Logging Multiple Finds

[+StealthRT]

Is there a program that allows one to bring in a PQ, and then automatically log multiple geocache finds onto the website?

 

I am not a fan of cut-and-paste, but I just had my first 200+ find day and it is simply appropriate in this situation. Before I trudge into this the only way I know how, I thought I should check and make sure there is no easier way to upload multiple find logs at once.

 

Thanks.

[+The Ravens]

Time to pay the fiddler.. eh? Talked to Larry today at noon. Sounds like you have more than 200 to log after your 10 day odyssey. Sounded like a blast!!! Need to see the pictures.

[+StarBrand]

Field Notes is abut as close as you are going to get.

 

I would hope you could still take a minute or two to write something about each cache.

[+paulbarratt]

Is there a program that allows one to bring in a PQ, and then automatically log multiple geocache finds onto the website?

 

I am not a fan of cut-and-paste, but I just had my first 200+ find day and it is simply appropriate in this situation. Before I trudge into this the only way I know how, I thought I should check and make sure there is no easier way to upload multiple find logs at once.

 

Thanks.

 

If you're going to cut and paste anyway why not just go into each listing???

 

If there was a program like that (and I think there must be somewhere) you would be hitting the site too much too fast and they will block you for a bit.

 

I'm a great believer in 'You found 'em, you log 'em' This is the trouble with power caching. If I did it (I won't, but I know a few that have done) I would log every find individually. But then again I use field notes so it's a bit easier.

Edited April 12, 2010 by paulbarratt

[+buttaskotch]

Not exactly what you are looking for but good when you have a lot to log:

http://boulter.com/geocaching/express/

[+StealthRT]

Time to pay the fiddler.. eh? Talked to Larry today at noon. Sounds like you have more than 200 to log after your 10 day odyssey. Sounded like a blast!!! Need to see the pictures.

Yes, indeed. Yes, indeed. Time to pay the fiddler, and the piper, and the taxman…

[+StealthRT]

Field Notes is abut as close as you are going to get.

 

I would hope you could still take a minute or two to write something about each cache.

Agreed on the writing of something specific.

 

Many of the caches that I did on my recent trip I will be writing very specific logs about and posting pictures. There are some stretches, however, where the cache placement and containers were not deserving of specific logs, unless something specific happened there. Like the one where a jeep almost rolled down a cliff face... With the ones I am looking to automate, I have spoken to the cache planters (yes, multiple) and know that they don't really wade so much into the logs written because of the enormity of the number of logs they get.

 

I was also hoping to go back through after the fact and even edit some of those I am talking about. I did take quite a few notes of things that happened. Just some of these aren't ever going to get more than a generic note even if I do every one by hand and when you are looking at 1000 logs and still have a life...

[GOF and Bacall]

Is there a program that allows one to bring in a PQ, and then automatically log multiple geocache finds onto the website?

 

I am not a fan of cut-and-paste, but I just had my first 200+ find day and it is simply appropriate in this situation. Before I trudge into this the only way I know how, I thought I should check and make sure there is no easier way to upload multiple find logs at once.

 

Thanks.

 

Lord I hope not.Take the time to give each cache owner a bit of pay back. While I will only give a cache the amount of logging effort it deserves I will log each one individually. The CO deserves that much just for taking the time to hide a cache.

[+StealthRT]

Is there a program that allows one to bring in a PQ, and then automatically log multiple geocache finds onto the website?

 

I am not a fan of cut-and-paste, but I just had my first 200+ find day and it is simply appropriate in this situation. Before I trudge into this the only way I know how, I thought I should check and make sure there is no easier way to upload multiple find logs at once.

 

Thanks.

 

If you're going to cut and paste anyway why not just go into each listing???

 

If there was a program like that (and I think there must be somewhere) you would be hitting the site too much too fast and they will block you for a bit.

 

I'm a great believer in 'You found 'em, you log 'em' This is the trouble with power caching. If I did it (I won't, but I know a few that have done) I would log every find individually. But then again I use field notes so it's a bit easier.

I probably am going to have to go into each listing. Just wanting to make sure I'm not finding out after the fact there is a more efficient way to log under this specific circumstance. Better to know now and spend 8 hours logging, than find out after 20 hours of logging.

 

I take great pride in my individual logs. That said, if the placement was boring, the container was boring, and the events that happened there were uninspired, I will to a basic generic log on occasion. Every cache has merit, just not every cache requires a book be written (IMO).

[+StealthRT]

Is there a program that allows one to bring in a PQ, and then automatically log multiple geocache finds onto the website?

 

I am not a fan of cut-and-paste, but I just had my first 200+ find day and it is simply appropriate in this situation. Before I trudge into this the only way I know how, I thought I should check and make sure there is no easier way to upload multiple find logs at once.

 

Thanks.

 

Lord I hope not.Take the time to give each cache owner a bit of pay back. While I will only give a cache the amount of logging effort it deserves I will log each one individually. The CO deserves that much just for taking the time to hide a cache.

Agreed, to a point. In the circumstance I am referring to, multiples of these caches were set out by the same CO, who I know. I have given them direct feedback verbally. My log will have enough information that anyone reading the log will get some information, but for many of these, the information and experience would be essentially redundant. Not all of them, but many of them. Just trying to ensure that there is no way to speed up that process before I plunge in.

 

For the other caches that I did, the logs will all be individual. And, if the cache was plain jane and nothing happened there, the log there will not include any embellishment.

[+bittsen]

What GPS were you using? If you were using a Colorado or Oregon, I can tell you an easier way.

[+BlueDeuce]

Field Notes is abut as close as you are going to get.

 

I would hope you could still take a minute or two to write something about each cache.

 

I think after 200+ caches I think my post would be "Hold on.... I gotta catch my breath...." and then something about my feet hurting.

