GSAK - no good

[+monkey phat]

Why is GSAK so hard to use? All i want to know is what cities/state my 'found' caches re located in. You gotta be a brain surgeon or Steven Hawking to use this thing! There has got to be an easier way. I know I'm not the only one thinking this either, I've heard the alk both in caching groups and online.

[+Walts Hunting]

There are two issues here. First Chaos theory which generally says that things get more complex over time.

 

GSAK started out simple but (if you read the forums) there is somebody asking for a new feature every day so it will continue on its complexity track forever.

 

Then there is whether or not you gave it a good effort at the GSAK website.

 

Did you ask for help in the forums before making your decision?

 

Did you go to the Macro Index on the website and type in "City" because if you did you would get the macro that does what you want and much, much more.

 

Or did you just look around the program and surrender.

[+Panther&Pine]

You've got the PQs down, the GSAK part started now all you need is Macros.

GSAK can either be a dbs sledgehammer or a sewing needle- you've got to learn to use the software before you get the exact things that you want out of it.

[+Huntleigh]

Why is GSAK so hard to use? All i want to know is what cities/state my 'found' caches re located in. You gotta be a brain surgeon or Steven Hawking to use this thing! There has got to be an easier way. I know I'm not the only one thinking this either, I've heard the alk both in caching groups and online.

 

You can't really blame GSAK for not being able show you which city you've found caches in as the Groundspeak record doesn't store this—it stores only the state as the finest geographical locater. (Unless you are in NZ where there is an unwritten convention to place the name of the city in the cache's title).

 

To find the states your finds are in all you need do is run a "My Finds" query and then load that into GSAK. You can then click on Tools|Options|Display: add the State field to the display: then clicking on the state column will sort it for you.

 

PS You don't have to have just one database in GSAK (although some people do). I have a dozen of more—"My Finds"; "My Hides": "All caches close to home"; "Holiday to Queensland"; etc.

Edited January 24, 2013 by Huntleigh

[+fizzymagic]

Why is GSAK so hard to use? All i want to know is what cities/state my 'found' caches re located in.

 

That's not easy to do. If the data is not in the cache listing, it has to come from somewhere else. People have written GSAK macros to accomplish this task, but using macros is a pretty advanced feature of GSAK and not for a novice. And those macros make use of Web services, which is a pretty advanced technique itself.

 

I have stitched together for myself a simple way to get what you ask, but it is in Python and not very portable. But if you send me a list of the coordinates of your finds, I can make you an Excel spreadsheet that gives whatever geographic information I can get form the Web services I use. That is usually city, state, country, and elevation.

 

If anybody is a programmer and wants to make a more deployable version of my tool, I would be glad to share my code.

[+Walts Hunting]

Why is GSAK so hard to use? All i want to know is what cities/state my 'found' caches re located in.

 

That's not easy to do. If the data is not in the cache listing, it has to come from somewhere else. People have written GSAK macros to accomplish this task, but using macros is a pretty advanced feature of GSAK and not for a novice. And those macros make use of Web services, which is a pretty advanced technique itself.

 

I have stitched together for myself a simple way to get what you ask, but it is in Python and not very portable. But if you send me a list of the coordinates of your finds, I can make you an Excel spreadsheet that gives whatever geographic information I can get form the Web services I use. That is usually city, state, country, and elevation.

 

If anybody is a programmer and wants to make a more deployable version of my tool, I would be glad to share my code.

 

Actually there is a nice Macro that does everything. "Get Locations"

[+ras_oscar]

Calm down. Relax. Grab a cache. Take a deep breath. Yes, GSAK is a very complex mature program. But just because it has many features doesn't mean you *have* to use them all. Its like the GPS. There are literally hundreds of functions on it that I do not use, and a handful that I rarely use. But do I carp because they are there and make the progtam too complicated? no. I have 2 primary databases I use in GSAK. Unfound and found. When I log my caches, I move them from the unfound to the found database. As has been stated above, learn the features that are important to you, and ignore the rest. If you want to know the state your found caches are in, go to your found database, and sort on the state column.

Edited January 25, 2013 by ras_oscar

[+JBnW]

Why is GSAK so hard to use? All i want to know is what cities/state my 'found' caches re located in.

 

That's not easy to do.

 

Actually there is a nice Macro that does everything. "Get Locations"

Here's another one: "CountryStateCounty". Updates the, well...Country, State, and County fields for caches in any database, found or unfound. And it is very easy to run, only a single mouse click.

[+Walts Hunting]

Why is GSAK so hard to use? All i want to know is what cities/state my 'found' caches re located in.

 

That's not easy to do.

 

Actually there is a nice Macro that does everything. "Get Locations"

Here's another one: "CountryStateCounty". Updates the, well...Country, State, and County fields for caches in any database, found or unfound. And it is very easy to run, only a single mouse click.

 

He specifically asked for city which that doesn't do. The one I mentioned does all you mentioned plus much more.

[+Lieblweb]

GSAK is and awesome tool..... and my husband loves it. He's the techy type of guy who thrives on that sort of stuff. Me? I enjoy 'techy' but I've discovered I don't have the patience to want to learn the complex part of it. Besides that.... my husband has it all setup and he often tells me "I know enough to be dangerous" - AKA I'm tech savy enough but can/will screw things up. Sooooo, to save his frustration - I leave it alone. LOL. I do the basics with it. I load our NUVI with it and I search and filter a lot with it.

 

In a nutshell, GSAK is a very very important users tool for geocaching. It is complex/mature - EVERYONE can learn it. However - I've realized, its easier for those with a high level of 'tech-saviness' (type of brain) to use it to its full potential!!

[+BAMBOOZLE]

GSAK is and awesome tool..... and my husband loves it. He's the techy type of guy who thrives on that sort of stuff. Me? I enjoy 'techy' but I've discovered I don't have the patience to want to learn the complex part of it. Besides that.... my husband has it all setup and he often tells me "I know enough to be dangerous" - AKA I'm tech savy enough but can/will screw things up. Sooooo, to save his frustration - I leave it alone. LOL. I do the basics with it. I load our NUVI with it and I search and filter a lot with it.

 

In a nutshell, GSAK is a very very important users tool for geocaching. It is complex/mature - EVERYONE can learn it. However - I've realized, its easier for those with a high level of 'tech-saviness' (type of brain) to use it to its full potential!!

 

I agree with all.....I've only scratched the surface but it does what I need. Maybe when I retire I'll have time to wade in deeper.

[+geodarts]

I had not been using GSAK very much, since geosphere on my phone was a more direct way to track various groups of caches, correct the coordinates to puzzles and export gpx files. But then I started looking at challenge caches. I just used GSAK macros to allow me to easily verify that I have cached in 75 counties, can spell out certain words using the first letter of a cache, and find all the cemetery caches I have done. Keywords. Location. Dates. The last letter of owner's names. Distance. What I seek is often there. It is like being a kid in a candy box.

Edited January 25, 2013 by geodarts

[+the3gmen]

As with most good pieces of software, there is definitely a learning curve for GSAK. Probably the best way to learn is to find a local cacher who can show you the basics. That way you can use it for the easy stuff while experimenting and learning the more involved uses.