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Release Notes - June 18, 2014


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One thing that would greatly improve my life - we have a "Delete Selected" button on the Pocket Queries download page.... could we get a "Download Selected" or "Download All" button?

Would make life easier for a bulk import. iCaching's API download on MacOS 10.10 (yes, I know Yosemite's a beta) a bit underwhelming this would go a long way to fix that until that gets a fix. Also would let others with non API compliant software have a two click workaround without having to resort to shell scripts.

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Please bring back the attached PQs for <= 500 caches. I really hate having to navigate the website only to pull in information that used to be automatically delivered. This is a clear regression.

Removal of any feature, even if an antiquated and burdensome feature, can be seen as a 'regression' for the sake of progression through change. That is, there are alternate ways that are more optimal to accomplish your goals, it just takes a bit of effort to change.

If you're using a 3rd party app that made attachments useful, it'll likely be updated shortly to make use of the download links.

 

That said, you shouldn't have to navigate the website - the PQ link is a direct download. As long as your browser is logged in, your one click from the email should let you download the file.

 

For me the email format change is more significant - I have a couple of my own scripts to update which parsed incoming email content, but that's all changed now. A minor inconvenience, but the html form is nicer to look at. However, I support the request to allow people to choose whether to receive plaintext or html formatted email. IMO that should always be an option for any automated website email system. =/ (especially if it contains parsable data)

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I'm not sure whether I might be too late for these RN, but I just discovered support for Russian and Finnish - I can't remember those languages being mentioned in any RN before, it must have been introduced in the past three weeks. Very nice (although I don't speak Finnish)!

 

I found another issue though: select a language like Finnish or Spanish, do a "nearest" search, click on a PM-only cache.

Result: an error-500 page. With English, German, or even Catalan I see "basic information" about the cache (name, owner, D, T, size) together with the friendly reminder to become PM. What's wrong with Finnish or Spanish (and other languages, I can't see a pattern)? A regular click should almost never result in an error 500!

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Next thing - adopting e-mails.

I send one my geocache to another cacher. This e-mail I received:

 

Your Trackable adoption request has been sent to xxxxxx.

Now we just wait and see if they accept. In the meantime, if you are unable to maintain the Trackable, please consider disabling it until it has been successfully adopted.

Cheers,

Geocaching HQ

 

I really dont think that the geocache is a "trackable".

Also, i dont think that I can "disable the Trackable".

And where is that sentence "you can decline your adoption request at this link"?

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Now Premium Members will be able to download twice as many Pocket Queries a day, from 5 to 10 PQ's a day.

 

I wish the pocket query size was increased to 2000 and stayed at 5 per day.

 

Nooooo! More flexibility in search parameters is better. With 10 you can just alter your parameters a bit and get a 2nd one for the other 1000 you want. Keeping 5 and bumping the max would be useless for I'd wager a very vast majority of PQ users... 1000 is already a lot. More than that, perhaps useful for very long road trips - but there's no practical limit to a PQ like that, especially if you're very willing to travel far off route and boost your radius; but in that case, you can still make additional queries.

Far too often for special geocaching trips we end up running out of daily PQs in concentrated areas, having to wait for the next day. That's worse, IMO, than the inconvenience of having to make another PQ to add another 1000 caches to a collection... =/

 

Thank you QS for the PQ count increase!

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Now Premium Members will be able to download twice as many Pocket Queries a day, from 5 to 10 PQ's a day.

 

I wish the pocket query size was increased to 2000 and stayed at 5 per day.

 

Nooooo! More flexibility in search parameters is better. With 10 you can just alter your parameters a bit and get a 2nd one for the other 1000 you want. Keeping 5 and bumping the max would be useless for I'd wager a very vast majority of PQ users... 1000 is already a lot. More than that, perhaps useful for very long road trips - but there's no practical limit to a PQ like that, especially if you're very willing to travel far off route and boost your radius; but in that case, you can still make additional queries.

