button on the toolbar.
Recorder 6 is the leading biological recording software for naturalists. It allows them to capture their observations of fauna, flora and habitats in an electronic format that is compatible with the NBN. It also allows sets of records to be exchanged between copies and to be submitted to organisations associated with the NBN.
The Recorder project is led by JNCC, funded and directed by the Steering Group and informed by the User group. The software was developed by Dorset Software and is supported by JNCC and the Approved Recorder Experts. For more information and on-line help, see the Recorder web site, www.jncc.gov.uk/recorder.
To find out how to use this help system effectively, see Getting help.
There are four main types of data that users store in Recorder 6:
● Observations or records - organised in Surveys in the Observation hierarchy - accessed by:
o Selecting Data entry - Observations from the Main menu, or
o Clicking
the button on the toolbar.
● Locations - data for named locations can be stored in the Location hierarchy - accessed by:
o Selecting Data entry - Locations from the Main menu. or
o Clicking
the 
button on the toolbar.
● Names and Addresses - data for individuals and organisations is stored in the Names and Addresses lists - accessed by:
o Selecting Data entry - Names and Addresses from the Main menu, or
o Clicking
the 
button on the toolbar.
● Documents - data for reference works and reports can be stored in the Documents list - accessed by:
o Selecting Data entry - Documents from the Main menu, or
o Clicking
the 
button on the toolbar.
Most changes to the system are implemented as upgrades:
● see Upgrading Recorder for how to upgrade the software in your system to a later version.
● see Dictionary Upgrades for how to upgrade the dictionaries.
The predecessors to Recorder 6
Recorder
6 version 6.6.8 released
in September 2005.
This was the first version of Recorder
6 to be made generally available. The New features and Updates buttons
point to the differences between Recorder
2002 and Recorder 6.
Recorder
6 version 6.7.2 released
in June 2006.
New standalone and network installation
CDs were available for this release. It contained various bug fixes, the
XML report 'Quick Species List (including subsites).xml'
and added 18 lists to the taxon dictionary - see release notes for details.
Recorder
6 version 6.9.3 released
in December 2006.
The Dictionary Upgrade Kit became available
with this release, along with a number of enhancements and many bug fixes
- see release notes for details.
Recorder
6 version 6.10 released
in July 2007.
New standalone and network installation
CDs are available for this release. These allow Recorder 6 to be installed
with existing instances of SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server Express. Also
in this release are changes to the COM interfaces for mapping purposes,
the ability to support language switching and various bug fixes - see
release notes for details.
Many significant changes have been made in this release, as listed below, and the help has been updated for most of them. Many bug fixes have also been done - see release notes for details. New standalone and network installation CDs were available for this release.
● Survey tags - surveys can be organised into folders in the observation hierarchy using tags. This facility becomes available when Organise Surveys by Tag is ticked on the General tab in Tools - Options. Survey Tags can be used to determine the surveys included in reports, and those included in exports.
● The way the system handles the Verification of identifications has been the subject of substantial revision. There are new settings for the verified flag on taxon and biotope occurrences:
o Not verified
o Failed/pending verification
o Passed verification
● This flag is set according to the determination type of the preferred taxon/biotope determination.
● A Restrict Searches to box is now available on the Find Taxon dialogue when searching the taxon dictionary itself. If you want to do a wider search than just the Current Checklist, this setting can be changed, e.g. to Preferred Checklists, as elsewhere in the system. If a match from another list is selected, the other list will open with the selected item highlighted.
● If 'Enable partial name search for taxa' is ticked on the General tab in Tools - Options, as well as searching using 5-letter abbreviations, you can search for taxa using parts of the name, separated by a space, e.g. in the VASCULAR PLANTS list "camp rotun" will find Campanula rotundifolia, Harebell.
● Semicolons (;), as well as commas, can be used to separate sets of abundance data in the Abundance data column in files to be imported by the Import wizard.
● When matching species in the Import wizard there is an option to search against All preferred lists.
● Drag and drop can be used in the matching pages of the Import wizard for matching dictionary items (taxa and biotopes) and items from the main windows (observers, locations and documents).
● Files to be imported by the Import wizard can now contain a Location Name column as well as Location and Grid Reference columns. Note that other column types are to be made available in this version but they were not available at the time of updating the Help.
● The problems with the generation of keys when using the Import wizard to import data from MapMate have been fixed. The generation of the keys is now in line with the approach used in Recorder 2002 which means that if observations are reimported, e.g. because they have been updated, then the new version will overwrite the existing version provided they are always imported with a column in the import file containing the MapMate Key - see Import Wizard - data format.
