I have a SPOT tracker and used it recently on a very long trip and it worked flawlessly. I did create a lot of confusion trying to email the link to the tracking page to friends and family. The problem being that the link is a long series of gobbledygook.

I've seen posts here and other places where someone says, "click this link and track my progress", and the link is very short, something like "findKnucklehead.com"

How do I make one of the short links that connects people to my tracking page?

Can someone educate me?

Thanks,
Keith

Check out
tinyurl.com

rjb wrote:Check out
tinyurl.com

I should have mentioned that I did try tinyurl.com. It comes up with something shorter than the direct link from the SPOT tracking page but it still isn't as short and simple as the links that I see others using. I'll go back and look at tinyurl again. Maybe I missed something.

kg wrote:

rjb wrote:Check out
tinyurl.com

I should have mentioned that I did try tinyurl.com. It comes up with something shorter than the direct link from the SPOT tracking page but it still isn't as short and simple as the links that I see others using. I'll go back and look at tinyurl again. Maybe I missed something.

I just tried tinyurl.com again and had no luck. It comes up with a link that says "http://tinyurl.com/findKeith" which isn't exactly what I was looking for. (not to mention that it didn't work when I clicked on it)

Is there a way to make it simple like "findKeith.com" without the "http://tinyurl.com" in front of it?

.....the link is a long series of gobbledygook.....

Teach friends and family how to 'Highlight (select), Copy, and Paste' ?

That simple ability really helped to opened up both the internet and computer worlds to me....
Admittedly, that's about the extent of my computer skills, but I use it all the time..... it is a VERY useful 'skill'-particularly for the (1) lazy who have (2) poor/slow typing skills and/or (3) weak short term memory...

Some of us are 'Blessed' with all three...
lc

I just found an example of what I am looking for.

In the post from "Highroad" on this page, he has a link at the bottom of his post that simply says "My SPOT page". I click on it and it takes me to his tracking page.

http://www.backcountrypilot.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3508&p=48708&hilit=link+to+spot+page#p48708

How did he do that?

Go to your user control panel, profile and you can set it. I think you go to your SPOT home page get your shared URL and copy paste it into your profile where it says Find Me SPOT.

Glidergeek wrote:Go to your user control panel, profile and you can set it. I think you go to your SPOT home page get your shared URL and copy paste it into your profile where it says Find Me SPOT.

So that means it only works here on BCP? I can't have a link like that to share with friends?

Sorry if I appear computer illiterate but my computer knowledge consists of going to the Apple store, buying a computer, and turning it on.

I use fly.to.com
Mine is [url]fly.to/logan[/url]
Free, and all choices are on the web site.

Go direct to here: http://www.fly.to/?utm_source=organic&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=adframe

NimpoCub wrote:I use fly.to.com
Mine is [url]fly.to/logan[/url]
Free, and all choices are on the web site.

Go direct to here: http://www.fly.to/?utm_source=organic&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=adframe

Thanks. I'll try that.

Yes, I can copy and paste the long url but I was hoping to find something that people could remember. My Mother, for example, had a hard time going back through several days emails to find the long link that she could copy and paste. On my long trip, I finally resorted to a new email every morning to all the friends and family that was tracking me. That led to me missing a couple of people on some of the emails... so by the fifth or sixth day I had dropped off the radar of a couple of people. (One never missed me.. another was about to start search and rescue! )

Keith

Bookmarks/Favorites that you/they only have to click on??

Man, I'm soundin like a computer wizard, here!

I only know a tiny bit, but I'll flaunt it!
lc

Create or reply to a BCP forum message and select the URL button. This will insert the opening and closing HTML BB tags [url][/url] into your message. Position your cursor between the l and ] characters in the opening tag and enter the = character. Copy the long link from your browser when viewing your SPOT tracking page and paste it into the forum message to the right of the = character. Position your cursor between the ][ characters of the opening and closing tags and type the simple name that you want the link to display.

MySpot Page

This is HTML BB code - a variant of regular HTML code for bulletin boards. You can get more information at: http://www.bbcode.org/

Dang! Out shined AGAIN!

lc

andy wrote:Create or reply to a BCP forum message and select the URL button. This will insert the opening and closing HTML BB tags [url][/url] into your message. Position your cursor between the l and ] characters in the opening tag and enter the = character. Copy the long link from your browser when viewing your SPOT tracking page and paste it into the forum message to the right of the = character. Position your cursor between the ][ characters of the opening and closing tags and type the simple name that you want the link to display.

MySpot Page

This is HTML BB code - a variant of regular HTML code for bulletin boards. You can get more information at: http://www.bbcode.org/

Thanks! I'll try that. I guess I'm gonna have to go back to school and learn some of this stuff......

Keith

kg

An easy way to share url and have a shortcut for your mother.
Open your SPOT page.
Copy your url as you did before and email to whomever.
Have them open link.
Select url address after page opens and copy.
Go to desktop.
Right click and select new shortcut.
Paste the url link in the location box.
After this all she has to do is click the shortcut.
She can even name it.

For you computer gurus, I use an android smartphone to access the forum. I can copy text, but there is no paste function on the phone. How do I paste after copying?

JimC wrote:For you computer gurus, I use an android smartphone to access the forum. I can copy text, but there is no paste function on the phone. How do I paste after copying?

On my android, I can paste by holding my finger on the cursor for a second or two. Then a little "paste" box show up and it pastes the last thing I copy when I click it.
David

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