Documentation

Written by Rich

GeoJournal version 1.0.00 documentation written Rich Martin, with much assistance by Nick Onken (chimbisimo) who created the original documentation.
PDF version available for download.

GeoJournal v1.0.00 User Guide

Table of Contents

I. Introduction

II. Getting Started

  • Application Layout
  • Setting your Preferences
  • Importing Geocaches
  • Categories
  • Locations

    III. Using GeoJournal

  • The Cache list
  • Sorting
  • Searching
  • Selecting
  • Sending to GPSr
  • The Detail Tab
  • The Maps Tab
  • The Itinerary Tab
  • The Journal Tab

    IV. Advanced Features

  • POP3 Importing
           Configuration
           Managing Mail
           Import Rules

  • Advanced Exporting
           Export to GPX file
           Export to Apple iCal
           Export to CacheMate
           Export to Google Earth

  • Advanced Selecting
           Editing Geocache Details
           Multiple Category Moves
           Multiple Geocache Deletion
           Multiple Setting as Found

  • Database Operations
           Optimizing the Database
           Restoring the Database

    V. Licensing and limitations

  • End User License Agreement
  • Demo period
  • Acceptable Licensing Usage
  • Final Thoughts

    VI. Technical Notes

  • Manual Backup of GeoJournal Data

    VII. Credits


    Document last updated on July 26, 2007 at 01:40am.
    GeoJournal, it’s logo, and associated materials are copyright © 2007 by Absolute Ingenuity, Inc.
    GeoJournal and GeoIngenuity are trademarks of Absolute Ingenuity, Inc.

    Introduction

    Thank you for selecting GeoJournal to plan, manage, and record your Geocaching adventures. GeoJournal was written by Rich Martin after discovering the sport and then realizing there were no good Mac applications for Geocache management. I also realized that a lot of the fun of Geocaching is recording the experience in both written and visual form, and no application allowed you to do that. With that in mind, I set forth in writing GeoJournal. GeoJournal is the best Mac application of it’s kind, and I hope that you find it useful and enjoyable.

    Rich Martin, GeoIngenuity
    Author of GeoJournal


    Document last updated on July 26, 2007 at 01:40am.
    GeoJournal, it’s logo, and associated materials are copyright © 2007 by Absolute Ingenuity, Inc.
    GeoJournal and GeoIngenuity are trademarks of Absolute Ingenuity, Inc.



    Getting Started

    Application Layout

    There are three basic areas of the GeoJournal application layout. The first area is the “Cache Listing” area where all the geocaches that have been imported are listed. This area has a header on the top of each column that can be clicked and the list will be re-sorted according to that column. The second area of the application is the “Details” area, where further details of the currently selected geocache are displayed. The third area is the “Controls” section, where various buttons are located that can be used to act on the currently selected geocache. It should not take long for you to become familiar with the layout of GeoJournal and how to interact with it.

    Setting Your Preferences

    After you start GeoJournal for the first time, it is important to set your Preferences. The Preferences menu can be found by clicking “GeoJournal” in the menu bar, and then clicking on Preferences. You could also type in the shortcut key combination of “Command+,” to bring up the Preferences screen.

    General Tab

  • Display coordinates as - Select the method you would like your coordinates displayed in GeoJournal. Most applications express coordinates in the “Degrees Decimal Minutes” format (default), but you can change to the other formats as needed. Check “Use N, E, S, W Instead of +/-” if you would like to express coordinates directionally.
  • Check for updates online when first started - This option will connect to the GeoJournal update server on startup to check if there’s a new version of the application. If so, a pop up message will inform you of the new version.
  • Show finds in Geocache list - If a geocache is marked as Found, it normally will not show up in the main geocache listing, and instead be categorized in the “My Finds” category. If checked, “Found” geocaches will appear in the main listing.
  • Geocache name is bold if it has a picture - If a geocache item has a picture linked to it in the Journal tab, it will appear with a bold font in the geocache list. This allows you to easily identify items with pictures that you may want to go back and look at.
  • Load map automatically when highlighted - If a geocache is selected in the list, the map for the geocache is loaded automatically. If not checked, you will need to click the “Geocache” button in the Maps section on the left side of the main window to load the geocache’s map.

    GPS Tab

  • GPS Manufacturer - Select your GPS receiver’s manufacturer from the drop-down list. If your manufacturer is not listed, please contact us with your GPSr’s make and model, and we will try to support it if possible. You can use the link under Help -> Feedback to send us an email.
  • GPS model - Select your GPS receiver’s model. If your model is not listed, you may try to select a similar model to see if it works. Many models share the same communication protocol and will work even if it’s a different name.

  • Interface - Select the type of interface your GPS receiver uses. If your GPSr uses a standard serial interface, usually a 9 or 25 pin cable that connects to the device, choose this option and select the serial port from the drop-down box. If you are using a USB to Serial Port device (i.e. Keyspan, Belkin, and others) then please have your USB device plugged in first, or it may not show up in the drop down box.
    If your GPSr shows up as a USB Storage device, select the USB Storage: option. If you are unsure, plug your GPSr into your Mac. If a drive icon appears on your desktop and acts like a mounted drive, then it is a USB Storage type device. If your device appears as a USB storage device, please input it’s Volume name when it is mounted. (When it is plugged in, what name shows up under the white drive icon?)
    Select USB if your device communicates directly via USB, but does NOT use a serial port interface and does NOT appear as a USB storage device. Most current Garmin devices are direct USB and should be used with this option.

