Quick start #
How does the program work in a few words? You create a dataset: your data collection. It can be your local area, your country, a private collection or a foreign expedition. You can switch between datasets.
Dataset #
A dataset is your main working space. It collects records, sites, photos and notes.
One dataset can cover:
- one local area,
- one trip,
- a foreign expedition,
- a private collection,
- work shared by several people on the same material.
You can have more than one dataset. This keeps data from different topics from mixing together.
Records #
A dataset collects records, meaning field entries or working notes. Records can be saved as points with photos or without photos. They can also be notes and records from rearing.
A record is a single entry in the database. It can have a photo, GPS, date, locality, species, notes and other data, which you can complete immediately or later.
What matters most is that the record goes into your private database and does not get lost in your phone's photo gallery or in loose notes.
Sites #
A site is the layer above records. A site groups records from an area on the map within a radius from about a hundred metres to a few kilometres, depending on what you need.
The idea is that once you define a site with a radius, records from that area are grouped under that site.
Records can be assigned to a site automatically. This is a big convenience, because you do not have to assign every single record by hand.
How to begin #
The simplest start looks like this:
- Create a dataset.
- Check that it is the active dataset.
- Add your first record in the field or from a computer.
- Check the photo, GPS and date.
- Complete the species and other data.
- Create a site on the map if records should be grouped from that area.
In the field, you do not have to fill in everything. You can save a record quickly and do the detailed work later on a computer.