Release Notes (Geocaching.com and Geocaching® app for iOS

[Geocaching HQ 21]

Release Notes (Geocaching.com and Geocaching® app for iOS, Solved Coords) - June 29, 2017

With this release, we have updated the functionality around displaying geocaches with solved coordinates. Now, all caches with solved coordinates will display on the map at those coordinates when solved but unfound.

An updated puzzle piece map pin will differentiate these caches on the map. Unfound caches with solved coordinates in a list view will be badged with the same puzzle piece icon.

Once found, the cache will move back to the posted coordinates on the map with a smiley map pin. In a list view, the puzzle piece badge will be removed and the cache icon replaced with a smiley.

Unsolved caches with solved coordinates that are logged as a DNF are displayed at the solved coordinates location on the map with the DNF map pin.

Any solved coordinates you submit in the app will also display on Geocaching.com, and vice versa.

Please note, solved coordinates functionality will be available to users of the Geocaching® app for Android in the next release.

 

Ben H from HQ’s Product Team is watching the thread to answer questions whenever possible.

 

Any posts in this thread should relate to features in this release. Please direct unrelated comments to other appropriate threads. Thanks!

[niraD 147]

Very nice! I'm looking forward to the Android app supporting this too!

[OneEighth 1]

This is awesome news. One of the biggest things I wanted since I started caching.

[Sherminator18 3]

Very nice! I've been waiting for this for awhile

[kreyn49 0]

I am on android and just downloaded the update. None of my found caches are showing a smiley. If I click on the cache I have found it shows a smiley in the information. Then if I close out of the app and reopen it the smiley is on the map.

[Underkoffer 0]

Great Job!

 

But the color of corrected coördinates for a multi-cache is also blue...

Maybe change it to orange?

Edited June 29 by Underkoffer

[KircheHeide 0]

Thank you! I really enjoy this!

 

But may be there is a bug: if I zoom in, some of the solved puzzle icons disappear from the map. (I'm sorry I don't know how to upload pictures here to show this problem). So I have to decide between seeing the caches at their right places or the paths to walk to them.

[Mike Fitz 0]

Yay!!! However, some strangeness when zooming here also, the new corrected coordinates icons go away when you start to zoom in but not all at the same zoom levels.

[PlanetEarth 0]

It is not workling properly with all types of caches!

All solved Caches are removed from the original place but not all are displayed at the new place. Means a loss of information on the map!

 

Two examples:

GC6BQZF (multi unfound)

GC56TWV (mystery dnf)

 

Both are displayed correctly at the small map within the cache description but not at the large map.

 

Happy caching, PlanetEarth

[The Lords of London 0]

Same problem here, ive tested the solved puzzles with just 3. The first worked fine, when i loaded the second and refreshed the map it wasnt there, i looked all around then zoomed out and hey presto! It appears, zoom in again and its gone. Ok onto no. 3... refresh the map zoom out to 2km and i see 3 solved puzzles. Zoom in to 1km the second one i loaded dissappears. Zoom in to 500mts the third one i loaded dissappears. This is not a lot of good!

[Ben H 10]

I am on android and just downloaded the update. None of my found caches are showing a smiley. If I click on the cache I have found it shows a smiley in the information. Then if I close out of the app and reopen it the smiley is on the map.

 

This feature has not yet been released on Android, so you won't see changes there yet.

 

Thank you! I really enjoy this!

 

But may be there is a bug: if I zoom in, some of the solved puzzle icons disappear from the map. (I'm sorry I don't know how to upload pictures here to show this problem). So I have to decide between seeing the caches at their right places or the paths to walk to them.

Yay!!! However, some strangeness when zooming here also, the new corrected coordinates icons go away when you start to zoom in but not all at the same zoom levels.

It is not workling properly with all types of caches!

All solved Caches are removed from the original place but not all are displayed at the new place. Means a loss of information on the map!

 

Two examples:

GC6BQZF (multi unfound)

GC56TWV (mystery dnf)

 

Both are displayed correctly at the small map within the cache description but not at the large map.

