Memory Map 6 - Proper Cache Icons (New PupPort Release).

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I've created a Macro for this, an updated version of PupPort.

 

The software that is most commonly used for OS-mapped geocaching is a combination of GSAK and Memory Map. GSAK is a geocache database management tool, and Memory Map adds the OS mapping. Memory Map v5 and earlier was available for both desktop PCs and Windows PDAs. So, with GSAK, Memory Map and some custom icons, you had the ultimate mobile geocaching setup. You can get the icons for older Memory Map and PDA’s here – http://blog.dixo.net/downloads/lordelphs-lovely-icons/

 

LordElph’s icons were great with PDA’s and Memory Map 5, but now we’ve moved to the smartphone age, the newest version of the app needs different macros. There are pros and cons to the Android/Apple versions of Memory Map.

 

Cons
No custom icons.
No PDA support.

Pros
Mobile phone support.
No need to upload maps.
Faster transfer and sync of data.

 

The biggest of these cons is the fact that there is no longer support for custom icons. That means that we are limited to the default icons such as anchor, dot, man overboard etc. Luckily there is a Geocache icon, however it isn’t ideal that all Geocaches, regardless of type, are the same green box.

The pull-down shows the available icon types for Memory Map 6.

 

So, the default way for GSAK to handle this is that every cache type is given a different icon type. Skulls, flags, car, etc, can all be assigned to Traditional, Multi, Puzzle, etc. I looked into this and wondered if the default Geocache icon could be used for ALL cache types, but the colour could be changed? It seems it can.

I’ve created a BETA macro for GSAK v9, which works for me. Here’s how it looks in action:

Green Geocaches are Traditional, yellow are multi, blue are puzzle/mystery. The Green first aid box shows caches that need maintenance.

 

Whilst it works well, I'm calling it Beta because t’s a little clunky as it has to export every cache type individually. So, when you run the macro, if you have four cache types in your filter, it will run four separate exports.  It doesn't create four files though - it will open up direct in Memory Map.

 

Secondly, it exports based on your User Flag Set. That means that you need to set the GSAK User Flag for the caches you wish to export.

 

The good news though is that when you sync the GPX to your mobile device, the icons carry over flawlessly.

 

I’ve found that the best way to transfer GPX files between desktop and mobile device is using WhatsApp Web / Whatsapp Mobile, then opening the file on your phone with Memory Map. Alternatively, you can save the file to Downloads/Memory Map on your phone, but you’ll probably need a file manager to move it. Then you can use MM’s import function. It’s just less hassle using Whatsapp.

 

My full article - and download link to the macro - is here:

 

Geocaching with Memory Map 6 - Menu > (anglezarke.net)

Edited September 4, 2021 by PopUpPirate
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