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New PocketPC GPS software package: CacheDragon


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quote:
Originally posted by *gln:

I am wondering if there is a way to search the cache list to find a spesfic cache rather than scrolling thru many caches in the list?


This is one of the most significant improvements in the upcoming version. The database list is filterable, sortable, and searchable. I find this functionality pretty useful, and I'm eager to see what everyone else thinks of it.

 

David Stein, Esq.

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Well, I am realy excited about this, I havent been paying real close attention to this forum but I did notice that 1.1 or 1.09 will fix the problem with my coordinates issue.

 

Quick question, if I go ahead and purchase 1.0 from handango will I get the new version for free? How is all of that going to work? If you can let me know I am ready to purchase.

 

Thanks!!! Even 1.0 with the bugs works well enough to purchase, but to make it something I can use all the time, I need the coordinates and the ability to load more then 20 caches.

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quote:
Originally posted by ShadowMoon:

Quick question, if I go ahead and purchase 1.0 from handango will I get the new version for free? How is all of that going to work?


Yes - free upgrades for life. Even if I wanted to limit upgrades, I don't think it's even possible at Handango! So, rest assured that I won't be asking for more money for bugfixes or new features.

 

(As I've noted, while I'd like to receive what I consider fair compensation for the work I've done, money-making isn't my primary reason for writing CacheDragon; I wanted to solve a very specific problem and share it with the geocaching community.)

 

David Stein, Esq.

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David, that is more than fair. I didn't need upgrades for life and I would pay more for the program, I just wanted it to work for me before I purchased it. I use cachedragon all the time now, with only 20, not having settings and having to edit the coordinates myself in the gpx file.

 

Thanks!

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I'm really wanting to register the software but would love to verify one thing before I do so. I mentioned earlier in the thread that I'm using a USB to serial cable for my Toshiba to connect the GPS. I've used it in numerous programs and it works great both in NMEA mode and Garmin mode.

 

However, when I attempt to use CD with it, it appears that it's expecting a different speed. All I see from the status is garbage. I can only imagine it is trying to interpret the traffic at 57600 rather than the 4800 I manually enter. Is anyone else encountering this? If it was simply crashed when receiving data I'd feel better as this would be closer to experiences elsewhere.

 

Looks great...hoping to register soon.

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Hi David: Just wanted to thank you again for your help. I have e-mailed Handango about my possible registration problem. Can't wait for v1.1 to come out. Maybe I'll have better luck with this version and the NAVMAN ST Professional (that took me 5 months to download, with a lot of help)and I'll be up and running with you guys! In the meantime, I guess I'll spend time learning about GPX and LOC files you all have been talking about.

 

P.S. Do you ever sleep, David?

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Development resumes tonight.

 

I have one or two more features to implement over the next two days, and then CacheDragon 1.1 will enter the debugging stage. I know that it has several bugs, so I'm going to focus on killing as many as possible for a few days, and then I will release the public beta, as promised, this Friday. Registered users will get a beta of the full version; unregistered users will get a beta of the trial version.

 

(For registered users, the following is important: The formats of the user-settings file and the CacheDragon-database file have changed considerably. I'm going to be working to make sure that v1.0 files load properly in v1.1, and are then saved as v1.1 files. If, for some reason, this should fail, you may see a sad, cautionary message that you should vaporize your old Cachedragon.ini and Cachedragon.db files before running v1.1 - but I'm hopeful that this won't be necessary.)

 

Tonight I will also have the unexpected fortune of testing CacheDragon on Windows Mobile 2003. My iPaq 5450 died over the weekend (I've had bad luck with these things!), but that's OK - I purchased it on Best Buy's warranty/upgrade plan. Since most stores no longer carry the 5450, they're going to replace it with a 5550 with the new OS, so I get to do some compatibility testing. More on this later.

 

Now for responses to user comments:

quote:
Originally posted by Levarnu:

However, when I attempt to use CD with it, it appears that it's expecting a different speed. All I see from the status is garbage. I can only imagine it is trying to interpret the traffic at 57600 rather than the 4800 I manually enter.


Levarnu: I think I can guess what's going wrong.