● To help avoid the problems with invalid items, when editing dates and location data in a survey event, you will be offered the opportunity to also change the same fields in its samples. When editing these fields in a sample you can change the same fields in its survey event and other samples in the same survey event. In the case of dates the change can be cascaded through the determinations.
● Another facility to help avoid the problems with invalid items is the ability to revalidate data. System managers can revalidate items in the observation hierarchy and the other main windows, the results of the report wizard and the whole database. Also when exporting data it is revalidated. When revalidating data users have the option to view the results as a filter on the relevant window(s). These filters can be saved and re-loaded later.
● When importing data:
o the details of any invalid items can be saved to a file.
o the imported data can be viewed as a filter on the relevant window(s) which can be saved and re-loaded later.
● If measurement columns of the type Abundance of Qualifier (Unit), e.g. Abundance of None (DAFOR), are used on a recording card, the values entered can be restricted to a set of allowed values by specifying the allowed values on the measurement unit in the term lists. If a taxon occurrence data column is used in the Import Wizard its contents will be validated against the allowed values for the unit selected, if present.
● If a species is no longer required on a recording card, you can remove it while using the card by right-clicking on it and selecting Remove Row from the pop-up box that appears.
● If a delimiter, e.g. #, is entered for Rapid Entry Delimiter on the General tab in Tools - Options, data for all columns on a recording card can be entered as a delimiter separated string in the Add Species box, e.g. Blackbird#2#3 <Enter> will tick Blackbird, place 2 in the column after the name and 3 in the next column.
● When entering taxa to a rucksack you can also add a Search Code. This code can be used in a Taxon/Search Text box when finding taxa and in the Add Species box when entering data via a recording card.
● If when using the report wizard, you re-order columns in the Filter Result before saving the report, the change is remembered in the saved report.
● Multiple locations can be selected for moving to a new position in the location hierarchy using <Shift> + left click of the mouse button or <Ctrl> + left click, as in Windows Explorer. They can then be dragged to the new position or moved to it by right clicking and selecting Promote to Top-Level or Move to. If Move to is used you are asked to select a location to move them to.
● In a date field, pressing <F11> puts in the current date. In an editable field which requires an entry from the Names and Addresses window, pressing <F11> puts in the name of the user currently logged on.
● If Display grid references as squares on map on the Spatial References tab in Tools - Options from the main menu is ticked, the distribution points on the map will appear as squares covering the area represented by the grid reference, rather than dots.
● The option to Include or Exclude overlapping grid squares in report results has been added to the Polygon Selection page of the Report Wizard. Previously, an observation was selected for the report if its spatial reference fell within one of the selected polygons. Grid references like 10km squares, 1km squares or tetrads (2km squares) are represented internally by the spatial reference of the bottom left-hand corner. So, an observation for a 1km square, for example, was considered for the report if its bottom left-hand corner was within the polygon and irrespective of whether any other part of the 1km square was within the polygon. Now you have the option to specify whether you want grid squares that overlap the polygon boundary included or excluded from the report results.
● Distribution points, the current polygon layer and all polygon layers can be exported to SHP files. Open the Map window and select Map from the main menu to access these facilities.
● Export to Google Earth is a Report Output option on the filter result in the Report Wizard which allows you to save the data in a format suitable for use with Google Earth.
● Export to ESRI Shape File is a Report Output option on the filter result in the Report Wizard which allows you to save the data in a format suitable for use with GIS systems like ArcView.
● XML reports have been extended:
o Rucksacks can be used in XML reports.
o Polygons can be used in XML reports.
● Note that the facility to use XML reports to update the database has been replaced by a new facility, XML Batch Updates, and it is no longer possible to use an XML report to update the database unless it is moved to the location for batch updates.
● XML Batch updates can now be developed and run by users but they can only be run by system managers. Like XML reports they are text files with an extension of .xml and they are developed in a similar manner. By default, they are stored in the Batch Updates folder in the User Files folder in your Recorder system, unless the location has been changed using Tools - Options - File Locations (topic not updated). Select Tools - Batch Updates from the main menu to run them.
NOTE: as with anything that changes a database, batch updates should be thoroughly tested prior to running them on a live system.
● Many new XML reports and a selection of batch updates are supplied with version 6.13 of Recorder.
● Introductory documentation on writing XML reports and batch updates is available in the Documentation Wiki on the Recorder web site, www.jncc.gov.uk/recorder. The links to follow are Recorder 6 - Reporting - XML reports.
If you need assistance with writing XML reports or batch updates over and above that provided by the existing documentation, please contact the supplier of your copy of Recorder, or any of the Recorder suppliers who are listed on the Recorder Software web site. You can also share expertise or seek help from other users via the Recorder Forum, part of the NBN Forum, which can also be accessed from this web site.