Far too often for special geocaching trips we end up running out of daily PQs in concentrated areas, having to wait for the next day. That's worse, IMO, than the inconvenience of having to make another PQ to add another 1000 caches to a collection... =/

 

Thank you QS for the PQ count increase!

They can keep there 5,000 a day on PQ' but give me 12,000 a day on the API.

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I wish the pocket query size was increased to 2000 and stayed at 5 per day.

My PQ size is limited by my GPSr, not by what GS allows, so increasing it to 2000 would not change anything for me.

 

Garmin POIs allow almost unlimited caches.

True, but then you lose the geocache functions (marked as found, geocache visits file, etc.).

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I wish the pocket query size was increased to 2000 and stayed at 5 per day.

My PQ size is limited by my GPSr, not by what GS allows, so increasing it to 2000 would not change anything for me.

 

Garmin POIs allow almost unlimited caches.

 

Huh?huh.gif

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I wish the pocket query size was increased to 2000 and stayed at 5 per day.

My PQ size is limited by my GPSr, not by what GS allows, so increasing it to 2000 would not change anything for me.

 

Garmin POIs allow almost unlimited caches.

True, but then you lose the geocache functions (marked as found, geocache visits file, etc.).

 

I have never used the geocaching functions. I've always kept a notebook so I can write a brief description of the cache/site/hide to jog my memory when I write my log. Field Notes are painfully slow to input and much quicker just to write them down.

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I have never used the geocaching functions. I've always kept a notebook so I can write a brief description of the cache/site/hide to jog my memory when I write my log. Field Notes are painfully slow to input and much quicker just to write them down.

Geocaching functions (field notes) allow me to remember in what order I visited the caches. I don't have so many finds between loggings (so far) that I have trouble remembering the individual caches. Geocaching functions also allow me to mark a cache as found so it will not show up in a subsequent search.

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I have never used the geocaching functions. I've always kept a notebook so I can write a brief description of the cache/site/hide to jog my memory when I write my log. Field Notes are painfully slow to input and much quicker just to write them down.

Geocaching functions (field notes) allow me to remember in what order I visited the caches. I don't have so many finds between loggings (so far) that I have trouble remembering the individual caches. Geocaching functions also allow me to mark a cache as found so it will not show up in a subsequent search.

 

This. And geosphere's local field notes combined with Groundspeak's online field notes are a wonderful combination. You can upload geosphere field notes (which include finds, dnfs, etc) as geocaching.com field notes, in the order you create them, to make use of the Field Notes page online to create the finalized logs.

I hate writing up Find logs while mobile. I'll mark the cache as found, and add any relevant little words/notes so I can remember them when composing the logs as a batch later. If it ends up I have hundreds and don't want to do them one by one, I can export the geosphere field notes to gsak and use its batch logging tool (while also adding unique content to individual logs as desired) - which skips geocaching.com's Field notes section.

And if I really want to post the finalized log while mobile (usually FTFs), geosphere does that too via the API.

 

All of the above provide enormous flexibility for various logging styles and methods.

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I'm confused by all the complaints about the PQ emails. How is the new system any less easy? With the old way, you'd have to either single-click or double-click (depending on the email client) to open the attachment. With the new system, you single-click on a link. It's different, but is it really any more difficult?

 

••

 

Yes. I cache occasionally, as do most geocachers. I pick a location and create a PQ for it. I have no need to load a thousand caches, because I won't get to a tenth of them, and probably not a twentieth of them. Again, like most cachers, I use a hand held GPS and another device for the "paperless" aspect. Zip files loaded right into the Geosphere program I use on my iPod Touch. This new way refuses to connect with Geosphere. So yes, it is more difficult.

 

••

Think carefully, are you opposed to the change because it has reduced functionality (which I suspect it hasn't for most people), or just because things have changed?

 

••

 

It's because the functionality has been greatly reduced, but since you bring it up, who ever said change simply for the sake of change was a good or worthy thing?

