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Any news on the EasyGPS batch download feature?


Guest jefficus

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Guest jefficus

I'm going on a cross-country trip with the kids and want to be able to download all the caches in Canada so that we can stop at as many as possible along the way.

 

I understand that EasyGPS (and presumably PanTerra and ExpertGPS) has such a feature, but does it get Topografix data, or geocache data? And it appears to not be supported yet. Any chance it will be in the next 2 weeks?

 

Failing this, has anybody built their own off-line version of the Canadian sites that would be willing to share? I just shudder at the thought of having to cut and paste them all manually.

 

Thanks,

 

Jefficus

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Guest mkral

jefficus,

not sure exactly, but I did get an email from geocaching.com this morning about the new "geocaching" version of easy gps should be ready for download today, but at the lastest by the end of the weekend. I'd imagine this would be the one with the batch download features.

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Guest Prime Suspect

quote:
Originally posted by jefficus:

I'm going on a cross-country trip with the kids and want to be able to download all the caches in Canada so that we can stop at as many as possible along the way.


 

If there's some sort of batch mode for EasyGPS, I haven't found it yet. So far, it seems that you can only download a single waypoint into a file.

 

I used my CacheCatcher software, and was able to pull in all the Canadian waypoints in just a few minutes. Give my your email address and I'll send the data to you, plus instructions on getting it into your GPS.

 

primesuspect@gdbclub.org

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Guest rediguana

quote:
Currently testing EasyGPS on the web site.

Well, it seems to be working well so far for single downloads. Good stuff!! icon_smile.gif Looking forward to batch downloads - that will make geocache management much easier.

 

How do you envision batch downloads working? Add multiple caches to a list and then download the lot? Select all within x km/mi of given coordinates? By state, country, or other geographical seperator such as islands? Or all? icon_smile.gif That would be fantastic!

 

Do you envision the ability to download the waypoints in a CSV format? I ask this because very soon there is going to be some very nice topomap software coming on the market in NZ, and of course it would be nice if the waypoints could be imported (perhaps through an intermediate transfer process) to the software.

 

Geocaching.com just gets better and better icon_smile.gif

 

Cheers RedIguana

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Guest rediguana

quote:
Currently testing EasyGPS on the web site.

Well, it seems to be working well so far for single downloads. Good stuff!! icon_smile.gif Looking forward to batch downloads - that will make geocache management much easier.

 

How do you envision batch downloads working? Add multiple caches to a list and then download the lot? Select all within x km/mi of given coordinates? By state, country, or other geographical seperator such as islands? Or all? icon_smile.gif That would be fantastic!

 

Do you envision the ability to download the waypoints in a CSV format? I ask this because very soon there is going to be some very nice topomap software coming on the market in NZ, and of course it would be nice if the waypoints could be imported (perhaps through an intermediate transfer process) to the software.

 

Geocaching.com just gets better and better icon_smile.gif

 

Cheers RedIguana

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Guest topografix

TopoGrafix makes two other products, PanTerra and ExpertGPS, both of which have a CSV file export functionality. So, you could open the Geocaching files in PanTerra, and export to your new mapping program. What's it called, BTW?

 

PanTerra is an advanced GPS data manager, and can be downloaded at http://www.topografix.com/panterra.asp

 

ExpertGPS is GPS mapping software with USGS topo maps and aerial photos, and can be downloaded at http://www.expertgps.com

 

--

Dan Foster

TopoGrafix: GPS Software, Maps, and Waypoints

http://www.topografix.com

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Guest rediguana

Hi Dan.

 

I tried Panterra a while ago, and it seems quite similar in functionality to EasyGPS. Whilst the products you suggest can support CSV export, the problem I was alluding to was the fact that in downloading one waypoint at a time, I'm forced to export waypoints one at a time as they open in a new file. Even if the export waypoint to CSV function is very easy it shouldn't need to be oft repeated. Hence asking about the batch downloads.

 

Do those products have a CSV import functionality as well?

 

I'm not prepared to commit to software until I see TopoMap - being that it has detailed NZ maps and all icon_smile.gif

 

TopoMap

http://www.mapworld.co.nz/TopoCD.pdf

 

If the waypoint management in TopoMap doesn't check out, then I will be sure to give your products a look. Hell, I will probably look at them anyway when I have the time! icon_smile.gif

 

Thanks, Gavin

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Guest rediguana

Hi Dan.

