Pocket Query e-mail notification

[+Sailaboat]

In the last couple of days, when I run a PQ, I now receive an e-mail that it's run.

 

Did a brief search on my account settings. Is there a way to turn this "feature" off?

 

Thnx

[jholly]

In the last couple of days, when I run a PQ, I now receive an e-mail that it's run.

 

Did a brief search on my account settings. Is there a way to turn this "feature" off?

 

Thnx

For the past many years I always got an email informing me the PQ ran. From the last time I purged my email trash bin I have notices going back to October of last yar. Did you just now suddenly look at your email?

[Keystone]

There's been individual notifications for arriving pocket queries since 2002.

 

Recently, the format of the pocket query notification emails changed. The old subject line said: "[GEO] Pocket Query: [NAME]."

The new subject line says: "Geocaching: Your Pocket Query, [NAME], is now available."

 

I suspect that, a long time ago, you set up an email filter that either sends these notifications to your trash, or files them away in a folder. Check your filter settings.

 

For the Geocaching.com developers, as you tinker with the email system, keep in mind that users filter their email based on the message attributes, such as the "[GEO]" tag that is now missing.

[+Cheminer Will]

Edited again as Marty was answering as I typed.

 

Is this why my pocket queries just stopped being emailed to me? I always have had my PQ's emailed automatically. Just recently I started getting this new email notifying me of a pocket query having run, but no longer actually receive the PQ attached to the email. How do I fix this? Thanks.

 

The PQ page still indicates that PQ's will be mailed to the specified email address but when the email arrives, it contains nothing but the statement that the PQ has run, no attached file. I have looked for a while but I am missing what I need to do to continue to have the PQ's emailed. Can anyone help me figure this out?

 

Thanks.

Edited June 21, 2014 by Cheminer Will

[+MartyBartfast]

Is this why my pocket queries just stopped being emailed to me? I always have had my PQ's emailed automatically. Just recently I started getting this new email notifying me of a pocket query having run, but no longer actually receive the PQ attached to the email. How do I fix this? Thanks.

you can't "fix" it this is the new way. The .gpx file is nolonger attached to the Emails, the Emails have a link which you can click on to download the PQ.

[+Cheminer Will]

So there is no longer any way the website will email you your PQ's? If that is correct, I can only say thanks a lot Groundspeak. Adding new features is great, but taking away old ones is always problematic for some of that get used doing things a certain way. For me it is a lot easier to automatically download email attachments since if I have been away for weeks, I can click one button in GSAK and automatically get all of the PQ's I missed during those weeks downloaded.

[+Walts Hunting]

So there is no longer any way the website will email you your PQ's? If that is correct, I can only say thanks a lot Groundspeak. Adding new features is great, but taking away old ones is always problematic for some of that get used doing things a certain way. For me it is a lot easier to automatically download email attachments since if I have been away for weeks, I can click one button in GSAK and automatically get all of the PQ's I missed during those weeks downloaded.

The controlling factor is size. Order up a 500 cache PQ and it will be emailed. Order up a 501 cache PQ and you get the notification. This changed. Few years ago when they increasd the PQ size limit.

[+Cheminer Will]

So there is no longer any way the website will email you your PQ's? If that is correct, I can only say thanks a lot Groundspeak. Adding new features is great, but taking away old ones is always problematic for some of that get used doing things a certain way. For me it is a lot easier to automatically download email attachments since if I have been away for weeks, I can click one button in GSAK and automatically get all of the PQ's I missed during those weeks downloaded.

The controlling factor is size. Order up a 500 cache PQ and it will be emailed. Order up a 501 cache PQ and you get the notification. This changed. Few years ago when they increasd the PQ size limit.

 

That is how it has been for a long time. Now it seems no file is attached even if the PQ is less than 500 caches. I am actually OK with that now after investigating other ways to get the PQ's. Things change and even us old cachers can change with them, (even if it hurts a little).

Edited June 22, 2014 by Cheminer Will

[+THE DAM TROLLS]

Was also surprised to see no attached files to our queries today too. Still go old school with a POP e-mail and download all e-mail, saves time on the web when available and on the go.

 

Would like to see this feature returned.

 

Yes, My PQ is under 500....

[+Walts Hunting]

I'm thinking the change will have to be on your side. There are third party apps like GSAK that will download all of them at onc.