 

The unregistered version of CacheDragon does three things: (a) defaults to 57600, (;) defaults to Start GPS On Program Start, and © doesn't save any of its settings. As a result, every time you start CacheDragon, it starts your GPS unit at 57600, even if you reset the speed and restart the app. But here's a workaround: Try changing the speed and then stopping and restarting the device. That will re-initialize the unit at the slower speed. If that works, you'll know that we've pinpointed the issue.

 

Two other suggestions: 1) CacheDragon 1.1 features a revamped GPS Setup dialog, so if you're really having trouble, wait for the new version. 2) The registered version of CacheDragon saves your settings when you exit the program, so you won't have to do this song-and-dance every time you restart.

quote:
Originally posted by f0t0m0m:

Hi David: Just wanted to thank you again for your help. I have e-mailed Handango about my possible registration problem.


Glad to read it - please let me know if that resolves the registration issue. If not, I'll see if I can help in some other way.

quote:
Originally posted by f0t0m0m:

P.S. Do you ever sleep, David?


Less than I'd like, both in duration and regularity. icon_wink.gif But life has been extraordinarily busy these past several months.

 

David Stein, Esq.

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BigBird;

 

If you read the early posts in this tread, you'll notice base maps might not be around for another version or two. You can put in pics of maps as an attachment to the cache page, but the mapping (plotting) screen is really much more like a base etrex, with no basemap capability.

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quote:
Originally posted by bigdaveoh:

.......What about the pre-issue stock offering in the "DavidStein" software company??... You gonna let us all get onboard early???


Heh... the incorporation fee alone would probably exceed all profit that I'm going to make on this project. icon_smile.gif

quote:
Originally posted by bigdaveoh:

BTW....what was your test grade?


Thanks for asking! A on the computer science final; GRE scores of 630 (verbal) and 800 (math). I'm disappointed, since I was averaging 720's on the verbal over my weekend preparation. But it's certainly enough to get me into the CIS program, so I'm happy.

quote:
Originally posted by azmark:

If you read the early posts in this tread, you'll notice base maps might not be around for another version or two.


Completely correct; thanks azmark. icon_smile.gif

 

Simply put: I'm having trouble imagining a good method of implementing this feature. It's had to take a backseat to about a dozen features that I have been able to implement really easily. But don't despair; it's on my to-do list.

 

David Stein, Esq.

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David,

 

Just downloaded the trial version of 1.0 to check it out. A little rough around the edges so I'm anxious to see the 1.1 improvements. Some oddities that I've noticed that may not have been mentioned in this chain...

 

1. Installed app to SD card and the app couldn't find the help files. Also, need to be able to import from memory cards (as well as keep the database file there)

2. Under certain editing operations of the database I was able to get duplicate, triplicate (and more) entries of the same cache item.

3. When focus is set to an edit box it would be nice if it automatically activated the selected input mode (i.e. keyboard, transcriber, etc)

4. As described in an earlier post about not showing up in the (Dell) Switcher app, it doesn't show in the Resco Task Manager (a similar app) nor in the "Running Programs" tab of the Memory Settings app

5. Recommendation: many of the buttons would be more PPC-like if they were implemented as menus (and it would save a ton of real estate).

6. The 1st GPX file I tried wouldn't import. I get downloads of .LOC files (smaller) and used ExpertGPS to save it as a .GPX file. A .GPX sent from geocaching.com work flawlessly. The ExpertGPS version obviously doesn't have all of the XML nodes that are available in the GPX but I thought it should still import with all of the extra stuff left blank. Didn't research the schema to see if the extra stuff is optional or required.

7. Your notion of a CacheLizard version might be interesting since I already have pretty decent maps and compass in a MeriPlat. btw, I hadn't seen much talk about NMEA support (or is everybody else using CF/Sleeve units?)