 

Happy caching, PlanetEarth

 

Thanks for the reports. We're aware of some unexpected behaviors upon zooming in and out and investigating a fix.

[PlanetEarth 0]

It is not workling properly with all types of caches!

All solved Caches are removed from the original place but not all are displayed at the new place. Means a loss of information on the map!

 

Two examples:

GC6BQZF (multi unfound)

GC56TWV (mystery dnf)

 

Both are displayed correctly at the small map within the cache description but not at the large map.

 

Happy caching, PlanetEarth

Tried it with different zoom: More caches are displayd but not all!

 

PlanetEarth

[terratin 16]

Wow, neat! Maybe still a bit buggy but I'm sure it will work in due time. Thanks a lot. Saves me a lot of time looking at a tiny mobile phone screen of an API partner app to find back my solved mysteries

[Chrysalides 1]

A very much anticipated feature, but definitely still buggy. At zoom level 17, I see the new icon if I tweak the coordinates a little, but if I make a larger change, it disappears off the map entirely. Using Firefox on Windows.

 

At zoom level 15, I managed to get it so that only part of the icon appears. Might it be an issue with which map tile it appears in?

 

(the "corrected" coordinates in this map is bogus)

 

 

Edit to add: using corrected coordinates N 47° 35.500 W 122° 18.000 (somewhere in Seattle) for GC5BQKT if you need it for testing. And no, that is obviously not the correct final.

Edited June 29 by Chrysalides

[Ben H 10]

Thank you! I really enjoy this!

 

But may be there is a bug: if I zoom in, some of the solved puzzle icons disappear from the map. (I'm sorry I don't know how to upload pictures here to show this problem). So I have to decide between seeing the caches at their right places or the paths to walk to them.

Yay!!! However, some strangeness when zooming here also, the new corrected coordinates icons go away when you start to zoom in but not all at the same zoom levels.

It is not workling properly with all types of caches!

All solved Caches are removed from the original place but not all are displayed at the new place. Means a loss of information on the map!

 

Two examples:

GC6BQZF (multi unfound)

GC56TWV (mystery dnf)

 

Both are displayed correctly at the small map within the cache description but not at the large map.

 

Happy caching, PlanetEarth

 

Thanks for the reports. We're aware of some unexpected behaviors upon zooming in and out and investigating a fix.

 

We just deployed an update that should fix the zooming issue. Please let us know if you're still missing caches as you zoom in. Please note that you'll likely have to refresh the web page in order to see the changes.

Edited June 29 by Ben H

[Mike Fitz 0]

Seems to have fixed the zooming issue for me, thanks!!

[The A-Team 66]

Great Job!

 

But the color of corrected coördinates for a multi-cache is also blue...

Maybe change it to orange?

Yes, there seems to be a bug. I just tried changing the coordinates for a Traditional, and it's also showed with a blue icon and puzzle piece.

 

I haven't gotten the latest update from midday today yet, though, so maybe this has already been fixed.

[KircheHeide 0]

Zooming issue fixed. Thanks!

[The A-Team 66]

Great Job!

 

But the color of corrected coördinates for a multi-cache is also blue...

Maybe change it to orange?

Yes, there seems to be a bug. I just tried changing the coordinates for a Traditional, and it's also showed with a blue icon and puzzle piece.

 

I haven't gotten the latest update from midday today yet, though, so maybe this has already been fixed.

Somehow I missed that this feature has also been rolled out on the website. I can confirm that I'm still seeing incorrect icons for non-Mystery caches with solved coordinates on the website's map.

 

For example, the cache in the middle of this screenshot is GC5DNKM, a Traditional (the updated coordinates I used are random).

[noncentric 122]

We just deployed an update that should fix the zooming issue. Please let us know if you're still missing caches as you zoom in. Please note that you'll likely have to refresh the web page in order to see the changes.

Refreshed my browser (Firefox) and even closed and reopened the browser, but I'm still seeing an issue with zooming. I also opened Chrome and Edge to test, and I'm seeing the same issue in those browsers as well.