    Appearance Tab

  • Details area background color - Click the color box to change the background color. Click the Set to Default button to change the color back to the ‘blackish’ default background color.
  • Details area text color - Click the color box to change the text color. Click the Set to Default button to change the color back to the ‘greenish’ default text color.

    Advanced Tab

  • Database is backed up on startup - Normally, GeoJournal will back up your database each time you start the application. Up to 5 different database backups are saved. This process is done immediately when you start the application. If you have another backup procedure, you may disable this feature.
  • Use shortnames when exporting waypoints - Instead of using the geocache ids on your GPS receiver (i.e. GCWXYZ), the application will generate a unique shortname based on the geocache’s name to give more description on the GPS reciever.
  • Event duration for .ics export - When exporting your “Found” geocaches to Apple iCal, each geocache is saved as an event. In iCal, each event has a duration, and this option allows you to select the default event duration.
  • Double clicking on a geocache - Define the action to take when you double click a geocache from the cache list. Default is to do nothing.

    Importing Geocaches

    In order to use GeoJournal, it will be necessary to import Geocaches from a source. Typically Geocaches from from either a LOC or GPX file from the geocaching.com web site. LOC files can be obtained from free from geocaching.com and contain very basic geocache information, usually the cache name, coordinates. GPX files are also obtained from geocaching.com, but contain all the information and details for geocaches. GPX files can only be generated with a premium membership at geocaching.com. In order to use GeoJournal to it’s fullest, it is highly recommended that you purchase a premium membership at geocaching.com and generate your own GPX files with the “Pocket Query” feature. Regardless of which kind of file you use, GeoJournal supports each format seamlessly.

    Toolbar: File » Import From…

  • Click the Browse button and navigate and select the GPX or LOC file that you wish to import.
  • The “Import into” drop-down box specifies a category to import the geocaches into. You may select an existing category from the drop-down, or you may TYPE in a new category in this box and it will be created automatically. More information on Categories in the next section.
  • Check the “Import all as Found” if you are importing a file that contains all the geocaches you have already found. If you are a premium geocaching.com member, you can generate a GPX file with all your finds once a week.
  • Click Start to import, or Cancel to exit without importing anything.
  • The importing process will determine if a cache you are importing already exists in the database. If so, it will detect if the new geocache information has been updated and if so, it will update it in the database. Otherwise, it will skipped.

    Drag & Drop Importing

  • In addition to manually importing, you may also drag and drop a GPX or LOC file directly into the GeoJournal icon in the Mac OS X Dock or into the cache listing area of the application.

    Understanding Locations

    In GeoJournal, your Location is the origin point used to calculate distances to the caches in the list. You can think of it as your Home point. However, sometimes you aren’t starting from the same place. Most Geocachers like to cache in other cities, states, and countries so it makes sense to have more than 1 Location point, right? Well, GeoJournal can do exactly that! GeoJournal allows you to create a list of Locations, input thier coordinates, and select them as you need them and distances are automatically recalculated in the cache list.

    Creating a new Location

  • In the cache list area, click the “+” button to the right of the Location drop-down.
  • The Location manager window will open. You can highlight an existing Location and click the Edit button to edit it.
  • Click the New button to create a new Location. Give it a descriptive name, and enter it’s Latitude and Longitude coordinates. Please express these coordinates in Degrees Decimal Minutes notation with + and -. If you need help converting from a different format, click on the Convert button.
  • Click the Set Default button to select this Location as the default each time GeoJournal is launched.
  • If you no longer need a Location entry, highlight it and click the Delete button to remove it from the list
  • Click Save to save your changes or Cancel to exit without saving.

    Changing Locations

  • From the main cache listing, select a new Location from the drop down box.
  • Notice that the distance field in the cache list automatically updates itself.

    Understanding Categories

    In GeoJournal, geocaches can be grouped together in any way you decide. For instance, you may want to group together geocaches in a certain geographic region. Or perhaps you would like to group together geocaches based on their type. GeoJournal gives you the flexibility to group geocaches any way you wish by creating an almost unlimited list of Categories. Once you create a Category, you can assign geocaches in the list to those Categories. You can then quickly sort the list of caches by your defined Categories.

    Creating a new Category

  • In the cache list area, click the “+” button to the right of the Category drop-down.
  • The Category manager window will open. You can highlight an existing Category and click the Edit button to edit it.
  • Click the New button to create a new Category. Give it a descriptive name that will make sense to you when you see it later.
  • If you no longer need a Category entry, highlight it and click the Delete button to remove it from the list
  • Click Save to save your changes or Cancel to exit without saving.

    Changing Categories

  • By selecting a category from the drop-down box, the cache listing will automatically filter the list and show you only the caches that belong to that Category.
  • There are certain Categories that exist by default. The are: “All Geocaches”, “My Finds”, and “Default”. All Geocaches will always contain every geocache in the database, regardless of it’s categorization. My Finds will list only those Geocaches that you have marked as Found in the application. Default is a default Category and isn’t special except that it cannot be deleted. Think of it as a place to store your caches until you have a Category you want to place them in.


