Whats your favorite feature in GSAK?

[+Turtle_Sask]

Hello Fellow geocachers! I just bought GSAK today and have been learning lots about this awesome piece of software! I have gone through most of the FAQ and features, and I would like to hear from users on these forums whats your favorite thing about GSAK/what cool features you go onto GSAK to perform that you cant on the geocaching website?. Would be cool to get a list going of different features that people find useful and fun that GSAK enables you to do!

 

Ill start

 

My favorite feature is being able to upload PQ's to an area that you want to go on your next geocaching trip and put the info on each cache that you want then upload it to your GPS! Real time saver when there are a few hundred to where your going!

 

-Cheers

[+The A-Team]

Where do I start? In no particular order:

-Combining multiple PQs into one database, then easily loading into the GPS

-Filtering

-Corrected coordinates (this is slowly coming along on the site, but has been around forever with GSAK)

-With the recent addition of API access, downloading of as many logs as your heart desires

-Macros - they allow you to do pretty much anything you can imagine, including the ability to come up with many flavours of detailed statistics

 

There's lots of others, but those are the ones that I find the most useful with the way I cache.

 

Once I started to use GSAK, I started to wonder why I hadn't started using it earlier.

[Keystone]

I am moving this thread from the Geocaching Topics forum to the GPS and Technology forum.

[+Totem Clan]

Where do I start? In no particular order:

-Combining multiple PQs into one database, then easily loading into the GPS

-Filtering

-Corrected coordinates (this is slowly coming along on the site, but has been around forever with GSAK)

-With the recent addition of API access, downloading of as many logs as your heart desires

-Macros - they allow you to do pretty much anything you can imagine, including the ability to come up with many flavours of detailed statistics

 

There's lots of others, but those are the ones that I find the most useful with the way I cache.

 

Once I started to use GSAK, I started to wonder why I hadn't started using it earlier.

+1

 

... or I could just say everything.

[+Maingray]

v8. Publish logs.

[+eusty]

I think you are missing something!

 

Once you try using GSAK and get the hang of it you will never want to use anything else...its just so handy

 

Give it a go as its free for the first 30 days IIRC

[+power69]

I think you are missing something!

 

Once you try using GSAK and get the hang of it you will never want to use anything else...its just so handy

 

Give it a go as its free for the first 30 days IIRC

Actually its 21 days. then it starts naggin you to buy it.

[the3gmen]

Thanks ... I might

 

You might want to look in the local section of these forums to try and connect with some cachers that have more experience with GSAK.

 

Reading the help files and instructions is fine but can be time consuming. Having another cacher show you GSAK's features makes things a lot less painful

[+alldatndensum]

With the ability of the newer Garmin GPS to simply drag and drop PQs, or manipulate them using Basecamp (which is free) my question would be:

 

If you have a Garmin why pay for GSAK

 

Or am I missing something? .

 

 

I have to agree with the statement about not needing GSAK with the current Garmins where you can just drop your pocket queries directly in the machine. I have the paid version, and loading PQs with GSAK takes more time. I really don't need it now that I have swapped from a DeLorme back to a paperless Garmin.

Edited March 4, 2012 by alldatndensum

[+coachstahly]

I don't use my GSAK much for unfound caches, but for my found caches I use it quite a bit, especially when challenges are involved (NOT the new ones!). Instead of having to go through each and very log/cache on the site (and waiting for each one to load) I have all the information I need just a few filters away (or even on the default screen). For that alone it's been great and well worth the cost.

[+lodgebarn]

With the ability of the newer Garmin GPS to simply drag and drop PQs, or manipulate them using Basecamp (which is free) my question would be:

 

If you have a Garmin why pay for GSAK

 

Or am I missing something?

Might depend to some extent on what types of caches you find and where you go. For instance I happen to work and live in different parts of the country so maintain multiple different sets of cache data. I need to switch between them quite often. It would be possible but a pain to have to constantly maintain copies of pqs for this. I find it helps very much when working on puzzles to be able to store all my notes in one place and I use GSAK macros to download notes to the GPS via a GSAK created log. Once you have data in GSAK then I find searching and filtering features very useful when planning trips, lookig for puzzles to solve, seeing quickly the last 4 log status etc, etc etc.

 

So as value for money software goes GSAK is up with the best and a very minor cost .

[jholly]

With the ability of the newer Garmin GPS to simply drag and drop PQs, or manipulate them using Basecamp (which is free) my question would be:

 

If you have a Garmin why pay for GSAK

 

Or am I missing something?

If you always cache by yourself, yeah, that sort of works.

 

But if you cache with other folks that have cached in the same area your going, it is a bit of a drag to get a list of caches nobody has done just by drag and drop. PQ's don't let you filter out your friends caches. GSAK version 8 does via the API access.

 

And after you have the list of caches your going to get GSAK version 8 make creating the 40 or 50 cache bookmark to share so all can generate the custom PQ a snap. And if your friends have GSAK version 8 they don't even have to generate a PQ, they can download the bookmark directly into a database and be ready to go.

