselves don't disappear into the ether.

 

--Larry

Edited by larryc43230
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"Cannot download/access new PQ's from download page. They disappeared

when I clicked them to download, I got a message that the file was not available for download and it disappeared from my list."

 

Same thing happened to me? Rather irritating as I am now without my PQs and cache data for the weekend's caching?

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The issue seems to be with how FireFox is handling the download link when the file name has an embedded space it in. I have the exact same problem with the PQ name included when I run FireFox under Windows or MacOS, but not with any of the other browsers I have tested on either OS.

This issue rings a bell. GS, this can and should be solved by putting quotation marks around the filename.

 

I think with my current files (e-mailed) they replace blanks with "_". Not sure why they don't do that on downloads from the site.

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Ref PQ1K - am I the only person that is disappointed about this? I *love* the way that I can have my PQs delivered by email and then a couple of clicks with GSAK and they are all downloaded.

 

I personally don't need 1000 caches in a PQ, so I'll live with the 500 limit on email-able caches (very grateful that you've not changed that!), but I would have thought that a lot of people would be in a similar boat to me, and be disappointed that they can't have 1000 caches in their inboxes.

 

I might be out of step, and I'm only just over 1 year in here, so I don't think I should be taken too seriously (!), but thought I would at least log the point!

 

Cheers!

 

Matt

 

I just submitted 4 PQs at 1000 caches each. They ran almost instantly, and were available on the new "Download" tab. It took about 20 seconds to download them, and about 40 seconds for GSAK to process them. The whole process took a little over a minute, with less mouse clicks than if I was extracting them from Outlook Express. As a bonus, my mail files are not as bloated, which will cause my daily backup to be smaller and take less time to run.

 

I say that the team did an outstanding job here.

Thanks...

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It's not out of the question that we would work with GSAK or find some other way to serve PMs like yourself that prefer to automate your PQ consumption. This is a first step.

It would be fantastical to be able to have one way to access the PQs. I see you mentioned that emailed PQ would also have a stored counterpart. What if we could select to not have any PQs emailed to us and use only the stored PQ? Branching adds complexity to any system. If I am forced to branch, I might as well stay the way I am and not be part of any gain for the system.

 

This is not a bad idea. If I had the option to turn off email attachments entirely, I would gladly choose it and simply download my PQs when I needed them.

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It's not out of the question that we would work with GSAK or find some other way to serve PMs like yourself that prefer to automate your PQ consumption. This is a first step.

It would be fantastical to be able to have one way to access the PQs. I see you mentioned that emailed PQ would also have a stored counterpart. What if we could select to not have any PQs emailed to us and use only the stored PQ? Branching adds complexity to any system. If I am forced to branch, I might as well stay the way I am and not be part of any gain for the system.

 

This is not a bad idea. If I had the option to turn off email attachments entirely, I would gladly choose it and simply download my PQs when I needed them.

+ 1

 

Even on the road, as long as I have Wifi Access, I can download a Pocket Query from the Web site just as easily as (sometimes more easily than) I can deal with an e-mail attachment. I would definitely opt for a download-only scenario if that were available.

 

--Larry

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I can't get the GPX file from the new downloading method to work in GSAK or dumping it directly in to my Oregon. :ph34r:

 

Tapeworm, I downloaded 3 PQ's this morning into GSAK by telling Firefox to open the file with GSAK and they worked fine.

 

Can you be more specific about what you did and what happened?

I change my schedual PQ's to get a result of 1000. I got the e-mail saying they are ready for download. I downloaded them and notice the icon was a bit different and isn't a zipfile anymore (It's a paper icon). So I went to put them into GSAK and get this error message:

 

5daf59e9-5762-4b54-b5df-42f34074d815.jpg I have the latest update from GSAK and the latest software/firmware update for the Oregon and dropping it directly into the Oregon doesn't work.

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Would like to have at least an option to have the 500+ PQ's to be send by email and not to have to download it manually even by means of a link.

 

If you leave your PQ's set to 500 or less results they will still come via e-mail.

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