Watcher/Easy GPS help

[+Cacheola Crew]

I've got a list from a pocket query in WATCHER. I put green checks on the ones I wanted to keep on the list. I hit filters and only thos showed up. So far, so good. I saved this list by using a .gpx extension.

 

I want to try and download those coordinates into my GPS. I tried to open up my list with Easy GPS, but it comes up blank. I then tried to save my list again, this time using an .loc extension. Still a blank list when I try to open from Easy GPS. But when I go in watcher, my pared down list is there.

 

What did I do wrong. Anyone have a step-by-step tutorial on how to get the caches from the Watcher list into your GPS. (I don't have a PDA).

 

Thanks,

Janine

Cacheola Crew Mom

 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Geocaching-HamptonRoadsVA/join

 

"You have brains in your head; You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

You're on your own. And you know what you know.

And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...."

Dr. Seuss

[+The Leprechauns]

From the Watcher Help Page at www.clayjar.com:

 

quote:

---

Saving GPX Files

 

Saving files: Saving of files allows you to make a custom GPX which includes only the caches you want listed. To save all currently listed caches to a new, custom GPX file, either select Save As from the File menu, or click this button on the toolbar. Any filtered caches that do not show on the main Watcher window will not be included in the saved GPX file. Saved files preserve the currently sorted order that the main screen displays which makes for easy custom export to other devices and formats.

 

Note: currently there is an issue with EasyGPS which makes it incapable of correctly reading the GPX files generated by Watcher. To get around this issue, after saving the file with Watcher, reopen it in Window's WordPad or other suitable text editor, and replace all instances of "/>" with " />". Note the added space.

---

This sounds a bit technical but once you do it a few times, it's a 2-minute process at most. Use the "replace all" option.... you do not need to go through each occurrence of /> separately. Once you do this step you will be able to see all the waypoints in EasyGPS.

 

The Watcher help document is a great reference. Read it and it's almost guaranteed that you'll find new uses for Watcher.

 

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Next time, instead of getting married, I think I'll just find a woman I don't like and buy her a house.

[+Cacheola Crew]

Thank you. I did read that and it did sound pretty technical. Thanks for the hint about the replace all option.

 

I didn't even know I had "wordpad" on my computer.

 

It seems to have worked.

 

Janine

Cacheola Crew

 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Geocaching-HamptonRoadsVA/join

 

"You have brains in your head; You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

You're on your own. And you know what you know.

And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...."

Dr. Seuss

[+ClayJar]

Incidentally, I got back in touch with Dan, and he looked into it and found a small buglet in EasyGPS that had slipped through last time. A *completely* fixed EasyGPS should be out soon.

 

My apologies for the continued delay. I should've caught the buglet earlier, but since I don't use EasyGPS, it slipped my mind. (I have a Meridian and can copy the files directly.)

 

Anyway, the workaround is currently still required, but it should become unnecessary soon. (Oh, and if you ever need to ask a Watcher question, there's almost always someone in the geocaching chat who can either help or pass it on.)

 

[[[ ClayJar Networks ]]]

Home of Watcher downloads, Official Geocaching Chat, and the Geocache Rating System

[+Team GPSaxophone]

So, which file do we download to install Watcher? Your list isn't really user-friendly.

 

 Parent Directory                         06-May-2003 17:21      -   FeaturePresentation.html                 17-Feb-2003 19:28     1k   Help.html                                01-Apr-2003 20:17    28k   Louisiana.gpx                            19-Dec-2002 17:45   971k   Watcher-0.1.31.setup.exe                 26-Feb-2003 19:28   591k   Watcher-0.1.32.no_setup.exe              27-Mar-2003 21:30   552k   Watcher-0.1.32.setup.exe                 27-Mar-2003 21:30   592k   Watcher-0.1.33.no_setup.exe              01-Apr-2003 20:21   552k   Watcher-0.1.33.setup.exe                 01-Apr-2003 20:21   593k   Watcher-0.1.34.no_setup.exe              24-Apr-2003 21:53   616k   Watcher-0.1.34.setup.exe                 24-Apr-2003 21:54   612k   Watcher-0.1.35.no_setup.exe              26-Apr-2003 19:05   620k   Watcher-0.1.35.setup.exe                 26-Apr-2003 19:06   612k   Watcher-0.1.36.no_setup.exe              08-May-2003 22:08   660k   Watcher-0.1.36.setup.exe                 08-May-2003 22:08   622k   Watcher-0.1.37.no_setup.exe              02-Aug-2003 16:41   716k   Watcher-0.1.37.setup.exe                 02-Aug-2003 16:41   637k   Watcher-0.1.38.no_setup.exe              03-Aug-2003 18:54   736k   Watcher-0.1.38.setup.exe                 03-Aug-2003 18:55   643k   images/                                  01-Apr-2003 20:16      -   misc/                                    04-Apr-2003 23:43      -   old/                                     26-Feb-2003 19:20      -   pics/                                    04-Jul-2003 02:10      -   pre/                                     03-Aug-2003 18:35      -    

 

Took sun from sky, left world in eternal darkness

[+Stunod]

More than likely you want Watcher-0.1.38.setup.exe

 

"Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

[+EScout]

Or,

use GPSBabel to convert the .gpx to .loc format, and it will allow EasyGPS to load the waypoints into your Magellan.

