About CacheMate

CacheMate is a waypoint database at heart, but is loaded with features geared toward GPS cache hunts and benchmarking. It makes it easy to take cache information in GPX format and view it in the field, but is also fully editable and is flexible enough to deal with a variety of uses.

Being a shareware program, CacheMate running in unregistered mode has the following limitations. It is otherwise fully functional.

• Multi-database support is disabled
• Limited to 10 records

Record List View

CacheMate's main display, visible when the program is started, is a list of all records in the current database that match the selected category and the current list filters. The list is sortable by any of the possible textual information that may be shown.

The up/down directional keys either scroll (page) the list view a screenful at a time or select a record to work with, modes that are switched using the left softkey. The left/right directional keys change the current category.

Various list options control what is displayed. There are potentially both a primary and secondary text field (the latter shown in parentheses), a numeric column for quick selection of a record on the screen, and up to four icon columns for each line:

• Travel Bugs / Disabled
• Log Notes (grey, yellow or red icon, depending on log type)
• Bookmark
• Found (green check if found, red arrow if owned)

If "Find Percent" is selected as the secondary text item, it shows the percentage of "found" logs among the total number of logs imported for the corresponding record.

Importing Records

Selecting Actions > Import from the list view's menu starts the process of importing records into CacheMate from an external source. When the import dialog box appears, select the import plugin to use, the destination database, and the categories to assign to imported records:

• Owned - The owner's name matches one of the configured website user IDs
• Found - The import plugin has marked the record as "found"
• Extra - The import plugin has marked the record as "extra". This is the treatment given to Geocaching.com's "additional" waypoints, for example.
• Default - The "catch-all" category for records not matching the other criteria

The other options in this dialog determine what to do when an imported record's waypoint ID matches that of a record already in the database. The new record can either be inserted or merged with an existing record (preserving record flags and log notes), and the category for an existing record may be overriden with the selected one.

A GPX/LOC import plugin is bundled with CacheMate, and is used to import records from LOC and GPX formatted XML files located on the phone or on a memory card. The plugin supports GPX extensions used by Geocaching.com, TerraCaching.com and Geocaching.com.au, as well as others that are specific to CacheMate.

The initial "found" status of an imported record is determined by the waypoint's symbol name. The "found" status is set if the file is in GPX format and the symbol name is "Geocache Found", otherwise it is not.

Viewing Records

Records may be viewed by either selecting a record in the list view and pressing the Action key, or pressing the key corresponding to the record's number column if it is shown.

CacheMate's record view displays information from a record in a formatted text display, using the Pocket Internet Explorer engine. Initiailly, the display shows hints (typically encoded), past cache logs (if any) and most other information associated with a record. The hints and each of the logs may be individually decoded as needed.

The Goto sub-menu navigates between points on the main record view screen, and allows viewing related images and jumping to a parent waypoint. It replaces navigation hyperlinks in version 1.0.3, due to bugs in the Pocket IE engine in Windows Mobile 6 which cause problems navigating horizontally between links.

Editing Records

Records may be edited by selecting Record > Edit from the list view's menu. The record editor allows changing of most of the information in the selected record, except for things like past logs and associated URLs, which are specially formatted and meant only for imported records.

Editing Cache Notes

Log notes for a record may be edited by selecting Edit Log from the menus in either the list view or record view. This dialog box allows editing of log notes text, the log type, and start and end times of the cache hunt.

The log notes field supports an editable log template, stored in the CacheMate install directory as LogTemplate.txt, which can be inserted either manually or automatically to make some log entries quicker in the field. "Quick notes" may also be defined by adding text files to CacheMate's "QuickNotes" directory.

Automated actions may be configured in the event that a Found or Not Found log is entered. Selecting a log type of None clears all other information in the log notes editor.

There are menu options to manage travel bugs and voice notes associated with the cache log. Recording of voice notes may also be triggered by pressing the phone's Record button while in the log editor or record view.

Log Template Variables

Log templates may contain one or more variables that are filled in when the template is inserted in the log field. %date% and %time% are replaced with the current date and time, respectively.

%fcount% is replaced with a counter of times the template has been used in a "found" log. The current value of this counter is viewable and editable in the Preferences dialog.

Sending Cache Logs

Part of CacheMate's plugin support is a mechanism for instantly sending logs over the air, via either SMS or an internet data connection. The menus of both the record list and detail views include a Send Log option for this purpose.

The first bundled "send log" plugin allows use of Groundspeak's SMS logging system, after a little setup procedure is completed. Unfortunately for international users, SMS logging to Geocaching.com is currently US-only, thanks to the SMS gateway that is being used.

Managing Travel Bugs

CacheMate allows for easy management of travel bugs (trackable trade items hosted by Geocaching.com), moving them between geocaches and a separate "inventory" database. From the log notes editor, you may move travel bugs in and out of caches.

You may also select Travel Bugs > Inventory from the in the list view's menu to manage your travel bug collection. The inventory manager allows for adding, deleting and editing travel bug information.

The inventory list also indicates when a travel bug was moved there. The list is sorted by this timestamp, and lines corresponding to bugs that have been there for a certain amount of time will display in red as an alert that you've had them for a while. This number of days is configurable from the Preferences dialog, and defaults to 30.

Movement of travel bugs in and out of caches, as well as manually adding a bug to your inventory, is logged to a text file in the CacheMate install directory. There are options in the Travel Bugs submenu to allow for easy viewing and clearing of this log. Warnings will start to appear if the log file grows beyond 30KB in size.

Preferences

The preferences dialog is reached by selecting Options > Preferences from the list view.

General Options
These options cover things that don't easily fall into any of the other categories.

List Options
There are a number of options to control the formatting of CacheMate's list view, as well as the center point for distance/bearing list sorting. The center point may also be acquired from a connected GPS receiver.

