Jump to content

Release Notes (Geocaching® app: Display of geocaches on map) - March 21, 2017


Recommended Posts

Read previous Release Notes

 

Release Notes (Geocaching® app) - March 21, 2017

 

With this release we updated how geocaches are displayed on the map for improved accessibility and easier identification of different geocache types.

 

4131b834-1096-4486-bab5-aed305689330.png

 

Additionally, cache owners can now submit Owner Maintenance, Disable, and Enable logs for their caches.

 

In every release, we also fix bugs and make other small improvements:

 


  •  

  • Devices will not go to sleep while navigating to a cache.
  • Caches on ignore lists won’t be displayed on the main geocache map and list view.
  • (Android only) Fixed a bug that prevented logs with larger images from posting.
  • (iPhone only) Fixed a bug that prevented the distance to a cache from updating.
  • (iPhone only) Drafts that are edited in the app will post correctly with the edited text.

 

Also, please note it may take up to two days for some users of the Geocaching® app for Android to have access to the update that includes this functionality.

 

Ben H from HQ’s Product Team is watching the thread to answer questions whenever possible.

 

Any posts in this thread should relate to features in this release. Please direct unrelated comments to other appropriate threads. Thanks!

Link to comment

Additionally, cache owners can now submit Owner Maintenance, Disable, and Enable logs for their caches.

Awesome! Since that's what I mainly use the app for, it just became usable for me. Thanks! :D

 

Btw, it would also be nice to be able to open disabled caches in the app (when trying to do that now, I get a message saying that the GC code is invalid), the enable log type is a lot more useful then ;)

Link to comment

Btw, it would also be nice to be able to open disabled caches in the app (when trying to do that now, I get a message saying that the GC code is invalid), the enable log type is a lot more useful then ;)

 

Are you seeing that behavior after the update? If so, it's a bug we'll need to fix. Obviously we know that you need to be able to open disabled caches in order to submit an enable log for them. ;)

Link to comment

Are you seeing that behavior after the update? If so, it's a bug we'll need to fix. Obviously we know that you need to be able to open disabled caches in order to submit an enable log for them. ;)

I'm still waiting to get the update available. But I guess you've fixed that as well then, awesome! :D

Link to comment

New iPhone 7 using iOS 10.2.1.

 

I really like the new icons, but it's now taking me a frustrating number of taps to choose one.

 

UPDATE: About 15 minutes later. It went from 5-7 taps to choose/open an icon, to opening the first tap. Not sure what changed, but I'm happy. Thanks for the new release!

Edited by geobirder
Link to comment

Btw, it would also be nice to be able to open disabled caches in the app (when trying to do that now, I get a message saying that the GC code is invalid), the enable log type is a lot more useful then ;)

 

Are you seeing that behavior after the update? If so, it's a bug we'll need to fix. Obviously we know that you need to be able to open disabled caches in order to submit an enable log for them. ;)

 

I've seen the same behaviour for newly published caches.

 

Pubished email comes in, click the hyperlink, app opens, invalid code message :blink:

Link to comment

New iPhone 7 using iOS 10.2.1.

 

I really like the new icons, but it's now taking me a frustrating number of taps to choose one.

 

UPDATE: About 15 minutes later. It went from 5-7 taps to choose/open an icon, to opening the first tap. Not sure what changed, but I'm happy. Thanks for the new release!

 

I'm glad that your issue seems to have resolved itself. Please let us know if you're experiencing it again. Frustration from non-responsive taps is certainly not the experience we're expecting people to have.

 

I've seen the same behaviour for newly published caches.

 

Pubished email comes in, click the hyperlink, app opens, invalid code message :blink:

 

This sounds like a temporary hiccup in our search indexing. As new caches are published, those caches need to be indexed in order to be searchable, which is of course required for them to be accessible in the app. During peak times there is a chance that the lag between publication and search availability could be slightly higher, but we're constantly working to minimize that gap.

 

How often has this occurred for you? How long after receiving the email have you encountered the problem? Any additional info might help us. Thanks!

