Personal Cache Note handling

[+sktqch]

When I solve a mystery cache that gives the hint in the geo-checker, I post those hints in the Geocaching.com cache page under "Personal Cache Note" sections. When I gather a bunch of caches together in a bookmark list, and send them off to make a file to send off to GSAK, I can't find any way to make those "Personal Cache Notes" make the trip over to GSAK and thence onto my Garmin gps. Any hints on how to do that?

SKTQCH

[+StefandD]

Notes are not sent along with gpx and pq's.

 

If you use GSAK, you have no need to use the website for this. Just right-click on the cache and you'll see the option Add/Edit/Remove Notes. You can sent them to the GPSr.

[+sktqch]

Notes are not sent along with gpx and pq's.

 

If you use GSAK, you have no need to use the website for this. Just right-click on the cache and you'll see the option Add/Edit/Remove Notes. You can sent them to the GPSr.

Yes, I know that's possible, and it would work if you were loading a half dozen or so caches onto your gps. However if you have GSAK lists of 120 or more caches to load it is futile to have to go into every cache individually. Geocaching.com should have a bulk send feature so that GSAK can request the Personal Cache notes along with all the other data when processing a bookmark list. If they don't or can't then somethings wrong with the system. I suspect it can be done, we just don't know how.

SKTQCH

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Notes are not sent along with gpx and pq's.

 

If you use GSAK, you have no need to use the website for this. Just right-click on the cache and you'll see the option Add/Edit/Remove Notes. You can sent them to the GPSr.

Yes, I know that's possible, and it would work if you were loading a half dozen or so caches onto your gps. However if you have GSAK lists of 120 or more caches to load it is futile to have to go into every cache individually. Geocaching.com should have a bulk send feature so that GSAK can request the Personal Cache notes along with all the other data when processing a bookmark list. If they don't or can't then somethings wrong with the system. I suspect it can be done, we just don't know how.

SKTQCH

 

We just don't know why.

 

The new search engine has the ability to filter results for caches which "have corrected coordinates" or "has personal note". The issue still exists that the search results can only be viewed on the web site either as a list or on a map. However, a pocket query or other bulk download option is not available so that we can bulk load a list of caches into a waypoint manager (such as GSAK) or produce a GPX file (with all the waypoints in the result list) that can be copied to a GPSr.

 

If you go directly to the map page, or view the map from the results of a Pocket Query, you get a sidebar which includes a link to produce a PQ from the map. However, when the map is displayed from the results of the new search, that side bar is not available. The only way to get it back is to "Clear all Filters", which isn't all that helpful as you then just see *all* caches on that portion of the map. Apparently there were some issues with the map code which can't handle the new filters (corrected coordinates, personal note, favorite points) but it's been many months since a developer described the problem and it's still broken.

[+StefandD]

I found this GSAK macro for you, which claims it can copy GC.com notes to GSAK notes.

Don't know if it works. Let us know!

[+sktqch]

Notes are not sent along with gpx and pq's.

 

If you use GSAK, you have no need to use the website for this. Just right-click on the cache and you'll see the option Add/Edit/Remove Notes. You can sent them to the GPSr.

Yes, I know that's possible, and it would work if you were loading a half dozen or so caches onto your gps. However if you have GSAK lists of 120 or more caches to load it is futile to have to go into every cache individually. Geocaching.com should have a bulk send feature so that GSAK can request the Personal Cache notes along with all the other data when processing a bookmark list. If they don't or can't then somethings wrong with the system. I suspect it can be done, we just don't know how.

SKTQCH

 

We just don't know why.

 

The new search engine has the ability to filter results for caches which "have corrected coordinates" or "has personal note". The issue still exists that the search results can only be viewed on the web site either as a list or on a map. However, a pocket query or other bulk download option is not available so that we can bulk load a list of caches into a waypoint manager (such as GSAK) or produce a GPX file (with all the waypoints in the result list) that can be copied to a GPSr.

 

If you go directly to the map page, or view the map from the results of a Pocket Query, you get a sidebar which includes a link to produce a PQ from the map. However, when the map is displayed from the results of the new search, that side bar is not available. The only way to get it back is to "Clear all Filters", which isn't all that helpful as you then just see *all* caches on that portion of the map. Apparently there were some issues with the map code which can't handle the new filters (corrected coordinates, personal note, favorite points) but it's been many months since a developer described the problem and it's still broken.