 

For example: WSGA GeoArt series

Zoom levels 12-13: smiley icons appear in the lake (GOOD!)

Zoom levels 14-18: smiley icons disappear, not in lake or at corrected location (BAD!).

It's not an issue of having smileys turned off, as I do see smileys for other caches at all of these zoom levels.

 

NOTE: If I look at the same area from Search Results, then the smileys appear at their original coords at zoom levels 14-18...in Firefox, Chrome, and Edge.

 

ETA: The zooming issue I'm seeing is different from the issue reported earlier in this thread. I'm not seeing that earlier zooming issue (solved icons disappearing).

Edited June 29 by noncentric

[monsterbox 5]

Hi!

 

1. Like with the DNF icon it has the exact same "issue": I see this new icon and don't know any more what the real cache type is. I like the idea of being able to see that, same with DNF, but just as an option please. I still am way more interested in the cache type.

 

2. While showing a PQ on the map I see the new icons (DNF/Puzzle) but in the list I see the cache type. Not sure if that's by intention or not. And I would also like to be able to toggle DNF/Puzzle view within the PQ view, if possible!

 

Thanks!

[hzoi 122]

Very cool. Thank you.

 

May I suggest that you make this a toggle feature, similar to the DNF toggle?

[fuzziebear3 14]

Love it!!!

[niraD 147]

May I suggest that you make this a toggle feature, similar to the DNF toggle?

But please toggle the special icon separately from the toggle for showing caches at the corrected coordinates. Even if I want to use the regular icon so I can see the cache type, I may still want the regular icon to be shown at the corrected coordinates.

[Twinklekitkat 2]

Can you please clarify something? If I update the coords on a Geo-Art the pins all move to the corrected coordinates. After they are found they then move back to the posted? That is what I'm seeing but just want to verify. I like to take a screen shot of the completed geo-art after I've found them all so I just want to make sure that is how they will display. Or, can there be a toggle on, off so I could review my progress on a geo-art?

[Ben H 10]

Great Job!

 

But the color of corrected coördinates for a multi-cache is also blue...

Maybe change it to orange?

Yes, there seems to be a bug. I just tried changing the coordinates for a Traditional, and it's also showed with a blue icon and puzzle piece.

 

I haven't gotten the latest update from midday today yet, though, so maybe this has already been fixed.

Somehow I missed that this feature has also been rolled out on the website. I can confirm that I'm still seeing incorrect icons for non-Mystery caches with solved coordinates on the website's map.

 

For example, the cache in the middle of this screenshot is GC5DNKM, a Traditional (the updated coordinates I used are random).

The puzzle piece icon is a different color than any single cache type and is applied to all cache types with corrected/solved coords.

 

We just deployed an update that should fix the zooming issue. Please let us know if you're still missing caches as you zoom in. Please note that you'll likely have to refresh the web page in order to see the changes.

Refreshed my browser (Firefox) and even closed and reopened the browser, but I'm still seeing an issue with zooming. I also opened Chrome and Edge to test, and I'm seeing the same issue in those browsers as well.

 

For example: WSGA GeoArt series

Zoom levels 12-13: smiley icons appear in the lake (GOOD!)

Zoom levels 14-18: smiley icons disappear, not in lake or at corrected location (BAD!).

It's not an issue of having smileys turned off, as I do see smileys for other caches at all of these zoom levels.

 

NOTE: If I look at the same area from Search Results, then the smileys appear at their original coords at zoom levels 14-18...in Firefox, Chrome, and Edge.

 

ETA: The zooming issue I'm seeing is different from the issue reported earlier in this thread. I'm not seeing that earlier zooming issue (solved icons disappearing).

It turns out that the first fix for disappearing solved pins caused a new problem with disappearing smiley pins. Our dev team has already completed a fix and is working to get it deployed.

 

Can you please clarify something? If I update the coords on a Geo-Art the pins all move to the corrected coordinates. After they are found they then move back to the posted? That is what I'm seeing but just want to verify. I like to take a screen shot of the completed geo-art after I've found them all so I just want to make sure that is how they will display. Or, can there be a toggle on, off so I could review my progress on a geo-art?