Link to comment

I've seen the same behaviour for newly published caches.

 

Pubished email comes in, click the hyperlink, app opens, invalid code message :blink:

 

This sounds like a temporary hiccup in our search indexing. As new caches are published, those caches need to be indexed in order to be searchable, which is of course required for them to be accessible in the app. During peak times there is a chance that the lag between publication and search availability could be slightly higher, but we're constantly working to minimize that gap.

 

How often has this occurred for you? How long after receiving the email have you encountered the problem? Any additional info might help us. Thanks!

 

In all fairness I didn't jot down any useful/helpful data - sorry :(

 

It's happened probably half a dozen times in the past week or two.

 

I resorted to copying the URL from the email and pasting it into my android's web browser to get to the details of the cache in question.

 

If you're interested I can make a point of logging some specific data and bringing it back here - subject to new cache publications happening of course.

Link to comment

In the recently-closed release notes discussion, Ben H posted this:

 

Just curious, will this include the ability to search for disabled or archived caches (including ones you don't own)? Currently, if you search by the GC code of a disabled/archived cache, you get the message "Invalid code".

Yes, non-owners will be able to search by GC code for and view disabled caches. Disabled caches will also be viewable if they're already in a list/PQ/etc opened in the app. Like the classic app, disabled caches (other than owned disabled caches) will not show on the main geocache map in the app.

I wasn't sure whether this was an example of artful wording or if "disabled" also included archived caches, so I did a quick test after updating the app. It appears that you still get the incorrect message "Invalid code" when looking up an archived cache by GC code.

 

I'm curious whether HQ has their reasons for actively blocking the lookup of archived caches, or if this was just an oversight. Personally, I can think of a number of use-cases for looking up an archived cache, including (but not limited to):

  • It's referred to by another cache, like cases where one cache pays tribute to a predecessor
  • It's part of a series/puzzle and information from the archived listing is required
  • Discussion at events (e.g. "Hey, when did I find that cache?" or "I want to look up that interesting log/photo I remember seeing on this cache")

Something else came to mind as I was typing this, so I did another test. I made a new list and added an archived cache to it via the website. When I look at this list in the app, the cache is visible in the list, but greyed out and with the notation "Archived", which is what I would expect. However, tapping on it gives no response. That is, it's impossible to open it and read when/why it was archived or get any other information from it.

 

I'm not saying these caches should be available on the map (obviously they shouldn't), but it just seems strange to me to actively block archived caches to the point that the app almost acts like the cache never existed. My opinion is that they should be treated the same way disabled caches are in the latest version, but maybe with a popup warning if someone starts navigating to one.

Link to comment

I do not have the update. Is it going to be pushed out or do I need to go to the site and download?

 

If you're an iPhone user, the update should be available to you now. As mentioned in the OP, it may take up to two days for some Android users to have access to the update.

Link to comment

In all fairness I didn't jot down any useful/helpful data - sorry :(

 

It's happened probably half a dozen times in the past week or two.

 

I resorted to copying the URL from the email and pasting it into my android's web browser to get to the details of the cache in question.

 

If you're interested I can make a point of logging some specific data and bringing it back here - subject to new cache publications happening of course.

 

It could actually be quite helpful of you'd report a bit more info. I'm most interested to know whether it happens every time you open and email or just sometimes. If only sometimes, it would be great to know the details of those times. Thanks!

Link to comment

In all fairness I didn't jot down any useful/helpful data - sorry :(

 

It's happened probably half a dozen times in the past week or two.

 

I resorted to copying the URL from the email and pasting it into my android's web browser to get to the details of the cache in question.

 

If you're interested I can make a point of logging some specific data and bringing it back here - subject to new cache publications happening of course.

 

It could actually be quite helpful of you'd report a bit more info. I'm most interested to know whether it happens every time you open and email or just sometimes. If only sometimes, it would be great to know the details of those times. Thanks!

 

Well a new cache was published just now (10:38 GMT) - and opened immediately in the app.