Found/DNF Log Actions
These pages configure automated actions when a Found or Not Found log is entered for a record. Possible actions include changing the record's category, inserting the log template, setting the list view's center point, marking the hunt end time, and marking the record as "found".

Database Options
These options relate to the database selection dialog, controlling whether or not it appears when the program starts, and an option to clear list filters when a new database is selected.

Plugin Configuration
This page allows plugin-specific configuration, for those plugins that support it.

Cache Types / Container Types
These options manage lists for cache/record and container types for selection in the record editor. They are automatically updated as needed during the record import process.

Website User IDs
This list of user IDs is compared to the Owner record field to determine whether to show a cache as owned by the user when displayed in the list view, if the owned/found icon column is shown. It is also used for category routing when records are imported.

Editing Categories

Each CacheMate database supports up to 32 record categories for easy organization of the records it contains. To edit the list of categories for the current database, select Database > Categories from the list view's menu.

Renaming a category will change its name, but keep all record category assignments intact. Deleting a category will move all of the affected records to the Unfiled category, which is always present.

Editing List Filters

Aside from the selected category, records displayed in the list view may be further limited by a set of filters. These filters may be edited by selecting List > Edit Filter from the list view.

Distance/Bearing
These settings allow specifying a maximum distance and selecting directions from a configured center point, which is set either in the preferences dialog or from a record in the list view.

Text Matching
Case-insensitive text matching of owner, name or waypoint fields may be used to further limit listed records. If Exact Match is checked, the entire text is compared. Otherwise, a record is considered a match if one of those fields contains the text specified here.

Bookmarks

Records may be bookmarked using the record editor. Bookarks are preserved even when information is merged during record importing. Selecting Database > Bookmarks from the record list view displays a list of bookmarked records in the current database. From here, you may view a specific record, or move or export all of the bookmarked records.

Selecting Database > Clear Bookmarks clears all bookmarks in the current database.

Multiple Databases

CacheMate contains support for multiple databases, limited only by the free space in the phone or memory card on which it is installed. Selecting Database > Select opens the database manager, from which you may select, create, rename or delete databases. This functionality is only available once CacheMate is registered.

After enough use, a database may begin to contain a substantial amount of empty space. This space is reused by the database, but is not all reclaimed by the file system due to the database architecture in Windows Mobile. To help keep the database size under control, you may occasionally select Database > Compact while in the record list view.

WARNING: Due to the fact that another copy of the database much be temporarily created in order to compact it, you must have at least enough free space to create that copy. Once the new, compacted copy of the database is successfully created, the old one will be deleted.

Plugin Support

CacheMate supports expansion using a plugin mechanism. Each plugin supports one or more of the following roles:

• Single-record mapping
• Single-record navigation
• Single-record exporting
• Multi-record exporting
• Record importing
• Calculation (with or without input coordinates)
• GPS location query
• Miscellaneous action

The list and record views have Action menus, which contain the plugin-related commands available in those contexts. Some plugins also support configuration options, which are accessible via the Plugin Configuration portion of the Preferences dialog.

GPS plugin functionality is split between the roles of "function" and "interface". GPS function plugins represent the use of GPS information, either to determine current location or perform real-time navigation, and GPS interface plugins handle the actual connection to GPS hardware. GPS function plugins each allow selection of an interface to use whne they are started, or will default to a usable interface plugin if one is not configured.

CacheMate includes the following plugins:

CacheNav
Provides simple compass-style GPS navigation.

Coordinate Formats
Allows display of a record's coordinates in formats and projections other than the default degrees/minutes format.

Distance Calculator
Converts distance measurements between common metric, nautical and statute units.

GPX Export

GPX/LOC Import

Groundspeak SMS

HTML Notes Report
Writes log notes for one or more records to NotesReport.htm in the CacheMate install directory, then launches Pocket Internet Explorer to view it.

GPS Location Query
Determines current location via a selected GPS interface, with optional location averaging.

Waypoint Projection
"Projects" a new waypoint, using Vincenty's Direct formula, based on the currently selected record and user-supplied distance and bearing information.

NMEA Serial
GPS interface plugin for NMEA-compatible hardware connected via either a serial cable or Bluetooth.

NMEA MS Bluetooth
GPS interface plugin for Bluetooth NMEA-compatible hardware, available only on devices using the Microsoft Bluetooth stack. Bluetooth devices may be selected when the plugin is activated, or may be selected through the configuration dialog.

Support for External Programs

While plugins allow CacheMate to work with external programs and devices, there also exists a way for external programs to exercise some control over CacheMate's operation. This control is accomplished by specifying a waypoint ID on the command line, which will cause CacheMate to jump to the specified record in the current database.

GPX Export Plugin

This plugin allows exporting one or more records to GPX files, for use with other applications, and may employ Groundspeak- and CacheMate-specific extensions as needed. It supports configuration of the following options:

Default symbol
Specifies the default waypoint symbol, for when a waypoint cannot be determined to be a geocache. If not specified, the default symbol is Waypoint.

Default type
Specifies the default waypoint type, for when a waypoint cannot be determined to be a geocache and a type is not defined in the waypoint record. If not specified, the default type is Waypoint.

Name as waypoint desc.
Normally, for non-geocache records where the record name is different from the waypoint ID, the description field will be used for the GPX <desc> element if it is not empty, instead of the record name. This option cancels that behavior, using the record name for the <desc> element in those cases.

CacheMate GPX Extensions

CacheMate has its own GPX extension schema for user-entered log notes and custom fields. The schema may be found here:

http://www.smittyware.com/schema/cmdata/1/0/cmdata.xsd

The elements documented in the schema are extensions to the GPX <wpt> element. The <log> element is supported for exporting, and <extra_data> is supported for both import and export.