 

You can drop the caches that are disabled in a PQ. But how about the ones that had the last two or three logs that were DNF's? I find it a drag looking for a cache that is probably gone after I spent money on a ferry or bridge tolls and drove 50 or 60 miles. I want caches that the last four finds were smileys. Can you do that with a PQ? Don't think so.

 

And since I'm needing to pay for the ferry or bridge and driving a bit, I like to optimize my route. Export the selected caches and import into Streets and Trips, optimize the route and you have an efficient route. You can even put the S&T stop numbers into a GSAK user data field and when you use a GSAK macro to load your nuvi it will prepend the stop number to the cache name so selecting the next cache on the nuvi is easy.

 

Its nice to combine a couple caches along a route with GSAK, separating the days with dates in one of the user data fields and then load your GPS and Nuvi for just those days caches.

 

Do you like to do Delorme challenges or county challenges? You can load up one of the GSAK user data fields with the Delorme square of the caches you have. Makes the book keeping snap.

 

The list just goes on and on. But if all you want to do is load caches into your GPS and press the next button GSAK is not worth it.

Edited March 5, 2012 by jholly

[+Team Pwiiq]

And since I'm needing to pay for the ferry or bridge and driving a bit, I like to optimize my route. Export the selected caches and import into Streets and Trips, optimize the route and you have an efficient route. You can even put the S&T stop numbers into a GSAK user data field and when you use a GSAK macro to load your nuvi it will prepend the stop number to the cache name so selecting the next cache on the nuvi is easy.

 

I have always wondered if there were ways to do that. There's a series near me named 90Days of Winter where 90 winter friendly caches are released every day or two. This would really help me get caught up in the series and with gas always going up finding the easiest route to them all would be great. Is it easy to import into Steets? I've never used that software.

 

I haven't gotten into the meat and potatoes features in GSAK yet. Mostly use it for just loading caches in. One thing I have used it for that's very handy is the fact that I can create my own child way-points for caches. For example I work 3rd shift and there's lots of downtime. During that time Ill sit here every now and then and work on puzzle caches trying to figure out coordinates. One I figure it out I make a new child waypoint in GSAK associated with that cache. Now I know that no matter what I will have the solution coordinates in my GPS every time I sync that cache. I don't have to remember to put them back in if I switch the caches on my device. That information will not get lost since its in my own personal database.

[jholly]

And since I'm needing to pay for the ferry or bridge and driving a bit, I like to optimize my route. Export the selected caches and import into Streets and Trips, optimize the route and you have an efficient route. You can even put the S&T stop numbers into a GSAK user data field and when you use a GSAK macro to load your nuvi it will prepend the stop number to the cache name so selecting the next cache on the nuvi is easy.

 

I have always wondered if there were ways to do that. There's a series near me named 90Days of Winter where 90 winter friendly caches are released every day or two. This would really help me get caught up in the series and with gas always going up finding the easiest route to them all would be great. Is it easy to import into Steets? I've never used that software.

 

I haven't gotten into the meat and potatoes features in GSAK yet. Mostly use it for just loading caches in. One thing I have used it for that's very handy is the fact that I can create my own child way-points for caches. For example I work 3rd shift and there's lots of downtime. During that time Ill sit here every now and then and work on puzzle caches trying to figure out coordinates. One I figure it out I make a new child waypoint in GSAK associated with that cache. Now I know that no matter what I will have the solution coordinates in my GPS every time I sync that cache. I don't have to remember to put them back in if I switch the caches on my device. That information will not get lost since its in my own personal database.

I export a gpx file of the selected caches and then import the gpx file into S&T.

 

On the puzzle caches, why not use the corrected coordinate feature of GSAK? You add a corrected coordinate and that is what will be downloaded to your device. You can even put notes about the solution in the notes section of the user notes.

[+JBnW]

If you limit me to one favorite feature, its gotta be "Merge". This allows separate databases to be combined into one while eliminating double entries. So you could have, for example, a list of nearby caches, caches fitting some sort of challenge (Fizzy, date placed, DeLorme, County, a road trip, etc.)that all get loaded at once. That way, I can be caching around town, or on a little road trip, or whatever, and have caches that I am more likely to find soon, or caches of opportunity. Just my .02 worth.

[+eusty]

Never seen this...might have to investigate

 

I usually just replace, but might be missing a trick...

 

 

Edited March 6, 2012 by eusty

[+Team Pwiiq]

On the puzzle caches, why not use the corrected coordinate feature of GSAK? You add a corrected coordinate and that is what will be downloaded to your device. You can even put notes about the solution in the notes section of the user notes.

 

I would prefer to do it that way but cant with the GPS I use. I have an eXplorist GC and from what I've researched theres no way to change the icon of puzzle caches that have not been solved and those which have been. So when glancing at the map on the GPS theres no way to distinguish which have been solved and which haven't. With using the child waypoint my GPS uses a red flag for it and only for that. So I can quickly look at the map and if I see a red flag I know thats a puzzle final.