A number of significant changes have been made in this release, as listed below, and the help has been updated for most of them. Many bug fixes have also been done - see release notes for details. New standalone and network installation DVDs were available for this release.
● The Recorder 6 version 6.14 standalone and network installation DVDs will install SQL Server Express, if required. Prior to v6.14 the installation CDs installed MSDE rather than SQL Server Express.
● Recorder 6 version 6.14 is compatible with Microsoft Vista. It includes changes to accommodate the more rigorous security requirements of Vista, and the standalone and network installation DVDs for this version have been modified to make installation with Vista more straight forward.
● When you login to a newly installed copy of Recorder for the first time you will be asked to enter your name and a password. You will also have the option to enter a survey to save you having to enter one by the normal means before you can start entering observations. Your name will be added to the Names and Addresses list and a username will be created for you. The other data for the survey will be controlled by an .ini file containing, by default:
o Geography:"UK"
o Type:"None"
o Records allowed from:"01/01/1900"
o Description:"Default Survey"
● Note that this will also happen if your system only contains the "Default User" username.
● If your password is "password" you no longer need to type it in when logging in to Recorder. Clicking [OK] or pressing <Enter> will open Recorder without entering a password. Also, if your username is the only one in the system apart from the "Default User" and your password is "password" you will go straight into Recorder without having to enter your username and password.
● The tabbed sections of most windows are now resizeable to make better use of the available space on larger screens. This enables users to see more of the contents of fields and reduces the need to select them and scroll. Most tabbed sections resize as the window is resized or as the central divider is moved.
● Changing the determination type on the General tab for a taxon occurrence will add a new determination. In v6.13 this changes the determination type of the preferred determination rather than adding a new determination. When changed in edit mode the Dets. tab will open with the mandatory fields already completed. Note that the Determiner defaults to the name of the person currently logged on, as displayed on the Welcome window, Role defaults to 'Specialist' and Date defaults to today's date. When saved the new determination will be added. Also note that the defaults are different if a new determination is added directly from the Dets. tab for the taxon occurrence.
● Species designation or status reporting has been improved significantly. The concept of designation sets has been introduced to make the selection of designations easier. When using the report wizard it is now possible to restrict the observations included in a report to just the species with designations from a specified set or to a list of individually selected designations using Restrict report to one or more Designations on the opening screen of the wizard. Note that the designations themselves will only appear in the report if they are selected as attributes. Regardless of whether the report has been restricted to observations for species with designations, when selecting attributes you can decide what designations you want to appear in the report by selecting options for designation sets. For each designation set you can opt to include the Short Names, Long Names, Kind, Status Abbreviation or Taxon Designated (Yes/No) for the designations. The previous way of reporting on designations has been retained for the benefit of those who use it. This change required 3 new tables in the database: Taxon_Designation_Set, Taxon_Designation_Set_Item and Index_Taxon_Designation. The last one is another index on the taxon dictionary which will need rebuilding after dictionary upgrades. The taxon lists to be used when rebuilding this index are stored against 'TaxDesList' in the Setting table, and the list separator to be used in reports is stored against 'DBListSep' in the same table.
● Survey tags has been added to the list of attributes for a survey that can be included in a report done using the report wizard. When included, all tags for a survey will appear in one column as a semi-colon separated string.
● A new tab has been added to samples for administrative areas. Previously administrative areas could only be assigned to locations so there was no mechanism for recording what admin area a sample is in if it isn't linked to a location in the location hierarchy. In v6.14 admin areas can be added to samples by editing the sample in the observation hierarchy. Note that they can't be added by the standard data entry screens: Data Entry - Enter a species record or Data Entry - Enter Species for a place. Nor can they be added when importing data using the import wizard. Both Sample Administrative Areas and Sample Location Administrative Areas can be included in reports produced using the report wizard. This change required a new table in the database: Sample_Admin_Area.
● When entering a single observation using Data Entry - Enter a species record, specimen data can be added at the same time.
● The data in a sample can be loaded into a recording card for editing - see Modifying data in samples at the end of Entering data using a Recording Card. Data from the selected sample and its occurrences will be loaded into the specified recording card where a number of the fields on display can be edited, additional taxon occurrences can be entered and existing taxon occurrences can be deleted.
● If you choose Location Type, Spatial Reference and/or File Code using "Extra Location Search Columns" on the General tab in Tools - Options, then the selected types of data will by appear alongside the location names listed in the Matches box when searching for locations in the location hierarchy. This should make it easier to select the correct location when locations have the same or similar names.
● When used
in the taxon and biotope dictionaries, the Show metadata
button displays the keys of the selected
item.