 

And as has been mentioned by others, what's wrong with asking us paying members before you arbitrarily change things?

 

••

I'm sure the main reason behind this change is bandwidth. Sending thousands of several-MB emails every day would be a big hit on performance and bandwidth-usage. I'll admit that I often had scheduled-weekly-PQs emailed to me that I didn't really need, which meant wasted bandwidth for Groundspeak. The new system is on-demand, so only those people actually wanting to use a PQ will use bandwidth.

 

••

 

Then if wasted bandwidth is the problem, eliminate the scheduled auto-send feature and let those who don't request a thousand caches so they can go hunt for 20 or 40 alone.

 

Ed _S. (began caching in 2001)

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Think carefully, are you opposed to the change because it has reduced functionality (which I suspect it hasn't for most people), or just because things have changed?

...but since you bring it up, who ever said change simply for the sake of change was a good or worthy thing?

He didn't say that. He asked if you're opposed to change because it is a change. Totally different topic.

 

I asked earlier, I think, don't recall seeing a response. How is this breaking the way you do things, and is there a way to solve this without bringing back PQs in emails? We can try to find a work-around, or you can complain about it and see if Groundspeak will restore the old functionality.

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How is this breaking the way you do things, and is there a way to solve this without bringing back PQs in emails? We can try to find a work-around, or you can complain about it and see if Groundspeak will restore the old functionality.

+1

 

Initially the changes to the PQs broke the way I do things, but I quickly realised that by changing things slightly at my end to accommodate the new notifications then I was going to be much better off, and I wouldn't want things put back to the old way now.

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Think carefully, are you opposed to the change because it has reduced functionality (which I suspect it hasn't for most people), or just because things have changed?

...but since you bring it up, who ever said change simply for the sake of change was a good or worthy thing?

He didn't say that. He asked if you're opposed to change because it is a change. Totally different topic.

 

I thought my reply was close enough, but you seem to be asking one of those "when did you stop beating your wife?" questions. I'm not resistant to change when there's a good reason for the change. I am opposed to change when it's of the "hey, look what I just learned how to do!" variety. If it was needed, why keep that fact secret?

 

I asked earlier, I think, don't recall seeing a response. How is this breaking the way you do things, and is there a way to solve this without bringing back PQs in emails? We can try to find a work-around, or you can complain about it and see if Groundspeak will restore the old functionality.

 

I know I may not do things like millions of other cachers do, but there are a significant number who do something similar to what I do (did): My PQ resulted in an email that contained a zipped gpx file. If I clicked on that, it opened in GSAK. Just like that. I could use GSAK to load my GPS, or to export the caches to Mapsource, and I could generate a route to drive from cache to cache. If I wanted that gpx file in my Geosphere app in my iPod Touch, I used its wi-fi to access my email, and I opened that same zip file in Geosphere. No muss, no fuss. Literally one-click. That's how this is "breaking the way I do things." I'm still able to get the gpx file to GSAK, but Geosphere worked via that emailed zip file.

 

In this case, as far as anyone not in the inner sanctum knew, things were going well. No major bugs or glitches. No need for the sudden removal of what worked just fine and the replacement of it with something that requires figuring out a whole new set of workarounds. In my personal case, I got a dropbox account, so I have what used to be one step loading now taking about a half dozen, but at least I can get my measly little PQs into my iPod Touch and Geosphere. That doesn't mean I'm happy about having to figure a new way of doing things, and having it simply dumped in my lap.

 

What's so bad about PQs as zip files in emails? And why could nobody give the millions of paying customers the simple courtesy of letting us know this was in the works? If it's a wasted bandwidth issue, why take it out on the small users? Why not leave PQs in emails available for (picking an arbitrary number) 50 caches or less per PQ?

 

I found my own work-around. I learned how to use drop-box. Understand, I don't live in front of a computer keyboard. I don't intuit how things work when they're explained in techno-jargon gibberish. I just want to go find a few caches - I don't want to have to keep figuring out how to reinvent the wheel.

