Release Notes (Website: Solution Checker) - April 10, 2018

[+Geocaching HQ]

Release Notes (Website: Solution Checker) - April 10, 2018

With today’s release, we have updated the solution checker for Mystery caches on Geocaching.com to have a single box for coordinates. This makes it easier to input or paste your coordinates.

 

The remaining functionality is unchanged. For more information about the solution checker, see the Help Center.

Alex C.(itscharttime) and Sean B. (bootron) from HQ’s Web team are watching this thread to answer questions whenever possible.

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

[+niraD]

7 minutes ago, Geocaching HQ said:

With today’s release, we have updated the solution checker for Mystery caches on Geocaching.com to have a single box for coordinates. This makes it easier to input or paste your coordinates.

And there was much rejoicing!

Thanks for the update.

[+Mike Fitz]

THANK YOU!!!!!!

[+thebruce0]

Party time! Excellent!

[+thebruce0]

Ok, question - what does it now accept and understand? I tested gibberish and it identified bad input, I tried DDM format and it accept the coordinates. Does it read multiple formats, then convert to DMS and compare to the final waypoint DMS coordinate? Or vice versa? Or can you tell it to test against a different format like DDM?

I'm assuming it's just as simple as convert-input-if-parsable-to-DMS-and-compare.

[+itscharttime]

17 minutes ago, thebruce0 said:

Ok, question - what does it now accept and understand? I tested gibberish and it identified bad input, I tried DDM format and it accept the coordinates. Does it read multiple formats, then convert to DMS and compare to the final waypoint DMS coordinate? Or vice versa? Or can you tell it to test against a different format like DDM?

I'm assuming it's just as simple as convert-input-if-parsable-to-DMS-and-compare.

I ran the solution checker input through our internal geocoder service, which takes the following formats listed on the help center: https://www.geocaching.com/help/index.php?pg=kb.chapter&id=128&pgid=811.  The underlying check is converting the input to DDM and checking that value against the final waypoint DDM coordinate.

[+Team DEMP]

A future minor enhancement would be to add a little ? help icon near the coordinate input and link to a persistent link which displays https://www.geocaching.com/help/index.php?pg=kb.chapter&id=128&pgid=811 in a new window/tab. 

[+thebruce0]

1 hour ago, thebruce0 said:

Ok, question - what does it now accept and understand? I tested gibberish and it identified bad input, I tried DD format and it accept the coordinates. Does it read multiple formats, then convert to DDM and compare to the final waypoint DDM coordinate? Or vice versa? Or can you tell it to test against a different format like DD?

I'm assuming it's just as simple as convert-input-if-parsable-to-DDM-and-compare.

Yeah sorry, I got my DMS / DDM mixed up. I meant DDM / DD accordingly

42 minutes ago, itscharttime said:

I ran the solution checker input through our internal geocoder service, which takes the following formats listed on the help center: https://www.geocaching.com/help/index.php?pg=kb.chapter&id=128&pgid=811.  The underlying check is converting the input to DDM and checking that value against the final waypoint DDM coordinate.

Thanks for the info!

Edited April 10, 2018 by thebruce0

[+fizzymagic]

Thanks!  You made my entire day!  I am so glad to have the new format checker available!

[+qbee37]

Big deal. When you allow fuzzy coords and keywords (which certitude has been doing forever) then maybe I'll consider using yours.

[+niraD]

1 hour ago, qbee37 said:

Big deal. When you allow fuzzy coords and keywords (which certitude has been doing forever) then maybe I'll consider using yours.

As a puzzle cache owner, I'll keep using Certitude. And owners of puzzle caches that use keywords or that rely on fuzzy solutions will also continue to use Certitude.

However, as a puzzle cache solver, I appreciate that Groundspeak's built-in checker now lets me copy-paste my solution into a single input field.

[+HG15]

Merci beaucoup 

effectivement , ce sera plus simple 

[+BrianDiane]

A definite improvement!  Well done.  Any thoughts of a future enhancement that allows the CO to specify a margin of error (ie. how close in distance the solver's answer has to be to the exact coordinates to get a thumbs up - handy when a projection is involved in the solution)?

 

[+BaileyLinc]

This sounds totally cool tool! 

I am a mystery cache newbie and I thought I would see if my coordinates are correct (as recommended in the article), but I can't find it on the site to check my coordinates with and there is no link on the cache's page.

Suggestions?

[+on4bam]

Is there some way NOT to correct the coordinates on the cachepage? I enter corrected coordinates in GSAK so caches are marked as having corrected coordinates, since PQ's don't have info on corrected coordinates it messes things up. At least let there be a choice to correct on the webpage or not as there is on 3rd party checkers.

