[Avernar]

While I really like the new beta maps I much prefer the old map PQ preview. The new one just seems too cluttered with all the caches showing.

What do you think?

[Spraginator]

Avernar, on 24 May 2011 - 11:31 AM, said:

While I really like the new beta maps I much prefer the old map PQ preview. The new one just seems too cluttered with all the caches showing.

What do you think?

+1

[dfx]

I like it, but I agree that the markers could be more subtle and less obtrusive.

[jholly]

I like it. I like the balloons. Easy enough to toggle off when not wanted. And the old style display is still available. I personally think they got it right.

[Avernar]

jholly, on 24 May 2011 - 12:15 PM, said:

I like it. I like the balloons. Easy enough to toggle off when not wanted. And the old style display is still available. I personally think they got it right.

Toggling them on and off is not the issue. And at closer zoom levels it's not that bad and I could probably get used to it.

The main issue for me is when you start zooming out. All the caches that the balloons are "attached" to are lost in a sea of boxes. You can't tell what types they are. You can't click on them and get their info.

Here's an example:

This post has been edited by Avernar: 24 May 2011 - 10:47 PM

[Avernar]

jholly, on 24 May 2011 - 12:15 PM, said:

And the old style display is still available.

For now. If I knew for certain that the old style preview would not be removed once the beta maps stop being beta then I wouldn't have an issue.

[GeoGeeBee]

Avernar, on 24 May 2011 - 10:21 PM, said:

The main issue for me is when you start zooming out. All the caches that the balloons are "attached" to are lost in a sea of boxes. You can't tell what types they are. You can't click on them and get their info.

How is that worse than a map that shows no caches, just a message that says your query exceeds 500 caches?

[Avernar]

GeoGeeBee, on 25 May 2011 - 08:10 AM, said:

How is that worse than a map that shows no caches, just a message that says your query exceeds 500 caches?

Please reread my original post. I said I like the beta maps for normal viewing. And it is mainly because I can see more than 500 caches at any zoom.

What we're discussing here is the Pocket query preview function. The old maps will display up to 1000 caches at any zoom level for a Pocket query.

There should be no reason why they can't make the balloon icons into cache icons and just hide the existing caches when the Pocket query layer is selected. That way they get the speed of the new maps with the display of the old.

[Avernar]

jholly, on 24 May 2011 - 12:15 PM, said:

And the old style display is still available.

Not anymore.

[michaelnel]

Avernar, on 10 June 2011 - 06:08 AM, said:

jholly, on 24 May 2011 - 12:15 PM, said:

And the old style display is still available.

Not anymore.

There is a link in the upper right corner of the beta maps that says "Back to original maps ->", and it still works. I just tried it.

[FobesMan]

When I click on the Map icon to view my PQ in a Map I get an error message, "Not enough room to show this pane" and then the window becomes unresponsive.

[dfx]

michaelnel, on 10 June 2011 - 07:20 AM, said:

There is a link in the upper right corner of the beta maps that says "Back to original maps ->", and it still works. I just tried it.

But that doesn't load the PQ preview.

[dfx]

To hand-craft the PQ map preview URL for the old maps, use this URL template:

http://www.geocaching.com/map/default.aspx?guid=xxxxxxxxxxx

Replace "xxxxxxxxxxx" with the GUID of the PQ. For example:

http://www.geocaching.com/map/default.aspx?guid=5d043180-18b3-4550-b594-c9c4c9f422c7

To get the GUID, go to your list of PQs and click on the one you're interested in (takes you to the PQ edit page). The URL will be something like:

http://www.geocaching.com/pocket/gcquery.aspx?guid=5d043180-18b3-4550-b594-c9c4c9f422c7

And there's your GUID.

This post has been edited by dfx: 10 June 2011 - 07:49 AM

[dfx]

Things that would make the PQ preview on the beta maps much more useful:

1) Ability to disable the regular caches map layer
2) Ability to click on the PQ balloons
3) Inclusion of a cache type icon into the PQ balloons
4) Highlighting of the PQ balloons as you move your mouse over the list of caches (and vice versa?)
5) A different action upon clicking on a cache name... maybe load the cache details bubble? or pan + zoom onto the cache? Maybe both options depending on whether you single click or double click?

This post has been edited by dfx: 10 June 2011 - 08:30 AM

[Avernar]

dfx, on 10 June 2011 - 07:49 AM, said:

To hand-craft the PQ map preview URL for the old maps, use this URL template:

Thank you! I couldn't remember what the parameter was.

[Avernar]

dfx, on 10 June 2011 - 08:29 AM, said:

Things that would make the PQ preview on the beta maps much more useful:

1) Ability to disable the regular caches map layer
2) Ability to click on the PQ balloons
3) Inclusion of a cache type icon into the PQ balloons
4) Highlighting of the PQ balloons as you move your mouse over the list of caches (and vice versa?)
5) A different action upon clicking on a cache name... maybe load the cache details bubble? or pan + zoom onto the cache? Maybe both options depending on whether you single click or double click?

