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How To Make GSAK Fetch Pocket Queries From Your E-Mail

By monahmat



Here is a GSAK function that very few people know exists. GSAK can be configured to automatically load pocket queries from your e-mail! Why would you want to set this up?

  1. No more sorting through e-mails for that pocket query that automatically ran three days ago
  2. No more having to manually download, unzip and open pocket queries
  3. No more mailbox full of old pocket queries


I know your thinking, ‘sounds great but how do I set it up?’ Easy! Just keep reading. You’ll learn about how to set everything up in 3 easy stages. Now before we get started let’s make sure you meet the following three requirements:

  1. You have GSAK (preferably version 7.2 or later)
  2. You are a premium member of Geocaching.com
  3. You have a e-mail account that is POP3 capable

Well, if you’ve got all of your requirements squared away let’s get started!



Step 1) E-Mail Account Setup

The following steps explain how to activate the pop function of two common e-mail services.

  1. GMAIL

    1. Log onto http://mail.google.com
    2. Select ‘Settings’ in the upper right hand corner
    3. Choose the ‘Forwarding and POP/IMAP’ tab
    4. Select the option, ‘Enable POP for mail that arrives from now on’
    5. Click the ‘Save Changes’ button at the bottom of the screen

  2. Yahoo
    3. (In order to use POP with a Yahoo! e-mail account you must upgrade to Yahoo! Mail Plus)

    1. Log onto http://mail.yahoo.com
    2. Select ‘Options’ in the upper right hand corner of the screen and then choose ‘Mail Options’ from the drop down
    3. On the left hand side choose ‘POP & Forwarding’
    4. Select ‘Web & POP Access’
    5. Save the settings and exit out of your account

  3. Other E-Mail Providers

    4. Step 2) Setting Up Your Pocket Query

    1. Log on to http://www.geocaching.com
    2. Select ‘My Account’ from the top right of the screen
    3. Select ‘Build Pocket Queries’ from the Premium Features section on the right hand side of the screen
    4. Choose ‘Create New Pocket Query’
    5. Create your pocket query but do not press the button to submit information. (If you don’t know how to create a pocket query check out my pocket query tutorial)
    6. UNCHECK the box that says, “Compress files into *.zip format (recommended)”
    7. If you did not schedule your pocket query to run automatically you must run it now

    Step 3) Configuring GSAK to Fetch Mail


    1. Open Up GSAK
    2. In the top left corner click ‘File’ then choose ‘Get data via e-mail.’ The following box will open:




    3. In the box next to ‘User Name’ enter the username for your POP3 e-mail account
    4. In the box next to ‘Password’ enter the password for your POP3 e-mail account
    5. In the POP3 Server box enter your POP3 server information
        6. a. For GMAIL use: pop.gmail.com
        b. For Yahoo! use: pop.mail.yahoo.com
        i. Remember you must have Yahoo! Mail Plus
        c. For Verizon accounts use: incoming.verizon.net
        d. For a list of POP3 Server names for several other accounts check out realifewebdesigns.com
        e. If you still cannot find your POP3 server name contact your e-mail provider

    6. In the box next to ‘Port’ enter ‘110’ unless you are setting up a GMAIL account. If you are setting up a GMAIL account enter ‘995’
    7. Leave the SSL checkbox unchecked unless you are using GMAIL or another account that requires a secure login
    8. Check the box next title ‘Only check new messages’
    9. Next to ‘Download type’ choose ‘Attachments’
    10. Next to ‘Folder name to save attachments’ click the small envelope icon and select the folder you would like the pocket query files saved to. You can save them to any place you would like on your computer.
    11. Leave the box next to ‘Use subject to name saved files’ unchecked
    12. Next to ‘If attachment exists’ choose ‘Rename (by adding number)’
    13. Next to ‘After matching name’ select the box for ‘Delete’
    14. Make sure the box next to ‘Force full POP3 read’ is unchecked
    15. In the box ‘Get e-mails that match on subject…’ set the settings as shown in the picture above
        16. a. Dropdown box should read ‘Contains’
        b. Middle box should read ‘[GEO] Pocket Query:’
        c. The ‘Ignore Case’ checkbox should be checked.

    16. In the ‘Load folder of save attachments into current database when download finishes?’ box make sure the ‘Load’ checkbox is checked. And the ‘Settings’ dropdown box reads ‘… Last active’
    17. Click the ‘Save’ button to save your settings (You don’t want to have to go through all this every time do you?)
    18. Click the ‘Get Mail’ button.


      19. There you go! Pocket queries automatically imported to GSAK from your e-mail!

      As you’ve probably noticed there are a few settings that you can play around with and I encourage you to.
      This is what works for me and should give you a good understanding of the basics.

      Feel free to play around and find what works best for you. If you are one of those people that isn’t very tech savvy parts of this may be difficult. Remember, there are always people out there to help. Check out the GSAK website, post on the geocaching.com forums, or westernmassgeocachers.org forums.

      Happy caching!


      If you have any suggestions or comments about this "How To" guide you can contact me directly.




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