Click-And-Drag on Map

[+Mitragorz]

I'm sure this has been suggested before, but I did a search and found nothing about it.

 

I think it would be neat if the maps had a feature where you could click-and-drag a box around caches and "Send To GPS" as a group.

 

For example: There's a county park near me that has about 40 caches (http://coord.info/map?ll=40.81663,-72.90399&z=14). It be great if I could bring up the map, make a box around all the caches, and send them to my GPS all at once. I mean, I guess I could make a PQ centered around a cache in the middle of the park with a radius of 1mi or so, but then I'd have to actually take the time to create the PQ and wait around to download it. I think a click-and-drag feature would be very user-friendly.

[+Lil Devil]

I mean, I guess I could make a PQ

Note that just below the icon legend on the left, there is a link to "Save As Pocket Query" - No muss, no fuss.

[+Mitragorz]

I do use that occasionally, but the flaw I see is that it gives me more caches than I want. Not that is such a thing as too many caches

 

If you go to this map: http://coord.info/map?ll=40.81577,-72.90545&z=15 you can see all the caches in the park, minus three in the extreme north portion. Say I'm going to this park and only want those park's caches... Using the "Save As Pocket Query" from that page gives me 61 caches. I'd still have to figure out a mileage to set the PQ at that will include all the caches in the parkwhile minimizing the ones on "the outside."

 

Say you bring up the next cache, and it's .6 away or so. You start walking towards it and .4 miles later - BOOM, chainlink fence. You just wasted precious caching time hunting a cache that you can't even get to. If only there were an easier way to cherry-pick the caches... a compromise between clicking each individual cache and a running a PQ

Edited April 1, 2012 by Mitragorz

[+StarBrand]

I assume that any rectangle you could draw on the map would have the same problem of including caches outside the park - unless the park itself was a perfect rectangle.

[+Mitragorz]

I assume that any rectangle you could draw on the map would have the same problem of including caches outside the park - unless the park itself was a perfect rectangle.

 

That's a silly assumption Did you look at the map I linked to above? The park's not a perfect rectangle (not by a long shot!), but it's entirely possible to fit all the park's caches into a single box. And I'd make a pretty safe bet that it's not the only park out there in which you could enclose all its caches in a single box.

 

 

 

 

And if you've got some really irregular-shaped park, and you CAN'T fit all the caches in a single box without including outside caches... well just make another box or two! I think that's a perfect example of why this is actually a GOOD idea!

 

 

Trying to visit multiple parks in one day? No problem!

 

 

 

And it's obviously not confined to parks only. It'd be an easy way to add caches from a specific area that you want to focus on:

 

 

 

I really don't think it's a bad idea. I honestly can't think of an easier way to add a bulk group of specific caches more efficiently. Much easier than trying to make a PQ accurate enough, and certainly fore efficient than clicking each one individually.

 

Of course, they'd have to add something like "CTRL" to the click and drag, or else you'd just pan the map. But that's an easy workaround right? I don't know, I'm not a computer guy I'd definitely imagine that it's doable. But really, what's easier than "click, drag, add to cache?"

 

EDIT: Speeling.

Edited April 2, 2012 by Mitragorz

[+Lil Devil]

Why can't you just load a city-full of caches into your GPS, then look at the map on your GPS to decide which ones are inside the park?

[+StarBrand]

If they fit in a rectangle. Adjust the map to that rectangle and do a PQ on the map.

[+Mitragorz]

Why can't you just load a city-full of caches into your GPS, then look at the map on your GPS to decide which ones are inside the park?

 

You could, but what I'm getting at is what if you don't want to load an entire city's worth of caches? Someone may not want to add 350 or 400 or however many caches to their GPS if they're only focusing on 35 or so. You'd still have to go through the process of setting up a PQ and waiting for it to be available for download. this would make the process much faster and allow you to have better control over what caches are downloaded to your GPS. Plus, I'm trying to avoid running PQs at all.

 

As far as the map on the GPS goes, I've seen some that have pretty crappy maps, or even no map at all!. I use a Colorado, which is normally pretty good at showing park boundaries. But I'm usually using a satellite overlay that covers all that. switching back-and-forth between maps would be a hassle.

 

And again, I'm not just suggesting this for use only with parks, but for any specific area that someone wants to focus on. And these are just things that would make my caching easier; I'm sure others would find good uses for this feature as well.

 

If they fit in a rectangle. Adjust the map to that rectangle and do a PQ on the map.

 

That was actually the first thing I tried before I made this thread. The PQ doesn't automatically set the radius to encompass only those caches that are seen. For example, take a look at this map: http://coord.info/map?ll=40.81665,-72.90399&z=15 . You see all 37 caches in the park, plus 3 that are outside. Forty total. If you shrink the sidebar, you can see another two. However, when you run the PQ from that map page, it comes up with 61 caches. I do agree that if we were able to run PQs for only what we see on-screen, it would negate the need for this feature. You'd still have to wait for it to become available, but it would definitely be a step in the right direction, and easier than the methods we've got now for trying to select a very specific area of caches.

 

EDIT: This just occurred to me: Regarding running a PQ from that map page, say that there's 7 or 8 different parks scattered around a city that you'd like to focus on. Running PQ from every map page, you'd overrun your five PQ-per-day allotment. Then you've got no choice but to add any remaining caches one-by-one!

Edited April 2, 2012 by Mitragorz

[+StarBrand]

...

EDIT: This just occurred to me: Regarding running a PQ from that map page, say that there's 7 or 8 different parks scattered around a city that you'd like to focus on. Running PQ from every map page, you'd overrun your five PQ-per-day allotment. Then you've got no choice but to add any remaining caches one-by-one!

You would have the same issue with your rectangles and transfers as those would be considered a PQ as well.

[+Mitragorz]

The way I'm imagining it is just like clicking "Send to GPS" as you would for a single cache, but for multiple caches at once. Clicking the "Send to GPS" button isn't considered a PQ, so I imagine this wouldn't be either. Highlight all the caches you want to send, then click a single "Send All to GPS" button. Know what I mean?

Edited April 3, 2012 by Mitragorz

[+NYPaddleCacher]

If they fit in a rectangle. Adjust the map to that rectangle and do a PQ on the map.

 

I also noticed when doing that it sets the radius to value which corresponds to the zoom level on the map. Rounding it up to an even number, or increasing it but .5 of a mile would put all the caches on the map, plus some, in a PQ. Drawing a bounding box to select a group of cache *would* be a nice feature but I fear that it would be dependent upon whether the API Groundspeak is using with Leaflet supports it. I could see it especially useful if multiple bounding box could be created to select several clusters of caches for a PQ.