 

I tried Panterra a while ago, and it seems quite similar in functionality to EasyGPS. Whilst the products you suggest can support CSV export, the problem I was alluding to was the fact that in downloading one waypoint at a time, I'm forced to export waypoints one at a time as they open in a new file. Even if the export waypoint to CSV function is very easy it shouldn't need to be oft repeated. Hence asking about the batch downloads.

 

Do those products have a CSV import functionality as well?

 

I'm not prepared to commit to software until I see TopoMap - being that it has detailed NZ maps and all icon_smile.gif

 

TopoMap

http://www.mapworld.co.nz/TopoCD.pdf

 

If the waypoint management in TopoMap doesn't check out, then I will be sure to give your products a look. Hell, I will probably look at them anyway when I have the time! icon_smile.gif

 

Thanks, Gavin

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Guest topografix

Hi Gavin,

 

Jeremy's going to be adding the ability to download multiple geocaches soon, I think.

 

Both PanTerra and ExpertGPS can import and export CSV files from Excel.

 

That NZ topo software looks pretty cool!

--

Dan Foster

TopoGrafix: GPS Software, Maps, and Waypoints

http://www.topografix.com

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Guest jeremy

quote:
Originally posted by topografix:

Jeremy's going to be adding the ability to download multiple geocaches soon, I think.


 

That's right. I've been thinking about an "add to basket" kind of deal where you can check the ones you want then download the batch from your "my cache page" - In the meantime though I may just set it up so when you go to the state/by zipcode pages you can download the lot onto your GPS.

 

I want folks to keep in mind that many caches do require you to read the instructions though, so it may not be real effective if you're on the road. I should probably put some thought into separating out a traditional cache from the others so you don't end up trying to find a multi-stage cache and end up in the center of a lake.

 

Jeremy

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Guest martinp13

Jeremy: you might send an extra piece of data describing the type of cache (traditional, multi, virtual, etc).

 

------------------

> Martin

Magellan 330 (1.56/WAAS enabled!)

Don't have time to program and record your shows while geocaching? Get a TiVo !

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Guest rediguana

quote:
Both PanTerra and ExpertGPS can import and export CSV files from Excel.

Excellent icon_smile.gif I've got a project I'm working on (slowly right now as I've got exams on) which would be very useful for that. Setting up a site to submit waypoints in NZ, which will probably be managed under an open directory license. Things like service stations, banks etc. There is a sample site up at http://www.rediguana.co.nz - I hope to put some more work into it in a couple of weeks.

 

quote:
That NZ topo software looks pretty cool!

 

It does ehh?! I was in a mapping store here in Christchurch, NZ where it is being developed and have seen it and had a little play with it and the new version looks pretty darn cool! Can't wait to get it when it comes out! It will be a treat to download geocaching data and plot it with this software hehe. I let you know once its been released icon_smile.gif

 

Cheers Gavin

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Guest rediguana

quote:
Both PanTerra and ExpertGPS can import and export CSV files from Excel.

Excellent icon_smile.gif I've got a project I'm working on (slowly right now as I've got exams on) which would be very useful for that. Setting up a site to submit waypoints in NZ, which will probably be managed under an open directory license. Things like service stations, banks etc. There is a sample site up at http://www.rediguana.co.nz - I hope to put some more work into it in a couple of weeks.

 

quote:
That NZ topo software looks pretty cool!

 

It does ehh?! I was in a mapping store here in Christchurch, NZ where it is being developed and have seen it and had a little play with it and the new version looks pretty darn cool! Can't wait to get it when it comes out! It will be a treat to download geocaching data and plot it with this software hehe. I let you know once its been released icon_smile.gif

 

Cheers Gavin

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Guest rediguana

quote:
That's right. I've been thinking about an "add to basket" kind of deal where you can check the ones you want then download the batch from your "my cache page" - In the meantime though I may just set it up so when you go to the state/by zipcode pages you can download the lot onto your GPS.

The temporary solution would probably be more efficient on the web server and db as everyone would be downloading the same - in countries like NZ it would be the whole country rather than just a state! icon_smile.gif

The basket makes a lot of sense as a general purpose tool. As I mentioned above, it would be good if doing a lat/long search ie nearest to a given coord could be downloaded in a list, or bulk added to my batch download list once that is implemented.

 

quote:
I want folks to keep in mind that many caches do require you to read the instructions though, so it may not be real effective if you're on the road.

