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Re: Letterboxing Conversations
Board: State: Michigan
Reply to: #969208 by Angel Winks
Dec 9, 2018 9:06am
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Do you do this under Advanced Search?

Yes, Advanced Search, change the search type to Events, check off "Include only events that I'm signed up for" and "Include only upcoming events". Set Sort Order to Start Date. Voila!

Did I mention that I LOVE saving searches? :-)
Re: Letterboxing Conversations
Board: State: Michigan
Reply to: #969220 by Janila
Dec 9, 2018 11:01am
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Thank you!
Re: Letterboxing Conversations
Board: State: Michigan
Reply to: #969206 by Janila
Dec 10, 2018 7:59am
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We do the same, I have alerts set up for Michigan to send an email.
The other locations I track, Rhode Island, Maryland, Grand Haven, MI I have set up as a widget on my menu!
Re: Letterboxing Conversations
Board: State: Michigan
Reply to: #969181 by Angel Winks
Dec 11, 2018 6:19am
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We use the custom address feature regularly. We then change the address at the top of the page, that way when we do a search of the area again, the boxes show up.
Re: Letterboxing Conversations
Board: State: Michigan
Reply to: #969181 by Angel Winks
Dec 11, 2018 5:23pm
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Fun! I'm sure there's a lot of things! I like the notes feature, particularly for personal travelers, but it's helpful for other things like mystery boxes. Once I solve the PT clue, I add a note. When I print the list of PTs prior to the event, the note will print as well. I'm not sure if that is a premium perk or not.

One of my other favorite things is the trip planner. This is a premium perk, too. If I'm planning a road trip, I add a trip with my starting and ending destinations. Then I do a search using that trip, customizing distances off the main road (1-5 miles), type of boxes (driveby, stroll, etc). This makes it easy to grab some finds along the way.

I haven't used the custom locations much that Angel Winks mentioned, but this would come in handy with the trip planner to make sure things are really within your desired range.
Re: Letterboxing Conversations
Board: State: Michigan
Reply to: #969289 by BaliWho
Dec 11, 2018 5:32pm
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Another thing I used a lot is the countdown widget. (not sure if that is a premium widget or not!) I add it to the very top of my page so I can easily see what I have coming up that needs to be done.

This is really helpful to keep track of things that are due by specific dates like postals, LTC swaps, stamps that need to be carved for events or whatever else.
Re: Letterboxing Conversations
Board: State: Michigan
Reply to: #969289 by BaliWho
Dec 11, 2018 5:56pm
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I like the notes features also for PTs. Another thing I use them for is to copy and paste LbNA clues. Lastly, I use it if I read over comments on the letterbox and there is something important to note that someone mentioned. Another great feature!

I have never used the trip planner. I need to try that.
Re: Letterboxing Conversations
Board: State: Michigan
Reply to: #969289 by BaliWho
Dec 12, 2018 5:18am
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One of my other favorite things is the trip planner.

Mine too. Although I have to admit it has some complexity to it (my small brain???). I travel a lot and am always looking for boxes 1 mile at the most off my route. Trip Planner along with custom addresses helps me find them. In conjunction I use tags. As a premium member I'm given eight of them which I've edited to fit my needs.
The green apple is "Good to go" - the box should be there
The red box is "Warning - Do not Attempt" - the box is most likely missing
Plus I have others for Long hike, Might be missing, Not this trip, Needs more research and Out of area.
I like the idea that I can edit those tags.
And with those tags I can edit my search to only include those that are Good to Go limiting the amount of paper I need to print.
I've wondered if there is a way to use tags on Clue Tracker.
Re: Letterboxing Conversations
Board: State: Michigan
Reply to: #969296 by BBStacker
Dec 12, 2018 9:11am
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I've wondered if there is a way to use tags on Clue Tracker.