● A user's access to data in the system can now be restricted to specified surveys - see User Configuration. Note that this applies to reports they produce as well as the surveys they can see but not to exports done using export filters. XML reports and batch updates will only be restricted to specified surveys if they have been written to do so. This change required a new table in the database: User_Survey_Restriction.
● Information has been added to the Help to help clarify the distinction between Location and Location Name.
● Information has been added to the Help about the XML reports supplied with Recorder.
● The Import Wizard has been extensively modified to speed up large imports. The changes to the user interface are:
o The column selection page of the wizard now has a [Validate Columns] button. When you have completed specifying the type of data in each column you need to click this button to trigger the validation that is done at this stage. If you make any further changes you need to click it again before you can proceed, i.e. the [Next] button will remain disabled unless all data and changes have been validated. In previous versions of the wizard, the data was automatically revalidated each time changes were made which slowed down large imports. Now the user controls when the validation is done so that it isn't done so many times.
o Where appropriate [Commit Matches] buttons have been added to the matching pages so that you can control when matches are stored in the database for future use. If, for example, you are working on a large import that requires a lot of manual matching but you run out of time to complete it, you can click [Commit Matches] to save the matches you have done so far before cancelling the import. This will enable you resume the import more quickly as more matches will be remembered.
o Where appropriate [Make New Entries] buttons have been added to the matching pages so that you can create new entries for all unmatched items in the window in one operation.
o If you choose Location Type, Spatial Reference and/or File Code using "Extra Location Search Columns" on the General tab in Tools - Options, then the selected types of data will by appear alongside the location names listed in the Matches box when matching locations by typing some matching text in the Recorder Matches box and clicking <Enter>.
o In case of problems, users are able to revert to using the version of the wizard that was in v6.13. To do this tick 'Use the v6.13 Import Wizard' on the General tab in Tools - Options.
o Particular issues to watch for are that observations are correctly allocated to survey events and samples. This has been tested but not all permutations.
● The list of Import Wizard supported columns in the Help has been updated to list the column types that have been added recently :
o Sample Comment
o Sample Duration
o Sample Start Time
o Spatial Reference System
o Survey Event Comment
o Survey Event Weather
o Taxon Determination Comment
● The menu available when right clicking a polygon on a map has been extended to enable users to:
o Delete the polygon.
o Associate the polygon with a location in the location hierarchy.
o Extract grid squares for the polygon and add them to the location it is associated with, or extract grid squares for all the polygons in a specified polygon layer and add them to the locations they are associated with.
● When a new polygon layer is added to a map by right clicking in the map layers box in the map window or by using Map - Add Polygon Layer from the Main menu, it is added to the top of the of the list of layers in the open map window, and hence also to the top of the list on the Map Layers tab available when Map - Map Options is selected from the main menu. Up and down arrows have been added at the top of the list of layers in the open map window to make it easier to change the order of map layers by moving them up and down.
● When importing polygons they can be automatically linked to locations at the same time. You can match polygons to locations manually, one by one, or by matching a polygon attribute to Location Keys, Location Names or Field Codes for locations in the location hierarchy. Note that some mistakes will necessitate abandoning the import and starting again.
● When exporting polygons the export files contain the Location Keys, Location Names and Field Codes for the locations that are linked to polygons.
● As well as listing the links to polygons, the Geo Info - Boundaries tab on locations can be used to store the file name of a GIS file containing a polygon for the location, and an attribute for the polygon. These details are stored in new fields in the Location_Boundary table: External_Filename and External_Filename_KeyField respectively. Note that if these can't be seen in a linked Access database, the links will need to be refreshed.
A number of significant changes have been made in this release, as listed below, and the help has been updated for most of them. A number of bug fixes have also been done - see release notes for details. New standalone and network installation DVDs are available for this release.
● If "Auto-complete search in Import Wizard"
is ticked on the General tab in Tools - Options, then when you use
the Get 
button to find matches
for species in the Import Wizard,
the Find Taxon dialogue
will open with the Search Text box populated with the species name from
the Imported Data column. You can then edit the Search Text to
help find a match. If you also have "Enable partial name search for
taxa" ticked you will have more options for editing the Search Text,
e.g. you will be able to remove characters from the end of the genus.
This will often speed up the matching process.
● If "Ignore Previous Import Wizard Matches" is ticked on the General tab in Tools - Options, then the matches remembered from previous imports done using the Import Wizard will be ignored.
● Abundance data in the Import Wizard ending in a ), a bracket, no longer causes all the data to go into Measurement Data. The rule now is: If a set of abundance data ends in a character that isn't alphabetic or a ), it is assumed that it consists of Measurement Data only so the whole set goes into Measurement Data and Measurement Qualifier is set to "None".
