Contents
- Index
GSAK Columns
All the following columns can be added to your current grid view. Not all of these columns are displayed in the default grid view shipped with GSAK. To add any of these columns use Tools=>Options=>Display Note: You can change the order of the columns in the grid. (Drag the column heading left or right to change it's current position). You can also change the change the column width. To do this drag the mouse left or right at the intersection of the heading (while holding down the left mouse button) of the one you want to change and the next.
If you left mouse click on any column heading, the grid will be sorted on that column. Click again to have the sort sequence reversed. Multi column sorting (2 only) is also supported. GSAK will use your last selected sort as your "secondary" sort sequence. For example, if you want to sort caches by container type then distance, then first click on the distance heading and then click on the container heading.
If you right mouse click on any column heading you will get a pop up menu with 2 options:
Rename Column - This will allow you to rename any column heading. This should be especially handy for user data columns (and for non native English speaking users). These headings will be saved with your "views". As you can associate different views with different databases it should also allow you customise your column headings by database.
Remove Column - You can sill remove a column from the grid via "Tools=>Options=>Display". However, this option adds a quick "on the fly" method to do so.
Archived/Unavailable (status) - This column indicates if the cache is available, temporary disabled, or archived (A, T, X respectively) . Note that if the cache is archived, the code will show in the strike-out font, when the cache is unavailable it will show in the normal font. You can toggle the status of this column by double clicking the mouse (or F3 on the keyboard). However, please note that this is a 3 way toggle. That is, Available=>Unavailable=>Archived. You may also change this status via the right mouse click menu option "Cache status". Currently, only unavailable caches show up in Pocket Queries sent to you from Groundspeak. To work around this problem please see this link
Bearing - This is the bearing from your current centre point. If you double mouse click here, a message box will pop up showing you the actual bearing degrees.
Cache Type - This indicates the type of the cache (Traditional, Multi, Event, etc)
Code - Every waypoint must have a code and it must be unique. The code is used when you load a GPX file to determine if the waypoint is already in your database or not.
Container - This is the container for the cache
County - This is the county for the cache. Note: County data is currently not automatically provided by the GPX files provided by Groundspeak. To update your database with county data, see the GetCounty() macro function or the county update option via "File=>Load GPX"
Country - This is the country for the cache
Corrected Coordinates Indicator - This column indicates if you have entered corrected coordinates for this waypoint. Double click in this cell to bring up the corrected coordinates dialog.
Changed Date - Date information was actually changed when loading a GPX file (not just loading the file, but something actually changed) for a more complete explanation please see this link.
Creation Date - This is the date the waypoint was created in the GSAK database. The waypoint data could in fact be very old, however this date always represents the date when the waypoint was first added to the database regardless if by a manual addition or loading a GPX file.
Data Lock - This column indicates if the waypoint is locked. When a waypoint is locked, loading a GPX file will not override any of the information for this waypoint, even if there is newer information in the GPX file. The one exception is logs - logs are always updated/added regardless of the lock setting. Double mouse click the padlock icon to toggle the lock status of the waypoint on and off.
Date Found by me - This column indicates the most recent date you logged a find for this cache. It will automatically be updated when you load a GPX file that contains any found logs by you. However, for this to work you must make sure you have the method for matching hidden and found caches filled out correctly. You can alter this matching via Tools=>Options=>General
If like to update your Date found by me before you load the latest GPX file (or your GPX files do not contain your found logs) you can also do this manually. GSAK provides a very easy way to handle this scenario. Just make sure you can view the Found column. If you mouse click in the found column the cache will automatically be flagged as found and the found by me date will be set to today. If you don't want the current date for found by me, then use Waypoint=>Edit to change this date.
Degrees - This is the bearing in degrees from your current centre point
Difficulty - This is the difficulty rating of the cache. 1.0 = very easy => 5.0 = very hard.
Did Not Find Date - This column indicates the date when you actually went looking for a cache but did not find it. This date will be automatically updated when you load GPX files from Groundspeak and other sources that contain a DNF log. However, for this to work you must make sure you have the method for matching hidden and found caches filled out correctly. You can alter this matching via Tools=>Options=>General You can also update this status manually via "Waypoint=>edit" Note: when the status of a cache changes to found (manual or automatic) the DNF status is automatically cleared. That is, a cache can not have both a found and DNF status. However, the did not find date is not cleared. This means that after the cache is found you are still able to filter out caches that you had a DNF on by using a date filter.