Yes, you can search for things like tag:red or tag:red,blue if you want boxes with your red AND blue tags. See the near bottom of https://cluetracker.pearlcrescent.com/ios/faq for more info.
Re: Letterboxing Conversations
Board: State: Michigan
Reply to: #969296 by BBStacker
Dec 12, 2018 11:44am
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I experimented with tags early on, but you've inspired me to use them again.

You've given lots of good ideas, BBStacker; I especially like the "puzzle needs to be solved yet."

I'm curious what others use tags for.
Re: Letterboxing Conversations
Board: State: Michigan
Reply to: #969291 by Angel Winks
Dec 12, 2018 1:06pm
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I use it if I read over comments on the letterbox and there is something important to note that someone mentioned.

I do that also!

I will also put the link to any trail maps or significant websites that I find while doing research for the custom addresses. This can save time when I am actually prepping to go find the boxes later.

And, since many of my own planted boxes are ciphers, I put the actual uncoded clue in the notes so I don't have to go back and solve my own clue to answer questions.
Re: Letterboxing Conversations
Board: State: Michigan
Reply to: #969312 by Angel Winks
Dec 12, 2018 6:34pm
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I'm curious what others use tags for.

I use tags all the time. The ones I currently have are:

  • Mystery/need info - means I have to do some sort of homework before finding
  • Scared to get it - at least I'd be scared to look for it by myself.
  • Tried box - for boxes that I made some sort of effort to find without qualifying as an "attempt." I may have run out of time or the clues were vague at the end. It's interesting to see if people find it after my "try." I generally write a note about when I looked and why it didn't pan out.
  • Fun day - for boxes I'm planning to find on a particular outing
  • Want box - general boxes that look interesting to find
  • MI Counties - boxes that look like they'd be good candidates for my continuing quest to find a box in every Michigan county
  • Last finder - after I find a box I give it this tag. Then I have a saved search I run that lists boxes with this tag in reverse chronological order of when they were last found. Generally when a box pops to the top of the list it means that someone found it after me and I can say, "Oh look, Angel Winks found that fun box in the library in Kalamazoo too!" (Of course 9 times out of 10 Angel Winks has already found the box before me.)

That leaves one tag. It was most recently pulled into duty for "Virginia Trip." Self-explanatory. Now it's generic again waiting for a new assignment.
Re: Letterboxing Conversations
Board: State: Michigan
Reply to: #969321 by Dawnkey
Dec 12, 2018 7:29pm
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Wow. That really gives me food for thought. I like the Last Finder tag. I had never thought of that.
Re: Letterboxing Conversations
Board: State: Michigan
Reply to: #969312 by Angel Winks
Dec 12, 2018 7:37pm
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I use tags a lot for trip planning. I use the trip planner and city searches to see what boxes are in the area I will be passing through and staying in, and then I start to tag the boxes that I think I most want to search for. It helps organize the mass of boxes that might come up with any given search and helps me keep track of an oddball box that I notice but that doesn't fit the main search parameters.

So I'll have green for the route to my destination. Green plus red for boxes around my destination. Purple for short day trips. So when I'm on the trip I'm just choosing from boxes I've already checked out and thought would be good.

I also have orange for boxes I'd like to find in one nearby city and blue color for another city. When I get ready to spend a day in either city, I'll add a second color.

Then doing an advanced search it's easy to make a list of just the boxes I want to look for. I usually map just those boxes, and it's easy to print all the clues from that list. I'll run the list again afterward to record them. It helps me find what I want quickly.
Re: Letterboxing Conversations
Board: State: Michigan
Reply to: #969312 by Angel Winks
Dec 12, 2018 7:52pm
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I'm curious what others use tags for.

I used to use them a lot when I was doing LTCs a lot. I don't remember what they were.