● The way the Import Wizard splits the contents of the Observer(s) column into separate names has been improved. It now splits names like "Dr G R and K Wood" into two names: "Dr G R Wood" and "K Wood". Likewise with "Richard & Susan Brown". It also handles names with two initials after the surname correctly so "Wood, Mr J.C." is interpreted as "Mr J.C.Wood". See Examples for more information.
● The Import Wizard now imports another three column types - see Supported columns in Import Wizard - data format:
o Abundance Accuracy
o Determination Type
o Determiner Role
● See supported columns for all the column types the wizard will import.
● If you are using the Import Wizard to import data from Excel files, or any file that has not been exported from another copy of Recorder, and invalid items are reported at the analysis phase, the [Save Details] button allows you to save the details of them in a file. In v6.15, the information will be saved in a .csv file along with the data from the offending rows in the file you are importing. This data and the error messages should enable you to locate and correct the problems more easily. Prior to this you had to track them down by trial and error or use the temporary database created by the import.
● In the Find Taxon dialogue box names are shown with their complete names, including the attribute, e.g. "auct., non L." for Geranium pratense when it is a synonym of Geranium himalayense. This attribute is now displayed as part of the name in the detail pane in the taxon dictionary browser.
● The Filter Result in the report wizard now has a green filter bar at the top of the window that allows you to filter the observations. Typing some filter text in the green box at the top of the appropriate column and pressing <Enter> will return just the observations where the data in that column starts with the text entered. Precede the text with "%" to return observations containing the text entered. Delete the text and press <Enter> to remove the filter.
● The [Report output] button on the Filter Result in the report wizard now has two Copy options. Copy copies just the selected cell to the Windows clipboard so that it can be pasted into a file such as an excel spreadsheet or word document. Copy All copies all the data in the Filter Result to the Windows clipboard.
A couple of significant changes have been made in this release, as listed below, and the help has been updated for them. A few bug fixes have also been done - see release notes for details. New installation DVDs are not available for this release.
● The major change in version 6.16 was to speed up exports. Exports well in excess of 100,000 observations are now done relatively quickly.
● Selecting a recorder's name in the Names and Addresses window and using the [Related Data] button to view the related "Occurrences" now opens the Observations window showing the surveys in the observation hierarchy that contain observations recorded and/or determined by the selected recorder. Previously it only showed the observations determined by this person.
A number of significant changes have been made in this release, as listed below, and the help has been updated for most of them. A number of bug fixes have also been done - see release notes for details. New standalone and network installation downloads and DVDs are available for this release.
● The Recorder 6 version 6.17 standalone and network installation DVDs have modifications that enable the system to be installed more easily with the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of SQL Server 2008 Express. Modifications also enable it to be installed with Windows Server 2008.
● Recorder 6 version 6.17 is compatible with the Microsoft Windows 7 operating system. It includes changes to accommodate the more rigorous security requirements of Windows 7, and the standalone and network installation DVDs for this version have been modified to make installation with Windows 7 more straight forward. Different elements of the system are stored in more appropriate locations to avoid the permissions problems that arose when all the application files and folders were all placed in C:\Program Files.
● The unhandled error handling has been modified. The style of the error messages is similar to those in recent releases but the text files that contain the messages are stored in a different location. Information at the top of a message specifies where they will be saved. Multiple files can be saved with names like Error-73448034840937.txt and the system automatically deletes any over 7 days old. With Windows XP, a typical location is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Recorder 6\Errors; with Windows 7, C:\Users\Public\Documents\Recorder 6\Errors.
● When using a Recording card to enter data, the sample comment in the heading of the Recording card is no longer preserved after saving a set of observations as it is more likely to be different for each sample.
● The Import Wizard will now import -, *, +, # etc. as abundance data or taxon occurrence data, but not $.
● Partial name searching for taxa can now be used to select taxa for inclusion in a Report Wizard report.
● When a filter is applied to a window, using the [Show All] button (usually bottom right) to remove the filter makes all data in the window accessible again via the hierarchy, or list, in the left-hand panel, but now, the item that was selected when the [Show All] button was clicked will be highlighted. This applies, for example, when viewing a taxon occurrence (species observation) from the filter result in the report wizard. Also when using the [Related Data] button, the simple filter, the Go To (key) add-in, via Tools - Go To, or when loading a filter.
● If the
[Get] button next to a prompt
for a spatial reference is used to obtain
a spatial reference from the map, then when the pointer
tool is used in the map window to select a spatial reference,a small
red marker will now appear, temporarily, representing the spatial reference
generated, along with a label containing the spatial reference.
