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 ...
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).
Adding a new Recorder to your database is a straightforward process that involves completing a single 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 button on the main toolbar.
The 'New Recorder' form is displayed.
Field | Notes | |
---|---|---|
Name | Recorder's name (Contact details) | |
Specialist fields | Areas of expertise. | |
Reminders | Any other relevant information | |
Help | Field-content information | |
Save | Save data as new record | |
Cancel | Cancel the form |
Notes:
In general it is good practice to provide as much information (ie. complete as many fields) as possible.
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.
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.
Sections 1-4 below describe the steps in completing the 'New Recorder' form from scratch.
If the contact details for the Recorder have previously been entered into your FieldNotes database, use the
button to select the name from the list of known Contacts. In this way the relevant contact details will be associated with this Recorder.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
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.
Names may contain any combination of letters, numbers, spaces and punctuation.
You can use this field to list specific areas of knowledge/expertise, relevant skills and experience.
You can use this field to add more general information (for example, work-related preferences, availability) for this Recorder.
Take a moment to check that the data you have entered is correct, and agrees with your field notebook information.
Pressing the
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.Error / Warning Message | Cause | |
---|---|---|
Error | <Name> field must be given a value | The 'Recorder Name' field has not been completed. |
Error | <Name> value duplicates an existing record | The Recorder name is identical to an existing record. |
The Recorder information is now saved as a record in the database.
None.