 

The OP edited his post a day after he wrote it, so it says "the heck with it - I'll go back to printing cache pages on paper, and manually entering coordinates in my GPS." I wonder how many of the huge majority of cachers who don't participate on Groundspeak will feel the same?

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Please bring back the attached PQs for <= 500 caches. I really hate having to navigate the website only to pull in information that used to be automatically delivered. This is a clear regression.

 

I agree with this 100%. Since I wanted a .gpx file, I unchecked the box to compress my small query (only 15 caches), but it still produced a .zip file that can only be downloaded. I much, much prefer the attachment method for small pocket queries so that I can open them easily in Geosphere using the mail tool on my iPhone 5. This new "feature" is a clear regression.

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If I wanted that gpx file in my Geosphere app in my iPod Touch, I used its wi-fi to access my email, and I opened that same zip file in Geosphere.

You can't click on the link in your email to open it in a browser on the iPod Touch? I don't have an iPod Touch, someone may be able to answer this better.

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... Geosphere using the mail tool ...

It seems like it would be a simple matter for the author of Geosphere to update his software to handle the new way of doing things. Maybe he's already working on it. Has anyone posted in the Geosphere forums to ask?

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If I wanted that gpx file in my Geosphere app in my iPod Touch, I used its wi-fi to access my email, and I opened that same zip file in Geosphere. No muss, no fuss. Literally one-click. That's how this is "breaking the way I do things." I'm still able to get the gpx file to GSAK, but Geosphere worked via that emailed zip file.

So surely now you just need to open the email in the same way, but whereas you previously saved the attachement, you now just need to click the "Download now" link in the mail, and the Email/browser client will download the GPX/Zip for you. I really can't imagine why a Dropbox account needs to come into it.

 

What's so bad about PQs as zip files in emails? And why could nobody give the millions of paying customers the simple courtesy of letting us know this was in the works? If it's a wasted bandwidth issue, why take it out on the small users? Why not leave PQs in emails available for (picking an arbitrary number) 50 caches or less per PQ?

I suspect that many many of those PQs out there are not being used by the people who set them up, so in many cases the bandwidth is being wasted sending out PQs that the owner created months/years ago but don't need any more. Now GS have decided they're going to increase the number of PQs increasing the bandwith needed even more, so they decided to make it a download link so that people will only download the PQs they actually need, thereby reducing the wasted bandwidth.

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That said, you shouldn't have to navigate the website - the PQ link is a direct download. As long as your browser is logged in, your one click from the email should let you download the file.

 

Why in the heck would I be logged in to the website from my mobile device? I've never had to login before and now there are added steps. This isn't just about change, this is about adding several steps to a workflow that used to take five seconds to complete. Plus, there are places I go where navigating the website would be impossible where an attachment would get through (eventually).

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What's so bad about PQs as zip files in emails? And why could nobody give the millions of paying customers the simple courtesy of letting us know this was in the works? If it's a wasted bandwidth issue, why take it out on the small users? Why not leave PQs in emails available for (picking an arbitrary number) 50 caches or less per PQ?

I suspect that many many of those PQs out there are not being used by the people who set them up, so in many cases the bandwidth is being wasted sending out PQs that the owner created months/years ago but don't need any more. Now GS have decided they're going to increase the number of PQs increasing the bandwith needed even more, so they decided to make it a download link so that people will only download the PQs they actually need, thereby reducing the wasted bandwidth.

I suspect they'll see a large decrease in the number of PQs downloaded now. I bet people will just up and stop using the function all together moving to hitting the website from their mobile device's app over and over and over again driving the bandwidth and server CPU usage through the roof.

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... Geosphere using the mail tool ...

It seems like it would be a simple matter for the author of Geosphere to update his software to handle the new way of doing things. Maybe he's already working on it. Has anyone posted in the Geosphere forums to ask?