    Document last updated on July 26, 2007 at 01:40am.
    GeoJournal, it’s logo, and associated materials are copyright © 2007 by Absolute Ingenuity, Inc.
    GeoJournal and GeoIngenuity are trademarks of Absolute Ingenuity, Inc.



    Using GeoJournal

    Cache Listing Area

    The Cache Listing contains a list of the current filtered geocaches that you have in your database. It is separated into different columns. These columns can be clicked on to sort the entire cache list. The cache list is filtered based on the current Category selected. By selecting a different Category, only those geocaches that are part of the Category are listed in the cache listing. The exception is the “All Geocaches” category, which always includes all current Geocaches. By selecting a different Location, the Distance column is automatically updated with new distances from the new Location.

    Cache listing columns

  • Cache Name - The name given to the geocache, if clicked it will be sorted alphabetically.
  • Type - The type of geocache (Multi, Traditional, Virtual, etc), if clicked it will be sorted alphabetically.
  • Size - Size of the geocache (Micro, Small, Regular, Large, etc), if clicked it will be sorted alphabetically.
  • TB - The number of TravelBugs that are currently in the cache, if clicked it will be sorted numerically.
  • Difficulty - Cache difficulty rating, 1 (low difficulty) to 5 (very difficult), if clicked it will be sorted numerically.
  • Terrain - Cache terrain rating, 1 (easy terrain) to 5 (very hard terrain), if clicked it will be sorted numerically.
  • State - State which this geocache is located, if clicked it will be sorted alphabetically.
  • Placed - Date that this geocache was placed on, if clicked it will be sorted by date.
  • Found - If you found it, it will be set to Yes, otherwise No. if clicked it will be sorted alphabetically.
  • Dist - Distance from the currently selected Location. Calculation is an estimate based on a straight line between the Location and the Geocache coordinates, and does not reflect distance based on road travel, if clicked it will be sorted numerically.
  • Dir - General direction of the geocache from the currently selected Location, if clicked it will be sorted alphabetically.

    Searching the cache list

  • To search through the cache list, enter a text string in the “Find” area and click the “Find” button.
  • The search will look for the text string within the CACHE NAME field, and will stop and highlight the first match it finds.
  • Click “Find” again to continue searching for the next instance.
  • Searching begins at the currently selected cache and continues down.
  • When the end of the list is found, you will be notified and can continue the search from the top of the list.
  • Click the “x” button next to the Find text field to clear the text and reset the search.

    Categorizing Geocaches

    Once you have Categories created, select the Geocaches in the list that you would like to categorize. You can select them one at a time by holding down Command and clicking, drag selecting, or Selecting the first cache holding down Shift and clicking the last cache to select them all in between.

  • Click the “Move” button on the left, and it will open a Move dialog.
  • Select your Category from the drop-down list -OR- type in the name of a new Category and it will be created on the fly.
  • Click Move to move the selected caches or Cancel to exit without moving anything.

    Deleting Geocaches

    This will permanently remove geocache(s) from your cache list.

  • Select the geocaches that you wish to delete.
  • Click the Delete button in the Control area. You will be given a chance to cancel to delete in the next dialog.

    View as Web page

    This will open your browser to the cache’s web page on geocaching.com.

  • Select a Geocache from the list.
  • Click the View as Web Page button from the control list.

    Send to GPS

    This option will send the currently selected geocaches to your connected GPS device. Please make sure that your GPS receiver is properly connected to your Mac, and that it is configured correctly under Preferences.

  • Select one or multiple Geocaches from the list.
  • Click the “Send to GPS” button from the control list and the Send dialog will open.
  • Choose whether you want to send only the Selected geocaches to your GPS or the entire Category.
  • Depending on the GPS type, there may be additional options to set.
  • Click Start to send or cancel to exit.

    Add as Location

    This is useful if you are using GeoJournal while you are caching, and you find a cache and want to know what the next nearest cache is at.

  • Select a Geocache from the list.
  • Click the Add as Location button from the control list. This will add the selected geocache to your Location list by copying it’s name and coordinates.

    Add to Itinerary

    This will add the currently selected geocaches to the itinerary. More information on itineraries later in this section.

  • Select one or multiple Geocaches from the cache list.
  • Click the “Add to Itinerary” button in the control area and the caches will show up in the itinerary listing.

    Details Area

    The Details areas is where you can get all the additional information about the currently selected geocache. Where the cache list gives you the basic information, the Details area gives you all the information currently available about the selected Geocache. GeoJournal puts all of this information in a simple, easy to use interface.

    Details Tab

    The details tab contains lots of detailed information about the selected cache. On the right side, there are 11 fields of information

  • Status - Status of the cache. May be Available, offline, etc.
  • Difficulty - Difficulty of the cache 1 to 5
  • Terrain - Terrain of the cache 1 to 5
  • Placed on - Date that this cache was initially placed.
  • Placed by - The geocaching.com user that placed this cache.
  • Cache Type - Type of cache this is, Traditional, virtual, etc.
  • Cache Size - Size of the cache container.
  • State - State that this cache resides.
  • Country - The Country that this cacher resides.
  • Latitude - Latitude coordinates of the cache, expressed in the format based in Preferences.
  • Longitude - Longitude coordinates of the cache, expressed in the format based in Preferences.