8. App could stand to be scanned for consistency. For example, on one screen there's a button "Details" to view the cache details; but on the map screen the same function is called "Info"

9. All of the Map Optios are nice but there are so many that it looks intimidating. Maybe a tabbed interface where similar options can be grouped would work better. And it gives you space to implement new options. The "Location Flash/Solid" "Compass Classic..." aren't really intuitive as buttons, they should be radio buttons and (grouped) check boxes. Need spinners on the Difficulty and Terrain controls

10. Some of the controls on the really full screens are clipped (functional but doesn't have that polished look)

11. Don't really need the "Done" button, since that's what the standard PPC "OK" button in the title bar is for.

12. Many of the buttons don't do anything if not in the right mode (e.g. on the Map, "Info" does nothing if a cache isn't selected). Things need to be grayed (disabled) if they are available at a given moment. Otherwise it's very confusing about why nothing happened when I clicked ....

 

I'm really excited about using this app in the field. I've been writing software for over 20 years now and had toyed with the idea of writing something for caching (and to learn the PPC API); but it looks like you may have saved me (and others) countless hours. What you have done so far is impressive and I'm sure that your next version is really going to make it a "must-have" app.

 

Timing is everything.

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Well, everyone - I'm in Cleveland. And as you may imagine, the last few days have been a little rough. And since my notebook has a battery life of 15 minutes, CacheDragon is a few days behind in its development. But I'm expecting to release the beta on Sunday.

 

H-4: Thanks very much! Your encouragement is welcome, but even more so, your comments for improvement are detailed and insightful. Please, keep them coming! A brief point-by-point response:

 

Memory card support: At present, this is rough around the edges and mostly untested; I expect to be beefing this up for future versions. Hoping to spend some time on it next week, before releasing v1.1.

 

Multiple entries in database: I've spent some time unifying the database operations for v1.1 - specifically, combining databases and importing data goes through a rigorous update-vs.-add-new-location check. I expect that this problem is eliminated, and it's on today's agenda for for additional testing.

 

Input mode activation for focus on edit-boxes: Point well-taken; should be easy to negotiate. I'll see if I can drop in the code today.

 

Resco Task Manager: This should be fixed for 1.1. I discovered that PocketPC tracks running tasks not by the names of the applications that are running, but by the titles of windows that are open. (!) I've given the windows titles, and CacheDragon now appears in the Running Tasks dialog.

 

Menus vs. buttons: I agree that this would be helpful, but only for the map screen. Sadly, it's not possible to add menus to the map screen, for the following reason: I use some lower-level GDI functions for drawing the map (especially for drawing each Track pixel), and checking them all against an opened menu would murder the framerate. Since I agree that it would be nice, I'll experiment, but I don't expect much luck... If you can suggest another dialog that would also benefit, please let me know!

 

GPX import errors: I've spent a lot of time fixing the the GPX (and LOC) file formats to import all files correctly. As far as I can tell, they're working fine. I've asked everyone to send me GPX files that crash v1.0, and I'd like to ask you the same. Please send it to: djs10@cwru.edu - I'll test it and make sure it works OK. I'm especially interested in your ExpertGPS-outputted GPX - I want to make sure that CacheDragon plays well with other GPS apps.

 

CacheLizard: Yeah, it's still on my agenda, but probably a ways off. I really want to get CacheDragon to a point of perfect stability, where all I have left to do is to add features, before I split off a separate app (that will, of course, require additional maintenance...)

 

NMEA: Well, CacheDragon works by reading NMEA data from whatever device it connects to, so whatever NMEA-compliant device you're using should work fine. Does that answer your question? I'm not really sure what you meant in this one...

 

App consistency: Inconsistency is a huge pet peeve of mine, so I'll be giving this prompt attention. Thanks for pointing this out - if you notice any others, by all means, let me know.

 

Map Options: You'll be pleased to know that this has already been addressed for v1.1. The Map Options screen has been expanded into a three-tabbed dialog. I may expand it further to include more descriptive titles and better controls (e.g., spinners - which really work well only if you have a lot of screen space; otherwise the arrows are tiny!)

 

Screen clipping: That's actually a problem with the way PocketPC draws its controls. Checkboxes, for instance, don't normally have their bottom edge drawn. I don't know why; it's really frustrating. I'd like to clean it up somehow, but it's a lower priority right now.

 

Done button vs. "OK": Another frustrating PocketPC convention: Tapping the "OK" button actually closes and deletes that dialog. For fast switching, I create one instance of every dialog and minimize/maximize as necessary - so actually deleting any dialog causes serious problems!