● Various changes have been implemented to improve the use of Recorder D, the German version of Recorder 6, e.g. further text strings have been internationalised so that more information appears in German and access to the spatial reference control via COM interfaces has been allowed.
A number of significant changes have been made in this release, as listed below, and the help has been updated for most of them. A number of bug fixes have also been done - see release notes for details. New standalone and network installation downloads or DVDs are NOT available for this release.
● Recorder 6 version 6.18 will import data from, and export data to, Excel 2007 and 2010 files, i.e. *.xlsx files. The previous versions would only import from and export to Excel 2003 and earlier files, i.e. *.xls files.
● The Sources tab, used throughout the system to link items to internal documents and external references, has been enhanced to allow website URLs to be specified as external references, in addition to file paths. When entering external references, a display caption can also be specified which will be shown, instead of the reference itself, on the Sources tab. If a file path is stored in the External File Path, specified on the File Locations tab in Tools - Options, then that part of the file path isn't displayed on the Sources tab.
● Two new options have been added for viewing the location hierarchy. If "Include file code in location hierarchy" is ticked on the General tab in Tools - Options, then the file codes will appear alongside the location names in the hierarchy on the left. If "Include spatial reference in location hierarchy" is ticked then the spatial references will appear alongside the location names.
● The parent locations in the location hierarchy can now be sorted by location name, file code or spatial reference.
● Changing the location on a survey event or sample or adding a new one, used to, in some circumstances, automatically change the spatial reference of the event or sample. This behaviour has been reviewed and, when changing the location on a survey event or sample now, you will receive a prompt asking "Do you want to update the spatial reference to the centroid of the selected location?" with the option to answer Yes or No.
● A completely blank dictionary list called " A List to hold User Added Taxa" has been added to the taxon dictionary. It appears as the first list in the taxon dictionary. It has been provided for users who wish to keep all their user added taxa together in one place rather than to add them to different lists in the dictionary.
● When filtering observations in the observation hierarchy, a filter can be set on the Surveyor's Ref.
● Conditions can now be set on the following fields for taxon occurrences in the report wizard:
o Obs Changed Date - must be input in yyyymmdd format
o Obs Entry Date - must be input in yyyymmdd format
o Obs Key
o Obs Confidential - Yes or No
o Obs Verified - 0, 1 or 2
o Obs Zero Abundance - Yes or No
● Various attributes have been added to the report wizard:
Event group
o Event Top-level Location
Metadata group
o Survey Key
o Survey Entry Date
o Survey Changed Date
o Event Key
o Event Entry Date
o Event Changed Date
o Sample Key
o Sample Entry Date
o Sample Changed Date
Sample group
o Sample Easting SW Corner
o Sample Easting Centre
o Sample Northing SW Corner
o Sample Northing Centre
Sample group - Grid square group
o Sample 100 m Square
o Sample 10 m Square
o Sample Tetrad
Sample group - Location group
o Sample Top-level Location
Taxon group
o Taxon Kingdom
o Taxon Phylum
o Taxon Class
o Taxon Order
o Taxon Family
o Recommended Common Name/Taxon Group
o Recommended Taxon Name without Sub-genus
Taxon group - Observation Metadata group
o Obs Entry Date
o Obs Changed Date
Note that Obs Key has been moved to the Observation Metadata group within the Taxon group and other attributes in the Observation group have been moved to the Observations group within the Taxon group. More information has been added to the Help about the different options for outputting taxon names.
A number of significant changes have been made in this release, as listed below, and the help has been updated for most of them. A number of bug fixes have also been done - see release notes for details. New standalone and network installation downloads or DVDs are NOT available for this release.
● Survey selection in the import wizard has been moved to the first window so that dates of observations can be validated against the survey dates and grid references can be validated against the survey's bounding box when Validate Columns is clicked in the column selection window. In previous versions this wasn't done until the analysis phase where there is no opportunity to correct any errors.
● The import wizard has been modified to enable users to exclude observations for unmatched taxa from an import. An Exclude Unmatched button has been added to the species matching page. If there are any species you can't match, you can click this button to have those species removed from the list. The observations excluded will be written to a Comma Separated Variable (*.csv) file in a location of your choice via a Save As dialogue box.
● The Import Wizard now imports Determination Date - see Supported columns in Import Wizard - data format.
A number of significant changes have been made in this release, as listed below, and the help has been updated for most of them. A number of bug fixes have also been done - see release notes for details. New standalone and network installation downloads or DVDs are NOT available for this release.
