Reverse Geocode Issues

[ms9601]

I'm probably doing something wrong, but I can't get reverse geocode to work.

First, I do have a geonames.org account, and my username is saved in the Geo & Maps preferences tab in the GeoNames User Name field.

I select an image to reverse geocode, and get the following dialog box:

        Files without GPS data found
        One or more files in the current selection have no valid GPS coordinates.
        These files have been ignored.

When I click okay on that dialog box, the Reverse Geocoding (GeoName) dialog opens, but everything is greyed out or non-functional (see screenshot).  I can enter some data (country, state, city, location), but cannot save anything.

Debug log attached.  Would like to know what I'm doing wrong.

Thank you.

[thrinn]

Most likely the pictures you selected do not have any GPS coordinates (which is also what the message you get states). Please check in the filewindow if the blue Globe icon is displayed. Or check in the Metadata panel if the GPS are filled.

Reverse geocoding means that GPS coordinates are "translated" into location information (country, city, etc.). For this to work, the pictures must contain GPS information.

[ms9601]

You're probably right now that I think about it.

Assuming, therefore, that there is no way to geocode (place an image on a map to associate coordinates with it) in IMatch?

[thrinn]

Assuming, therefore, that there is no way to geocode (place an image on a map to associate coordinates with it) in IMatch?

Oh, there is! See Map Panel. But to geocode (= assigning GPS coordinates to pictures by placing markers on a map) is different from Reverse Geocoding (= translating existing coordinates into textual information).

[Mario]

You're probably right now that I think about it.

Assuming, therefore, that there is no way to geocode (place an image on a map to associate coordinates with it) in IMatch?

I recommend you start with reading the The Map Panel help topic.

The Map Panel is a very powerful feature to add GPS coordinates to your files. And see your files on the map.
Change coordinates. Add and use IMatch Locations. Find files within a given region or distance to another file. Lots of cool things.

If you enable the automatic reverse geocoding, the Map Panel automatically reverse-geocodes your files when you add GPS coordinates or move files on the map.

If you don't enable automatic reverse geocoding, you can manually reverse geocode (as you tried) after adding GPS coordinates to the files in the Map Panel.

[ms9601]

Appreciate the help.  I thought I had checked out the Map panel but apparently didn't.

Attempting to apply coordinates to a photo yields this result, however:

   
Error setting GPS coordinates
A problem occurred while setting or updating the GPS coordinates for one or more files.
{
  "error": {
    "code": 1100,
    "message": "Internal error.",
    "details": {
      "result": "failed",
      "errorInfo": "Failed to reverse geo-code the files: \"\"."
    }
  }
}


What else am I doing wrong?

[thrinn]

If you are just starting with geocoding in IMatch, I would suggest to separate the steps at first.
First, set the Automatic reverse geocoding option in the preferences to "No". Then, try to assign GPS coordinates using the map panel to one or more files. Check if this works as expected - the blue globe icon should appear in the File Window, and the Metadata Panel should also show that the GPS relevant fields are now filled. Depending on your setup, it might be sensible to perform a Metadata Writeback (if you are using Versioning). With this approach, you can make sure that the "normal" geocoding works as expected.

Now that you have one or more file(s) with GPS coordinates, try to call the Reverse Geocoding manually (Ctrl-M, G or the corresponding menu entry in the Tools menu). If this does not work, it might be some problem with your Geo&Maps configuration. Or the Geonames server has / had a temporary problem. However, if it works you can now reactivate the Automatic reverse geocoding.

As always when trying to hunt down a problem, it makes sense to switch to Debug Logging first (see Log file. If the problem persists, ZIP and attach the log file - this way we (well, Mario at least) might get some insights what is going wrong.

[Mario]

Make sure you have entered your credentials for the reverse geo-coding service you have enabled. This is mandatory when you enable Google or HERE etc.
See https://www.photools.com/imatch/api-keys-explained/   If you use the free GeoNames.org, make sure you have an account and you also have enabled it.

If your credentials are wrong, reverse geocoding will not work and you see the error messages in your post.

[ms9601]

Thanks for all the help.  Can't figure out what's wrong -- my geonames.org account is active and working. 

No worries -- I have other tools that don't require accounts to geotag photos so not going to spend any more time trying to get IMatch going.

[Mario]

Thanks for all the help.  Can't figure out what's wrong -- my geonames.org account is active and working. 

If you use the free GeoNames.org service and run into problems, the typical reason is that you have created an account but not activated it.
That's a second step. Go to https://www.geonames.org/manageaccount and double-check.
Another (rare) reason could be a temporary problem in your area, or your IP address being flagged for some reason.

From many years of experience, this usually just works.

[ms9601]

Yes, my GeoNames account has been activated before I got the latest issue. 

[Mario]

Usually the is a line at the bottom reading

the account is not yet enabled to use the free web services. Click here to enable.

You can check if GN accepts requests from your account via an URL like

http://api.geonames.org/postalCodeSearch?postalcode=9011&maxRows=10&username=YOUR USER NAME

Copy into your browser and replace YOUR USER NAME with your GeoNames.org user name.

[ms9601]

Thanks.