 

I'm not sure why this statement was made by MightyCasey - Geosphere most certainly does have API functions, and includes both API pq downloads (individual cache updates for all within the last PQ execution), and the raw ZIP file import. I don't understand why someone would use the email link or attachment to get a PQ into geosphere. Use the Pocket Queries section to import via the app.

 

That said, you shouldn't have to navigate the website - the PQ link is a direct download. As long as your browser is logged in, your one click from the email should let you download the file.

Why in the heck would I be logged in to the website from my mobile device? I've never had to login before and now there are added steps. This isn't just about change, this is about adding several steps to a workflow that used to take five seconds to complete. Plus, there are places I go where navigating the website would be impossible where an attachment would get through (eventually).

 

I wasn't referring to using a mobile device reading email in this instance. On your desktop, if the link is there, a click will download the ZIP file (if the default browser is auto-logged in); it's not attached to the email, no, but a single click will get the ZIP. I realize that this is still an inconvenience if one has scripts to auto-import zip files from wherever the attachments are saved automatically on the local computer. But that wasn't what my response was regarding :P

 

As for mobile, the only applicable setup I can envision is somehow you used to get the email with the attachment on your mobile device, and then I don't know, sent the ZIP file attachment to a mobile geocaching app? And now you can't? Can that app not handle a link to the ZIP file and download it from within?

 

I'm still not getting the loss in this regards... change of process, sure, but certainly not a downward feature.

 

Again, I understand if someone has automated scripts that watch for new files saved as attachments automatically to a folder, and handles them without intervention. Or scripts that would load the attachment from incoming email on a webmail service and go from there -- all automated. But those can (should be able to) be fixed by adjusting the script.

And any manual handling of file attachments, really, are ultimately improved by using existing updated functionality (download via the link, or use an application's native PQ functions) - once the change in process is accepted, of course. And it could be a rough ride, or at least have a learning curve for some.

It's certainly not the end of the world :P

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I suspect they'll see a large decrease in the number of PQs downloaded now.

 

That prediction makes zero sense.

 

Your own workflow, apparently, was based on using the email attachments. That means you didn't download before, and you're not going to do so in the future either (you claim).

 

Myself, and every other cacher I know of, never used the attachments because most if not all our PQs are close to 1000 caches and thus were never included as attachments anyway. I can't remember how many years ago I last used an attachment. We are, if anything, going to download MORE PQs because the number we CAN download has been doubled.

 

I bet people will just up and stop using the function all together

 

If there was any way to verify this, I'd take your bet in a heartbeat.

 

Meanwhile, I'm still waiting for a fix to the real regression - the cancelling of plain text emails dry.gif

Edited by Yellow ants
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If I wanted that gpx file in my Geosphere app in my iPod Touch, I used its wi-fi to access my email, and I opened that same zip file in Geosphere.

You can't click on the link in your email to open it in a browser on the iPod Touch? I don't have an iPod Touch, someone may be able to answer this better.

 

No. I don't have that zip file any more. The email contains a link which, when clicked, opens a list of the caches in my PQ. Not at all helpful. It's the same thing as on my PC.

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... Geosphere using the mail tool ...

It seems like it would be a simple matter for the author of Geosphere to update his software to handle the new way of doing things. Maybe he's already working on it. Has anyone posted in the Geosphere forums to ask?

 

Perhaps this caught him unawares, too.

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No. I don't have that zip file any more. The email contains a link which, when clicked, opens a list of the caches in my PQ. Not at all helpful. It's the same thing as on my PC.

There are two links. One says "View Result". The other says "Download Now".

 

Yes, I did notice that.

 

"View Results" gives me a list of the caches in my PQ.

 

"Download Now" I can have "Open With" my GSAK. But my iPod wouldn't send it to Geosphere. Hence Dropbox.

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No. I don't have that zip file any more. The email contains a link which, when clicked, opens a list of the caches in my PQ. Not at all helpful. It's the same thing as on my PC.

There are two links. One says "View Result". The other says "Download Now".