I agree! I went to Sydney, Australia recently and printed out some caches before I went and it was very handy having offline printouts. Its essential really. I haven't and wouldn't go to a cache without a printout of the page and encrypted hint if really required. Unfortunately this is necessary as there isn't good net access where many geocaches are! icon_wink.gif

 

Batch downloads and printouts of caches are an essential combination to enable caching whilst travelling. I think this is the best solution!

 

Cheers Gavin

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Guest rediguana

quote:
That's right. I've been thinking about an "add to basket" kind of deal where you can check the ones you want then download the batch from your "my cache page" - In the meantime though I may just set it up so when you go to the state/by zipcode pages you can download the lot onto your GPS.

The temporary solution would probably be more efficient on the web server and db as everyone would be downloading the same - in countries like NZ it would be the whole country rather than just a state! icon_smile.gif

The basket makes a lot of sense as a general purpose tool. As I mentioned above, it would be good if doing a lat/long search ie nearest to a given coord could be downloaded in a list, or bulk added to my batch download list once that is implemented.

 

quote:
I want folks to keep in mind that many caches do require you to read the instructions though, so it may not be real effective if you're on the road.

I agree! I went to Sydney, Australia recently and printed out some caches before I went and it was very handy having offline printouts. Its essential really. I haven't and wouldn't go to a cache without a printout of the page and encrypted hint if really required. Unfortunately this is necessary as there isn't good net access where many geocaches are! icon_wink.gif

 

Batch downloads and printouts of caches are an essential combination to enable caching whilst travelling. I think this is the best solution!

 

Cheers Gavin

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Jeremy - for some caches, parking coordinates are either a necessity or an important part of the hunt.

 

Have you considered allowing a set of parking coordinates to be included as part of the standard cache definition? If so, it would be great to be able to download the parking coordinates at the same time (and would bypass the coordinate conversion problem too).

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Guest RCharlier

Here is a thought that relates to the comments on needing instructions to locate the cache site or parking information. For those of us that are into toys such as Palm Pilots and Windows CE devices, what about using AvantGo (www.avantgo.com) to download the cache descriptions into a PDA? I have a CE device and have played with AvantGo to download this information for when I am on the road (or bored stiff in meetings at work). This actually works fairly well other than it has the potential to dump a few hundred web pages to the PDA, which may or may not have sufficient memory resources. From my playing around with my CE device, the content that is downloaded looks exactly like the normal GeoCaching webpages except the graphics have a slighly different resolution and of course the screen size of the PDA is just a bit smaller than a monitor. It might be kind of nice to have a url that is intended for AvantGo PDA support. At the present time I am not loading geocaching.com content into my CE device due to the number of webpages I must capture in AvantGo to get the meat of Caches in my area. I also had a concern on the load that I might place on the webserver which hosts geocaching.com. I think AvantGo could have a fairly good potential to address some of these issues for those people that have a few extra dollars to spend on a PDA. I would love to see support for AvantGo because it would also give me yet another reason to add one of those cool 1/2gig IBM CompactFlash microdrives to my CE Device!

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Guest rediguana

Jeremy and Dan.

 

I have just hooked up my Garmin GPS 12XL to EasyGPS and tried to upload a waypoint from the web page. The transfer completes and then the 12XL complains of invalid WPT data, transfer completed. The waypoint is not there.

 

I just tried creating a waypoint is EasyGPS and sending it and it crapped out too icon_frown.gif I could download waypoints from the GPS, delete them from the GPS, and resend them not a problem. Hmmm.

 

I had no trouble with Panterra creating waypoints in the program and then uploading them. Unfortunately that has since expired so I cant test it again.

 

Cheers Gavin

 

[This message has been edited by rediguana (edited 20 June 2001).]

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Guest rediguana

Jeremy and Dan.

 

I have just hooked up my Garmin GPS 12XL to EasyGPS and tried to upload a waypoint from the web page. The transfer completes and then the 12XL complains of invalid WPT data, transfer completed. The waypoint is not there.

 

I just tried creating a waypoint is EasyGPS and sending it and it crapped out too icon_frown.gif I could download waypoints from the GPS, delete them from the GPS, and resend them not a problem. Hmmm.

 

I had no trouble with Panterra creating waypoints in the program and then uploading them. Unfortunately that has since expired so I cant test it again.

 

Cheers Gavin

 

[This message has been edited by rediguana (edited 20 June 2001).]