    Tabbed Area

    The tabbed area to the right contains even more information on the geocache. Click on the tabs at the top to view the information pertaining to that tab.

  • Description Tab - Contains the cache’s description, created by the owner of the geocache.
  • Cache Logs - Contains the cache’s logs, created by users who have attempted to find the cache.
  • Travelbugs - Contains a list of the Travelbugs that are currently in this cache. Click on the bullet (dot) to the left of the Travel bug name to open it’s web page on geocaching.com
  • Hints - Contains any hints left by the owner of this geocache. Use with caution! :)

    Maps Tab

    The Maps tab is a unique feature to GeoJournal compared to other Geocaching management applications. GeoJournal imbeds a web browser in the application and can automatically present a view of the selected geocache’s location by using Google Maps.

  • Select a geocache from the cache list.
  • Click on the “Maps” tab and the application will query the GeoJournal servers and pull map data from Google Maps.
  • If you are familiar with Google Maps, all the same controls are available. You can drag the map around or click on the Satellite or Hybrid buttons to change the view.
  • Click the + and - buttons to zoom in and out of the map.

    Itinerary Tab

    The Itinerary tab is another unique feature that GeoJournal offers. In a nutshell, it allows you to create a list of Geocaches that you would like to find, and automatically sort them based on distance. It also allows you to modify the sorting based on your needs. If you have Google Earth installed, you can view the cache itinerary on the Google Earth maps to visually verify the order. You can load and save the itinerary for use later OR you can export the itinarary to a text file that can be printed or put on a PDA for paperless caching! Brilliant, no? ;-)

  • To add caches to the itinerary, select caches from the cache list and click the “Add to Itinerary” button. The caches will be placed in the itinerary list.
  • Click the “Sort Itinerary” button to sort the caches based on distance. Make sure that your Location is set to the one you want, because the initial distance calculation is based on the current Location.
  • The itinerary list will be sorted and updated with the current distance and direction from the previous cache.
  • Click on Google Earth to launch that application and view your itinerary. This is a good time to verify that the route is what you want. If you decide that you want to modify the route, you can do so.
  • To modify the order, you will use the “Lock” feature. The “Lock” feature allows you to lock in a specific cache in a certain order in the list. When the “Sort Itinerary” button is clicked, any Locked items will not be re-ordered. Instead, the order is calculated with the locked item in it’s place.
  • Select an item in the list. You can move it up and down in the list by clicking the up and down buttons on the right.
  • When you are happy with the order, you can lock the item by clicking the Lock check box. The item is now locked.
  • Click “Sort Itinerary” and the itinerary will be ordered “around” any locked items in the list.
  • Click the Export… button to save the itinerary as a text file on your Desktop. This is perfect for printing out or putting on a PDA. Select the fields that you want to appear in the text file within the export dialog.
  • In case you want to see the details of a Cache in the itinerary list, select it and click the “Locate” button. This will highlight the cache in the cache list, and thus populate all the detail fields so you can view them by selecting the Details tab.
  • As a convenience, you can click the “Move” button to move all the caches in the itinerary to a specific Category.
  • Finally, you can save the current itinerary by typing in a name and clicking the Save button. To load, highlight the itinerary name from the drop-down box and click Load.

    Journal Tab

    The Journal Tab is the great feature that GeoJournal is named after! Many times the real fun of geocaching isn’t just finding the cache, but the journey in getting there. A lot of funny and memorable things happen during geocaching adventures, and GeoJournal allows you to keep those memories intact! The Journal area gives you the ability to mark a cache as found, create a Journal entry to describe the adventure you had at the cache, and an area to link pictures you may have taken while searching for this cache!

    The Found button

    After selecting a cache from the list, click on the “Found” button to mark this cache as found by you. The date and time fields will automatically populate. You may modify/correct them as necessary. Clicking Found again will mark it as not found.

    The Journal Area

    Immediately below the Found button is a text area where you can describe your adventure for this geocache. This is your Journal area, so make sure you write in as many details as you can remember. Trust me, you will be glad you did later! Any text entered here is automatically saved.

    Pictures

    To the left of the Journal is an area to add pictures that you may have taken at this cache. To add a picture, you can drag and drop one into the window, or click the “+” button and a dialog will open up. Click the Browse button to find the picture. Create a cute caption for the picture as well and click Add to add it to the Journal. NOTE: A link to the picture is all that is saved! This means that if the picture is deleted or moved from it’s original location, GeoJournal will not be able to find it again. It is recommended that you drag and drop from iPhoto into GeoJournal.

    Click the “-” button to delete the current picture. If you want to change the caption, simply click on it and a dialog will open that will allow you to change it. Use the > and < buttons to view the previous and next pictures in the list. Finally, click the “View” button to view a full size version of the picture in Preview.