 

Thanks for the replies and the help. I guess I should send HQ a "suggestion" and see if they can do something.

SKTQCH

[+ecanderson]

I found this GSAK macro for you, which claims it can copy GC.com notes to GSAK notes.

Don't know if it works. Let us know!

Looks like it works the 'other' way. Notes in GSAK being sent to gc.com, not the other way around.

[+sktqch]

I found this GSAK macro for you, which claims it can copy GC.com notes to GSAK notes.

Don't know if it works. Let us know!

Looks like it works the 'other' way. Notes in GSAK being sent to gc.com, not the other way around.

That's what I found. Oh well, I'll keep looking.

Stan

[+JohnCNA]

Notes are not sent along with gpx and pq's.

 

If you use GSAK, you have no need to use the website for this. Just right-click on the cache and you'll see the option Add/Edit/Remove Notes. You can sent them to the GPSr.

If you use a phone app to augment the GPS and send the GPX to a phone app, when the phone app refreshes the cache page, it pulls in the notes from the web site. I use my Garmin for navigating, and use the phone app for reading descriptions and logs. And for posting field notes.

[+sktqch]

Notes are not sent along with gpx and pq's.

 

If you use GSAK, you have no need to use the website for this. Just right-click on the cache and you'll see the option Add/Edit/Remove Notes. You can sent them to the GPSr.

If you use a phone app to augment the GPS and send the GPX to a phone app, when the phone app refreshes the cache page, it pulls in the notes from the web site. I use my Garmin for navigating, and use the phone app for reading descriptions and logs. And for posting field notes.

 

Not having a phone app (or knowing which app you're talking about) this is not a solution for me. Even if I did have "the app", I don't use a phone to read the description/logs etc, I use my Garmin gps which is what it is designed to do. Geocaching.com should provide the software on their mainframes to "refresh" the GSAK list which includes pulling the Personal Notes from geocaching.com just like it presently does for extra logs etc. and installing them into GSAK prior to me dumping the list of caches onto my gps. One step, just like pulling the extra 30 logs from geocaching.com, installing them on GSAK and then dumping them into my gps. That can't be hard for the IT people who most likely make a very good living working for geocaching.com.

[+Dapperste]

The gsak macro described by sktqch does work both ways.

[+sktqch]

The gsak macro described by sktqch does work both ways.

 

Thank you, just created a new bookmark list as a test and tried out "UpdateGCNotes.gsk" and it worked. I currently use the "Attrib_to_Usernote_log" macro and the text is dumped into a GSAK text column. These personal notes are piled into the same GSAK text column but are still readable on my Garmin 64s.

Stan, SKTQCH

[ohgood]

When I solve a mystery cache that gives the hint in the geo-checker, I post those hints in the Geocaching.com cache page under "Personal Cache Note" sections. When I gather a bunch of caches together in a bookmark list, and send them off to make a file to send off to GSAK, I can't find any way to make those "Personal Cache Notes" make the trip over to GSAK and thence onto my Garmin gps. Any hints on how to do that?

SKTQCH

 

you can add a lot of information to a gpx waypoint. a description, voice/picture/video can be attached also.

 

you just have to be working with a waypoint in your own database, instead of gc online web interfaces.

[+sktqch]

When I solve a mystery cache that gives the hint in the geo-checker, I post those hints in the Geocaching.com cache page under "Personal Cache Note" sections. When I gather a bunch of caches together in a bookmark list, and send them off to make a file to send off to GSAK, I can't find any way to make those "Personal Cache Notes" make the trip over to GSAK and thence onto my Garmin gps. Any hints on how to do that?

SKTQCH

 

you can add a lot of information to a gpx waypoint. a description, voice/picture/video can be attached also.

 

you just have to be working with a waypoint in your own database, instead of gc online web interfaces.

 

I'm not sure I'm understanding what you are saying. Probably my own ignorance. I interpret "gc online web interfaces" to mean when I'm in my own GSAK database, and run a macro that goes on to gc.com and fetches data from my list of caches, then adds that data to my own gsak data base and then downloads that data to my gps, as an online web interface. And that sort of online web interface works fine with my pictures, attibute to text notes and now personal notes. And for all us relative newbies out there, if it's not an online web interface it really doesn't matter to me because it works and that's all that counts.

Stan SKTQCH