But, I love all the ideas listed above! Thanks for starting this thread! Great ideas here already!
Re: Letterboxing Conversations
Board: State: Michigan
Reply to: #969325 by BaliWho
Dec 13, 2018 6:06am
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I use tags for:
Caution - go for it if plenty of time (while traveling), but likely not there
Stop - multiple attempts, likely not worth time adding another
Go for it - used especially if I've attempted it in the past, and someone else has logged a find
Printed - to avoid duplications
Trip Planning - used in advance trip planning to an area I don't regularly get to for flagging 'boxes to find
Solved - to note that I've figured out the mystery, puzzle or clue
Dad's Letterboxes - my Dad'll go out 'boxing with me occasionally, and doesn't log his finds on AQ, so I track them with a tag
Box Type Changed - Ryan occasionally changes the type of listing of 'boxes, and I tag those 'boxes
Re: Letterboxing Conversations
Board: State: Michigan
Reply to: #969312 by Angel Winks
Dec 13, 2018 6:25am
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I'm curious what others use tags for.

I use one color for each state I travel regularly, and tag new boxes as they pop up on the new letterboxes widget.
One additional color is labeled Mapped, meaning I have located the parking spot on a map and placed a pin there. I sometimes do that when I first read the clue, and sometimes it's in an area I won't be visiting for a while, so I don't map it until I'm sure I am going there.
One final color is labeled Clue Collected, meaning I have the clue in a document ready to print. For travel clues, I copy/paste the clue portion into a document, then trim out things I don't need on the trail - the backstory, driving directions to the park, etc. If you've seen my clue sheets, you know roughly 5 or 6 clues will fit on a single sheet of paper (landscape / two columns / skinny margins).
So as I get ready to travel, I search for the color tags that represent the states I need, then read clues more carefully and select those I want - tag them with the map color if they already aren't, and then finally, prepare the clue sheets and add the Clue tag so I can work on it over several days and figure out what's done and what isn't.
edit: The map pins are transferred to my GPS before the trip so the driving instructions in clues are unnecessary.

I found it's important to remove the tags as I log finds or else I have way too many tagged clues.

You all know how to change the labels on your clues, right? That's a Wonderful perk!
Re: Letterboxing Conversations
Board: State: Michigan
Reply to: #969312 by Angel Winks
Dec 13, 2018 6:51am
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After making the mistake of not looking for one of Safari Man's boxes when I had the chance, I use a tag for all of his boxes. That way, when I have a pile of clues printed for a trip, I can easily see if any of his boxes are among them and make those higher priority.
Re: Letterboxing Conversations
Board: State: Michigan
Reply to: #969336 by Maude
Dec 13, 2018 1:33pm
Thread (disabled) Board
You all know how to change the labels on your clues, right? That's a Wonderful perk!

Ears perked! Now, you gotta tell us! maybe we don't know? Labels? Is that different than tags? I'm intrigued.

I need to do what you do with copying/pasting the clues to a word doc. Sometimes it kills three trees to print a clue page and all you need is a 1/4 sheet!
Re: Letterboxing Conversations
Board: State: Michigan
Reply to: #969355 by BaliWho
Dec 13, 2018 4:13pm
Thread (disabled) Board
a quarter sheet? Only if it's just one or two easy clues. But yes, try it. The other advantage is that I have to actually read the clues while I'm still at home, and that has saved me from a few disappointments.

The labels are the words next to the tag's stars. You can change the labels (words) by clicking the ubiquitous little yellow pencil at the bottom of the tag's box, then type what you want - and Save.
Re: Letterboxing Conversations
Board: State: Michigan
Reply to: #969181 by Angel Winks
Dec 14, 2018 3:07am
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I am absolutely loving this thread, hope it lives for a long time!