    Document last updated on July 26, 2007 at 01:40am.
    GeoJournal, it’s logo, and associated materials are copyright © 2007 by Absolute Ingenuity, Inc.
    GeoJournal and GeoIngenuity are trademarks of Absolute Ingenuity, Inc.



    Advanced Features

    POP3 Mail Import

    If you are premium subscriber to geocaching.com, you have the ability to generate Pocket Queries. Pocket Queries are a list of geocaches created based on your search criteria. These files are usually large GPX formatted text files. Pocket Queries are emailed to you and can be zipped (compressed) to save space. GeoJournal has the ability to import these files directly from the application, saving you the hassle of downloading them to your Mac, unzipping them, and then importing them into your application. Additionally, GeoJournal will remember which Pocket Queries it has already downloaded, and skip importing of those. Also, you can create very powerful automated rules in GeoJournal that will automatically import a zipped Pocket Query and place it into the proper category so that all you need to do is click a single button and everything is downloaded, imported, and categorized every time!

    To access the POP3 feature, click on Tools -> POP3 Mail on the toolbar, or use the shortcut Command+P.

    Configuration Tab

    Go to the Configuration Tab to set up your POP3 account. Note– At this time, GeoJournal only supports standard cleartext (unencrypted) POP3 access to your account. Some mail services (i.e. Google Mail) only provide encrypted POP3 access which is not compatible with GeoJournal. Supporting encrypted POP3 mail accounts is a possible feature for an upcoming version of GeoJournal.

    POP3 Server

    Enter the hostname or IP address of your mail server in this field.

    Port

    Enter the tcp port of the POP3 service. Most standard implementations of POP3 use port 110 so it is advised to use the default (110) if you are unsure. If you know the port has been relocated, you may enter it here.

    POP3 Account

    Enter your POP3 account or username here. In some cases, it is the same as your email address (i.e. yourname@domain.com) or sometimes, it is your email but the at sign (@) is replaced with a dot (.) as in yourname.domain.com. Finally, it may just be your email name without the domain (yourname in this example). If you are unsure, contact your mail support person to find out.

    POP3 Password

    Enter your POP3 account’s password.

    FROM field matches

    In this area, you may enter a text string that will filter the email listing results and only show emails that match. For instance, most Pocket Queries generated by geocaching.com are sent from the user “contact@geocaching.com”. If you have many different emails in your POP3 account, you will see all your emails in GeoJournal, but you are only interested in the ones from geocaching.com. If you enter “geocaching.com” (without the quotes) in this field, GeoJournal will filter out any emails that are not from geocaching.com and you will only see those matching email in your list.

    Save Settings

    This button will save all of your POP3 configuration settings to the database.

    Test Settings

    Click this button to test your current settings. If your settings are correct, you will see a “Login Successful” window. If there is a problem with your settings, you should see a window with an error description. If you are seeing errors without a known error, check that your POP3 Server is correct, and that you are currently connected to the Internet.

    Disconnect

    Click the disconnect button to completely disconnect from the POP3 server. If you are having any issues with logging into the POP3 server, click the Disconnect button and try again. This will reset the connection and may resolve your issues.

    Check Email Tab

    After setting up your POP3 settings successfully, click on the Check Email tab to bring up a list of emails in your mailbox. From here you can manage your email, import attachments in one at a time, and build powerful rules to automate all your Pocket Query imports.

    Check Mail Button

    Click this button and GeoJournal will log into your POP3 account and download the current list of emails. This could take some time, depending on your connection speed and number of emails. It is highly recommended that you create a separate email account solely for your geocachiing Pocket Queries. Once the process completes, you should have a list of all the emails in your account.

    Set Category

    Select an email with a Pocket Query attachment. Notice that by default, the Import Category field shows the Default category. Use the drop-down box next to the Set Category button to change the category that this Query will be imported into. As always, you can select an existing category from the drop-down, or you can type a new category name in the field. Click the Set Category button to make the change. You will see that the Import Category entry is update with the new Category. This change is NOT permanent, but is intended to be used as you need it. To save this entry, please refer to the “Add to Import Rules” button description below.

    Add to Import Rules

    Once you’ve selected an email to import and set it’s Category, you may want to save this as a Rule for subsequent importing. By clicking this button, this rule will be added to the “Import Rules” section. Please note, that this does NOT save your rule, as that must be done in the Import Rules area (refer to that section in this documentation). Instead, this will simply transfer the rule to the Import Rules area.

    View Message

    Select an email and click this button to see a brief output of the body of the message.

    Delete Message

    Clicking this button will delete the currently highlighted message. This will PERMANENTLY delete it from the server– be warned.

    Import Attachment

    Clicking this button will immediately import the currently selected email’s attachment and import the file using the Category specified in the list (by default it will be the Default Category).

    Import Rules Tab

    The Import Rules Tab is where you can automate the process of downloading GPX files from your POP3 account and automatically place them into specific categories based on the file name. The import rules area builds upon rules transferred from the Check Email tab or rules created from this area. Any rules transferred by clicking the “Add to Import Rules” button on the “Check Email” tab should show up in this list.