 

Graying unavailable buttons: Again, point well-taken - I'll work it in.

 

Thanks again; I encourage you and everyone else to send me *all* of your comments - this kind of feedback is incredibly helpful for continued development.

 

David Stein, Esq.

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Interesting problem...

 

I used the trial version and liked it enough to purchase the full version. Now, my activation code will not activate anything except my rising blood pressure.

 

any hints on how to make it activate?

 

I have unloaded and reloaded the full version with no change in results..

 

most odd.

 

glenn

 

[This message was edited by *gln on August 17, 2003 at 04:46 AM.]

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quote:
Originally posted by *gln:

I used the trial version and liked it enough to purchase the full version. Now, my activation code will not activate anything except my rising blood pressure.


Glenn: I've been trying to reply via email, but my school's mail servers aren't accepting outgoing email... I suspect they're still having blackout blues.

 

Another person who registered had the same problem. It's really related to the way that Handango does its product activation. When you create an account with Handango, one of the pieces of information that it requires is the name of your PocketPC device. It then generates product activation codes based on that name. If you didn't give it the right name, or if the name of your device changed in the meantime, your activation code won't work.

 

I'm fairly certain that Handango has some procedures for this occurrence. Either you can send Handango the current name of your device and get a new code, or (less convenient) you can get a refund for your CacheDragon registration, change the device name in your profile, and then re-purchase it. I'd be happy to help with either; let me know if you need me to contact Handango, etc.

 

Another person who registered had the same problem. It's really related to the way that Handango does its product activation. When you create an account with Handango, one of the pieces of information that it requires is the name of your PocketPC device. It then generates product activation codes based on that name. If you didn't give it the right name, or if the name of your device changed in the meantime, your activation code won't work.

 

I'm fairly certain that Handango has some procedures for this occurrence. Either you can send Handango the current name of your device and get a new code, or (less convenient) you can get a refund for your CacheDragon registration, change the device name in your profile, and then re-purchase it. I'd be happy to help with either; let me know if you need me to contact Handango, etc.

 

David Stein, Esq.

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Hi David and other fellow Cachers'

 

Yes the "no power blues" were everywhere. Lucky me, I have the extra battery for the Dell and a power cord for the vehicle.

 

David, we are leaving for the Harley-Davidson 100th B'day party in Milwaukee on Monday the 25th, any chance the 1.09 or other will be available by then? (Going to grab a couple caches by motorcycle where in Wis) Just wondering, haven't been around Geocaching.com much this week to see whats new.

 

Thanks in advance,

Dave

Akron, Ohio

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quote:
Originally posted by David Stein:

Another person who registered had the same problem. It's really related to the way that Handango does its product activation. When you create an account with Handango, one of the pieces of information that it requires is the name of your PocketPC device. It then generates product activation codes based on that name. If you didn't give it the right name, or if the name of your device changed in the meantime, your activation code won't work.


I've *never* given them the name of my device and have never had any trouble purchasing from them.

 

And I'm just enough of a curmudgeon to quit buying from them entirely if they ever do make it an absolute requirement. The type device I own, or even more importantly, the DeviceID I've associated with it is none of their business.

 

-=BottomFeeder=-

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quote:
Originally posted by David Stein:

Another person who registered had the same problem. It's really related to the way that Handango does its product activation. When you create an account with Handango, one of the pieces of information that it requires is the name of your PocketPC device. It then generates product activation codes based on that name. If you didn't give it the right name, or if the name of your device changed in the meantime, your activation code won't work.


 

Well this pretty much just bites... i could have easily kept using the free trial version. Now nothing works...

 

glenn

really irritated with somebody but cant figure out just who... ....

 

**Glenn, St. Louis, Mo

SLAGALogo.gif

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quote:
Thank you for contacting Handango Customer Support! We have received your support question and will respond to you within 48 hours.

 

This nonsense is so totally irritating and unnecessary. I have changed my device name to everything under the sun. Un installed, reinstalled, many times... still nothing works. When they get a chance, someone may send a canned letter telling me to change the device name and reinstall. YaHoo, I just cant wait for that one to arrive.

 

If this ever gets resolved, thiis will be the last purchase from handigo I will make. There are too many other places to buy stuff without putting up their ration of unnecessary bull.