 

[+Team DEMP]

55 minutes ago, on4bam said:

Is there some way NOT to correct the coordinates on the cachepage? I enter corrected coordinates in GSAK so caches are marked as having corrected coordinates, since PQ's don't have info on corrected coordinates it messes things up. At least let there be a choice to correct on the webpage or not as there is on 3rd party checkers.

 

Or maybe address/fix corrected coordinates across the platform so a data representation is proper and consistent and no one needs options/approaches to work around it?

[+badlands]

1 minute ago, Team DEMP said:

Or maybe address/fix corrected coordinates across the platform so a data representation is proper and consistent and no one needs options/approaches to work around it?

Assuming of course, that we all want the same thing, then yes, that approach would work.

[+on4bam]

5 minutes ago, badlands said:

Assuming of course, that we all want the same thing, then yes, that approach would work.

Why would you want corrected coordinates from a GPX, via API but NOT from a PQ? It should be consistent in all cases. Fortunately the mysteries I'm working on have no real need for a checker, it's obvious if the calculated location is correct so after solving a few and using the checker and then "restore" the corrected coordinates on the webpage I just solved them and entered the coordinates in GSAK without the checker. Looking at the map they form a nice route and none "stick out" so I assume they are all correct, if not they can be easily re-checked in the field.

 

[+thebruce0]

1 hour ago, BaileyLinc said:

I am a mystery cache newbie and I thought I would see if my coordinates are correct (as recommended in the article), but I can't find it on the site to check my coordinates with and there is no link on the cache's page.

Only if the CO provides a way to check the coordinates you have while viewing the listing. Otherwise, your only recourse is to go the coordinates you've determined and search for a cache.

 

1 hour ago, on4bam said:

Is there some way NOT to correct the coordinates on the cachepage?

This has been an ongoing request since the native checker was first implemented. =/

[+on4bam]

1 minute ago, thebruce0 said:

This has been an ongoing request since the native checker was first implemented. =/

It's the first time I encounter this native checker "in the wild" and immediately see problems with it, I would have expected the bugs that were reported when it was first implemented would have been fixed by now (but not really )

[+Frau Potter]

1 hour ago, on4bam said:

Is there some way NOT to correct the coordinates on the cachepage? I enter corrected coordinates in GSAK so caches are marked as having corrected coordinates, since PQ's don't have info on corrected coordinates it messes things up. At least let there be a choice to correct on the webpage or not as there is on 3rd party checkers.

 

Yes. If you prefer that, you an select Corrected Coordinates (click the gray pencil) and press "Restore" to get back to the original coordinates. That is still an option, even after you have used the checker with positive results.

[+on4bam]

Just now, Frau Potter said:

Yes. If you prefer that, you an select Corrected Coordinates (click the gray pencil) and press "Restore" to get back to the original coordinates. That is still an option, even after you have used the checker with positive results.

That's what I did but it's an extra step that should not be necessary. Fixing the inconsistent handling between GPX, API and PQ is another.

If I should forget to "restore" to bogus coordinates there's no way to see in GSAK that coordinates were corrected if I update using PQs.

 

[+arisoft]

1 hour ago, on4bam said:

That's what I did but it's an extra step that should not be necessary. Fixing the inconsistent handling between GPX, API and PQ is another.

Most users want corrected coordinates like I do. Before this new single entry feature, I made my own single entry for the native checker. You could automate this restoring of corrected coordinates if it is so important. At least, it is easier than making the single entry I did.

[+on4bam]

1 hour ago, arisoft said:

You could automate this restoring of corrected coordinates if it is so important.

How?

 

[+arisoft]

11 hours ago, on4bam said:

How?

 

You can think of this as a mystery that needs to be resolved. If you do not get yourself solved, ask your friend for help.

Hint: "Greasemonkey"

[+thebruce0]

18 hours ago, arisoft said:

Most users want corrected coordinates like I do. Before this new single entry feature, I made my own single entry for the native checker. You could automate this restoring of corrected coordinates if it is so important. At least, it is easier than making the single entry I did.

16 hours ago, on4bam said:

How?

5 hours ago, arisoft said:

You can think of this as a mystery that needs to be resolved. If you do not get yourself solved, ask your friend for help.

Hint: "Greasemonkey"

That was brilliantly condescending.

As it stands, the request is that Groundspeak disable automatic correcting of coordinates, since they began doing it. Your initial statement was unclear and implied there was way to do it in the context of Groundspeak. I was also going to reply and ask but decided to hold off to see how that line of thought would play out.