● The
Organism table was added to the
Recorder 6 database in version
6.18 but not all the changes were made to take advantage of it until version
6.22. It was designed to improve the use of the taxon dictionary and it
is populated with dictionary upgrades 00000015 to 0000001N. Prior to its
introduction, under some circumstances, certain taxa would be included
or excluded from reports in error, especially reports for taxonomic groups
such as families or orders. This was more likely to happen when particular
non-preferred lists were used to enter observations. Also, sorting
observations into taxonomic order didn't always work. The organism
table resolves problems like these except in cases where information is
not held correctly in the taxon dictionary. If you find problems like
these, please report them in the Species Dictionary section of the Recorder Forum, part of the NBN Forum.
The major change in Recorder 6
v6.22 is to the method of expanding taxonomic groups when using the report wizard and export
filters and when generating recording
cards. The table Index_Taxon_Group now only contains recommended entries,
based on the Organism table. This may have an impact on user defined
XML reports or external local systems which use the Index_Taxon_Group
table to expand taxonomic groups.
One consequence of the use of the Organism table in Recorder
6 is that after a dictionary
upgrade, the indexes need to be rebuilt in a different order: the
Taxon Name Index must be rebuilt
first, before the Taxon Group Index.
This is reflected in the order of the rebuilds on the Tools
- Database Tools menu.
Note: that the improvements in reporting will not occur until you have upgraded to v6.22 dictionary version 0000001N, or later, and rebuilt the indexes.
● The
import wizard has been modified to allow
observations to be imported without matching the observers. This facility
is provided to facilitate the import of data from MapMate and the NBN
Gateway. However data imported in this way doesn’t conform to NBN standards
so is classed as temporary and cannot be exported. To import data in this
way create a survey with Media set to 'Temporary' and select it when importing
the temporary data. When selecting columns you will then find that TempObserver(s)
is available instead of Observer(s) - see Supported Columns in Import
Wizard - data format. TempObserver(s) aren't matched to individuals
in the Name and Address list so the individual observers (recorders) can't
be stored as separate individuals for the survey event and sample, hence,
these are set to 'Withheld' and the imported data is stored in a field
called Recorders in the Sample table.
Note that TempObserver(s) can't
be seen in the observation hierarchy ('Withheld' will be seen instead)
but an add-in is available to enable them to be viewed.
Note that users can add other temporary
media types and change the individual ('Withheld') used when importing
temporary data.
For more detailed information about importing temporary data see Importing
Temporary Data.
● The import wizard has been modified to allow some columns to contains keys instead of names - see Supported columns in Import Wizard - data format:
o Instead of the species name, this column can contain the Taxon Version keys where these are known, e.g. in cases where the system supplying the data can export them.
o Instead of the observer(s) names, this column can contain the Recorder 6 keys for the individuals where these can be added to the import file.
o Instead of the locations, this column can contain the Recorder 6 keys for the locations where these can be added to the import file.
● The Import Wizard now imports external keys - see Supported columns in Import Wizard - data format.
● If authors is ticked in the Taxon Name Display Options on the General tab in Tools - Options, the authors will be displayed for taxon names in the Observation hierarchy.
● If names as input is ticked in the Taxon Name Display Options on the General tab in Tools - Options, the taxon names will be displayed as input in brackets in the Observation hierarchy.
● The Attributes for taxon names are now displayed in the observation hierarchy when present.
● When using the option to Export to other Formats from the Report Output button on the report wizard's filter result, specifications or templates for the export can be saved to the location specified for External Templates on the File Locations tab in Tools - Options.
● Various attributes have been added to the Taxon group in the report wizard:
o Recommended Taxon Name/Attribute no sub gen.
o Recommended Taxon Name/Attribute
o Taxon Latin Name/Attribute no sub gen.
o Taxon Latin Name/Attribute
o Taxon Attribute
o Taxon Latin Attribute
o Recommended Taxon Name Attribute
o Full Recommended Taxon Name
A number of significant changes have been made in this release, as listed below, and the help has been updated for most of them. A number of bug fixes have also been done - see release notes for details. New standalone and network installation downloads are available for this release.
● When exporting data:
o Users now have the ability to stop the custodian being changed on specific tables rather than on individual records
o By default the custodian will not be changed on a table unless all the records in child tables related to it have been exported and changed. If you want the custodian on these items changed, you now have the option to tick 'Change partially exported'
o It is now possible to include invalid items in an export.
● In some instances users wish to hold general information about the location of observations for use in reports but also wish to hold more specific or private location data to which access is more restricted. A Private tab has been added to Samples to hold a private location and private code, however, these fields can be used to hold any information. They can be imported via the Import Wizard and there is the option to include them in reports, if required. Initially they were not exported but in v6.25 an option to include them in exports was added.
● The Sample Location Key has been added to the Metadata attributes of the Report Wizard.