 

Glenn

even more irritated now than before.

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v1.09 is done! Now I just have to find a way to get it to you (my school's mailer, frustratingly, is still down.) I'm going to post this on Handango - registered users should download the registered version, non-registered users should download the trial version. It will be available from there in about 15 minutes.

 

To recap: The next real version - version 1.1 - is almost done; this is mainly a test to see if any glaring bugs are present (especially the crash-on-lock bug.) I believe this version is bug-free, and barring any serious flaws, version 1.1 will be released next weekend.

 

BigDaveOh: Have fun on the trip! Hopefully, v1.09 will be useful in the meantime.

 

Glenn and BottomFeeder: I should have been more clear - I meant the name of the owner of the device. Apologies for the lack of clarity; I've been working on this all weekend long, and my brain is a little fried...

 

Glenn: Let's get this problem resolved. If you will email me the owner name of your PocketPC, as it's listed on the Today Screen or in the Owner Information portion of the Settings dialog, I'll contact Handango to get some results. Surely, they'll get back to me more quickly!

 

BottomFeeder: Honestly, I didn't anticipate that anyone would have privacy concerns. I think that Handango has to have this information anyway, if only for billing purposes. Hopefully, this relieves at least some of your privacy concerns...

 

David Stein, Esq.

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Everyone:

 

It's fixed. I tried downloading it like you guys and ran into the same problem. Handango was apparently having some problems with their upload applet... I recompiled and re-sent both versions, and tried downloading it and installing it - worked like a charm.

 

Update: Check that - Handango is having serious file issues. 90% of the time, it sends broken zip files. I'll look into this and get back in a few minutes... don't bother downloading it just yet.

 

Update #2: It appears to be resolved. I downloaded the trial version five times in a row, and it sent working files each time... I'll be monitoring this thread closely over the next several hours, so please report any and all problems.

 

David Stein, Esq.

 

[This message was edited by David Stein on August 18, 2003 at 07:34 AM.]

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skries and DrSearch: The file operations are the only functions that differ between the trial version and the registered version. The trial version doesn't load or save user settings, doesn't save the database when you exit, and doesn't load or import more than 20 locations. Otherwise, the trial is fully functional.

 

As a consumer, I hate "crippled" trials - software that nags you to register it, or stops working, or offers only a limited number of features. The trial version of CacheDragon works perfectly, except for a few limitations on its file capabilities. I really couldn't think of a less intrusive way of making this a true "trial" version... if you can suggest one, let me know.

 

DrSearch: The Import button is now in the Database portion of the Options screen. I made a decision to move all of the database-maintenance functions to one place, since they really belong together, and this takes some clutter away from the Location Database screen.

 

David Stein, Esq.

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quote:
Originally posted by skries:

David, Is there only a trial version to eveluate! I'm a registered user for version 1.0.


Oh! - my apologies. You should be able to download the registered v1.09 from Handango. (I considered emailing this version directly to all registered users, but that seems like spam to me - especially since it's a 300kb attachment.)

 

Just go to Member Account, then select My Purchases. You'll see a list of all of the applications that you've purchased from Handango. If you just click on the name under "Product," it will take you to the registered-version download page. You won't need to uninstall the earlier version or input your registration code again - just install it and run it.

 

David Stein, Esq.

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icon_smile.gificon_smile.gif After MUCH work by David, my version 1.0 works well. icon_smile.gif Loads, took my reg. code and everything!! The registered and Trial version of 1.09 looks like it will do a lot of neat stuff but both are less than stable here. The "Save (notes) as Log" feature looks like it has possibilities.

 

The registered version of 1.09 gives the following errors:

 

On startup.. "Error Loading Database" then it loads it and runs.

On exit, even after doing nothing but getting to the Main menu screen. I get:

"Application CacheDragon has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down.

Program: CacheDragon.exe

Exception 0x0000002

Address: 0001b61c

 

I also cant save any settings in the registered version.

 

After all that gets working, Is there a way to:

1) include the last 4 digits of the GC wpt number with the name? We have a mix of people that only take the wtp numbers and others that edit to only the names. Neither one knows which cache the other is talking about.