Yes, scripts can be written to accomplish things that aren't possible. So first, you could have simply said "You could automate this restoring of corrected coordinates with a Greasemonkey script if it is so important", secondly you could have just named and linked directly to the script that does so if asked.

Anyway, I think it's just as much if not more [concentrated] work to have to jump through the hoop of setting up a script just to automate a couple of clicks and keep that extra work required for other people who also don't like it (as you would recommend), than it is to occasionally do those clicks and request the feature be changed occasionally in the forum.  Especially since the issue has been requested since the checker was initially implemented.  And especially since it's simply a matter of optionally disabling code that alters the corrected coordinate, and not the creation of any new complicated code block.  As a programmer I'm not sure why the option has not yet been provided.

[+badlands]

19 hours ago, on4bam said:

If I should forget to "restore" to bogus coordinates there's no way to see in GSAK that coordinates were corrected if I update using PQs.

If you update GSAK with corrected coordinates, they will always show as corrected, even if you update them to the original posted coordinates.  This is useful for 'Challenge' caches that may or may not be at the posted coordinates.  If they are, just update coordinates to posted and GSAK will set the corrected coordinates flag.

The issues I have with correcting coordinates on the cache page is that when I download (API or PQ), there is no indicator to say they have been updated.

 

 

[+on4bam]

1 hour ago, badlands said:

The issues I have with correcting coordinates on the cache page is that when I download (API or PQ), there is no indicator to say they have been updated.

That's exactly the inconsistency I meant. Download the GPX and GSAK sets the corrected flag, import a PQ and it doesn't.

 

 

[+badlands]

1 hour ago, on4bam said:

Download the GPX and GSAK sets the corrected flag

Not sure I understand what you're saying.  If GS is the source of the data, GSAK has no way to know if the coordinates are corrected.

"Download the GPX" .... from what source?

[+on4bam]

2 minutes ago, badlands said:

Not sure I understand what you're saying.  If GS is the source of the data, GSAK has no way to know if the coordinates are corrected.

"Download the GPX" .... from what source?

If you download the cache info from the cachepage via the GPX button and import that file in GSAK the cache is displayed in GSAK with the "has corrected coordinates" flag set, if caches with corrected coordinates are imported via PQ the flag is not set and it looks like the mysteries are not solved yet.

So it depends if you download the cache from the cachepage as GPX, import via API or download as PQ.

 

[+dprovan]

3 hours ago, thebruce0 said:

That was brilliantly condescending.

I love how you make this a compliment!

3 hours ago, thebruce0 said:

As it stands, the request is that Groundspeak disable automatic correcting of coordinates, since they began doing it.

Yeah, I agree that making the coordinate update optional would be a good feature, and it should have been there from the beginning. Certitude recently added an option to update the coordinates, too, but the coordinates are only updated when you explicitly ask certitude to update the cache listing after you've confirmed your answer, and there's a checkbox that let's you disable the coordinate update and allow only the personal note update. (If you don't know why certitude has for years had a feature to update the personal note, I'll just say it's part of a feature the GS coordinate checker doesn't have.)

Having said that, I have to admit I wasn't thrilled with the automatic coordinate update with the GS checker, but I certituded a few puzzle caches before I noticed it had started automatically updating the coordinates, too, and I'm getting used to it, although I'd still prefer certitude's implementation that makes it optional.

[+badlands]

26 minutes ago, on4bam said:

If you download the cache info from the cachepage via the GPX button and import that file in GSAK the cache is displayed in GSAK with the "has corrected coordinates" flag set, if caches with corrected coordinates are imported via PQ the flag is not set and it looks like the mysteries are not solved yet.

So it depends if you download the cache from the cachepage as GPX, import via API or download as PQ.

 

I don't seem to be able to replicate those results.

GPX file from the cache page - no corrected coordinates
PQ - no corrected coordinates
GSAK API - has corrected coordinates and the corrected coordinates flag is set (refresh or download)

Regardless of source however, the information should be consistent.

The update via the GSAK API is a pleasant surprise to me as this is new information since the last time I checked, which was some time ago.

[+HHL]

GPX files from cache pages and PQs do contain corrected coords. These GPX files just lack an indicator flag. Hence the missing CC flag in GSAK despite their presence.

Hans

Edited April 12, 2018 by HHL

[+on4bam]

You're correct, I just tested with a local cache and no CC flag when downloading the GPX file. When I did the same yesterday I did get a CC flag. strange... PQs don't create the CC flag because GPX 1 does not support this (read that somewhere, probably GSAK forum).