    Add Rule button

    This button allows you to create a new import rule from scratch. Most of the time, you will probably create rules from the Check Email area, but if you know the attachment name, you can use this feature to create your own rule. The Rule Name should be a descriptive name for you to remember the rule by. The Attachment name is the name given to the attachment by the geocaching.com site. The Import Category is the category you would like the caches in the file to be imported into. A category that doesn’t exist will be created automatically. The “Found?” checkbox will mark ALL the geocaches in this attachment as being Found by you. It will be given a found date and time of the time of importing into the application. The “Active” checkbox allows you to activate or deactivate a rule without deleting it. If Active is checked, the rule will be evaluated, if it is not checked then the rule will be skipped. The “Last Import Date” field shows you when this file was last successfully imported.

    Edit Rule button

    This button will allow you to Edit the currently selected Rule. See the field descriptions above for their explanations.

    Remove Rule button

    Clicking this button will remove the current rule from the Rule list. The change is not permanent unless the Save Rules button is clicked, however if the Import button is clicked, the rule will not be evaluated since it is not in the current list. If the application is restarted without saving, the removed rule will be seen again.

    Clear Date button

    Click this button to clear the “Last Import Date”. Once a file has been imported, GeoJournal will remember that and skip it if you try to import it again. If you wish to force it to import the attachment, use the Clear Date button to clear it’s last import. The next time you import, the attachment will be included, as the application sees it as a new file that has never been imported before.

    Save Rules button

    This button will save the current rules to the database. Any time the POP3 window is opened, the currently saved rules are loaded into the Import Rules window.

    Load Rules button

    This button will load the currently saved rules into the window. It is useful if you have manually edited or created rules, but wish to reload the existing rules and not save the ones you made.

    Import button

    Once your rules are created, click the Import button to make it all happen. The Import will connect to the POP3 server, and go through each email looking for a Pocket Query attachment. Once found, it will look at the file name and evaluate it based on your current rules. If a match is found, it determines if it has already been previously imported. If so, it will be skipped. If not, it will be automatically imported into the Category specified. A current count of the emails and thier status is shown below the Import button. OK is the count of emails that were successfully imported. Skipped is the count of emails that had matching rules, but were skipped because they were previously imported. No Rule is the count of emails that appear to be valid pocket query files, but were not imported because there was not a rule for them. Not Active is the count of emails that were ignored and not imported because thier associated rule was deactivated (the Active checkbox was not checked).

    Advanced Exporting

    GeoJournal support exporting selected geocaches into different data formats and applications. This flexibility allows you to integrate your GeoJournal managed data into other applications. All export formats are accessed by first selecting the cache or group of caches from the main Cache list. Once you have them selected, click on File -> Export selected to… on the Toolbar.

    GPX Export

    This option will allow you to export the selected caches as a GPX file. A GPX file is an XML formatted text file with information specific to geocaching. The GPX format is the basic format used by most Geocaching applications. This file will be created on your Desktop, and should be usable in any application that supports the GPX file format.

    GPS Receiver

    This option is the same as clicking the “Send to GPS” button. This feature is covered in Chapter 3, “Using GeoJournal”.

    Apple iCal

    This feature will export all your found geocaches into an iCal compatible file which can be imported into Apple’s iCal calendar application, which is a standard application installed with Mac OS X. Once the file is created, simply import it from iCal and create a new category name. You will see all of your “Finds” now in iCal on the date that you found them. They will also include a link to the cache’s website, and any Journal text you have are displayed in the Notes area of iCal. When exporting, GeoJournal only exports Found caches that are new since the last export. If you wish to export all of them again, uncheck the “Only export new finds” check box on the export dialog and then click the Export button.

    CacheMate

    GeoJournal supports exporting selected geocaches to a CacheMate compatible PDB file. CacheMate is an application that runs on both Palm Pilot and Windows Mobile based PDAs. CacheMate is used by many Geocachers for “Paperless” geocaching. This export feature will create a CacheMate PDB file that can be transferred to a Palm Pilot and imported into CacheMate. This is handy for creating a list of geocaches that you would like to accomplish. Note– The PDB files are compatible with the PALM PILOT version of CacheMate. If you have the Windows Mobile version of CacheMate, you can export your selected caches as a GPX file, and use that file to import into Windows Mobile CacheMate.

    Google Earth

    This feature will export the currently selected caches and open thier locations up within Google Earth. Google Earth is a fantastically cool free application that will let you see each cache on a map. Google Earth needs to be previously installed for this option to work.

    Advanced Selecting

    The Advanced Selecting features refer to the options available under Edit -> Advanced on the GeoJournal toolbar. These options normally work on the currently selected geocache(s) in the main Cache list.

    Edit

    The Edit option will allow you to edit the currently selected Geocache. You can edit most of the details of the cache from here. If you have multiple caches selected, you will only edit the top most cache entry.

    Move

    The Move option will allow you to change the category of the currently selected Geocaches. You will be prompted for the new Category from a drop-down box. You can select an existing Category from the drop-down. If you type in a new Category in the drop-down area, the Category will be created on the fly.

    Delete

    The Delete option will delete all of the currently selected geocaches. You will be prompted after you select this option to be sure you want to delete the group of caches.

    Database features

    The database features are accessed from Tools -> Database from the GeoJournal Toolbar.