 

2) be able to search the list quickly "nearest from this cache" ? That is handy when someone asks,, what next and is pretty handy feature in GPXview???

 

just wondering..

 

thanks for all the hard work. someday you can explain what use to program all this in and all the gorey details. :-)

 

Do you prefer notes to the forums or direct notes on bug reporting?

 

glenn

 

It sure is fun to be a beta tester!!

 

[This message was edited by *gln on August 18, 2003 at 12:30 PM.]

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WORKS! WORKS! On my Dell Axim, and Ambicomm CF GPS. Did seem a bit slow on the reception, had to lock sat's in another program and then come back into CD and up it came! Nice to see the map and my caches, if only 20. I'll be sure to register soon.

 

Anyone tried this with WM 2003 yet?

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quote:
After all that gets working, Is there a way to:

1) include the last 4 digits of the GC wpt number with the name? We have a mix of people that only take the wtp numbers and others that edit to only the names. Neither one knows which cache the other is talking about.


 

OK, I see how that works now. On the LOCATION DATABASE screen the search and sort windows open very small and only shows one other data field but the window scrolls to display all the choices. Maybe open the window larger?

 

So, a search on name, sort by waypoint will show the name AND the waypoint.

 

glenn

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Summary of the above/attention-conservation notice:

 

If you're having stability problems with v1.09, please try renaming your CacheDragon.ini and CacheDragon.db files and running CacheDragon again. If the instability goes away, then, obviously, those files are to blame. In that case, I'd like to figure out why, so kindly send them to me for scrutiny: djs10@cwru.edu Thanks very much!

 

David Stein, Esq.

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Wow, you guys seem as excited to have this working as I am!

 

For those who are having problems: I spent a good five hours yesterday working on forward-compatibility of databases and config files (so that files written with v1.0 work fine with v1.09/v1.1, etc.) I thought that this was flawless, but I'd have to identify this as the most likely culprit of instability. Try renaming your CacheDragon.db file (in Program FilesCacheDragon) and your CacheDragon.ini file (in Windows) to something else. If that solves your problem, we've found the cause - I'd ask that you send me the offending file(s) so I can see what they're messing up.

 

*gln: Yes, you've got it - just sort the field by waypoint. Whatever criterion you sort by appears right after the name in the list. Hint: If you sort by the same criterion twice, you get a reverse sort (e.g., Z through A.)

 

As for "Closest To This Cache": Interesting idea! I think I can do it fairly easily, too. I can expand sorting by "Distance" to be sorting by "Distance From Current" or "Distance From Selected Location"... shouldn't be hard at all! I'll work on it.

 

As for the search and sort windows opening larger: It's an oddity of PocketPC - all of the combo-box controls open that way; you only get two entries and a tiny set of arrows. Even if you have only one control on the entire screen, and at the very top of the screen, it opens with two entries. Quite frustrating - I'll have to see if I can find an alternative for that.

 

Gory details: Heh... I'll post 'em some other day, when we don't have some more pressing matters to discuss (like critical-error bugs!)

 

azmark: No word yet on Windows Mobile 2003. I had expected to pick up an iPaq 5550 for testing this, but every Best Buy in the Ohio area appears to be out of stock! Once someone has it in, I'll be doing some compatibility testing. Prediction is strongly positive, though: except for wireless networking, the changes between 2002 and 2003 are so minor that all apps should run with 100% compatibility (except that 2003 will run it faster.)

 

David Stein, Esq.

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Well david and gang'

 

Looks good! One tip, if you are already a Handango Registered member, then OK w/previous process to get 1.09. Me...not being a registered member, had to go to "Previous Orders" and enter the email address I used when I originally ordered 1.0, then I had to enter the order number, a 7 digit ID for your original purchase. The download was auto from there and really seems to work.

 

I'll post more tomorrow after chasing a few caches..

 

THANKS DAVID STEIN... I appreciate your effort !

 

Dave, Akron, Ohio

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I’ve tried everything (and every which way) and I can’t get a database to save. Even with as few as 12 records.

 

I’ve renamed the .ini and .db files. No luck. Error when loading database.

 

I’ve removed the app from my Dell, deleted all the files and re-installed V1.09. No luck. Same error.

