DSWorld: How are we doing?

[+shorbird]

How many of us have tried DSWorld, or are using it on a regular basis? I have switched over from the traditional NGS Recovery page, and I would never go back. You can do so much more with DSWorld, and it is much faster as well. As LSUFan pointed out, HH2 corrections go through very quickly, and photographs can be added quickly as well. What is your experience with DSWorld?

[+LSUFan]

I use it a lot. Besides submitting HH2 coordinates and pics (which I have had some posted to the datasheet within 2 days), I use it to see what marks are listed in the wrong county from the google earth interface.....and send in corrections thru DSWorld for this.

 

Hopefully, by more of us using the program and submitting info thru it, it will save our Ninja Dave Doyle some effort that he has spent harvesting from our gc.com logs.

 

One of the biggest things I utilize is putting captions on photos and renaming my photos to NGS standards with the "edit photo" function of DSWorld.

 

It takes a little hands-on experience with the program, and new features get added.....but it shouldn't intimidate you. GSAK made me anxious to start with, and now I don't know how I made it without it. DSWorld is the same way.

 

As ArtMan pointed out in another forum when Malcolm presented the webinar on the program, you can view this webinar from the link here, to get a basic understanding of the program:

 

http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/corbin/online_learning.shtml

Edited June 5, 2012 by LSUFan

[AZcachemeister]

I have had some success with the program, but I haven't been benchmarking much lately.

I recently (like yesterday) opened the program and attempted to update, but got an 'access denied' message.

[AZcachemeister]

I have had some success with the program, but I haven't been benchmarking much lately.

I recently (like yesterday) opened the program and attempted to update, but got an 'access denied' message.

 

Just tried it again, and got the same message.

 

crapware.

[TillaMurphs]

I recently (like yesterday) opened the program and attempted to update, but got an 'access denied' message.

 

AZcachemeister,

 

On the remote chance that it helps:

 

I once had a problem with DSWorld and got a "Permission Denied" error.

I had to check the permissions on my C:\Program Files (x86)\DSWorld\ directory in Windows7) [C:\Program Files\DSWorld\ directory (in Windows XP)] and uncheck the ‘read only’ box and set

the directory and files therein to ‘change’ or ‘full control’ for all users.

[TillaMurphs]

...I haven't been benchmarking much lately.

 

Who are you and what have you done with AZcachemeister?

[+chiknlips45]

I've converted to DSWorld except adjusting the initial sizing & lighting of photos. I really like the insertion of the captions and arrows. The renaming feature reduces errors and seems very logical after a couple times using it. The ability to upload multiple photos at once is also a really nice feature. Submitting reports has become second nature and seems to work well for me. I haven't really used the Google Earth feature much since I already had my nearby counties in a KML with color coded pins specific to my liking. Initially I was reluctant and not wanting to screw up submitting reports but I wouldn't want to go back now. The one thing I would like to see adjusted is the format of the Reference Mark projection output. If it was in an easy to use format I would be more likely to use it. Overall, I think it's a really great program.

[+EdrickV]

Haven't actually submitted any recovery reports, so I can't really compare it to the website form, but I do like how it auto-fills information on the form when you type a PID in. I have been checking out some of it's other features and found out some interesting stuff. (Because of DSWorld I've learned about a non-pub EDMI calibration base line that happens to be in a park and might be interesting to check out. Though I had to make my own coordinates with the help of Google Earth and GSAK, since the nonpub coordinates seem to be off quite a bit when viewed through Google Earth. Which brings to mind another interesting DSWorld feature: The ability to show both published and nonpub benchmarks into Google Earth. The fact that benchmarks viewed in Google Earth have links both to the NGS datasheet and the Geocaching.com page is also cool.

[foxtrot_xray]

What is your experience with DSWorld?

Used it once, won't ever go use it again.

 

The UI is so a**-backwards and overly-complicated that it makes my head hurt. The ungle-a** blue (which, okay, is an NGS / NOAA color, but still!) hurts my eyes.

 

I know how to use the web form, I'm happy with that, thankyouverymuch.

 

--Me.

[+m&h]

In a slow time with the marks, but we've used it once or twice, and like it. Had some snags at the beginning, including the permission denial, which Malcolm got us over.

Cheers,

[+EdrickV]

I've recently discovered another interesting feature of DSWorld: For NonPub marks DSWorld may be able to pull up some info via Mark Data by PID or on the Recovery Report page. (A little note: A simple way to avoid permission issues for a specific program would be to install the program outside the Program Files folders. I installed DSWorld in a folder in C:\Tools\ which is a place I use to store a lot of utility programs, especially those without installers.)

[+DragonsWest]

I tried it, once. Found it very fiddly and I didn't have answers for many things because I didn't know how to answer them.

 

Now I'm looking to report a recovery on a marker which has been Not Found for a while.

 

HR0546

[ArtMan]

I tried it, once. Found it very fiddly....

The user interface is definitely not as user-friendly as it could be. There is a learning curve, and I prefer other tools for photo editing and labeling. But I think there is a lot of utility here, and some of my favorite and most useful programs (e.g., LAME, ImageMagick) took a fair amount of effort to master. For many users, the result is worth it.

 

~ArtMan~

[AZcachemeister]

Found some benchmarks while on vacation last month.

Fired up the program, and was prompted to check for updates.

 

ACCESS DENIED

 

I think this happened before, but I'll be darned if I can remember what the fix is/was.

[AZcachemeister]

Found some benchmarks while on vacation last month.

Fired up the program, and was prompted to check for updates.

 

ACCESS DENIED

 

I think this happened before, but I'll be darned if I can remember what the fix is/was.

 

I found the answer to this for myself this morning.

As stated in the help file, I needed to set the permissions under WIN 7 to allow it to update.

[+Yeah_meoW]

I'm guessing this only works on windows computers? Is there by chance a mac version? or something similar for us who dont have windows systems.

[+m&h]

Correct, Windows only. We run Macs, but I have installed VMWare Fusion and Windows 7 Pro on mine, because there are quite a few surveying-related applications that have not been written for Macs.