Numbers 1 and 3 would be enough for me to not need the old map PQ preview.

[Don_J]

dfx, on 10 June 2011 - 08:29 AM, said:

Things that would make the PQ preview on the beta maps much more useful:

1) Ability to disable the regular caches map layer
2) Ability to click on the PQ balloons
3) Inclusion of a cache type icon into the PQ balloons
4) Highlighting of the PQ balloons as you move your mouse over the list of caches (and vice versa?)
5) A different action upon clicking on a cache name... maybe load the cache details bubble? or pan + zoom onto the cache? Maybe both options depending on whether you single click or double click?

It seems to me that if they did this intuitively, only the caches in the PQ would be visible and there would be no need for the PQ balloons at all.

Do it right in the first place and there is no need for the five options you listed.

[oaknest]

I hate the new PQ maps. I used to be able to just click on the Pocket Query map logo and get a map simply displaying only the caches that I wanted scaled to a map fitting my screen.

Now I get a map cluttered with hundreds of caches I'm not interested in amidst a sea of talk balloons. I have to zoom in several times to get to the option to clear out the extraneous caches which means I am no longer able to get a single map displaying all the PQ caches on a single screen.

I click on what I think is the icon I want, but instead a list pops up with three neighboring caches requiring another click or group of clicks to see the next cache on my proposed caching route.

Everything that used to display immediately or I could select in 1 click now takes a long series of clicks. Planning a day's caching trip that used to take an hour now takes at least two hours and a lot of frustrating clicking to do the same thing.

I appreciate seeing the url's in an earlier post to allow me access the maps that work. But it shouldn't be this hard.

[JohnnyVegas]

michaelnel, on 10 June 2011 - 07:20 AM, said:

Avernar, on 10 June 2011 - 06:08 AM, said:

jholly, on 24 May 2011 - 12:15 PM, said:

And the old style display is still available.

Not anymore.

There is a link in the upper right corner of the beta maps that says "Back to original maps ->", and it still works. I just tried it.

but those maps are not restricted to the cache that are requested on a Pocket Quary, when I trave I only have time traditional caches. I do not need a map that is clutered with puzzles, multis, whereIg etc. I just want a map that display what my PQ is set up for.

[KrysCalle]

When I do a query, I am FILTERING the caches. Maybe I don't want a difficulty of 5, maybe I don't want a long hike in the woods, maybe I want a certain radius. That is why I use the PQ and why I became a PM. The Beta maps gives me ALL of the caches including all of the ones I want to filter out. I like looking at the map so I can get a mental picture of my hunt. Going back to the "original" view doean't get rid of all of excess caches. All of the caches is a new thing. Last week they weren't there. If this is the final version.... YUK

[AZcachemeister]

I don't use the map preview much (like almost never, since my PQs are usually date-based).
I do see what you mean in that the map IS a BIT cluttered.
OTOH, it might be nice to see what else is out there that your PQ 'missed'.

[Avernar]

AZcachemeister, on 14 June 2011 - 03:45 PM, said:

I don't use the map preview much (like almost never, since my PQs are usually date-based).

My scheduled PQs are date based and those I don't preview on the map. but I have quite a few that are not scheduled to run that I use to see where certain types of caches are located. Most are for certain attributes and a few are based on bookmarks.

[Don_J]

Avernar, on 15 June 2011 - 06:46 AM, said:

AZcachemeister, on 14 June 2011 - 03:45 PM, said:

I don't use the map preview much (like almost never, since my PQs are usually date-based).

My scheduled PQs are date based and those I don't preview on the map. but I have quite a few that are not scheduled to run that I use to see where certain types of caches are located. Most are for certain attributes and a few are based on bookmarks.

Not to mention the PQ that we may create when visiting a distant area.

[Grateful Cacher]

I created a PQ to show the top 100 favorite caches in the US. When I use the Beta Preview, it will only show favorite caches in Alaska, but it shows every other cache in the US and Canada. Sure, I can filter out the other caches that aren't in the PQ, but it still only shows caches in Alaska. When I select show old map view, it goes to some place in the midwest with max zoom, and a "?" where the number of caches is usually shown. But it shows no caches of any kind, even in Alaska. Pretty disappointed with this implementation, as it is a valuable tool to use in fine tuning PQs before you submit it to be emailed to you.

[KrysCalle]

AZcachemeister, on 14 June 2011 - 03:45 PM, said:

I don't use the map preview much (like almost never, since my PQs are usually date-based).
I do see what you mean in that the map IS a BIT cluttered.
OTOH, it might be nice to see what else is out there that your PQ 'missed'.