 

The old version used to say saving data base when you exited but I don’t get that message now.

 

Also it won’t save my username.

 

Help us David you’re our only hope.

 

Sending files

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quote:
Originally posted by David Stein:

_Glenn_ and _BottomFeeder_: I should have been more clear - I meant the name of the owner of the device. Apologies for the lack of clarity; I've been working on this all weekend long, and my brain is a little fried...

 

_BottomFeeder:_ Honestly, I didn't anticipate that anyone would have privacy concerns. I think that Handango has to have this information anyway, if only for billing purposes. Hopefully, this relieves at least some of your privacy concerns...


 

Ok. I kinda wondered if you meant the owner name. But just to be clear, I *always* have privacy concerns.icon_smile.gif *Everyone* is on a 'need to know' basis.

 

And now that I think about it, I do recall having run into a similar problem once because, in my device, I choose to use a nickname for the first name in the 'owner' info. But obviously wen sending billing info to Handango, the nick won't allow the plastic to pass muster.

 

-=BottomFeeder=-

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I... am so stupid. icon_smile.gif

 

I have to take credit for the crashes here. I spent about four or five hours on Sunday evening making CacheDragon forwards-compatible with v1.0 files. In the process, I, um... inadvertently broke the file-save portion of v1.09. The (difficult, version-dependent) Read portion was perfect... but I didn't spend the 30 seconds to make the (easy, version-independent) Write portion work by the same rules. Sorry, guys - it's fixed...

 

Expect version 1.091 tomorrow morning. Also comes with a few other minor tweaks and improvements.

 

So here's my big revelation for the evening. You have all been terrifically supportive and eager to mess with the interim builds of CacheDragon. By the same token, while I'm proud of the progress that the app has made on all fronts since 1.0, I regret having gone two full months between releases. So... what I need are more regular beta-level builds. Handango is not the place to offer those for download. But - if I set up my own commercial website...

 

David Stein, Esq.

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Your commercial website, Would it be called:

 

"GeoDavidcachingSteinDragondotcom" ?

 

Just joking. I'll look for 1.091 and see if the database problem goes away. PS.... For all of your hard work..... I'll send you a pic of the Harley-Davidson 100th trip to Milwaukee where I intend to use CacheDragon to geocache. (I'll squeeze a few finds in on the trip)(H-D, Dell Axim, CacheDragon) Should be a nice photo!!

 

Thanks,

Dave, Akron, Ohio

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quote:
Originally posted by David Stein:

The trial version of CacheDragon works perfectly, except for a few limitations on its file capabilities. I really couldn't think of a less intrusive way of making this a true "trial" version... if you can suggest one, let me know.


How about what I do with CacheMaps: the unregistered version only loads 50 caches at a time, no maximum in number of times you are allowed to load after each other. Thus you can gain full functionality with some patience. And it only hampers the real users loading large GPX files.

 

BigBird icon_smile.gif

 

CMLogo_Transparent_Dark_Medium.gif

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David,

 

Downloaded registered version 1.09 'cause I have faith in ya. Handango, it seems, still has 1.09. Wasn't sure if you had posted 1.091 yet.

 

1. Having problems saving database like others. It seems as though when it gets an exception saving the db, it loses the registration code. If the db doesn't get saved, it remember the reg code. Is this what you would expect?

 

2. Application still isn't showing up in the program switcher I use. In an earlier post I mentioned it was by Resco; but I think I was mistaken. I believe it is part of the Omega One Battery Pack. The app DOES show in "Running Programs" under the Memory settings so you're at least part of the way there.

 

3. DB file mgmt and importing is kinda confusing now, maybe this is compounded by not being able to save the db and have it automatically re-opened on next startup.

 

4. Sorting needs to be case-insensitve (or at least have it as option). My guess is that most people (w/o compsci background like you and me) would expect to see "The Cat" and "the cat" to sort close to each other.

 

5. The Delete button on the database screen REALLY needs a confirmation window (i.e. Are you sure you want to delete?). It's destructive and it's so close to "View on Map" that a mistap and poof, a cache is gone.