Unfound caches with solved coords will appear at the solved coords with the solved map pin. Found caches with solved coords will appear at the posted coords with the smiley map pin.

[The A-Team 66]

Great Job!

 

But the color of corrected coördinates for a multi-cache is also blue...

Maybe change it to orange?

Yes, there seems to be a bug. I just tried changing the coordinates for a Traditional, and it's also showed with a blue icon and puzzle piece.

 

I haven't gotten the latest update from midday today yet, though, so maybe this has already been fixed.

Somehow I missed that this feature has also been rolled out on the website. I can confirm that I'm still seeing incorrect icons for non-Mystery caches with solved coordinates on the website's map.

 

For example, the cache in the middle of this screenshot is GC5DNKM, a Traditional (the updated coordinates I used are random).

The puzzle piece icon is a different color than any single cache type and is applied to all cache types with corrected/solved coords.

Oh.

 

In that case, this new feature suffers from the same problem that occurred when the DNF icons were rolled out: the cache type information is lost.

 

Especially now that there are multiple different "attributes" being applied to the icons, the current method of replacing the cache type with this attribute information just doesn't work. These attributes need to be seen in addition to the cache type, not in place of it. Badges like those that have been used in the list view are really the best of way of displaying this information on the map. For example, you could have a Multi icon with a small DNF frownie on one side and a puzzle piece on the other, so all the relevant information is available at a glance. Yes, it will make the map more busy, but it's really the only viable way of displaying this information. If badges aren't an option, then it should be reconsidered whether this information should be on the map at all. Currently, one of the most important attributes of a cache (the cache type) is lost in favour of relatively-minor attributes.

[brilang 0]

The puzzle piece icon should be a similar colour to the type of cache being corrected.

Orange for multi, different colour with puzzle icon if corrected coordinates are entered for that multi.

Blue for puzzle, different colour with puzzle icon if corrected coordinates are entered for that puzzle.

Ditto for other types.

[The A-Team 66]

The puzzle piece icon should be a similar colour to the type of cache being corrected.

Orange for multi, different colour with puzzle icon if corrected coordinates are entered for that multi.

Blue for puzzle, different colour with puzzle icon if corrected coordinates are entered for that puzzle.

Ditto for other types.

That would improve things a bit, but you'd still lose the cache type shape which helps with quick identification.

 

Personally, I think too much metadata* is being packed into one icon. It starts to get a bit silly when you're trying to depict both a Multi that you've never looked at and a Multi that you've DNFed and updated the coordinates for, all with one icon.

 

Thankfully, I keep all my updated coordinates offline in third-party software, so I won't have to deal with the puzzle piece icons. I still have to deal with the DNF icons, though, so I'm still hoping for a more elegant solution for those.

 

*that's a better term than "attribute" that I was using earlier

[PlanetEarth 0]

The fix is working properly for me. All solved caches are visible now. Thx a lot to the team for the quick solution!

 

NB: The cache type of solved caches is not that important for me. Because they are more or less Traditionals now. Much more important is to see if a cache was visited before and not found last time. So the DNF icon is good to have to calculate more time to search at the next attempt.

 

Happy caching, PlanetEarth

[Uni and Medusa 0]

Are there plans to include original and updated coordinates, or at least a flag indicating the coordinates are the updated ones, in GPX files?

[GeoJaxx 5]

I am very pleased to see this long awaited feature however the cache type needs to be shown (for example corrected multis in orange, corrected traditionals in green). With all types showing as mystery caches this will cause problems with identifying types for challenges etc at a glance. Although this is a step in the right direction I much prefer the way cachly marks them (with a red triangle in the centre of the existing icon if they are corrected) this way the original icon still shows.

 

Would it be possible to toggle so that there is a choice to still see them in the corrected position even after being found as this helps with viewing proximity for a whole area on the map. The only reason I can think they are reverted to original position is so that geoart can be viewed which I understand some cachers like to see however personally I would prefer to see found and unfound all in corrected positions.