[+HHL]

I created a test PQ with an online corrected mystery cache. The corrected coords are loaded into GSAK. :-)

Hans
 

Edited April 12, 2018 by HHL

[+van der Decken]

If the following set of tags were added to the GPX file just before the closing </wpt> tag for the geocache waypoint when corrected coordinates were set on the cache:

    <gsak:wptExtension xmlns:gsak="http://www.gsak.net/xmlv1/6">
      <gsak:LatBeforeCorrect>45.678901</gsak:LatBeforeCorrect>
      <gsak:LonBeforeCorrect>-110.121314</gsak:LonBeforeCorrect>
    </gsak:wptExtension>

then you'd get the behaviour you're looking for. The corrected coordinates flag would be set. Incidentally, the GSAK extensions also have tags that would allow transferring personal notes, premium/basic cache status, favourite point, cache images, etc.

But don't hold your breath waiting for this to happen!

[+Gill & Tony]

In case it may help someone, my workflow for solving puzzle caches using GSAK is as follows:

Filter the GSAK database to just mystery caches without corrected coordinates

Double-click a cache to open the cache page in my browser and try to solve the puzzle.

If the puzzle is solved, update the cache coordinates on the cache page with the correct coordinates 

Go back to GSAK, right-click>restore the cache.  This updates the coordinates in GSAK, sets the corrected coordinates flag and removes the cache from the list.

Repeat for the next cache.

[+The A-Team]

1 hour ago, Gill & Tony said:

Go back to GSAK, right-click>restore the cache.

I don't have that option. Did you maybe mean "select the cache, go to the Geocaching.com access menu > Refresh cache data... and refresh the current cache"?

[+Gill & Tony]

1 hour ago, The A-Team said:

I don't have that option. Did you maybe mean "select the cache, go to the Geocaching.com access menu > Refresh cache data... and refresh the current cache"?

That's strange.  When I right-click a cache the pop-up menu has "Refresh" as the 5th option from the top.  I've tried to do a screen print but the pop-up menu vanishes when I try to use "Snipping Tool"

 

Ah, just spotted my error.  I said "Restore" originally.  I meant "Refresh".  Sorry.

Edited April 13, 2018 by Gill & Tony

[+RustyRats]

I like this Coordinate entering improvement. Could you do the same for Pocket Querys.

[+Difool]

On 11/4/2018 at 7:55 PM, Frau Potter said:

Yes. If you prefer that, you an select Corrected Coordinates (click the gray pencil) and press "Restore" to get back to the original coordinates. That is still an option, even after you have used the checker with positive results.

I would prefer the checker not updating the Corrected Coordinates in the first place. I don't mind if it is part of my profile setting to keep cluttering options away from the checker itself.

[+badlands]

3 hours ago, Difool said:

I would prefer the checker not updating the Corrected Coordinates in the first place. I don't mind if it is part of my profile setting to keep cluttering options away from the checker itself.

How about a persistent check box on the checker itself to either update coordinates or not.

My biggest issues with the geochecker is that it looks goofy.  It doesn't fit in well with the overall design of the webpage.  Maybe put it as a link on the sidebar?

[+frumiousb]

Many, many thanks for improving this

[+egroeg]

Instead of automatically correcting the posted coordinates, could the checker create a new waypoint labeled something like "Final Location"?  I see many puzzles where the posted coords are for the suggested parking spot, and this is lost when the coords are corrected.  Not all CO's add an additional parking waypoint, especially if they use posted coords for such.  This might also satisfy those who do not want automatic updates because of the way they manipulate caches in outside databases.

[+Andre42]

Please provide this also for multi caches.

[+R.Guszty]

Picture captcha is useless and annoying.

[+R.Guszty]

Dear geocaching.com: I have to say "put your recaptcha where it hurts".

 

[+Blinky Bill]

Sorry to say this but I´m really annoyed by recaptcha. Every time I have to "play" that game 7, 8, 9 or more times before recaptcha accepts the input though all pictures with bus or sign or car are ticked correctly. That doesn't make sense. The other systems like certitudes.org or geocheck.org or geochecker.com are working perfectly.

Please get rid of recaptcha.

Edit 09/06/18: It's a problem with Firefox, it doesn't work with Opera either. The only browser not producing this fault is Internet Explorer, but I'm not gonna use this spying browser from MS.

Edited September 6, 2018 by Blinky Bill

[+BKip]

I absolutely HATE the reCAPTCHA verification system. I find it tedious and irritating.
Most of the images are overly busy, distracting and annoyingly frustrating to decipher.
Okay, I'm old, with bad vision and little patience, but there has to be a better way.
Please, I beg you, GET RID OF IT!