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Guest bunkerdave

For about two months now, as long as I've been caching, I have been doing the longhand copy/paste of all the cache data in my state to the memo pad on my PDA. It works pretty well. I tried the Avantgo and it was pretty messy. All I need is the Utah caches, and I guess I'm not savvy enough to make it do just that. Anyway, it has been very nice, having all the info in my PDA all the time, and comes in very handy when I get to where a cache "should" be and have to start using the hints. Beats lugging a notebook with 200 pages of cache notes around, too, icon_smile.gif

 

Maybe there is someone who has done the Avantgo thing that could help, or something could be done with the website to make the data downloadable to PDAs. I will keep trying with the Avantgo.

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Guest bunkerdave

For about two months now, as long as I've been caching, I have been doing the longhand copy/paste of all the cache data in my state to the memo pad on my PDA. It works pretty well. I tried the Avantgo and it was pretty messy. All I need is the Utah caches, and I guess I'm not savvy enough to make it do just that. Anyway, it has been very nice, having all the info in my PDA all the time, and comes in very handy when I get to where a cache "should" be and have to start using the hints. Beats lugging a notebook with 200 pages of cache notes around, too, icon_smile.gif

 

Maybe there is someone who has done the Avantgo thing that could help, or something could be done with the website to make the data downloadable to PDAs. I will keep trying with the Avantgo.

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Guest mkral

Bunkerdave,

 

what is the avantgo thing? I have avantgo installed on my palm, but I didn't know that geocaching had a site. How does it work? Is it listed on the geocaching or avantgo webdsites, or did you make up your own avantgo site for geocaching?

thanks

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Guest RCharlier

AvantGo can be used to store web content on your PDA. Normally most people use it to sync webpage content that is formatted for the PDA form factor. I normally use it to get things like the USA Today top stories of the Day, etc. One of the options that exists in AvantGo is to point to any URL and have it sync web content from that URL point including all links off of the URL to a specified link depth. For example: I specified the url http://www.geocaching.com/seek/nearest_cache.asp?zip=61548 with a depth of 2 link levels. In this case it would sync to your PDA the list of caches in your local area and the descriptions of the cache and the feedback from the people that have found the cache. In my case, since I use a Windows CE device, I also get the MapBlast maps which is kind of nice thing to brag about, but they are very difficult to use for anything. I would be very curious to hear feedback from someone with a Palm Pilot to see what the content looks like on that type of device. I am a bit spoiled with the CE device since it has a fair amount of additional screen space and is color.

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Guest mkral

thanks for the avantgo info. I synced it up with my Palm. Works real well. the maps are a bit on the small size, but everything transfers real well. Beats all heck out of the "old" way I'd been doing it, which is print off copies of all the cahces I'd maybe go to, and end up with like 50 pages to carry around. Thanks for the idea.

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Guest ClayJar

I admit that I haven't been following this thread since its inception, but from my reading of it, shall I assume that sometime soon I will be able to get just one .loc download with my weekend's selection of caches? That would be nice. icon_smile.gif

 

(Right now I'm just saving them all to a folder and doing a copy 1.loc+2.loc+3.loc+4.loc+5.loc+6.loc+7.loc Caches.loc in DOS to get them in one file. I wish EasyGPS had copy/paste; that would let me really get used to using it, which would help settle me on buying an upgrade.)

 

[This message has been edited by ClayJar (edited 21 June 2001).]

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Guest ClayJar

I admit that I haven't been following this thread since its inception, but from my reading of it, shall I assume that sometime soon I will be able to get just one .loc download with my weekend's selection of caches? That would be nice. icon_smile.gif

 

(Right now I'm just saving them all to a folder and doing a copy 1.loc+2.loc+3.loc+4.loc+5.loc+6.loc+7.loc Caches.loc in DOS to get them in one file. I wish EasyGPS had copy/paste; that would let me really get used to using it, which would help settle me on buying an upgrade.)

 

[This message has been edited by ClayJar (edited 21 June 2001).]

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Guest Miles678

There is not direct copy and paste in EasyGPS, but you can drag and drop from one window to the other. This allows you to build a list of waypoints from downloaded caches. Try these steps.

 

Edited to add the following note -

 

Note: This worked on the beta version of ExpertGPS. Now it seems to pull up new sessions of the program each time I run it in version 1.01. I played with the EasyGPS a bit and it too starts a new session with each download. You will not be able to drag and drop from one session to the other. Both windows have to be open in the SAME EasyGPS session. I left the instructions in anyway.