[KB74 0]

Hello,

 

I do not understand how to get the puzzle icon...

I've solved a mystery, I checked the coordinates, they were ok, I put in a waypoint to the cache, but I didn't go search it yet...

But I keep having a question mark on my map...

[Rikitan 2]

The fix is working properly for me. All solved caches are visible now. Thx a lot to the team for the quick solution!

 

NB: The cache type of solved caches is not that important for me. Because they are more or less Traditionals now. Much more important is to see if a cache was visited before and not found last time. So the DNF icon is good to have to calculate more time to search at the next attempt.

 

Happy caching, PlanetEarth

 

+ 1, fully agree. BTW: kudos for great, long-wanted feature.

[Rikitan 2]

Would it be possible to toggle so that there is a choice to still see them in the corrected position even after being found as this helps with viewing proximity for a whole area on the map. The only reason I can think they are reverted to original position is so that geoart can be viewed which I understand some cachers like to see however personally I would prefer to see found and unfound all in corrected positions.

 

Yes, this is also my concern - smileys at original coords. This way people are losing proximity overview, which would help them in planning to place new geocaches.

But I undestand there are different reasons to make it like it is now - with smileys returning to original coords.

[Rikitan 2]

Hello,

 

I do not understand how to get the puzzle icon...

I've solved a mystery, I checked the coordinates, they were ok, I put in a waypoint to the cache, but I didn't go search it yet...

But I keep having a question mark on my map...

 

You have to click to tiny pencil icon next to posted coordinates (main coords in header of each listing).

Small window will pop up.

Enter solved coords there and click save.

 

Once you reload the map, you should see that cache with modified icon at corrected, solved place.

[TimmetjeTim 0]

Finally! This is awesome news. I have been waiting a long time for this.

 

While you are at it, can I suggest showing exclamation marks for caches with a draft log?

[Sherminator18 3]

I will also put in my 2 cents that it would be beneficial to have the icon show the cache type as well as the corrected coordinates icon. Maybe the little puzzle piece can be in the upper right or left of the cache type icon. That way you can easily see both pieces of information on the map

[monsterbox 5]

The puzzle piece icon should be a similar colour to the type of cache being corrected.

Orange for multi, different colour with puzzle icon if corrected coordinates are entered for that multi.

Blue for puzzle, different colour with puzzle icon if corrected coordinates are entered for that puzzle.

Ditto for other types.

That would improve things a bit, but you'd still lose the cache type shape which helps with quick identification.

 

Personally, I think too much metadata* is being packed into one icon. It starts to get a bit silly when you're trying to depict both a Multi that you've never looked at and a Multi that you've DNFed and updated the coordinates for, all with one icon.

 

Thankfully, I keep all my updated coordinates offline in third-party software, so I won't have to deal with the puzzle piece icons. I still have to deal with the DNF icons, though, so I'm still hoping for a more elegant solution for those.

 

*that's a better term than "attribute" that I was using earlier

 

A solution for DNF would be changing the default to NOT show them. That way one can toggle ON showing them but it wouldn't hurt in the PQ view

[monsterbox 5]

I will also put in my 2 cents that it would be beneficial to have the icon show the cache type as well as the corrected coordinates icon. Maybe the little puzzle piece can be in the upper right or left of the cache type icon. That way you can easily see both pieces of information on the map

 

I would just put some dots in the "corner". Different colors as well as slightly different places for DNF and Coords

[gasbottle 4]

I have mixed feelings about this. I have no great interest in the geo-art, although I can see that some do. More important to me is to be able to see quickly where the known locations of mystery and multi caches are so that I can plan possible locations for new caches.

 

Before, the search map displayed corrected coordinates while the standard map displayed posted coordinates: I had a choice. Now it seems that I don't.

 

Can this new feature please be made optional, and sticky if at all possible?

[DoggyCZ_EwECZ 0]

It is very good update. And stage of multicache please?

[abft 1]

With this release, we have updated the functionality around displaying geocaches with solved coordinates. Now, all caches with solved coordinates will display on the map at those coordinates when solved but unfound.

