Pocket Pocket Query: paperless geocaching for mobile phones

murf · Post by **murf** » 01 January 08 9:54 am

G'Day Kevin,

Just wondering if you know if any of the existing Nokia models listed are a good fit for the Nokia 6120 Classic? I'd love to give PPC a go.

Cheers,
Ben

sentience · Post by **sentience** » 01 January 08 11:18 am

Rigger64 wrote:About all i can give is that the phone is so new the 3 shops dont even have pouches or car chagers yet. Yes it does suport Java.

Okay, in that case I need you to submit your device profile to http://devices.j2mepolish.org/ so that I can create a version of PPQuery for you.

sentience · Post by **sentience** » 01 January 08 12:31 pm

murf78 wrote:Just wondering if you know if any of the existing Nokia models listed are a good fit for the Nokia 6120 Classic? I'd love to give PPC a go.

Cheers, Ben! I've just added support for the Nokia 6120 Classic. Give it a try and let me know how you go.

sentience · Post by **sentience** » 01 January 08 12:37 pm

Swampy wrote:Is it possible to add a 'found' tick box to then exclude those caches from being display or remove them from the database before the next download?
Probably not, but worth asking....

This is definitely possible and is already high on my to-do list. Watch this space!

sentience · Post by **sentience** » 01 January 08 9:18 pm

I've just released PPQuery 0.5.0 (Beta)!

This version contains an exciting new feature: Multi Assist.

When you are hunting for a multi-cache where you must collect clues of the form AB = 12 to form coordinates, the Multi Assist will let you do this entirely on your phone! It even stores your collected clues for each cache separately, so you can hunt for more than one cache at once.

When you first open Multi Assist (Menu > Multi Assist from the Cache Details screen), you'll see "A = " followed by a text field. Once you've found the value of A, just type it into the field. If the clue contains more than one digit, use the right arrow on your keypad to extend the current clue (e.g. "AB = "). Likewise, use the left arrow to contract the current clue. To add another clue (e.g. "C = " if you've just collected the value of "AB"), press the down arrow.

At any time, hit the Back key to return to the Cache Details screen. Your collected clues will be stored safely until the next time you open Multi Assist.

The one thing lacking from this feature is a paperless way of generating the coordinates you need from the clues you've collected. This will come in a future version, and I'm still thinking on how best to make it work.

For now, I would very much appreciate any feedback on the feature as it now stands!

Coffee and Cache · Post by **Coffee and Cache** » 01 January 08 10:47 pm

Hi Kevin,
Just trying out the new PPQ. When I submit a GPX, it appears to fail without any diagnositic. Could it be too large or is something else the matter perhaps? The PQ has nearly 400 entries so it's not small, but I recall someone else saying it was working with 300 caches. Can you perhaps let us know the limits please.
Rgds
Steve

sentience · Post by **sentience** » 01 January 08 11:14 pm

Hi Coffee and Cache,

The maximum size that is accepted for a GPX or ZIP file upload is 2MB. If your pocket query file is bigger than that, you'll want to try a smaller one.

At 400 caches, though, I'd be surprised if you're running into that limit. Please give it another try, as it's possible you submitted the form just as I was deploying a new version of the software to the site.

If the problem still occurs, would you be able to send me a copy of your pocket query file so I can try it out here and hopefully diagnose the problem? My email address is thatguy -at- kevinyank.com.

Coffee and Cache · Post by **Coffee and Cache** » 02 January 08 12:27 am

The file is actually about 2.7 Megs with 396 caches. I'll just have to be a bit less ambitious I guess.
Great program. Thanks
Steve

mightybent · Post by **mightybent** » 02 January 08 3:35 pm

Thanks very much for providing this awesome tool. I have been using it since you first released it. It has saved many a tree.

Now for my problem - since the new versions were released about week ago I haven't been able to get it to work. It uploads fine to my phone but stalls on the very first screen where there is an icon, a progress bar and 'loading geocaches...' The progress bar hasn't made any progress either. It will sit like that until I press back.

I am using an LG U8360 that has been working fine with version .2 (?) all year, using game-thing.com to upload the java files.

Thanks again Kevin, hopefully there is a simple solution to this problem. Maybe even making old versions available online?

sentience · Post by **sentience** » 02 January 08 6:52 pm

Hi mightybent,

Thanks for reporting the problem you're having!

Assuming you've installed the most recent version over top of the older version, could you try deleting PPQuery from your phone entirely and then reinstalling it afresh?

Let me know if that makes a difference.

Rigger64 · Post by **Rigger64** » 03 January 08 12:27 am

I have been doing some digging aroud & found out some more info about the phone i have i found it in "Wikipedia". The My3 website currently identifies the phone model as the "Amoi 8512" while the Packaging, Phone & Booklet. Call it the WP-S1.

I have a copy of the extract from the web page if you want i can email it to you if you want. Thanks. Rob

Ps: the link on the bottom of the page is:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Skypephone

zactyl · Post by **zactyl** » 03 January 08 5:18 am

Thanks for all the work you're putting into this program!

Now it just needs a "GOTO this cache" option for builtin/bluetooth gps

Installing the new version over the old one didn't work (on Nokia N95), it wouldn't launch. Removed and reinstalled it and all okay!