Edited by Team Microdot
Link to comment

Btw, it would also be nice to be able to open disabled caches in the app (when trying to do that now, I get a message saying that the GC code is invalid), the enable log type is a lot more useful then ;)

 

Are you seeing that behavior after the update? If so, it's a bug we'll need to fix. Obviously we know that you need to be able to open disabled caches in order to submit an enable log for them. ;)

I see I was a bit too quick with this one :D

 

The update finally found its way to my phone now. And I honestly have to say I'm a bit impressed.

Both finding my own disabled caches, and opening them, are now easier than ever before.

 

I've not been too positive about the new app until now (like most Norwegians*), but it looks like you've listened to our feedback (at least the bit I needed the most :laughing: ).

 

I love that you've replaced the normal Found it/DNF/Note-selection with the owner logs on my own caches! That was way better than what I expected. Now it doesn't just give me the same as the old app, it does it in a better way.

 

The map also feels a lot faster, and the overall feel is a lot better. I can also open the map when navigating to a cache now, awesome! That's something I've been missing those few times when I use the app to navigate to a cache (which I only do on FTF hunts). That might have been possible since the last update, I don't go on FTF hunts that often :P

 

I still don't think you're quite there yet (attributes, etc) - but you're getting really close! Keep up the good work, and please don't stop listening to our feedback :)

 

* This video about Norwegians have been made by the Norwegian Public Broadcasting Corporation:

:laughing:
Link to comment

Additionally, cache owners can now submit Owner Maintenance, Disable, and Enable logs for their caches.

Awesome! Since that's what I mainly use the app for, it just became usable for me. Thanks! :D

 

Btw, it would also be nice to be able to open disabled caches in the app (when trying to do that now, I get a message saying that the GC code is invalid), the enable log type is a lot more useful then ;)

 

Hi - was hoping to disable one of my caches but unable to do so from current app.

No sign of other app features I keep being told about, either.

Using Android on Galaxy S3, and suspect not updated at all; showing as 4.4.1

Only option given is to uninstall, not update.

Premium member; not sure where to go from here...?

Link to comment

A lively discussion of Metric / Imperial distance units settings blossomed here in the Release Notes thread. I have split these posts off into a separate thread. As a reminder, from the opening post for every Release Notes thread: "Any posts in this thread should relate to features in this release. Please direct unrelated comments to other appropriate threads. Thanks!"

Link to comment

I appreciate the on going improvements but I am still waiting to access my logs on my iPhone. When I am out doing a bunch of finds it would be nice to go back and see what I accomplished that day. I also miss seeing my souvenirs pop in when I earn one.

Edited by barblonholden
Link to comment

I see I was a bit too quick with this one :D

 

The update finally found its way to my phone now. And I honestly have to say I'm a bit impressed.

Both finding my own disabled caches, and opening them, are now easier than ever before.

 

I've not been too positive about the new app until now (like most Norwegians*), but it looks like you've listened to our feedback (at least the bit I needed the most :laughing: ).

 

I love that you've replaced the normal Found it/DNF/Note-selection with the owner logs on my own caches! That was way better than what I expected. Now it doesn't just give me the same as the old app, it does it in a better way.

 

The map also feels a lot faster, and the overall feel is a lot better. I can also open the map when navigating to a cache now, awesome! That's something I've been missing those few times when I use the app to navigate to a cache (which I only do on FTF hunts). That might have been possible since the last update, I don't go on FTF hunts that often :P

 

I still don't think you're quite there yet (attributes, etc) - but you're getting really close! Keep up the good work, and please don't stop listening to our feedback :)

 

* This video about Norwegians have been made by the Norwegian Public Broadcasting Corporation:

:laughing:

 

Thanks for the kind words and the amusing video. :D

 

Hi - was hoping to disable one of my caches but unable to do so from current app.

No sign of other app features I keep being told about, either.

Using Android on Galaxy S3, and suspect not updated at all; showing as 4.4.1

Only option given is to uninstall, not update.

Premium member; not sure where to go from here...?