[+Cacheola Crew]

Okay, this has been like a two day evolution to get caches along the route. It probably would've been easier for me to just print out all the cache pages that I wanted.

 

However, I am considering this to be a learning experience for our next trip which is going to be longer, so I need to find out something else (checked chat, noone there tonight)

 

Here's my current problem:

 

I have merged several "Pocket Query Lists". However, all the caches I want to download to my GPS are not on the pocket query lists, because there were a few places we'll be travelling across that I did not do a pocket query on, since there was only 3 or 4 caches. Now, I would like to add those three or four caches to my Watcher list, so that everything for the whole trip is on one list. (and then I can do the find/replace thing that Lep showed me and have them all entered into the GPS)

 

I went to the hide and seek page put in the zip code and then marked and downloaded only the the ones that I wanted. However, when I try to get those ones into watcher, it says I cannot because they do not have the proper GPX extension. "load aborted"

 

I tried just changing the extension, but that didn't work either. Again, I know that I could technically just print out the cache pages for those few that I have that aren't on the pocket queries, but as I mentioned, I am considering it a learning experience, and would like to know if it CAN be done.

 

If you do know how to do it, could you outline it as if you were explaining it to a 6-year old. (No, wait, they probably know more about computers than I do).

 

Janine

Cacheola Crew Mom

 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Geocaching-HamptonRoadsVA/join

 

"You have brains in your head; You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

You're on your own. And you know what you know.

And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...."

Dr. Seuss

[+smithdw]

Download GPSBabel and use it to convert the .loc files you saved from the cache pages to .gpx file. Then Watcher will load them in using Merge.

 

"The best way to accelerate a Macintosh is at 9.8m/sec/sec."

-Marcus Dolengo

[+Cacheola Crew]

Is there any reason why some of my lists are coming out double spaced with the N and W coordinates on separate lines, and some of my lists came out single spaced with the coordinates all on one line? In both instances, I set my printing to "landscape".

 

I'd prefer the single spaced format, just to save paper.

 

Janine

 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Geocaching-HamptonRoadsVA/join

 

"You have brains in your head; You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

You're on your own. And you know what you know.

And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...."

Dr. Seuss

[+ClayJar]

quote:

---

Originally posted by smithdw:

Download http://gpsbabel.sourceforge.net/ and use it to convert the .loc files you saved from the cache pages to .gpx file. Then Watcher will load them in using Merge.

---

Incorrect. Watcher is made to load Pocket Query GPX files. GPX files converted from other sources, including .loc files, do not have all the required information in them to be used by Watcher.

 

This is a design decision with Watcher. I don't charge for it because it's only useful to Geocaching.com paid members. It's my way of supporting the site. (Of course, with all the time and effort I've put into Watcher, I am very grateful anytime a generous cacher uses the Watcher Tip Jar link at the bottom of the main window. I don't get rich, but I get to go out to a movie or buy more trinkets every once in a while, and a happy coder is a productive coder.)

 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Cacheola Crew:

Is there any reason why some of my lists are coming out double spaced with the N and W coordinates on separate lines, and some of my lists came out single spaced with the coordinates all on one line?

---

You apparently are right around the limits of what will fit on a line. If you turned off a column, you'd probably fit without a problem, but if you want all the columns, about all you can do is try changing your printer's margins (the reverse of the Term Paper Principle).

 

There's nothing in the code currently to line-lock the coordinates, but if it's something that you'd really find useful, it can probably be added *fairly* easily. I'd just have to figure out where to put such options. Probably, I'd need a new preferences window, if I were to add such things.

 

Anyway, if you really would find it useful, feel free to suggest it. brdad usually handles the suggestions for me (so I don't have to try to remember them), so you can tell him in the chat.

 

[[[ ClayJar Networks ]]]

Home of Watcher downloads, Official Geocaching Chat, and the Geocache Rating System

[+Cacheola Crew]

Not sure how to change the printer margins. Is there a setup menu within Watcher? I looked but cannot see it.

 

The funny thing about it is that The list that came out single spaced, is the one that had a full cache list. Then when I filtered and selected caches, it came out double spaced. So, it actually took more pages to do the filtered list than the full list. And I didn't change any columns. The only thing different between the two was the check marks to select.

 

Janine

 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Geocaching-HamptonRoadsVA/join

 

"You have brains in your head; You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

You're on your own. And you know what you know.

And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...."

Dr. Seuss

[+BigBirdNL]

Use CacheMaps and all these problems don't show up.

It used GPX or Loc files as input.

It allows you to show all details using Watcher (given that you used GPX as input).

It allows you to send waypoints to EasyGPS without problems.

It allows you to send waypoints to your GPSr directly.

It allows you to retreive masp without converting or re-typing coords.

It allows you a lot more!

 

BigBird

 

CacheMaps homepage