Apologies for a long mail. It looks like one should be careful when
changing the name of an existing divesite using the GUI. If the new dive
site name is not listed in the divesite list at the beginning of the
dive log, the present coordinates are cleared and a new divesite is
created in the divesite list. I have frequently edited the divesite list
in the dive log with a text editor, changing the XML divesite names and
coordinates directly as I see fit because then I know exactly what I am
doing, e.g. merging two divesites under a single name (quite interesting
hash management) or providing a new name for an existing divesite. But
this is a risky approach for several reasons. So I am trying to get more
information so that I can perhaps update the user manual with info on
how to deal with this type of situation.
On the DESKTOP Subsurface: If I wish to change the dive site to a new
one, it is clear: specify the new name, save it, specify the coordinates
appropriately and save again. But let's say I want to change the
divesite from *Anacapa* to *Ventura: Anacapa* or any other dive site
name taxonomy I want to use. The moment I type the different name, I
break the connection with the coordinates stored in the XML divesite
list at the start of the dive log. So, the safest strategy is possibly
to display the coordinates of the existing site before changing
anything, save coordinates to the clipboard or any other safe place,
change the locality from Anacapa to Ventura: Anacapa, save the new name,
paste the coordinates back into the appropriate field and save again. So
effectively, a totally new XML entry is created in the divesite list at
the start of the dive log. But is there anyway to change the divesite
name in the existing XML divesite entry in the log (i.e. changing the
existing entry and without creating a new entry)? The moment when one
starts implementing a fixed taxonomy for dive site names, e.g.
USA/California/Ventura/Anacapa then this becomes a much more pressing issue.
On the MOBILE app, what is the situation? Exactly the same as for the
desktop program? Do both the desktop program and the mobile app maintain
a coherent XML divesite namelist at the start of the dive log saved on
the Cloud? Is the list of divesites at the start of the dive log
maintained in exactly the same way by the mobile app and are new XML
divesite entries created for new divesite names? What happens if I give
a new name to an existing dive site?
The practical problem arises when one has tagged the existing dives with
coordinates collected by the mobile app and several sites are labeled
*Auto-created dive*. At this stage one would wish to change the name of
the divesite to something understandable. It looks like if one changes
the divesite name in the edit panel of the mobile app, the coordinates
are lost. This is a very similar situation to that in the paragraph
above (dealing with the desktop program). I changed divesite names on
the mobile app and then re-tagged the dives from the divesite server.
But this did not go well and several dive sites kept the coordinates of
our home, not divesite coordinates. I tried reversing the order, first
typing in the locality names then doing geo-tagging, but the tagging was
not successful. What is the best approach?
The issue, I think is to maintain the sanity of divesite information at
the start of the dive log without creating a zillion new entries that
are unlikely to be used again.
Kind regards,
willem
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