Did Not Find Status (DNF) - This column indicates when you actually went looking for the cache but did not find it. This status will be automatically updated when you load GPX files from Groundspeak and other sources that contain a DNF log. However, for this to work you must make sure you have the method for matching hidden and found caches filled out correctly. You can alter this matching via Tools=>Options=>General You can also update this status manually by a double mouse click . Please also read the notes on did not find date. Note: when the status of a cache changes to found (manual or automatic) the DNF status is automatically cleared. That is, a cache can not have both a found and DNF status. However, the did not find date is not cleared. This means that after the cache is found you are still able to filter out caches that you had a DNF on by using a date filter.
Distance - This is the distance (rounded to two decimal places) from your current centre point.
Elevation - Elevation (feet or meters depending on users settings). This value is not usually provided in GPX files, but you can force GSAK to fetch the elevation on GPX load
Favorite points - The number of Geocaching.com favorite points
Found Count - The number of times you have found this cache. Some caches allow multiple finds and this number represents the number of found logs. If you have manually set the cache status to found but there are no found logs, this number will still show as 1.
Found Status - This column indicates if you have found the cache. This status will be automatically updated when you load GPX files from Groundspeak and other sources that indicate the cache has been found by you. You can also update this status manually by a double mouse click. Please also read the notes on date found by me.
First to Find- (FTF). This column indicates you were the first to find this cache. As the GPX file currently does not contain this information you must update manually.
Gc.com Note - Your personalized gc.com note for this cache
Guid - The Groundspeak GUID for this cache
Hints - The cache hint. This column also has a special property when clicking on the column header. That is, there is little value in making this action sort like other columns so it decode/encodes the hint. Hopefully this should be obvious from the column heading.
Latitude - This column shows the latitude of the waypoint. There are currently 4 formats than can be displayed. The format can be set via Tools=>Options=>Display
Last four Logs - For a complete overview of this column please see this topic
Last Found - This is date the cache was last found (by anybody, not just you). If you want to see the date the cache was last found by you, see the "Found by Me" column.
Last GPX Update - This is the date a waypoint was last updated by a GPX/LOC file. Some GPX files (for example those provided by Pocket Queries from Groundspeak) actually contain the date of the information inside the GPX file. In such cases GSAK uses this date. For example, if you found a PQ in your email that you forgot to load and it was 3 weeks old, when you loaded this file the Last GPX Update date would show as being 3 weeks old rather than today's date. If the GPX file you are loading does not contain the date of the information then GSAK uses the physical file date. Just to clarify, this date is NOT the day you loaded the information, but rather the date of the information being loaded. This date has particular significance when searching for archived caches and when loading GPX files and selecting the "Newer" only update option.
Last Log Date - This column shows the date of the latest log (any type of log at all) for this cache.
Last User Update - This column shows the date of the last manual update (Waypoint=>Edit or right mouse click on a waypoint). If you want to know when the waypoint was last updated by loading a GPX/LOC file, please see Last GPX Update. If you have never updated a waypoint manually then this column will appear blank.
Longitude - This column shows the longitude of the waypoint. There are currently 4 formats than can be displayed. The format can be set via Tools=>Options=>Display
Macro Sort - (Introduced in version 7.1) This was a previously "hidden" field which was the reserved macro field for sorting, and is mainly used with the SORT command. It gets automatically populated with the relative record number when you sort on "Natural", and it gets updated with the concatenation of the various columns when you sort on more than one column. GSAK then internally sorts on this column when you issue the SORT command. The exception is when you use the SORT command with only one column - GSAK then just sorts on that column exactly the same as if you clicked on the column heading.
By exposing this hidden field we now make it more useful to the macro programmer. The biggest plus would be that you can now update this field and then issue the command:
SqlSort OrderBy=MacroSort
Thus enabling you to create any sort sequence you like
You can also add it as a column and view the contents for curiosity and/or debugging. Another side benefit is that it gives you another user work area you can utilize for updating information on the fly (rather than clobbering user data or user data2). So it doesn't necessarily *have* to be used for sorting, but you must be aware that the contents of this field will be overridden when the SORT command is used and the conditions above are met.
Number of logs - This column shows the number of logs you currently have in the database for this cache. It includes all log types.
Owner ID - The Owner ID of the cache. This is usually numeric, but not all GPX files contain this information and it can be alpha.
Owner name - The cache owner name
Placed By - This is the person who placed the cache. Also known as the "cache hider". GSAK shows the total number of caches you have placed in the bottom right of the screen. However, in order for GSAK to get this right you must have your method for matching placed/found caches correct.
Placed Date - This is the date the cache was originally placed (Hidden). If a waypoint is added via a GPX file that does not contain this information, the physical date of the file being loaded is used.
Premium - Indicates if the cache is a Geocaching.com "Members only" (premium) cache
Resolution - This column is associated with the Elevation column and indicates the resolution (eg 30m, 90m etc) of the elevation. It is not automatically updated by GSAK and is usually populated manually or by macros.