    Optimize

    This feature will optimize the current GeoJournal database. If you have many additions and deletions of geocaches within the application, it may be advisable to run the optimize command occasionally. This will optimize the database and remove any unused entries in the database. It will also reduce the file size of the database if it can. This process will not remove any valid data from your database. In some cases, this will also improve the performance of the database searching and the application in general (typically for very, very large databases with lots of geocache entries).

    Restore

    The Restore feature should be used WITH CAUTION. Every time GeoJournal starts up, it creates a back up of the current database (unless this option is turned off in preferences). Up to 5 database back ups are created. You may wish to restore a previous database from the list. BE WARNED– If you restore a previous database, all changes in the current database will be lost permanently. This feature gives you the ability to recover from a previous database in case your current one becomes corrupted. Also, if you happen to delete caches that you did not want to, you can restore from the last previous database to recover to where your last database state was. The databases are listed in order of oldest first on the list. Please pay attention to the dates and file size of the databases before you Restore one. If you wish to restore, select the database you want to restore, click the restore button, and cross your fingers! You have been warned… :)


    Document last updated on July 26, 2007 at 01:40am.
    GeoJournal, it’s logo, and associated materials are copyright © 2007 by Absolute Ingenuity, Inc.
    GeoJournal and GeoIngenuity are trademarks of Absolute Ingenuity, Inc.



    Licensing and Limitations

    End User License Agreement

    The product is protected by Federal Copyright Law. ABSOLUTE INGENTUITY, INC. retains the title to and ownership of the Product. You are licensed to use this Product on the following terms and conditions:

    LICENSE - The licensee is defined as the individual or company utilizing the Software Product. ABSOLUTE INGENUITY, INC. hereby grants the licensee a nonexclusive license authorizing the licensee to use the enclosed Product on one computer at a time. Please contact ABSOLUTE INGENUITY, INC. if you require additional licenses. Use of this product by more than one individual or by anyone other than the licensee terminates, without notification, this license and the right to use this product.

    YOU MAY NOT: Distribute, rent, sub-license or otherwise make available to others the software or documentation or copies thereof, except as expressly permitted in this License without prior written consent from ABSOLUTE INGENUITY, INC. In the case of an authorized transfer, the transferee must agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of this License Agreement.

    RESTRICTIONS - You may use this Product in your business as long as:
    The software serial number and user must be registered with ABSOLUTE INGENUITY, INC. in order to receive support or distribution rights.
    You may not remove any proprietary notices, labels, trademarks on the software or documentation.
    You may not modify, de-compile, disassemble, reverse engineer or translate the software.

    US GOVERNMENT RESTRICTED RIGHTS - Use, duplication or disclosure by the United States Government is subject to restrictions as set forth under DFARS 252.227-7013 or in FARS 52.227-19 Commercial Computer Software - Restricted Rights.

    TERM - You may terminate your License and this Agreement at anytime by destroying all copies of the Product and Product Documentation. They will also terminate automatically if you fail to comply with any term or condition in this Agreement.

    LIMITED WARRANTY - This software and documentation are sold “as is” without any warranty as to their performance, merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. The licensee assumes the entire risk as to the quality and performance of the software. In no event shall ABSOLUTE INGENUITY, INC. or anyone else who has been involved in the creation, development, production, or delivery of this software be liable for any direct, incidental or consequential damages, such as, but not limited to, loss of anticipated profits, benefits, use, or data resulting from the use of this software, or arising out of any breach of warranty.

    EXCLUSIONS - External programs and works bundled with this application do so with the permission of thier authors and according to thier individual Licensing agreements. This Licensing agreement does not apply to those included works. Please refer to thier individual Licensing agreements for terms and conditions of thier use. For more information on these works, please contact support@geojournal.net.

    Demo Period

    When initially installed, GeoJournal operates in a full demo mode. You are allowed unrestricted access to the application for a period of 30 days. This period is to allow you to fully test drive the application and it’s features and evaluate it’s usefulness to you. Please take the opportunity to do that. At the end of the 30 day evaluation period, we hope that you decide to purchase a permanent license for GeoJournal. By purchasing a license, you are entitled to upgrades for this version of the application. Upgrades will include bug fixes and exciting new features. Licensed users will also be given priority support via email, and the ability to generate feature requests that may be implemented to improve the application. If you decide to not purchase GeoJournal, you may still use GeoJournal, but you will be constantly reminded to purchase a license for the application. Also, you will lose access to POP3 import and possibly other advanced features. Also, the maps will not automatically load when a cache is selected– you will have to manually click the Geocache button under the Maps section in order to load the Google Map.

    Acceptable Licensing Usage

    Your purchase of a GeoJournal license entitles you to run GeoJournal on a single Mac computer. If you have several accounts on a single computer, it is permissible to allow multiple users to use the GeoJournal application. Each user will have their own personal database created with their own caches and settings. It is also permissible for you to install GeoJournal on more that 1 computer if the SAME user is accessing the application. For instance, you may wish to run GeoJournal on both your Laptop and Desktop. If the owner of both systems is the same person, and if they are the only user using both installed applications, this is a permissible scenario for licensing.