So If I am planning a trip to unfamiliar Charleston, why should I care about caches in Lexington or Dallas, or Atlanta? The maps used to be helpful when planning a caching run outside of my area but now they are so cluttered that they are useless. Most of my PQs are date based too, but we plan caching day trips regularly and I think a usefull planning tool is now gone. I guess I am a "map" person since I always preview my PQ's in Google

Now I have to zoom all the way in (which doesn't stay centered) so that I can disable all of the personalization leaving just the little lighting bolts along my route.

[GeoGeeBee]

kryscalle, on 16 June 2011 - 07:15 AM, said:

I guess I am a "map" person since I always preview my PQ's in Google

Now I have to zoom all the way in (which doesn't stay centered) so that I can disable all of the personalization leaving just the little lighting bolts along my route.

So just take the pocket query GPX file and drop it in Google Earth. Problem solved.

OK, it doesn't really solve your problem. But it's a useful work-around until they fix the maps.

[NanCycle]

dfx, on 10 June 2011 - 07:49 AM, said:

To hand-craft the PQ map preview URL for the old maps, use this URL template:

http://www.geocaching.com/map/default.aspx?guid=xxxxxxxxxxx

Replace "xxxxxxxxxxx" with the GUID of the PQ. For example:

http://www.geocaching.com/map/default.aspx?guid=5d043180-18b3-4550-b594-c9c4c9f422c7

To get the GUID, go to your list of PQs and click on the one you're interested in (takes you to the PQ edit page). The URL will be something like:

http://www.geocaching.com/pocket/gcquery.aspx?guid=5d043180-18b3-4550-b594-c9c4c9f422c7

And there's your GUID.

THANK YOU! very much for this info!! But what a PITA!!!!!

[Mister_Hyde]

PIT.... indeed.
The PQ preview in beta maps is not usable; it does not work. Preview implies a view of the results; if the beta map shows ALL caches, with an overlay of the results, that is not the same, and does not meet my needs.
I cannot use the beta version of PQ preview; during the times when that was the only preview available I simply was not able to use that feature.

[Avernar]

GeoGeeBee, on 16 June 2011 - 07:43 AM, said:

So just take the pocket query GPX file and drop it in Google Earth. Problem solved.

That requires you to actually run the PQ. Just previewing it does not.

[Doctroid]

Please vote here to fix this: http://feedback.geoc...aches?ref=title

[NanCycle]

DoubleBent, on 16 June 2011 - 12:52 PM, said:

dfx, on 10 June 2011 - 07:49 AM, said:

To hand-craft the PQ map preview URL for the old maps, use this URL template:

http://www.geocaching.com/map/default.aspx?guid=xxxxxxxxxxx

Replace "xxxxxxxxxxx" with the GUID of the PQ. For example:

http://www.geocaching.com/map/default.aspx?guid=5d043180-18b3-4550-b594-c9c4c9f422c7

To get the GUID, go to your list of PQs and click on the one you're interested in (takes you to the PQ edit page). The URL will be something like:

http://www.geocaching.com/pocket/gcquery.aspx?guid=5d043180-18b3-4550-b594-c9c4c9f422c7

And there's your GUID.

THANK YOU! very much for this info!! But what a PITA!!!!!

So, I was using this method and it was working, although with some quirks, then all of a sudden it quit working at all. Now I just get an ERROR message. Right in the middle of planning a trip. GRRR!!

[dfx]

DoubleBent, on 24 June 2011 - 11:15 AM, said:

So, I was using this method and it was working, although with some quirks, then all of a sudden it quit working at all. Now I just get an ERROR message. Right in the middle of planning a trip. GRRR!!

Still works for me?

[NanCycle]

dfx, on 24 June 2011 - 11:20 AM, said:

DoubleBent, on 24 June 2011 - 11:15 AM, said:

So, I was using this method and it was working, although with some quirks, then all of a sudden it quit working at all. Now I just get an ERROR message. Right in the middle of planning a trip. GRRR!!

Still works for me?

OK, thanks. I guess it was a temporary glitch, because it is woking again.

[JohnnyVegas]

Here's a plan, why not just go back to having the old map as the defaule seting and leave the beta map as a beta map that one must select on the original map. The new map are a PITA to use. What is the point of have a PQ if when you try to use the PQmap you get every other cache in the world displayed. Another idea, set up the map so that when you go to the map from the PQ page it is centered on the PQ list, not in South America

And is with the PQ bubbles not being active, come on, we should be able to click the bubble to get the cache info rather than have to scroll throught the cache listing to find the infor that is requested. To me the new maps were rushed out befroe they were ready.

This post has been edited by JohnnyVegas: 12 July 2011 - 08:01 AM