 

Hi Beechtrees. You may need to update your Android OS in order to update to the newest version of our app. Currently, you need to have Android version 4.4 (KitKat) or later to use our latest releases. Version 4.4.1 of our app - the version you have - is the last version we released that supported Android versions 4.1-4.3.1 (Jelly Bean). Please let us know if you do have Android 4.4 or later and you're still unable to update the Geocaching app.

Link to comment

Hi

I am using an iPhone 4s for caching.

Mostly I save lists for caching offline, as many places we go have no mobile phone signal.

On the new app I am unable to do this on my phone.

My wifes iPhone 5 allows this.

I am a premium member.

Does this mean I have to purchase a new phone just to carry on caching.

Thanks

Dentoz

Link to comment

Hi

I am using an iPhone 4s for caching.

Mostly I save lists for caching offline, as many places we go have no mobile phone signal.

On the new app I am unable to do this on my phone.

My wifes iPhone 5 allows this.

I am a premium member.

Does this mean I have to purchase a new phone just to carry on caching.

Thanks

Dentoz

Are you running iOS 9 on your iPhone 4S? The Geocaching® app is backwards compatible only to iOS 9, which should run on an iPhone 4s (but not on an iPhone 4).

Link to comment
So does this mean I have to get a new phone to carry on caching?
Not at all. There are other ways to go geocaching, for example:

Geocaching.com Presents: “Geocaching Without GPS”

I know that!

Seriously!

Or, if you're out with your wife and she can bring up the cache on her phone, then you could type the cache's coordinates into Google Maps or another GPS app to help you find the cache. I don't know what GPS apps are available for your phone, so you'd have to do a search in the app store.

 

You could also look at other Geocaching apps to see if they'll run on your iOS version.

Link to comment

Today I discovered a very annoying bug in the new app.

All logs I saved as draft first have the wrong date when I submit them.

All logs are saved with a date 1 day earlier.

I make a short note in the field and complete the logs the same evening.

I had to change the dates of about 100 logs by hand.

Probably a time zone problem since I live in Europe.

Edited by Willem Pijper
Link to comment

Today I discovered a very annoying bug in the new app.

All logs I saved as draft first have the wrong date when I submit them.

All logs are saved with a date 1 day earlier.

I make a short note in the field and complete the logs the same evening.

I had to change the dates of about 100 logs by hand.

Probably a time zone problem since I live in Europe.

 

I had this happen today also. The log draft was created April 1 @ 9:20am EST, and then officially sent about 2 minutes later. When I got home, I noticed the web page showed March 31 as the date found. I was able to amend the date online.

Link to comment

I like the new icons. It makes it much easier for me to distinguish the cache types and hopefully it's also helping those with color blindness. Even I had trouble distinguishing between green and blue dots before, and I'm not even color blind.

 

Looking forward to more updates to the app.

 

One I'd like to see is:

-- When clicking on an icon, the cache info preview shows favorites, distance, trackables. I think it would be helpful to include D, T, Size in that preview. It would allow cachers to quickly evaluate important aspects of a cache without having to load up the individual cache's info. For example, if a cacher is looking to drop a TB and wants to make sure a cache in their path is big enough. OR, if a cache icon is close to water, but it's not clear whether it's a T5 and needs to be accessed from water or is accessible from shore.

Link to comment

I had the first opportunity to use Drafts on the App today and all worked well thank you. I was quite surprised to find that when logging a find in draft mode the cache Icon in the list didn't change to a Smilely, I found it very difficult to know if I had logged the cache properly because the draft find was in a different place, which is where I think it should be, but I think it would be helpful to indicate that the cache has been found but the log is in draft some how, I hope that you are able to do something about that. When I go away for a period and i am off line, I need to be able to see the caches that I have found, even if not posted to the website just yet. The other smaller point, is that there is no way to publish all the logs in one go.

 

The App is coming on well, keep up the excellent work. I actually use it in conjunction with a GPS. I use my GPS for finding and then log straight to the App.