[+Mudfrog]

Was also surprised to see no attached files to our queries today too. Still go old school with a POP e-mail and download all e-mail, saves time on the web when available and on the go.

 

Would like to see this feature returned.

 

Yes, My PQ is under 500....

 

Same here! I opened my email this morning and immediately noticed the difference. Not sure why, but it took two clicks of the link to download the zipped gpx file. I did get it downloaded but the file didn't automatically unzip like it used to. Went ahead and dragged the whole gpx file into gsak then loaded it into my gpsr. Sure enough, those pesky parking coordinates and additional waypoints were loaded as well. I'm sure there is a way to filter these out so i'll have to do some checking to figure out how.

 

Here's yet another gc.com change that i feel wasn't needed and i doubt anyone asked for.

[+Bear and Ragged]

.

So there is no longer any way the website will email you your PQ's? If that is correct, I can only say thanks a lot Groundspeak. Adding new features is great, but taking away old ones is always problematic for some of that get used doing things a certain way. For me it is a lot easier to automatically download email attachments since if I have been away for weeks, I can click one button in GSAK and automatically get all of the PQ's I missed during those weeks downloaded.

 

Maybe GS need to leave the PQ's on the server longer than the 6 days?

Edited June 22, 2014 by Bear and Ragged

[+Cheminer Will]

Maybe GS need to leave the PQ's on the server longer than the 6 days?

 

That is a really good idea for a suggestion to GS.

[team tisri]

There's been individual notifications for arriving pocket queries since 2002.

 

Recently, the format of the pocket query notification emails changed. The old subject line said: "[GEO] Pocket Query: [NAME]."

The new subject line says: "Geocaching: Your Pocket Query, [NAME], is now available."

 

I suspect that, a long time ago, you set up an email filter that either sends these notifications to your trash, or files them away in a folder. Check your filter settings.

 

For the Geocaching.com developers, as you tinker with the email system, keep in mind that users filter their email based on the message attributes, such as the "[GEO]" tag that is now missing.

 

I'm actually quite surprised here. So many of the recent changes Groundspeak implemented have attracted little more than derision from my corner but I have to say I like the new change. It always irritated me to get an email telling me a query was available that then required me to go to the web site, select the pocket queries page, then select "queries ready for dowload" etc. It's good to have a quick-click link so you can just grab the query whenever you're ready.

[+MartyBartfast]

.

So there is no longer any way the website will email you your PQ's? If that is correct, I can only say thanks a lot Groundspeak. Adding new features is great, but taking away old ones is always problematic for some of that get used doing things a certain way. For me it is a lot easier to automatically download email attachments since if I have been away for weeks, I can click one button in GSAK and automatically get all of the PQ's I missed during those weeks downloaded.

 

Maybe GS need to leave the PQ's on the server longer than the 6 days?

I think that might not be so easy, not only do the PQs get removed after 6 days but they're overwritten each time the PQ runs, so coming back after a few weeks you'd still only see the latest version on the site.

 

The only scenario I can think of where Cheminer Will would be doing this is if the PQ which is run is doing searches for caches modified within the last 7 days, and returning 500 caches or fewer, so given that we can now run twice as many PQs a day and PQs of 1000 caches are available the same way as 500 cache PQs it may just be a case of tweaking the selection criteria and running more during the week.

[+Walts Hunting]

I haven't use a PQ in a very long time but did one to see the new format. It really is nicer to have the download now shortcut.

[+igel]

Oh, no!!!

 

Came from vacation today and found a bunch of unexpected Geocache emails in my inbox! Much worse, did not find EXPECTED emails with attached PQs! PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, return the option to attach actual queries to emails! This was THE ONLY feature that made them really usable for me.

 

I have a filter-tool pipeline in my mail that not only moves the PQ emails in separate folder (hiding them from me), but also automatically saves the attached files in the specific folder on the drive, unzips them and than adds important post-processing, merging, grouping, bringing the data into the TRULY usable shape. This pipeline had been set years ago, and worked without a hitch all this time. WHY BRAKING THE WORKING THING?!

 

Or, alternatively, at least on page "Pocket Queries Ready For Download", add a button "Download selected" (not just the useless "Delete selected", can't imagine who would ever use that one...) - so that all or some of the already available queries could be downloaded WITH ONE CLICK, as single big zip file! Don't force people to click numerous times for individual queries!

