Feature request : cache counter

[+H_M]

Hi,

 

I'm happy to use the official app, but one feature is still missing for me: the ability to add automatically a #XXXX counter in the logs, XXXX meaning it's the XXXXth found cache.

Because of that, I save empty drafts and log at home on a PC, numbering each log manually.

 

It would be easier if there was an option, in the app, to append such a counter directly in the logs (so it should also work offline, and logs should be numbered chronologically of course).

 

Has this been considered? The maaloo geocaching app I used to use on windows 10 mobile had this nice feature.

 

thank you

[+niraD]

I only include which find a particular cache is when it's a milestone of sorts, but I have used third-party apps that included this feature. I recall there being issues that the counter would get out of sync easily, but the people who liked the feature learned to live with the limitations and to avoid doing things that got the counter out of sync.

[+kunarion]

1 hour ago, niraD said:

I only include which find a particular cache is when it's a milestone of sorts, but I have used third-party apps that included this feature. I recall there being issues that the counter would get out of sync easily, but the people who liked the feature learned to live with the limitations and to avoid doing things that got the counter out of sync.

 

There are a lotta posts around here about the App having delays between site and App and making logs out of sequence.  A "counter" would highlight the issue, or at least there would be new threads about how the counter is counting wrong.

 

I use The App (and the other Apps) only for finding a cache, therefore out and about. I later do almost all the log paperwork at a PC at home.  At that point, I may notice that a cache is a notable milestone, and will edit the log if posted by App, but only for the milestone. Or recently, for the cache log that caused a new Souvenir.  Otherwise, such numbers are readily available as Stats.  I can't stand the logs like "this is cache #742836" as Find logs on my caches in lieu of an actual story, so I won't impose that on others.  Your mileage may vary.

Edited August 24, 2018 by kunarion

[+noncentric]

Not sure this type of functionality would be worth the development effort. From cache pages that I've seen, it seems that most cachers don't append a find counter to their logs. There are a lot of other things I'd like to see done before something like what's described in the OP.

 

I think it's good that the official app doesn't do 'everything' for a cacher and those cachers have to go through the website to do things. I think going to the website is a good thing.

Besides that, if the official app did everything that the 3rd party apps do, then those 3rd party app developers would lose whatever revenue they get from creating that app. Cachers wouldn't need those 3rd party apps if the official app does everything they do.

 

 

2 hours ago, kunarion said:

I use The App (and the other Apps) only for finding a cache, therefore out and about. I later do almost all the log paperwork at a PC at home.

Agreed. I've also learned not to submit live logs via the app, just save Draft logs, with the only exception being FTF finds where I know other cachers want to see such a log right away.

 

And since I usually log from Drafts, I don't always log my finds in chronological order between days.  I log all caches within a specific day in order, but I don't log finds between days in order. For example, I logged some of my finds from this past weekend before logging caches from a couple weeks ago. Any automated logger, whether the official or 3rd-party app, would get confused quite quickly.

[+H_M]

I agree with you, and as I said, it would be nice to have it as an option, certainly not imposed. Anyway, as I said, I often write the logs at home on PC, to avoid "easy-peasy" short and normalized logs, so not having a counter is not a big issue.

[+noncentric]

2 hours ago, H_M said:

I agree with you, and as I said, it would be nice to have it as an option, certainly not imposed.

Understood, but having it "as an option" would mean developing the functionality in the app, which takes some time. So, not having it at all seems fine with me. 

[Blue Square Thing]

11 hours ago, H_M said:

I agree with you, and as I said, it would be nice to have it as an option, certainly not imposed. Anyway, as I said, I often write the logs at home on PC, to avoid "easy-peasy" short and normalized logs, so not having a counter is not a big issue.

 

Thank you for doing that. I really appreciate it when someone takes the time to write something that's more than just a few words in an online log.

[+CAVinoGal]

On 8/24/2018 at 9:46 AM, kunarion said:

I can't stand the logs like "this is cache #742836" as Find logs on my caches in lieu of an actual story, so I won't impose that on others.  Your mileage may vary.

 I do number all of my finds, and time stamp them, more for my own personal record keeping than anything else.  BUT, it's the last thing in my log, kind of like a signature, and I try to tell a story with every cache.

 

On 8/24/2018 at 6:27 AM, H_M said:

I save empty drafts and log at home on a PC, numbering each log manually.

 

My drafts contain the timestamp (manually entered when we find the cache) and a few notes about the find.  Once I am home and on the computer, I add the Find # and flesh out the details of the find.  The exception is the rare occasion we've been FTF; there are a few in our area that love to go after the FTF, so I will log that quickly on the spot, and edit the log later to add more detail.