Following are some of my impressions from my quick look at PPQ (haven't had the opportunity to try it in the field yet) and although you don't seem like the type to take comments to heart, don't take them to heart! You've done a great job, and I'd love to help you improve your program! And I'm picky

Some impressions on a Nokia N95.
Back option missing on some screens, have to click down to the Cancel Button instead of a simple Back eg "Search by cache name" screen (although Cancel becomes available once either button is highlighted)

Text doesn't input as expected, looks like it's on predictive text (highlighted text) but isn't. No indication of the phones input mode. Can't seem to do capitals except following a full stop.
Selecting an input box with existing data moves cursor to the end, expect default to be to overwrite existing data.

When inputting coordinates, Longitude should default to S instead of N

Any way to progress automatically through the fields when entering coordinates? Even if it was just the minutes, a decimal point means move to the next box?!

Distance to caches is given in metres, eg (17601m) might be good to switch to Km at some point

Doesn't work with GCA gpx files, though technically they're not Pocket Queries so your program works as advertised!

Be lovely to have them supported!

Any way to update the caches on the phone without redoing them all? Can't seem to just add some?

Ugly icon (default one by the looks of it) to launch PPQ. The one in the splash screen would be great!

Multi Assist looks like it could be very useful!

Look forward to the next release!

sentience · Post by **sentience** » 03 January 08 8:22 am

zactyl,

Thank you for all the very useful feedback! I can't wait to get stuck in to implementing some of the improvements you've suggested.

Installing the new version over the old one didn't work (on Nokia N95), it wouldn't launch. Removed and reinstalled it and all okay!

I found and fixed a major bug on Nokia and LG phones last night. It's possible the crash on startup was actually caused by that, rather than installing over the previous version. Do try installing over your existing version the next time you download a fresh pocket query and let me know if it still doesn't work.

Back option missing on some screens, have to click down to the Cancel Button instead of a simple Back eg "Search by cache name" screen (although Cancel becomes available once either button is highlighted)

Thanks. I'll make these 'pop-up' screens behave more like normal screens from a navigation standpoint.

Text doesn't input as expected, looks like it's on predictive text (highlighted text) but isn't. No indication of the phones input mode. Can't seem to do capitals except following a full stop.

Thanks. I'll look into making some improvements here. Note that the fact that the star (*) key both switches into capital letter mode and types a full stop is a bug that I need to fix. It should only switch into capital letter mode. You can enter a full stop (and other punctuation) with the 1 key.

Selecting an input box with existing data moves cursor to the end, expect default to be to overwrite existing data.

Interesting. So you mean you'd expect it to select all the text within the field when you move your cursor to it, and then if you start typing without moving the cursor, it should replace the current value entirely? I haven't seen this behaviour in any other mobile application, and I'm not sure it's even possible to do, as text fields in mobile apps don't generally have a concept of text selection. Are there any specific fields within the application where you would find this useful?

When inputting coordinates, Longitude should default to S instead of N

Heh.

Actually, now that the application has a Settings screen, I can make this configurable.

Any way to progress automatically through the fields when entering coordinates? Even if it was just the minutes, a decimal point means move to the next box?!

Great suggestion. I'll definitely do this.

Distance to caches is given in metres, eg (17601m) might be good to switch to Km at some point

Good idea. I'll definitely do this.

Doesn't work with GCA gpx files, though technically they're not Pocket Queries so your program works as advertised! Be lovely to have them supported!

I'll see if it's possible.

Any way to update the caches on the phone without redoing them all? Can't seem to just add some?

At some point in the near future I'll provide a 'pro' account on the web site that will let you maintain a library of multiple pocket queries. You will then be able to add a query containing some new caches to your library and download a new copy of PPQuery with these caches (and all your previous queries) included.

A desktop application for doing this stuff is also in the works.

Ugly icon (default one by the looks of it) to launch PPQ. The one in the splash screen would be great!

Yup. The one on the splash screen is destined to become the application's icon once I'm totally happy with it.

Thanks again!

sentience · Post by **sentience** » 03 January 08 8:23 am

Rigger64 wrote:I have been doing some digging aroud & found out some more info about the phone i have i found it in "Wikipedia". The My3 website currently identifies the phone model as the "Amoi 8512" while the Packaging, Phone & Booklet. Call it the WP-S1.

Thanks, Rob. Unfortunately, detailed technical information about the phone from a programming standpoint is still proving elusive. The best way you can help is by submitting your phone's profile to http://devices.j2mepolish.org/ as per the instructions there.

zactyl · Post by **zactyl** » 03 January 08 6:16 pm

sentience wrote:
Selecting an input box with existing data moves cursor to the end, expect default to be to overwrite existing data.
Interesting. So you mean you'd expect it to select all the text within the field when you move your cursor to it, and then if you start typing without moving the cursor, it should replace the current value entirely? I haven't seen this behaviour in any other mobile application, and I'm not sure it's even possible to do, as text fields in mobile apps don't generally have a concept of text selection. Are there any specific fields within the application where you would find this useful?

That's it exactly. When inputting coordinates for a new location, selecting a field to change a value requires deleting the value first. Seems it should default to selected, overwrite, or click left or right to put the cursor at the front or back of the field. If it's impossible don't worry about it

Reinstalling on top of the exisiting version with a new PQ works fine.

Thanks again!