 

1. Download a point directly in EasyGPS and then save it with a different name.

 

2. Download the next point from geocaching - it opens in a different window in Easy GPS.

 

3. Choose the Tile option under the Window pulldown menu. This allows you to see both windows at the same time.

 

4. Just drag the point from the second window into the first window and let go. Now you have two points in the first list. Now you can close the second list.

 

5. Repeat step 4 for each waypoint that you want to add to the list.

 

Hope this helps! icon_smile.gif

 

[This message has been edited by Miles678 (edited 21 June 2001).]

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Guest Miles678

There is not direct copy and paste in EasyGPS, but you can drag and drop from one window to the other. This allows you to build a list of waypoints from downloaded caches. Try these steps.

 

Edited to add the following note -

 

Note: This worked on the beta version of ExpertGPS. Now it seems to pull up new sessions of the program each time I run it in version 1.01. I played with the EasyGPS a bit and it too starts a new session with each download. You will not be able to drag and drop from one session to the other. Both windows have to be open in the SAME EasyGPS session. I left the instructions in anyway.

 

1. Download a point directly in EasyGPS and then save it with a different name.

 

2. Download the next point from geocaching - it opens in a different window in Easy GPS.

 

3. Choose the Tile option under the Window pulldown menu. This allows you to see both windows at the same time.

 

4. Just drag the point from the second window into the first window and let go. Now you have two points in the first list. Now you can close the second list.

 

5. Repeat step 4 for each waypoint that you want to add to the list.

 

Hope this helps! icon_smile.gif

 

[This message has been edited by Miles678 (edited 21 June 2001).]

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Guest Miles678

I think that Dan at Topografix updated the software to deal with the problem. If you are running the current version of EasyGPS the waypoints should now open new windows within the same session of EasyGPS. The above steps should work fine.

 

Thanks Dan for all your hard work!!

 

[This message has been edited by Miles678 (edited 21 June 2001).]

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Guest Hawk-eye

quote:
Originally posted by RCharlier:

AvantGo can be used to store web content on your PDA. ... I would be very curious to hear feedback from someone with a Palm Pilot to see what the content looks like on that type of device.


 

Well I read your posting and gave it a try ... works wonderfully on my Palm Vx. Maps show up really well .... well as can be expected ... and they are greyscale ... actually as little use as they are on the PC. But to be able to quickly down load to the Palm and review at my leisure ... is nice. Downloads when I'm overseas can be extremely slow ... so to pop them to the Palm quickly and review offline is great. Have to feed the addition you know. Thanks for the advice.

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Guest ALacy

THe main thing about AvantGo that bugs me is that I can't mark and copy the text. I have a Plam Program which does ROT13, you just enter the text or paste it, and use the menu. It sure would be nice, if after hunting for awhile and not finding the cache to be able to copy the hint, use the rot13 program to see the hint.

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Guest joshgray

me being web savvy and a big tech. geek and all, i realized the waypoint files we download from here are xml files. if no one has a better solution i may write some scripts to input all my .loc files into a database to make my own .loc output files to input into expert/easygps.

 

Anyone have any better ideas? would be helpful if we could get all the waypoints from a certain zip or state in one file so we can do it all at once..

 

------------------

---

JoshGray

http://joshgray.myip.org

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Guest JasonW

quote:
Originally posted by ALacy:

I have a Plam Program which does ROT13, you just enter the text or paste it, and use the menu.


 

Is this is program that you wrote (that you might want to make generally available)or one that's available elsewhere ?

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Guest ClayJar

quote:
Originally posted by ALacy:

It sure would be nice, if after hunting for awhile and not finding the cache to be able to copy the hint, use the rot13 program to see the hint.


 

Personally, I like the additional "challenge" of having to whip out the cache report and decode the hint while crouched in the forest within feet of the cache. I'm not that bad, either; I can recognize "cache", "tree", "located", "rock", and several other words without even having to ROT13 them. icon_smile.gif

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Guest ClayJar

quote:
Originally posted by ALacy:

It sure would be nice, if after hunting for awhile and not finding the cache to be able to copy the hint, use the rot13 program to see the hint.


 

Personally, I like the additional "challenge" of having to whip out the cache report and decode the hint while crouched in the forest within feet of the cache. I'm not that bad, either; I can recognize "cache", "tree", "located", "rock", and several other words without even having to ROT13 them. icon_smile.gif

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