[+N0SND]

I use a filtering system also that automatically processes the result from the pocket query that retrieves the new caches for North Dakota that are sent to a specific email address just for that purpose. Over the weekend, the process stopped working and now I know why.

 

I normally don't participate in the forums and have never commented about anything regarding the website before, but this recent change is worthy of actually logging in and saying

"Bring back the email attachments for pocket queries under 500 caches!"

[+SparksWG3K]

Was also surprised to see no attached files to our queries today too. Still go old school with a POP e-mail and download all e-mail, saves time on the web when available and on the go.

 

Would like to see this feature returned.

 

Yes, My PQ is under 500....

 

I second this request. Removing this feature is a serious regression. Please bring it back.

[+igel]

Found alternative way - GSAK - to quickly download multiple PQs in one click. Hope at least that won't get broken one day...

[+The A-Team]

Found alternative way - GSAK - to quickly download multiple PQs in one click. Hope at least that won't get broken one day...

That uses the API, which Groundspeak is trying to push people to use more and more, so it's unlikely that it will be taken away anytime soon.

[+psychocyclist]

So... just sat down to update my local GSAK database after a somewhat long absence from geocaching. Emails of my PQ were all diligently waiting for me in the usual spot. I ran my macro which downloads and processes those emails. I don't even read the emails -- my script processes what it can and deletes the rest (on the basis that it must be spam as I use a dedicated account to receive the PQ output)

 

I saw the mail download run, extraction of embedded files, then GSAK kicked off to process the GPX files... and nothing! That led me to this thread.

 

Really?? I'm amazed to learn that I now need to use the website to get caches. And doubly amazed to see that the 6 day storage limit means that some files will be unavailable if I don't do it every week.

 

Please, reconsider this inexplicable feature loss and reinstate it.

[jholly]

With GSAK why do you worry about email attachments? Just download the PQ's directly into GSAK. A one line macro should do the job. What could be simpler?

 

The six day storage limit has been around ever since PQ's were invented, hardly anything new and certainly nothing to get upset over.

 

Actually I wish they would get rid of those pesky notification emails, they serve no other purpose other than filling up my email trash bin.

[+Harry Dolphin]

With GSAK why do you worry about email attachments? Just download the PQ's directly into GSAK. A one line macro should do the job. What could be simpler?

 

The six day storage limit has been around ever since PQ's were invented, hardly anything new and certainly nothing to get upset over.

 

Actually I wish they would get rid of those pesky notification emails, they serve no other purpose other than filling up my email trash bin.

 

I stopped downloading the e-mail attachment years ago. Something to do with a strange anti-virus program. Far easier for me to download from geocaching to my puter from 'Pocket Queries'. Don't need the e-mails. Almost litter in my in-basket. Except for when I run the 'My Finds' query. Nice to be alerted when that one is ready. Need to look into the download from GSAK program/macro.

[+Lil Devil]

I'm amazed to learn that I now need to use the website to get caches.

In GSAK, use the menu Geocaching.com Access >> Download pocket queries...

 

No email involved.

[+DukeOfURL01]

I have been downloading directly into GSAK for a while now. It's great, I love it. Now I wish there was a way to turn off the emails about it. I know they've been run. I set them up. I'd really like to turn off the emails without having to set up a filter. Is there a way?

[+ivanidea]

I miss not receiving the email with the attachments, since when I'm away from home, I'm usually attached to WiFi which is time limited.

 

It is much quicker to log on to WiFi, run Outlook to download all emails and then log off, than to actually visit the website and then physically download the file(s).

[+Harry Dolphin]

I'm amazed to learn that I now need to use the website to get caches.

In GSAK, use the menu Geocaching.com Access >> Download pocket queries...

 

No email involved.

 

Wow! Thanks! I didn't know about that! Works great!

[+psychocyclist]

I'm amazed to learn that I now need to use the website to get caches.

In GSAK, use the menu Geocaching.com Access >> Download pocket queries...

 

No email involved.

 

Wow! Thanks! I didn't know about that! Works great!

 

Yes, it works. But it is inherently a "pull" mechanism. I prefer something that can be automated, or which won't have results overwritten when I don't return the the web source frequently enough (such as when I'm on vacation). For example, I have a query "new caches in the last 7 days". If I don't visit often enough, I just miss some caches entirely.

 

I know that there are workarounds. I just don't think it's worth it for me to revisit/redesign my 'data flow', given how infrequently I cache these days.