 

6. I really wish you would rethink the issues about the [OK] button vs [Done], [Main Menu], etc. Few applications are successful at blazing new GUI trails. Again, menus would be really nice.....other graphic apps (MS Streets & Trips, for example) is able to trap clicks and show a menu at the same time.

 

7. The scroll bar on the database list box shows as the list is populated. In the Win32 API you can turn this off. This is both a cosmetic and performance enhancer. The list populates sooooo much faster without the repaints. Don't know if this is possible in the PPC API.

 

8. Saved app to memory card and it still can't locate the help files. Not a big deal but another buglet to add to the list.

 

9. It would be nice if the "Search" option wasn't just a "begins with" but also a "contains". Think about all the caches name "The So&So".

 

10. Set app up to autoload a gpx file. Exited the app and restarted it. It went thru the loading process but the database screen shows (300 locations, 0 shown). If you do a sort, the listbox really does get populated. From there on it seems to be okay.

 

11. Was able to the map screen into a mode where it took double taps to show the cache name (i.e. fly over help). Only happened once. Will take notice if I can get it happen again.

 

12. The map scale is somewhat confusing. Usually on a map if you see horizontal bar with a distance in it, the cited distance usually is related to the length of the bar. So, if the scale says "8.0 miles" you would expect that little bar to represent 8 miles, not that the width of the display is 8 miles. If the bar really did represent 8 miles, it would make it really nice to hold your stylus parallel to the bar and make a distance gestimate. Then you could measure off distances between caches, even if they were diagonal.

 

That's it for now. Keep up the good work! I appreciate your effort and how receptive you are to suggestions, issues, etc. I really think you've got a great start on this app and am thrilled to have to opportunity to help make suggestions and shape what your work becomes. Ahhhhh, life on the bleeding edge....

 

Timing is everything.

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David,

 

More issues in 1.09...

 

1. Problem editing in the Coords control on the "New" location dialog (maybe other places as well). I am trying to enter a new location (coords N36.06 W86.71). I thought I must be going nuts because every time I saved it and then went back in to edit it showed N36.60 W86.71. After some experimenting, it looks like it doesn't want to accept a leading 0 (zero) after the decimal place. Tried N36.03, got N36.30,etc. My guess is that you're having to parse the string and get the various components, i.e. "N", "36", "03". But if you convert "03" from a string to an int, you get "3". Leave the decimal where it is and convert ".03" and all is well.

 

2. Was able to get double entries in the location listbox. But it looks like there's only a single entry in the location database because when I delete one of the duplicates, the other can't be edited. Also, if the list shows a duplicate, a re-sort normalizes it. btw, if the list is sorted and you add or edit, it would be nice if the new location was inserted into the list at the correct location (based on the current sort order) rather than added at eol.

 

3. The map screen seems to slow expontentially with an increasing scale. I can appreciate why this is the case. And at 1024 or greater (maybe even 512 or 256), it's next to worthless. At one point, maybe 2048 or so I thought the thing was locked up because it took so long to respond. How about either a hard limit on the scale of maybe 512. Or at least a user defined maximum scale option.

 

4. Drop down lists can show more than 2 items at a time. Lots of other PPC apps do it. If it helps, in the Win32 API you do via the vertical height in SetWindowPos.

 

Thanks

 

Andy

 

Timing is everything.

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Haven't heard from David Stein for 2 days so he must have found time to have a real life.

 

Thanks to V1.09 the Holux 270 now works with the Dell.

 

Did notice something strange that didn't happen before. Every time I go to the map (with or without the GPS) it starts scrolling to the left. With the GPS is on I can tap Center and it brings back my location but I watch it scroll off of the screen again. There was one time 2 nights ago that this did not happen.

 

Anybody else get this?

 

Hope V1.091 come out today because I'm leaving on vacation and if it doesn't I'll have to go back to V1.0 so it saves my databases and screw the GPS.

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Sorry, everyone. My workplace was intensely busy here yesterday; this is the first moment I've had since my last post even to think about anything non-law-related.

 

I'm taking lunch in about 20 minutes - and my lunch will be a bowl of soup and a jam session with the compiler. I intend to have v1.091 up on Handango by, say, 2pm EST - I'll post here (and respond to comments above) when it's done.

 

David Stein, Esq.

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