[+sduck]

I use field notes, which i get from either my oregon 550t or from the geocaching app on my iphone. The latter is the easiest, and probably the closest to what you're looking for - just take a moment after every find to submit a field note from the phone (presuming you've got coverage - sometimes it has to wait). Then you can just go to your field notes page when you get to your computer, and lick on the compose log link, enter your log, and then the "you have more field notes" link takes you back to the field notes page, and repeat. It's not automatic, but it's pretty fast.

 

I try not to copy and paste all the time, but if I've got 10 or more, I do tend to use a generic first sentence, explaining how I got where I was caching, how the day went overall, or stuff like that, which is copied and pasted, but I always try to add on individual stuff for each cache, when applicable. Sorry, but lamp post caches in malls may not get the most personal log from me, most of the time (but that first one - wow!)

[+StealthRT]

Not exactly what you are looking for but good when you have a lot to log:

http://boulter.com/geocaching/express/

Thanks, buttaskotch, for tossing that site my way. I did not know it existed. I'm sure many would find that site a great help. You are right that in this case, with the way I kept track of my caches, I would not be able to take advantage of it, but what a cool script.

[+StealthRT]

What GPS were you using? If you were using a Colorado or Oregon, I can tell you an easier way.

I use an Oregon 400t.

[+StealthRT]

Field Notes is abut as close as you are going to get.

 

I would hope you could still take a minute or two to write something about each cache.

 

I think after 200+ caches I think my post would be "Hold on.... I gotta catch my breath...." and then something about my feet hurting.

Luckily I had just bought a new pair of Merrell’s just before going on this cache dash. Still, the feet were pretty worn out after all the caching I did. Actually, the entire me was worn out.

[+bittsen]

What GPS were you using? If you were using a Colorado or Oregon, I can tell you an easier way.

I use an Oregon 400t.

 

OK, the easiest way, assuming you marked "Found" on the caches on the GPS, is to edit your field notes.

 

To do this, open the file *:\Garmin\Geocache_visits.txt (or something similar. I'm telling you from memory) in notepad

 

In the geocache_visits.txt file, edit whatever you want to say in the last field between the quotation marks like so

 

GCXXXXX,2009-06-29T07:27Z,Found it,"Editable area"

GC code,Date and time,log type,"Editable area"

 

The editable area can be very long or short if you wish. DON'T USE CARRIAGE RETURNS IN YOUR TEXT

 

Then save the file.

 

Next upload the field notes with this page located at http://www.geocaching.com/my/uploadfieldnotes.aspx

 

Then use the field notes to log the caches from here http://www.geocaching.com/my/fieldnotes.aspx

 

On each page it will give you the option to return to the field notes page. If you do that instead of using the "back" button on your browser then it will delete each note you upload and is easy to do them.

 

For 200 logs it will still take a couple hours (possibly) but WAY faster than doing them one at a time by checking each ache page.

Edited April 13, 2010 by bittsen

[+Chrysalides]

Is there a program that allows one to bring in a PQ, and then automatically log multiple geocache finds onto the website?

It's fairly trivial to convert a GPX (XML) into a field notes file, but the geocaches will not be in the correct order. If you were to sort them all out manually (if that is important to you), remove those you couldn't find, and so on, you're probably better off clicking on each one individually.

 

Edit : OK, I see that bittsen told you how to use field notes. As long as you press "Log finds" on your GPSr after you've found it, there will be an entry. You may need to edit the file to remove earlier finds, if you've never deleted it before. It's easier to do it in a text editor on your computer than to do that online.

 

You should not encounter any problems if you use Notepad. The file looks like a plain ASCII text file but it is actually a 16 bit file. Editing it in Notepad is fine. Creating it from scratch is problematic.

 

Edit 2 : if you're in Central time zone, anything found between 7 p.m. and midnight is going to log as the next day. If you have finds during that time, you may want to edit the date in your field notes.

Edited April 13, 2010 by Chrysalides

[+dfx]

OK, the easiest way, assuming you marked "Found" on the caches on the GPS, is to edit your field notes.

 

To do this, open the file *:\Garmin\Geocache_visits.txt (or something similar. I'm telling you from memory) in notepad

....

Next upload the field notes with this page located at http://www.geocaching.com/my/uploadfieldnotes.aspx

 

Then use the field notes to log the caches from here http://www.geocaching.com/my/fieldnotes.aspx

hm, i'm gonna have to try that. we don't use a garmin device for geocaching, but we use beelineGPS, which also supports exporting the finds as a geocache_visits.txt file in the same format. i wasn't sure about the intended use of this file, so i wrote a short script that converts this file into a nice list of all caches, giving links to all caches including a direct link to the logging page (with the correct log type preselected) and the field notes, if any.

 

now i wonder if the gc.com feature to handle this file is more convenient than my script, or not...

[+Ahern Clan]

http://www.globalcaching.eu/GAPP/en

 

I've only used this 1-2x. Great for power trail logging. It's free but not very user friendly. Using Easy GPS, you import all 'selected' caches to log.

 

You'll have to play around with it because I haven't done this in about a year, so I don't want to give bad directions.

 

Good luck.

[knowschad]

haha!! I was wondering why everybody was saying "No", and "Gee, I hope not!" instead of pointing out GSAK's automatic logging. This thread has been bumped from 2010!

[knowschad]

http://www.globalcaching.eu/GAPP/en

 

I've only used this 1-2x. Great for power trail logging. It's free but not very user friendly. Using Easy GPS, you import all 'selected' caches to log.

 

You'll have to play around with it because I haven't done this in about a year, so I don't want to give bad directions.

 

Good luck.

 

Gotta admit... it looks like an interesting and powerful program.