Paperless Geocaching

Paperless geocaching is the process of using PDAs or other electronic devices to geocache without having to print out geocache pages. It also gives cachers the capability of doing some impromptu caching if they have some free time and already have cache data on hand for a particular area. Cachers can obtain geocache information (also known as waypoints) from various websites in various formats and load the data into their PDAs to take along with them. Data is generally formatted for use as filetype GPX, which uses XML and contains information describing the geocache and also information about recent visitors to the cache. Other formats exist for storage on various devices, but GPX is the most popular. A variety of programs can translate between the various formats if data is obtained in another program's format.

Obtaining data
Cachers can build their own GPX files with different client software tools, but this task could be very time consuming and prone to data entry error. Some sites allow geocachers to build queries for caches they wish to hunt. They can obtain caches where they want to hunt based on criteria such as Zip Code or coordinates and have it emailed to them as an attachment on a schedule. Other sites allow users to download GPX files directly. By using geocaching software, geocachers can combine and filter cache listings from many sites.

Converting and filtering data
Some cachers convert GPX files to other formats that can be read by their PDA. Others run their GPX files through geocaching Software to change the data for special icons on their GPSr or to filter out caches based on certain criteria. Some applications, especially on Microsoft PocketPC based PDAs, read GPX files directly.