Row Number - The row number is just the physical row number of the record in the grid
State - This is state or province the cache is located. Some users prefer GSAK to convert these full state names to the abbreviations as used when addressing letters etc. GSAK can do this for you, please see Tools=>Options=>Abbreviations
Smart Name - This is the GSAK smart name (limited to 20 characters). For a complete overview of this column please see this topic
Source - This column indicates where your data came from (as per the last load of a GPX or LOC file). Currently GSAK recognizes these data sources:
BL = BeeLineGPS
BM = bmgpx (benchmarks)
DB = db2gpx.pl
EG = EasyGps
GA = Geocaching Australia
GB = GPSBabel
GC = Geocaching.com
GD = GeoDashing
GG = GPSGames.org
GM = Created by a GSAK macro (Using the AddNew command)
GS = GSAK
GT = GeoToad
GW = Grabbed waypoint
GY = GeoBuddy
OC = Open Caching
OX = Garmin Opencaching.com
RL = www.roblisa.com
ST = st2GPX (Street & Trips to GPX)
TC = TerraCaching.com
WM = GPX Lite WayMark
XG = ExpertGPS
GSAK May load other GPX files but currently the Source column will be left blank if it is not one of the above.
Symbol Name - The database symbol name
Terrain - This is the Terrain rating of the cache. 1=easy, 5=very hard
Travel Bugs - This column indicates the waypoint has a travel bug. Double mouse click to toggle the status of the travel bug on and off. Currently, the only way the name of the travel bug enters the GSAK database is via the loading of a GPX file or via the Groundspeak api (Geocaching.com access). If you toggle the travel bug status to off, then the name of any travel bugs in the cache will also be cleared.
Url - The URL associated with this waypoint
User Data - This column is for entering your own special data that might apply to this waypoint. This is used to enable you to filter a particular waypoint or groups of waypoints when no other criteria will suffice. If you mouse click in this cell you can enter the user data directly from the keyboard, if you double mouse click you will be taken to the edit waypoint dialog.
User Data 2 - Same as User data. This is another user data field you can enter your own information.
User Data 3 - Same as User data. This is another user data field you can enter your own information.
User Data 4 - Same as User data. This is another user data field you can enter your own information.
User Flag - Use this column to manually select waypoints. This allows you to set a filter on waypoints that do not meet any other criteria. You would normally clear all user flags first (User Flags=>Clear All), before selecting a group of waypoints. Just click your mouse in the box to select a waypoint. Once selected, then set a filter on User Flag = Set. Please also see item 8 of the GSAK FAQ You can also use the user flag to create a list that is the first nn waypoints in any sort sequence. To do this, Clear all user flags, then sort your database in the required sequence, then User Flags=>Set for next nn. Now finally set a filter on user flag = set.
User Note - This column indicates if this waypoint has any user notes. Double click this cell to bring up the user notes dialog . Note: If you only have data in the user notes section for a cache then this cell will show 
. If you only have data in the user log setction for this cache then this cell will show 
. I if you have data in both the user notes and user log sections then this cell will show
Usort - (User Sort) Many users like to sort the GSAK data in their own "special" way. Some also like to set a sequence to print the grid format just before they go caching. "User Sort" will address these issues and make allocating a special sequence to your data quite easy. The "User Sort" column has some "special" properties to make allocation of a sequence number a snap.
Firstly, if you double click on a cache in this column it will automatically update with your next sorted value (a number that is incremented by your pre set value). You can see/set this number via Tools=>Options=>General "user sort" box. This should make it very easy to allocate your own sequence to a set of waypoints - just double mouse click on the waypoints in this column in the order you would like them sorted. In addition a Shift + double-click: will do the same as but the "Current Value" is reset first, and Ctrl + Shift + double-click: same as double click except all User Sort fields are cleared first.
Secondly, if you single mouse click on the field you can enter a number directly via the keyboard. This will allow you to manually enter any number you like right from the grid without having to call up the edit dialog.
Finally, if you want to clear all the sequence numbers you can do so via the Database=>Global Replace
Waypoint Name - This column is a short description of the waypoint. Do not confuse this column with code. You can have GSAK sort this column exactly as it is, or removing special characters. See Tools=>Options=>Advanced.
Watch Status - This column indicates if you are watching the cache (Groundspeak allow you to watch particular caches). Unfortunately the watch status is not yet provided in any GPX files so you must update this one manually. However, GSAK does try to help you synchronize this with geocaching.com. If you are connected to the Internet and change the watch status, GSAK will call up the corresponding add/remove watch page for this cache at geocaching.com. Please note that adding a cache to your Geocaching.com watch list will happen automatically, however removing of a cache does require you to confirm this action (this is a Groundspeak requirement and not GSAK). For more information please see this topic