OK, this is probably something that many people have used but I just discovered it yesterday. Based on many of the suggestions about what people use tags for, I finally revised the system that I had started many years ago when I didn't really know what would be their best use. When I moved all my tags around (thanks to finally noticing the add tag/remove tag boxes at the bottom of the search pages), I created searches for each of them so I didn't have to create a search each time I wanted to work with them. I have always had my personal searches widgit on My Page but, silly me, I never noticed that I could rearrange their order until yesterday. For anyone who might have been as clueless as me, this is done under the Letterboxes tab/My Searches and then in the upper left corner it actually says "sort searches". How could I have missed that all of these years! Now My Page shows my Pennsylvania searches first and the other states in their order of importance to me below. How could something so simple make me so happy!
Re: Letterboxing Conversations
Board: State: Michigan
Reply to: #969381 by Janila
Dec 14, 2018 4:09am
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Don’t you just love how customizable AQ is?
Re: Letterboxing Conversations
Board: State: Michigan
Reply to: #969321 by Dawnkey
Dec 15, 2018 3:51am
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Okay. So help is needed. I want to change the labels on my tags. How do I do that?
Re: Letterboxing Conversations
Board: State: Michigan
Reply to: #969409 by Angel Winks
Dec 15, 2018 4:05am
Thread (disabled) Board
Hah! I just figured it out. Now I need to decide which tags to use. So fun. Thanks for all the ideas.
Re: Letterboxing Conversations
Board: State: Michigan
Reply to: #969181 by Angel Winks
Dec 16, 2018 5:13am
Thread (disabled) Board
Heading down a different avenue in this conversation...

Does anyone else participate in the Great Lakes Bingo game? Atomicbeans from Illinois is hosting it and the information just came out. I've participated for several years and I even won twice in one year! But the fun is playing this long, drawn-out Bingo game throughout the long, drawn-out winter months.

If you haven't played before and want to, the information is on Yahoo Letterbox Great Lakes.

So, who's playing?
Re: Letterboxing Conversations
Board: State: Michigan
Reply to: #969435 by Angel Winks
Dec 16, 2018 7:08am
Thread (disabled) Board
Does anyone else participate in the Great Lakes Bingo game?

Every year when it comes out, I get excited, I look at the rules and decide that it is just too complicated to try to figure it out. I looked again yesterday and decided the same thing again this year.
Re: Letterboxing Conversations
Board: State: Michigan
Reply to: #969438 by Janila
Dec 16, 2018 7:30am
Thread (disabled) Board
I look at the rules and decide that it is just too complicated to try to figure it out.

Oh, that's too bad. Would it help if we explain what you find complicated? I've been playing for several years and think it's a lot of fun. Adam did a superlative job last year organizing and running the game. Most of his daily word calls involved poetry. :)
Re: Letterboxing Conversations
Board: State: Michigan
Reply to: #969435 by Angel Winks
Dec 16, 2018 10:06am
Thread (disabled) Board
I’ve played the last 3 years (since I started letterboxing), and it gives me something to look forward to each morning during this long, winter season. Win, or not, it’s really great fun! Huge thanks to all the folks who host this game!
Re: Letterboxing Conversations
Board: State: Michigan
Reply to: #969181 by Angel Winks
Dec 30, 2018 5:04pm
Thread (disabled) Board
I just learned something new today about ranking letterboxes (from a fellow letterboxer in another state). Here is what she shared:

"You do know, don't you, that unless you give some 4s and a lot of 3s, and a smattering of 2s, and even an occasional 1, your rankings are not considered when AQ presents Blue Diamonds. You must have the "credentials" of reasonableness. I think you need to be an average judge."

So, I'm curious. How do you all decide what deserves a 5, 4, 3, 2, and a 1? Or do you avoid ranking altogether?
Re: Letterboxing Conversations
Board: State: Michigan
Reply to: #969783 by Angel Winks
Dec 30, 2018 5:46pm
Thread (disabled) Board
So, I'm curious. How do you all decide what deserves a 5, 4, 3, 2, and a 1? Or do you avoid ranking altogether?

For me, if it's an average box, with average clues in an average place, it's a three. Wow me with a hike, location, view, clever clues, put some creativity/effort into it, 4-5.
If its a box thrown in the woods or behind a dumpster to get your P-count up, 1-2.

I rarely (if ever) give 1-2.