 

This is great news, and a long awaited feature. Thanks a lot for that!

 

May I suggest two additions for even better usability:

1. always use the cache type specific icon (like blue & white question mark icon for mysteries, the orange one for multies etc.), but put a marker on it if the coordinates are changed (maybe a big red dot in the lower right "corner"?)
2. make it switchable via the sidebar whether caches are shown at their changed location or the original location

 

#1 makes it easier to identify which type the cache has and whether you have the time today to look for it or not. (Because changed coordinates aren't always the final coords, it could be a waypoint of the last found stage so far etc.)

 

#2 helps you avoid the following specific situation while still giving you the benefits of the current solution: let's imagine that you made some error when entering the changed coordinates, like entering "E" instead of "W" or hitting the wrong digit. Then with the current solution you probably would never ever see this cache again, as it probably would be completely out of your map. (except you remember the GC code)

[fizzymagic 15]

Fantastic improvement showing corrected coords on map! Thank you thankyou thankyou!

[LegoLegend 0]

May I just say THANK YOU! Please Groundspeak, give your UX designers a hug (or a raise!). I have never bothered much with puzzle caches because they were just too cumbersome to keep track of. Now, I've spent an entire weekend solving them so my family can head out caching.

[noncentric 122]

Thanks for this update. It is now much easier for me to see solved caches on the map in their corrected locations. Much easier than the multiple window method I used in the past.

 

I think it's great that icons show at their posted coords sometimes and at their corrected coords at other times. There are at least 3 cases when location matter:

(1) When searching for a cache or planning a caching route - want to see corrected location

(2) When planning a hide - want to see corrected coords to avoid hiding too close

(3) When planning a hide - want to see posted coords to avoid overlapping icons

(4) When looking at GeoArt - want to see posted coords

 

One way to solve for these cases is to provide a toggle option for corrected coords:

• ON = caches with corrected coords show at corrected locations, with puzzle icons - all other caches show at posted coords with standard cache icons
  
• OFF = all caches show at their posted coords, with standard cache icons

Personally, I'm not bothered by the lack of a cache type identifier with the puzzle icon.

 

It turns out that the first fix for disappearing solved pins caused a new problem with disappearing smiley pins. Our dev team has already completed a fix and is working to get it deployed.

It looks like this has been fixed. Thanks!

Edited July 3 by noncentric

[!Lux 3]

Would be nice if the puzzlepiece icon could differentiate between a Myst and a Multi on the map, so you can fast and easy see what kinde of cache it is. A myst could be light blue, just like now, but a Multicache puzzleicon could maybe be a different shade of orange?

 

Anything would be nice. Half myst/multi icon, half puzzle icon?

A puzzle icon at the top of the original icon?

A red dot/flag on the original icon, like in C:Geo?

 

Would also be nice if you could dislay the final position of the cache even when you have found and logged it. Will be easier for those that want to place new caches.

Edited July 4 by !Lux

[famerlor_dragon 1]

Oh no! You broke it again!

 

Previously, on the general map all caches where at their *posted coordinates*.

When I did a query, caches where at their *corrected coordinates*.

 

Now I have a complete and messy mix.

(which - admittedly - is not bad if you go caching)

 

...

 

But I also place caches! Please re-enable an option to view

* all caches at their posted coords

as well as

* their corrected coordinates.

 

This eases placement of new caches tremendously. Please add some sort of switch to go back and forth.

Edited July 4 by famerlor_dragon

[NLBokkie 6]

+1 for:

- A toggle switch to see either the posted coordinates or the corrected coordinates,

- Leaving the colour of the original icon intact as to differentiate between multi's, mysteries, letterboxes, virtuals etc.

 

Like someone else has already mentioned, I really like the way how Cachly did this by showing a red triangle in the cache icon when it has its coordinates corrected, but leaving the rest of the icon intact.

[Burton Kidz 0]

Has this feature been withdrawn again - I'm not seeing the actual locations of puzzle caches I have corrected?