GSAK Update and Tricks

Pretty cool.

I just updated my GSAK to version 8.5.0.0.  I was a little nervous at first because, after launching, the home screen froze and never opened.  However, a quick reboot fixed the problem.  All my caches, databases, and settings were in place.

Typical nerd – I read the release notes.  Unlike a typical nerd – I only understood half of it. I did find it interesting that it offered (limited) LAB cache support.  With that in mind, I decided to sit down and manually enter my LAB caches in my FOUND database.  Yellowjeeperman said the LAB icon has been available for awhile now, but I felt motivated.

I learned two really neat tricks when manually entering a cache (Menu Waypoint > Add):

After entering your first one, click the Waypoint > Add button again.  There is an option to Clone/Copy the waypoint you have highlighted in your grid.  After clicking that option, tweak your new entry and click OK.  I was able to enter the MWGB LAB caches quickly.

Also, there’s a field called Owner ID to fill in.  Each person who creates an account on geocaching.com is assigned an ID number.  In GSAK, it’s used when running macros so it’s very important to make sure you populate this accurately.  You can get this information two ways (that I know of). 

• In GSAK, find another geocache hidden by that same Geocacher.  Right-click on the record and select Edit.  You will see the Owner ID populated midway down the screen.

• If there isn’t another geocache in your database hidden by that same user, go to geocaching.com.  Find their Public Profile and click on See the Forum Posts for This User link.   You will navigate to the Forum. Now, look at the URL at the top of your browser.  The last digits in the URL address is the cacher’s User ID.

Pretty nifty, right?

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NOTE: I'm not affiliated with GSAK - just a very enthusiastic user.

Badges and Belts, Oh My!

As several new cachers have joined, I thought I’d share this bit of information.  Did you know you are earning badges and belts as well as souvenirs when you cache? 

You can access them many ways. I use Project-GC.com  It’s free (though they have a paid version, too).  Once you access the website, click the Authenticate button in the upper-right corner so the site can access your Geocaching.com stats.

After you authenticate, you will find several really cool features including the Profile Stats (found under the Profile menu option). 

When the Profile Stats page opens, you will see tabs that include Finds, Milestones, FTF*, Hides, Maps, BadgeGen, and Souvenirs.  On the BadgeGen tab, you can hover over each badge (see attached image) to see how many qualifying caches you have found and how many more you need to level-up!  You can also click for Badge and Belt detail at the bottom of the page.

*Just a quick note because this always comes up…. For some of you, why is the FTF tab blank?  Because you have to code your FTF logs so the Live API will pick them up and add them to your statistics.  In the body of your Found It log, enter one of the following (these are the more common examples): {*FTF*} {FTF} (FTF) [FTF]

Sometimes I find Project-GC.com works better in Chrome versus Internet Explorer.  I find this to be especially true using the Discover feature under the Tools menu option. 

Also, if you are a GSAK user, you can pull your BadgeGen stats via a macro.  There are pluses and minuses of each.  Running BadgeGen from Project-GC uses the LiveAPI so it’s always includes your latest data.  However, if you are not a paid member, the latest data can be almost a week old (free members get updated weekly).  To run the BadgeGen.gsk macro in GSAK, you will need to create a “My Finds” database first.  However, you will need to manually keep your “My Finds” updated. 

Michigan’s DeLorme Challenge GC1EBKT

I’m not sure if I’ll ever complete this challenge, but my map sure is pretty!  This map was generated using my GSAK “My Finds” Database and the MapDeLorme.gsk macro.

I need to spend some more quality time up north!