Link to comment

I had the first opportunity to use Drafts on the App today and all worked well thank you. I was quite surprised to find that when logging a find in draft mode the cache Icon in the list didn't change to a Smilely, I found it very difficult to know if I had logged the cache properly because the draft find was in a different place, which is where I think it should be, but I think it would be helpful to indicate that the cache has been found but the log is in draft some how, I hope that you are able to do something about that. When I go away for a period and i am off line, I need to be able to see the caches that I have found, even if not posted to the website just yet. The other smaller point, is that there is no way to publish all the logs in one go.

 

The App is coming on well, keep up the excellent work. I actually use it in conjunction with a GPS. I use my GPS for finding and then log straight to the App.

 

I was wondering if GS had and views on this post?

Link to comment

I had the first opportunity to use Drafts on the App today and all worked well thank you. I was quite surprised to find that when logging a find in draft mode the cache Icon in the list didn't change to a Smilely, I found it very difficult to know if I had logged the cache properly because the draft find was in a different place, which is where I think it should be, but I think it would be helpful to indicate that the cache has been found but the log is in draft some how, I hope that you are able to do something about that. When I go away for a period and i am off line, I need to be able to see the caches that I have found, even if not posted to the website just yet. The other smaller point, is that there is no way to publish all the logs in one go.

 

The App is coming on well, keep up the excellent work. I actually use it in conjunction with a GPS. I use my GPS for finding and then log straight to the App.

 

I was wondering if GS had and views on this post?

 

Hi there. Thanks for the feedback. We tested some early prototypes of this feature where caches with a found it draft were shown as smileys. Unfortunately, doing that ended up confusing more users than it helped. That said, we know that as you've mentioned it's important to know which caches you've finished for now once you've creatied a draft for them. For that reason, our next release will include an update to show a different map pin for caches which you've saved a draft for. Hopefully that will address the situation you've described.

Link to comment

I had the first opportunity to use Drafts on the App today and all worked well thank you. I was quite surprised to find that when logging a find in draft mode the cache Icon in the list didn't change to a Smilely, I found it very difficult to know if I had logged the cache properly because the draft find was in a different place, which is where I think it should be, but I think it would be helpful to indicate that the cache has been found but the log is in draft some how, I hope that you are able to do something about that. When I go away for a period and i am off line, I need to be able to see the caches that I have found, even if not posted to the website just yet. The other smaller point, is that there is no way to publish all the logs in one go.

 

The App is coming on well, keep up the excellent work. I actually use it in conjunction with a GPS. I use my GPS for finding and then log straight to the App.

 

I was wondering if GS had and views on this post?

 

Hi there. Thanks for the feedback. We tested some early prototypes of this feature where caches with a found it draft were shown as smileys. Unfortunately, doing that ended up confusing more users than it helped. That said, we know that as you've mentioned it's important to know which caches you've finished for now once you've creatied a draft for them. For that reason, our next release will include an update to show a different map pin for caches which you've saved a draft for. Hopefully that will address the situation you've described.

 

Hi Ben

 

I really appreciate your reply, but I feel very strongly that you need to also have a different icon in the lists. Maps are not the only place that seeing the smiley is important and key to the usability of the drafts. I really would urge you to re-consider your decision, I can understand why people could get confused if the smiley was the exactly the same although not entirely, if you have found a cache you have found a cache at the end of the day. A smiley isn't to say that you have logged it, but knowing it was in draft still would be of benefit. How about a smiley with that little mustard colored dot that is starting to appear in various places now, if that was perhaps somehow incorporated, or perhaps a slightly lighter shaded yellow that kind of thing. I thought drafts was brilliant other than missing this important feature. I hope that you are able to incorporate this request going forward.

 

Link to comment

I had the first opportunity to use Drafts on the App today and all worked well thank you. I was quite surprised to find that when logging a find in draft mode the cache Icon in the list didn't change to a Smilely, I found it very difficult to know if I had logged the cache properly because the draft find was in a different place, which is where I think it should be, but I think it would be helpful to indicate that the cache has been found but the log is in draft some how, I hope that you are able to do something about that. When I go away for a period and i am off line, I need to be able to see the caches that I have found, even if not posted to the website just yet. The other smaller point, is that there is no way to publish all the logs in one go.

