GetCache

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A Linux-tool to collect and process geocache information

[ Purpose ] [ Usage ] [ Why? ] [ Prerequisites ] [ Using GetCache ] [ Configuration ] [ License ] [ Contact ]

Purpose

To prepare for a day of geocaching, you need a few things, such as geocache descriptions and waypoints on your GPS receiver. To assemble this all, I wrote GetCache.
GetCache is actually just a layer around two other tools. It collects the waypoints of the geocaches (as well as the 'Additional Waypoints') and makes one file of that, that can be exported to GPX- or KML-format. The descriptions (including decoded hints) are collected in one HTML-file.

How I use GetCache

I start off my preparations by studying the Geocaching.com Google Maps. After selecting the area where we will be caching, I select the caches that are interesting to us. I enter the GC-codes in GetCache. When the list is complete, I let GetCache do its magic.
The KML-file can be used in Google Earth to get directions to caches, or to see where the Additional Waypoints of a cache are - might be handy to know if you can grab a Traditional with a little detour when you're doing a Multi in the area.
I upload the GPX-file to my GPS receiver.
I open the HTML-file in my browser, and copy it into my word processor (in my case that's OpenOffice.org Writer). I edit the text to remove superfluous text and layout, to save on paper.

Prerequisites

To make use of GetCache, you will need a few things:

Usage

You can use GetCache in two ways: through the GUI, or through the commandline.

Through the GUI

If you start GetCache with the command getcache, you will get the GetCache GUI presented. Enter a name for the collection (the filename used for the GPX, KML and HTML files) and a descriptions. Defaults are based on the date of today.
Underneath that, you can choose which output formats you want: GPX and KML for the waypoint information and HTML for the descriptions.
Underneath that, you can choose whether the GPX-files of the geocaches have to be downloaded again (GetCache caches the downloaded GPX-files), whether images used in the cache-descriptions have to be downloaded too, and whether the combined GPX-file has to be sent to your GPS receiver immediately.
Underneath that, you can choose whether the cache descriptions in HTML will also include the logs. You can choose whether all logs are displayed or set a maximum number of logs to include.
Underneath that, you can enter the GC-codes of the geocaches you want to process. Press 'Add' to add the waypoint to the list. When the list is complete, press 'Execute' to start processing!

Through the commandline

It is also possible to use GetCache through the commandline. The command getcache -? gives an overview of all possible options. Everything that can be configured through the GUI can also be set through the commandline.

Configuration

After the first run, GetCache will write a configuration file to the user's home-directory, named .getcacherc. This file contains the settings that will be used as default in subsequent runs. Every time you run GetCache through the GUI, the settings you choose will be written back to the configuration file.
A run through the commandline will also use the settings in the configuration file. Only settings that differ from the defaults have to be given on the commandline.
There are four settings that can't be set through the GUI: gcuser and gcpwd are optional. If you have the same information in .georc, you don't have to set it in the GetCache configuration.

License

GetCache is released under the GPLv2 license. You are free to change GetCache to your own wishes and distribute it. If you add a feature that could be interesting to others, I would very much like to receive a patch!

Contact

If you have any questions or remarks, please do not hesitate to contact me on getcache [at] logrus.nl.