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Batch Download of DSS Images

DougW

March 27, 2017 18:29

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It would be fabulous if I could make an observing list in SkySafari Pro and do a batch download of the DSS images associated with the list.

I use SkySafari Pro v5 on an iPad.  I love the new DSS images feature, but I find it to be of very limited use in the field on an iPad that does not have native internet connectivity.  Hot spot workarounds exist, of course, but they are cumbersome, need a second device, and are flooded with white light.  Downloading the images ahead of time, one at a time through SkySafari's interface, is impractical.  I find myself still using a different app (DS Browser) for that function because I have a library of previously-downloaded images on my iPad, having made use of that program's batch download feature.  That's OK as long as the object is listed in DS Browser.  However, SkySafari Pro has a much larger object database, and when I'm observing faint galaxy clusters, there isn't always a "DS Browser object" nearby that I can use to grab a shot of the field.  And even when there is, a cross reference and a search for it in DS Browser is needed.  It would be great if the relevant DSS image were waiting there in SkySafari Pro for me when I get to that object on the list.  That would make SkySafari Pro a "one stop shop" for me.  Thank you in advance for your consideration.

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3 comments

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  Bill Tschumy March 27, 2017 19:08

  That's a good suggestion. Probably easy to do except for the part of notifying the user when the downloads are ongoing and when they are completed.  I'll see if I can make this happen in a future version.

  I get very little feedback about the DSS download feature so I don't know how much it gets used.

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  DougW March 27, 2017 19:35

  To plug my request one more time, I suspect that it may not get as much use as it could because of this limitation.  You could add the option under "Highlight Objects" in the List Settings menu of the Observing List (above the sort order list).  Because today's large Dobsonian telescopes can see well beyond the 15.5 limiting magnitude of SkySafari's stars, I use DSS photos as an extended star map and to confirm sightings of very dim objects at high magnifications when SkySafari doesn't have any nearby stars plotted.

  If you are worried about process notifications, I suppose you could either do a simple pop up menu with a cancel button (and maybe a line showing which object is currently being downloaded so the user would know that the program hadn't gotten hung up on something), or you could just do it in the background without much in the way of notifications - and it would be what it would be.  DS Browser just brute forces it:  it brings up the first picture and then shows the next one, and then the next one, until it is done or the user presses cancel.  If it's a choice between having the feature or not, I wouldn't care how "pretty" the process is.

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  Fhlunatic September 06, 2017 00:25

  I would love a feature like this. The DSS download is the main reason I bought SN7 pro. I'm still having trouble with it, but it is a step in the right direction.