Groundspeak's Geocaching iPhone Application Tutorial
Homepage
The application homepage will show your device's accuracy, current location and the time that your current location was last updated. If you have moved a great distance since your last search and are planning to search for nearby geocaches, you may want to wait until your location has been updated. If you do not wait, you will be given the option to search from the last known location.
You can also search by another option such as address/post code as described below.
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Searching for Geocaches on the iPhone
There are a few ways to search for geocaches on the Geocaching for iPhone application. 'Find Nearby Geocaches' provides a list of geocaches around your current location, with the one nearest you located on top. You can also search for listings by Address/Post Code or by the GC code of a geocache.
The results page for all searches will display geocache name, distance from your current location, GC number, coordinates, geocache size, the number of Trackables in the geocache inventory and difficulty and terrain ratings.
The default is to sort the geocache listings by distance. To sort the listings by GC Code, geocache type or title, click 'Sort' at the top of the page and select the appropriate option.
To view geocaches on a map, click 'View Map.'
Geocache Details
Select the geocache listing that you want to view. You will be taken to the geocache details page.
Sections on this page include:
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Navigate to Geocache — Helps you navigate to the geocache using the map or compass (see 'Navigating to the Geocache' below for a detailed description).
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Add to Favorites — Save the geocache listing as a favorite so that you may access it easily at another time. Favorites can be found on the 'Saved' tab at the bottom of the main application pages.
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Save Maps & Photos — Choose what elements you would like to save and select 'Save Maps & Photos' so that you can access them when you are not connected to the internet. This will automatically add the listing to your favorites.
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Description — Provides you with the same description information found on the geocache listing page on Geocaching.com.
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Recent Logs — Displays the most recent logs for the geocache listing.
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Hint — A hint regarding the geocache hide for those times when you are having difficulty finding the geocache. This button will only be highlighted if the geocache owner has provided a hint.
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Notepad — Mark down any notes about the geocache that you would like to save.
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Attributes — Helpful information regarding the geocache hide and location. Examples of attributes include 'recommended for kids,' 'dogs allowed' and 'stroller accessible.' This button will only be highlighted if the geocache owner has assigned attributes to the geocache.
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Inventory — A list of Trackables in a geocache. Click on the Trackable's name for information on its current location, goal, etc. This button will only be highlighted if there are Trackables listed in the geocache. This also offers quick access for logging the Trackable directly on the application.
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Photos — This button will be highlighted if there are photos submitted with geocache logs.
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Post a Log/Field Note — Log your find or to post a field note that you can later use as a log directly from the website (see steps for posting below).
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Find Geocaches Near This One — Search for geocaches located nearest the current selected geocache.
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View on Geocaching.com — View the Geocaching.com listing on the application's internal browser. Select 'View in Safari' to exit the application and view the web page in the Safari browser.
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View on External Map — View the geocache location on alternate maps (including Google Maps, Bing Maps and Yahoo! Maps).
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Navigating to the Geocache
Click 'Navigate to Geocache' to see the geocache location relative to your current location on the map.