    If you wish to run GeoJournal on multiple computers for DIFFERENT users, you will need to buy a license for each computer with a different user. There are no checks for multiple versions being installed, so we work on the honor system that you will operate within the license framework of this application.

    If you have any questions about licensing, please feel free to contact us via the Feedback mechanism in the GeoJournal application. Please title the Subject as Licensing or similar.

    Final Thoughts from the Author

    I sincerely hope that if you like the application that you purchase a license for it. Unless you are involved with software development, you may not understand the hours and hours of time spent to write even the most basic of programs. GeoJournal is no exception. It is the work hours and hours of programming, troubleshooting, and planning over the course of 6 months with absolutely no guarantee of it’s success. In many ways, independent software development is a labor of love and a sacrifice time. In GeoJournal’s case, there is also a matter of resources that are used when the application is used. Every query to load a Google Map in GeoJournal is sent to my server. From there, my server queries Google Maps directly and sends the response back to you. This is done because Google’s licensing requires it before any web application can use their awesome mapping service. However, in order to bring you this feature, I must pay for a co-located server capable of handling those requests. This is an ongoing cost that must be paid, and so your purchase helps to continue to directly support the application. In the future, it may be necessary to block all map requests from any non-registered application in order to keep costs down for this resource. We hope that this will not happen.


    Thank you for choosing GeoJournal.
    -Rich Martin, GeoJournal Author
    Owner GeoIngenuity/Absolute Ingenuity, Inc.


    Document last updated on July 26, 2007 at 01:40am.
    GeoJournal, it’s logo, and associated materials are copyright © 2007 by Absolute Ingenuity, Inc.
    GeoJournal and GeoIngenuity are trademarks of Absolute Ingenuity, Inc.



    Technical Notes

    This area is for explaining technical details of GeoJournal that may interest more advanced users. Topics will be added as they are uncovered.

    Backing up GeoJournal data manually

    GeoJournal gives you the option of disabling the automatic backup of it’s databases under it’s preferences area. Normally, this is not suggested, however, there are scenarios where you may not want to have the automatic backups run. If your existing hard drive is already being incrementally backed up by another application, it may not be necessary to have an in-application backup run. Also, with the upcoming release of Leopard, the Time Machine feature may also negate the need for a backup. GeoJournal stores it’s database under “~/Application Support/Geo Journal/” where ~ is your currently logged in user’s home directory. You may wish to manually back up this directory with another application and disable the in-application backup. Or you may want to keep it enabled as another layer of protection against database corruption/hard drive failure.


    Document last updated on July 26, 2007 at 01:40am.
    GeoJournal, it’s logo, and associated materials are copyright © 2007 by Absolute Ingenuity, Inc.
    GeoJournal and GeoIngenuity are trademarks of Absolute Ingenuity, Inc.



    Credits

    I would like to recognize the following people and organizations for their contributions to this work:

    GeoJournal utilizes GPSBabel to communicate with a variety of different GPS receivers. GPSBabel is an open-source project headed by Robert Lipe. For every GeoJournal license that is purchased, a donation will be made to the GPSBabel project. You can visit their website and donate directly at www.gpsbabel.org.

    GeoJournal utilizes a utility called CMConvert, which converts geocache data into files that are compatible with CacheMate for paperless Geocaching. CMConvert is used with permission by the author. Please visit his website for more information: www.smittyware.com.

    The stand-along open-source applications used by GeoJournal include code licensed under the GNU General Public License. You can read about the GPL at http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.html.

    GeoJournal includes, with permission, a PDF brochure about Geocaching. The brochure is accessible under the Help menu of the application. This brochure was written and developed by Brett Hammond. Please visit his web site at www.geocacher-u.com for more great information on Geocaching.

    GeoJournal utilizes maps through it’s built-in web browser via the Google Maps API. As part of the terms and conditions to use the API, all map requests in GeoJournal are sent through a GeoIngenuity server and the map data is routed back to the application. You can access this site directly at www.geojournal.net/gj/maps/googlemap.html. Google maps API documentation is available at www.google.com/apis/maps.

    GeoJournal can integrate with Google Earth for the Mac. Google Earth is a free program by Google. You can download the application at earth.google.com.

    Icons “lurker” and “radar” that are used in this application are from the freely availble icon sets created by Cain Walsh. You can visit his website at www.afterglow.ie.

    The GeoIngenuity “Lightbulb Earth” Icon was created by Nick Onken. I want to also thank Nick for all his hard work in beta testing GeoJournal, and for providing lots and lots of Feedback and feature requests for the application. He is also responsible for writing a lot of the online documentation. Nick runs a personal website at chimbisimo.googlepages.com dedicated to helping Mac Geocachers cope in a Windows world…

    I want to thank my wife Jennifer and my 2 kids for their love, time, and support.

    Last, but certainly not least, I would like to thank God.
    “All things are possible to him who believes.” - Mark 9:23


    Document last updated on July 26, 2007 at 01:40am.
    GeoJournal, it’s logo, and associated materials are copyright © 2007 by Absolute Ingenuity, Inc.
    GeoJournal and GeoIngenuity are trademarks of Absolute Ingenuity, Inc.