 

Yes, I did notice that.

 

"View Results" gives me a list of the caches in my PQ.

 

"Download Now" I can have "Open With" my GSAK. But my iPod wouldn't send it to Geosphere. Hence Dropbox.

Does it save the file locally? If so, can you change your file association in your browser on the iPod?

 

Does Geosphere support API downloading of PQs? It seems to support many Groundspeak API functions, but as I don't have any iOS device, I can't tell.

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As I literally just described a couple of posts above ;) Yes, Geosphere supports both ZIP file download, and API import.

1. You can Download and store the PQ ZIP contents

2. You can Import the PQ cache lists (as of when the PQ last ran, with most recent cache data) via the API

3. You can go to the PQ web page in the app browser and click on the PQ's ZIP file link and save the cache contents directly to the app.

 

Remember that gc.com expires zip files after a period of time. But Geosphere still allows you to retrieve the last executed PQ results and import them using the API (not the same as downloading the ZIP).

 

I suppose the other benefit of the email attachment is that you have the ZIP for perpetuity. You've received it in your email, so if it takes you too long to get to it, while the ZIP may be expired online, you still have it in your inbox.

 

Nonetheless, I'd wager the amount of times this happens to members is but a sliver of the overall PQ use among gc.com's userbase.

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We're getting off the subject, here. I was asked what changed with th is new system, and in what way was loading my PQ into wherever I want it to go more cumbersome now than it used to be. I told how.

 

And, YOU GUYS might be able to download, import, and all that. I said somewhere above, I am NOT a computer savant, by any means. I don't intuit what steps need to be done, and if it's not in plain English with commonly-used terms, I don't have a clue what it's talking about.

 

I have a way that works for me. I don't like this new way as well as the old way, but I can make it work. I'm now dropping back into obscurity, generating small PQs and going caching as time permits - maybe I'll grab 50 in a day, or maybe I'll only load 10 or 20 caches into my various devices and only find 3/4 of them. (Frankly, I can't begin to fathom who needs a thousand caches, automatically generated and sent, several times a week. To me, if bandwidth is the issue, THAT's what I'd change/cut.)

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We're getting off the subject, here.

 

Not really, the subject is the Release Notes for June 18th, and all the suggestions above are addressing a change which was introduced in this release, while they may not be useful to you they may be useful to others who come along looking for ways to deal with the changes to PQ notifications.

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I have a way that works for me. I don't like this new way as well as the old way, but I can make it work.

That's the thing. A couple of people have posted here that there's another way (the API) that's been available in Geosphere for quite some time, isn't affected at all by this recent change, and I suspect is even easier than the method you've been using. If you're interested in learning this different method, I'm sure there's someone here who's familiar with that app that would be happy to guide you through it. For that matter, I do have that app on my iPhone, although I haven't used it for a few years. I could take some time to figure it out and then give you a hand. You'd still have to be willing to accept some change, though.

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Pretty bad, GPX in emails was very useful way to get my data without direct user interaction. Another example how GS listens to (PM )users :-(

I agree. I've used bcaching and Geohunter for years on my current and previous android phones. Suddenly I stopped getting new data to download. I searched bcaching's site and found this:

http://forums.bcaching.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=260

 

Now the emails only contain a link that can be used to manually download the ZIP file, and this requires being authenticated on the geocaching site. Since bcaching does not have each geocaching user's credentials, it can no longer retrieve the pocket query data automatically.

 

Please re-allow the <500 cache file attachments /5PQ a day as an option, at least for Premium Members. It was simple and easy. I don't have time/desire to find/configure another whole setup.

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Also from bcaching:

BCaching was registered as geocaching API consumer prior to the "cut off", and some work had already been done to integrate the pocket query API, but it was never completed due to time/work constraints and the fact that the email process had been working reasonably well. Since automated emails are no longer an option I've picked up where I left off and will try to wrap up limited integration to support automated downloads as soon as possible.

 

Stay tuned.