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You are represented by a blue or red dot with a circle around it. If blue, the GPS signal is strong. If red, the GPS signal is weak and you may want to move to a location with a stronger signal
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Geocaches are represented by this icon. The color will vary depending on geocache type
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The compass. Will change from map view to compass view
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Change from compass view back to map view
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Zoom in or out on the map
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Change the type of map that is displayed. The following options are available:
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Street Map — provides a map that includes street names, etc
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Topographic Map — provides a terrain view
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Satellite Map — returns to a satellite view map
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Change the focus of the map. Focus options:
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My Location (zooms in on your location)
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Navigation Path (centers on the path between you and the geocache)
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Geocache & Waypoints (zooms in on the geocache location and any waypoints)
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Everything (displays your location, geocache location, waypoints and navigation path)
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Changes the map heading
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Saves your current location as a waypoint. You will have the option to enter a name for the waypoint and can set the coordinates to your current location or to the geocache location. Click 'Done' when you are ready to save the waypoint
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Return to the geocache listing
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Logging a Geocache
To submit a log to Geocaching.com or a field note that can be submitted as a log at a later date follow these steps:
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Click on the geocache listing
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Scroll down and click on 'Post a Log/Field Note'
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Click 'Log Type' and select the option that best fits your log type
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Click 'Message' and enter your log note that will appear on the geocache page
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Select 'Attach a Photo' if you would like to submit a photo with your log
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Select 'Drop a Trackable' if you will be dropping any Trackables in the geocache. Highlight the name of the Trackable that you wish to drop. For multiple Trackables, select the 'Drop a Trackable' option for each Trackable
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Under 'Style' you have the option to post the log immediately to Geocaching.com or to save it under your field notes to be posted at a later time on the website (see 'About Field Notes,' below)
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Click 'Save & Send Log.' If you have selected the style 'Post As Log,' your log will be posted to the geocache listing page on Geocaching.com. If you have selected the style 'Submit As Field Note,' the log will not be posted, but the field note will be saved to your account
About Field Notes
Field notes are a good way to keep track of the geocaches that you find when you are not prepared to write a complete log. Once you have submitted a field note, it becomes available on Geocaching.com by clicking on the link 'Access My Field Notes' on your 'My Account' page. You will then have the option to edit the log and post it to the geocache listing.
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Settings
Select the 'Menu' option, available at the top of all main pages and click 'Settings' to access the Settings section of the Application. You will have the following options available:
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Geocaching.com Account Info — Enter your username and password to log in to your Geocaching.com account
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My Location Source — You can set your current location (for nearby geocache searches) to be determined by your actual location ('My Device GPS') or the home location associated with your Geocaching.com account ('My Home Location'). You must have a home location associated with your account to select the latter option
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Map Sources — Choose the default map sources that you would like to use for each map type (Street, Topo and Satellite). Not all map sources are available for each map type
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Search Options — Set search preferences, including whether you want to view all geocache types or traditional geocaches only in the search results, whether you would like to include or exclude finds associated with your Geocaching.com account and how many search results you would like to see per page
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General Settings - Units of Measure — Set your distance measurement preference to 'Feet/Miles' or 'Meters/KM'
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General Settings - Storage Manager — Allows you to delete cached data, including saved maps and photos, to make room for more data
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Pocket Queries
Geocaching.com Premium Members have the ability to download their
Pocket Queries
directly on the application. Pocket Queries are custom geocache searches around a specific location. Each query can include up to 1000 geocache listings.
Steps for accessing a Pocket Query on the iPhone:
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On the website, visit
http://www.geocaching.com/pocket/
to create a Pocket Query. Choose to receive the results in .GPX format.
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After the Pocket Query has been run, log in to your Geocaching.com account from the iPhone application's settings page ('Menu' > 'Settings)
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Close this page and select the 'Saved' button at the bottom of the next screen
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Select 'Download Pocket Queries' and choose the Query that you would like to access
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Click on 'Download'
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When the Query has finished downloading, select 'Close'
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Select the name of the Pocket Query to access the results
Options for Pocket Query results:
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Map Button — Shows all the results of the Pocket Query on a map. Clicking on a geocache icon from the map will provide basic information on the geocache and give you the option to visit the listing
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Up and Down Arrow Icon — Choose to sort the Pocket Query results by Distance, GC Code, Title or Geocache Type
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Trash Can Icon — Delete the Pocket Query from your device
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Trackables on the iPhone Application
You can search for and log Trackables directly from your iPhone.
Steps for logging a Trackable:
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Click on the ‘Trackables’ tab, located at the bottom of the application's main pages
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Enter the tracking number of the Trackable that you would like to search for and select 'Search' on your iPhone keyboard
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Click on 'Log This Trackable'
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Click on 'Select Log Type' and choose the option that fits your log best. (For example: select the 'Retrieve' option if you are retrieving it from a geocache)
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Click on ‘Edit Message’ and enter a log for the Trackable
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Click on 'Save & Send Log' to post the log to the Geocaching.com website
You can also log a Trackable directly from a geocache listing page in the application by selecting the appropriate Trackable from the geocache 'Inventory' and following steps 3-6 above.
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