When using the Visual search is there any way to export the results? I’m trying to document the dates that I should be paying attention to for a planned shoot, and the only way I can see to do this is by taking a screen capture of the Visual Search results.
Hi @PeterEm,
Your question caught me at a perfect moment. I was about to start ripping apart the part of the code base that includes Visual Search and the 3D page, so I thought I’d try to tackle this before embarking on that work.
If you check out the Beta web app, there’s now a new Download tab in the Visual Search area next to the Results tab. From there you can download the search parameters, filters and results. Each result includes full details and a link back to Photo Ephemeris if you want to view the details back in the app.
Could you give it a try and let me know if this meets your needs?
I think others might also be interested to check this out (@victorvspdx_tpe, @s.zanarello) too.
Stephen
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PS. Beta release notes are here.
I just took a look at your work and that’s basically what I was looking for. And I’m glad I caught you at the right moment. I do have a couple of minor comments though.
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In the search parameters dataset, the units of the duration seem to be raw data, and don’t map into the settings of the drop down list. (Eg where I had the duration set to 1 year, the data itself is 31536000000) It would be nice if there was a direct correspondence between the two.
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In the filters dataset, the last column has a title of “boolVal”, which seems to be an oversight. I also have no idea what this relates to.
Finally, will you be looking at saving searches/filters, in the same way that you can save locations?
duration: the value is in milliseconds. I could convert it into days, which would be easier on the eyeboolVal: that’s also raw data, not an oversight. If the filter includes a Boolean value (true/false), such as Moon waxing, then the state of the checkbox is reflected in theboolValfield. Screenshots below.
Yes - we’re working on saving searches/filters. It’s still a little way off though as I have to match up the data model with both the web app and iOS app, which is undergoing some major updates at the moment.
I really like these new features.
The results exports, with links, is very useful, indeed.
Regarding Visual search export, will be added the IMPORT function?
In my opinion, the Visual search exported files are not so useful, without the possibility to reload them, in order to reload all search parameters
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Agreed - I hope to have a further update by late this week with some more improvements.
I’ll say “no”, to the days. In my highly rated opinion (rated by me 
) the human readable field should match the verbiage used in the drop down list when selecting the duration.
This would make it more like the timestamps in the results download, where you have a raw timestamp value, and one that is formatted as a human readable date.
@PeterEm - this is a data export, not a GUI. It wouldn’t make sense to mix and match units of time in this sort of format.
However, I suspect that the need to transcribe or manually re-enter the parameters from the export may be what underlies your suggestion, which I understand.
So… I’ve just uploaded a new beta 3.13.4 that now includes expanded support for Visual Search parameters in the URL scheme. The exported CSV file now includes a URL parameter that you can open to restore the search params.
As an example, this link loads a Visual Search configuration for the shot plan demonstrated here: New Video: Planning the Full Moon at DIA.
I still need to add support for saving/restoring filters in the URL - I hope to have that done in the next couple of days.
In the 3.13.4 release, exported visual search results also include the new Visual Search parameters in the URL included in the CSV file - with one key difference - the start date for the search is the date/time of the result, not the original start date at which the search may have been executed.
@s.zanarello - I think this update begins to address your request to be able to import the visual search parameters - it’s not explicitly an import, but rather just a link with some additional parameters.
The new parameters have some preliminary documentation here.
Thank you Stephen.
This solution, with exported links with result and search parameters is very useful.
Obviously, it’s not as elegant as having searches saved inside the web app, but anyway it works!!
Well done, thank you
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Thanks Stefano. I just uploaded one more beta update (3.13.5). The URL will now also save and restore filters as well as the search parameters.
Additionally, Visual Search parameters and filters are saved between sessions in your local browser storage, so they’ll automatically be saved/restored when you return to the site (as long as you visit somewhat regularly - local storage gets cleared out after a while).
If you share a link using the Share button, it will also now include the Visual Search parameters and filters - this is probably the easiest way to obtain a link for your search to save externally (e.g. in a spreadsheet, document, etc.).
This updated link should open the Full Moon at Denver International Airport setup from last month, and if you look at the 3D page, you should see the a filter for full moon only applied.
If you run the search, you should get 14/83 results shown (you’ll need the PRO subscription to run searches for the Moon).
I’ll let this sit for a day or two, and if all looks well, I’ll release this to production.
Next up, I’m going to be back digging into adding support for folders and saved shots/searches, which indeed would be the ideal way to handle this. That’s a considerably more involved piece of work, so results will take a while yet…
Just realized that the starting_url links in the results.csv files , when clicked on, (re)load the associated search parameters, pin locations, etc, i.e. are essentially complete Shot Plans including the Visual search parameters used. This is a very helpful way to save and reload the Visual search parameters, a big time saver - that also prevents typos - for me going forward!
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Yep! That was the intent of adding the URL support. Next step will be to allow the shot plans to be saved to your account, hopefully with folder support too, to allow for flexible organisation.
With a 143 Saved locations definitely looking forward to location folder support. Currently I’ve been encoding targets/subjects in the Saved locations name/entries, and using the Saved locations search function to narrow the list. E.g. location name Council Crest (Mt Hood SMRise), Portland, OR where “Council Crest, Portland, OR” is the red pin / camera location, Mt Hood is the subject/target grey pin, and SMRise stands for Sun/Moon Rise.