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Also from bcaching:

BCaching was registered as geocaching API consumer prior to the "cut off", and some work had already been done to integrate the pocket query API, but it was never completed due to time/work constraints and the fact that the email process had been working reasonably well. Since automated emails are no longer an option I've picked up where I left off and will try to wrap up limited integration to support automated downloads as soon as possible.

 

Stay tuned.

Yeah I had read that, but the easier thing is to not break things for paying customers.

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Loss of email attached PQs has zero to do with smartphones, and likely 99% to do with prioritizing bandwidth based on global usage of the feature, as well as the push to make use of the more streamlined API. (which is not to say the API is perfect)

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Loss of email attached PQs has zero to do with smartphones, and likely 99% to do with prioritizing bandwidth based on global usage of the feature, as well as the push to make use of the more streamlined API. (which is not to say the API is perfect)

 

Actually, I would say the loss of email PQs would more hinder the smartphone set as it puts non-API apps at the disadvantage vs the Official Geocaching App. Particularly on an iPhone. Not impossible, just more steps.

Mind you, based on how hard it is to find the "Access Field Notes" link at geocaching.com/my I would suggest there is a campaign to drive people to use the API apps overall. I really wonder sometimes why the Field Notes button on my profile page is not more prominent ... I mean, even the font is smaller for that link vs the rest of the page. It's easier to access the Google Earth Viewer below it.

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based on how hard it is to find the "Access Field Notes" link at geocaching.com/my I would suggest there is a campaign to drive people to use the API apps overall. I really wonder sometimes why the Field Notes button on my profile page is not more prominent ... I mean, even the font is smaller for that link vs the rest of the page. It's easier to access the Google Earth Viewer below it.

 

Browser bookmarks/favorites. :) I've never really liked gc.com's web template. So hard to get to commonly used pages. I just have a bookmark for all the pages I use most often, including field notes, even some specific bookmark lists.

And yes, I'd certainly agree Groundspeak is trying to push API use in apps!

Edited by thebruce0
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based on how hard it is to find the "Access Field Notes" link at geocaching.com/my I would suggest there is a campaign to drive people to use the API apps overall. I really wonder sometimes why the Field Notes button on my profile page is not more prominent ... I mean, even the font is smaller for that link vs the rest of the page. It's easier to access the Google Earth Viewer below it.

 

Browser bookmarks/favorites. :) I've never really liked gc.com's web template. So hard to get to commonly used pages. I just have a bookmark for all the pages I use most often, including field notes, even some specific bookmark lists.

And yes, I'd certainly agree Groundspeak is trying to push API use in apps!

I used to have a GreaseMonkey script to modify the layout of the default Your Profile page, but got tired of updating it to keep up with Groundspeak changes. I haven't used field notes in a while - it's hardly necessary when I have 2 finds to log - but last week I had 14 to log and it was easier using field notes than trying to hunt them down individually on the map, in the right order. It was inconvenient, but seems to be about the same as it was from 2 years ago.

 

I guess it is time to dust off the script and make some changes.

 

Edit : OK, quick and simple hack to add "Upload Field Notes" to the top. Feel free to use it as a template to add other elements to the links at the top.

 

// ==UserScript==
// @name           addFieldNotes
// @namespace      chrysalides
// @description    Adds "Upload Field Notes" link on top
// @include        http://www.geocaching.com/my/*
// @grant          none
// ==/UserScript==

var elem, newelem;

// Find "Your Account Details" anchor

elem = document.getElementById("ctl00_ContentBody_MyAccountTabControl1_hlYourAccountDetails");
if (!elem) return;

elem.parentNode.appendChild(document.createTextNode(" | "));
newelem = document.createElement("A");
newelem.title = "Upload Field Notes";
newelem.href = "http://www.geocaching.com/my/uploadfieldnotes.aspx";
newelem.appendChild(document.createTextNode("Upload Field Notes"));
elem.parentNode.appendChild(newelem);

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