 

The App is coming on well, keep up the excellent work. I actually use it in conjunction with a GPS. I use my GPS for finding and then log straight to the App.

 

I was wondering if GS had and views on this post?

 

Hi there. Thanks for the feedback. We tested some early prototypes of this feature where caches with a found it draft were shown as smileys. Unfortunately, doing that ended up confusing more users than it helped. That said, we know that as you've mentioned it's important to know which caches you've finished for now once you've creatied a draft for them. For that reason, our next release will include an update to show a different map pin for caches which you've saved a draft for. Hopefully that will address the situation you've described.

 

Hi Ben

 

I really appreciate your reply, but I feel very strongly that you need to also have a different icon in the lists. Maps are not the only place that seeing the smiley is important and key to the usability of the drafts. I really would urge you to re-consider your decision, I can understand why people could get confused if the smiley was the exactly the same although not entirely, if you have found a cache you have found a cache at the end of the day. A smiley isn't to say that you have logged it, but knowing it was in draft still would be of benefit. How about a smiley with that little mustard colored dot that is starting to appear in various places now, if that was perhaps somehow incorporated, or perhaps a slightly lighter shaded yellow that kind of thing. I thought drafts was brilliant other than missing this important feature. I hope that you are able to incorporate this request going forward.

 

I neglected to mention that caches with drafts will also be badged in list views starting in the next release.

Link to comment

I hope that you don't mind me posting this here, but I tend to get a good response from GS HQ. I was just wondering if there are any plans to provide a user preference setting for downloading off line data so that the user can choose to down load just the data for the geocache without downloading the offline map data as well.

 

Thanks

Link to comment

Do you have a solution for the compass not working on android phones? I have a Samsung s5.

 

Can you explain more what is happening with your compass? Also, what version of the app and Android operating system are you using? Thanks!

Link to comment

Do you have a solution for the compass not working on android phones? I have a Samsung s5.

 

Can you explain more what is happening with your compass? Also, what version of the app and Android operating system are you using? Thanks!

 

The compass does not work at all. Android version 6.0.1. App version I think it is 4.0.

Link to comment

For the life of me, I can't seem to find the "Draft Logs" function in the app. I see on my profile page where they would show up, if only I could do a draft log on the phone. Can you help me find the right place? I seem to be using v4.9 of the app.

See the first post in the last release note thread at http://forums.Ground...howtopic=343337 . Does that info help?

With this release, we have added Drafts, a cross-platform queue of unfinished logs. Drafts you create in the Geocaching® app are automatically saved to your account so you can finish them later in the app or on Geocaching.com. This feature was formerly known as Field Notes.

To create a Draft in the Geocaching® app

Go to the cache details page.

Select your log type (Found It, DNF, Write Note) and toggle from logging mode to drafting mode.

Select Save.

To return to a Draft in the Geocaching® app

Tap the ( ☰ ) menu.

Select Drafts.

Tap the Draft to edit it, or select the (⋯) menu to delete or post the log.

To return to a Draft on Geocaching.com

Make sure you're logged into your geocaching account.

Click Play from the main menu.

Click Drafts.

To return to a Draft from

Scroll down the sidebar menu until Drafts.

Click Access your Drafts.

Link to comment

OK, thanks. I know I've done app updates in iTunes at least twice since March 7. No idea why I haven't updated. But I did go into the App Store on the phone today, found that there was a Geocaching app update. I downloaded it, and found the "Draft" button when logging. I've tested it, and it works for me. Then, later, I go back to iTunes on my laptop, and there's no Geocaching app there to update to. I'm concerned now that if I sync my phone to the laptop, I'll get the previous version back on the phone, instead of the new one. Call me paranoid.

 

Elaine Poe

TxStrawberryCreek

Link to comment

Sad that the new app won't work on my hubby's phone. Just got him upgraded from a flip phone to a 3G last summer. The only reason he did that was for geocaching. I'm a premium member but I can't tell if this version reflects that. Yes, to be honest I haven't had much time to play with it yet.

Link to comment
Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
×
×
  • Create New...