Tutorial 3.2
Adding a new Recorder

This tutorial demonstrates how to add details for a fellow wildlife recorder. This information is required if you wish to allow additional recorders to use your FieldNotes database, and also for sharing observations with other recorders.

Before starting you will need to know ...

  • The full name of the person you know
  • Other relevant information - areas of expertise, specialist skills, etc.
[view Field Notebook entry]

IMPORTANT INFORMATION !

Data Protection Act 1998
If you handle personal information about individuals, you have a number of legal obligations to protect that information under the terms of the Data Protection Act 1998. Please ensure that you are fully aware of your responsibilities and duties before entering Recorder details.

This tutorial assumes that you have FieldNotes setup on your computer, and that you are familiar with the process of adding new records (described in detail in the introductory tutorials).

The tutorial also assumes that contact details for the new recorder have already been added to your FieldNotes database (see Tutorial 3.1 - Adding a new Contact for details of how to do this).

Preliminary Steps in adding a Recorder

Adding a new Recorder to your database is a straightforward process that involves completing a single form.

Open the 'New Recorder' form

The quickest way of opening the 'New Recorder' form is to ensure that the record-type selector is set to Recorders, and select the Add button on the main toolbar.

The 'New Recorder' form is displayed.

The 'New Recorder' form

New Recorder Form (Level=standard)


Input data fields
FieldNotes
NameRecorder's name (Contact details)
Specialist fieldsAreas of expertise.
RemindersAny other relevant information

HelpField-content information
SaveSave data as new record
CancelCancel the form

Notes:

  1. Mandatory fields (light red) are essential for creating a valid record.

In general it is good practice to provide as much information (ie. complete as many fields) as possible.

Preliminary - check the level-of-detail

Again we will be using the 'standard' level-of-detail to enter the Recorder details. (You can continue to use the 'Quick' level-of-detail for speed if you prefer - you will simply have fewer fields to complete.) Otherwise if your form has fewer fields than in the diagram above, check that the level-of-detail (displayed on the right-hand edge of the form title) is set to 'Standard'. If it is not, select the appropriate checkbox.

Setting the User Interface level - forms
Setting the level-of-detail
checkbox to 'Standard'
[applies to most forms]

In data-entry forms, level-of-detail affects the number of input fields displayed. The relevant Help pages contain more detailed information about using level-of-detail.

Steps in adding a new Recorder

Sections 1-4 below describe the steps in completing the 'New Recorder' form from scratch.

Enter the Recorder name

If the contact details for the Recorder have previously been entered into your FieldNotes database, use the Pick button to select the name from the list of known Contacts. In this way the relevant contact details will be associated with this Recorder.

Selecting a Contact from the list of records:

Pick the appropriate person (by double-clicking - this will add the name to the 'Selected' list on the left-hand side of the form), then press the OK button to enter this value into the relevant field on the 'New Recorder' form.

Alternatively, if contact details are not currently included in your FieldNotes database, either type the full name of the Recorder in the "Name" field (which will generate a warning when you save the record) or follow the steps in Tutorial 3.1 to add the relevant Contact.


The Recorder name must be unique
to your FieldNotes database.

Names may contain any combination of letters, numbers, spaces and punctuation.

Enter areas of expertise / specialist skills for this Recorder (if available)

You can use this field to list specific areas of knowledge/expertise, relevant skills and experience.

Enter any reminders for this Recorder

You can use this field to add more general information (for example, work-related preferences, availability) for this Recorder.



Review the data you have entered

Take a moment to check that the data you have entered is correct, and agrees with your field notebook information.

The 'New Recorder' form - completed

Completed Recorder Form (Standard)

Field notebook entry

Field Notebook

Its never too late to change your mind!

You may change any of the data you have entered in this record (or even delete it completely) later if you subsequently decide that it is incorrect, so saving the record is not a point of no return. (Details of how to edit existing data are provided in a subsequent tutorial.) If you are unsure about any of the data you have entered, the Help button provides more information about acceptable field contents.

Save this record to the database

Pressing the Save button will save the information you have entered as a new database record. Before the information is saved, however, FieldNotes will carry out a number of internal consistency checks on the values you have entered, and warn you if changes are required (eg. if the Recorder name duplicates an existing entry) or desirable (eg. Contact name does not match any existing records). If error or warning messages are generated, you will have the opportunity to correct the values you have entered before the record is saved.

Errors and Warnings generated by the 'New Recorder' form

Error / Warning Message Cause
Error<Name> field must be given a valueThe 'Recorder Name' field has not been completed.
Error<Name> value duplicates an existing recordThe Recorder name is identical to an existing record.


The Recorder information is now saved as a record in the database.




Notes

None.