● A new field 'Sample Eastings and Northings' has been added to Sample attributes of the Report Wizard. When using the other fields available they are based on the OSGB or OSNI spatial references. The effect is that where the spatial reference is outside these areas or where there is a mixture of reference types, the eastings and northings cannot be used for mapping purposes. Using the new field, the result is based on the OSGB datum using the lat/long fields of the sample and aren't restricted to the OSGB boundary. They can, therefore, be used for mapping even where there is a mixture of spatial reference types.
● XML reports and batch updates can now be removed by Recorder 6 upgrades. This enables developers to remove obsolete or redundant versions.
● XML reports and batch updates have been changed so that there is one top level menu item for all system supplied reports, e.g. running reports.
● It is now possible to create customised versions of the data entry facility for entering single observations. This involves developing an XML file to define the species card and storing it in the Custom Species Cards folder in the User Files folder for the system. Then for data entry, select Data Entry - Custom species cards - <Custom card>. For more information, see the documentation and examples available from the Documentation section under Resources on the JNCC Recorder 6 web-site http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-4595.
● Version 6.23 can be installed on standalone machines or networks with SQL Server 2008, 2012 and 2014 but not SQL Server 2000 or 2005.
A number of significant changes have been made in this release, as listed below, and the help has been updated for most of them. A number of bug fixes have also been done - see release notes for details. New standalone and network installation downloads are NOT available for this release.
● The way the Import Wizard splits the contents of the Observer(s) column into separate names has been improved. It now splits names like "O'Sullivan, I.K. and Taylor-Wilson, N.V. " into two names, not four, but not all formats are handled correctly. See Examples for more information.
● The date of death can now be entered for individuals on the Biography tab when the date of birth is unknown. In this case, enter 'Unknown' for the date of birth before entering the date of death.
A number of significant changes have been made in this release, as listed below, and the help has been updated for most of them. A number of bug fixes have also been done - see release notes for details. New standalone and network installation downloads are NOT available for this release.
● The password hint for new users logging in for the first time has been revised to make the situation clearer.
● Help - About Recorder 6 now displays the database version as well as the versions of the software itself and the dictionary.
● The Recorder Help is now available on line to aid users who have difficulty accessing the Help that should be installed with the system. An option has been added to the Help menu to enable them to open the online Help from within Recorder.
● Locations in the Location hierarchy now have different icons to show whether or not they are preferred although users can turn off this option. This distinction is designed to make it easier to select the most appropriate location when entering data.
o 
- preferred location
o 
- non preferred location
● Individuals and organisations in the Names and Addresses list now have different icons to show whether or not they are preferred although users can turn off this option. This distinction is designed to make it easier to select the most appropriate name when entering data.
o 
- preferred individual,
- preferred organisation
o 
- non preferred individual,
- non preferred organisation
● Observations or occurrences in the Observation hierarchy now have different icons to show their verification state, whether they are confidential and whether they have zero abundance, where applicable:
Species observation/ |
Not verified |
Failed/pending verification |
Passed verification |
Not Confidential or Zero abundance |
|
|
|
Confidential |
|
|
|
Zero abundance |
|
|
|
Confidential and Zero abundance |
|
|
|
Habitat observation/ |
|
|
|
If users want to return to the original icons, 
for
species observations or taxon occurrences, and 
for
habitat observations or biotope occurrences, they can turn off this option.
● Users can now alter the order in which Survey tags appear in the Observation hierarchy by assigning sort codes to tags in Tools - Enhanced Termlists.
● The requirement to add either a bounding box or to specify geographic coverage when setting up a Survey has been removed.
● When survey events and samples have a location name but no location, the location name as well as the spatial ref. are now displayed in the hierarchy on the left hand side of the observation window.
● Various changes have been made to the import of location data when importing observations from Excel and similar files via the Import Wizard:
o It is now possible to have a location in the import file without a grid reference. In this case, if the location is matched to a location in the location hierarchy, the Central Spatial Reference for the location is used as the Spatial Reference for the observation. If the location isn't matched, the location from the import file is stored in Location Name, and Spatial Reference on the Survey Event and Sample are left blank
o Blank entries in the location column are now allowed
o If Spatial Reference System is present, there must be a value for every observation, and a grid reference for every observation.
● The Import Wizard can now import Watsonian Vice county numbers onto the Administrative Areas tab on the Sample. The column type to use for this option is Sample Vice county. Vice-County Number still works as previously, i.e. it uses a Vice county from the location hierarchy as the Location if there is no Location.
● When a file being imported by the Import Wizard contains a Determiner Name column, the names it contains will be split into separate names as for the Observer(s) column, the first will be used as the determiner and the others will be ignored. The wizard now handles names in a greater variety of formats in this column, i.e. the same formats as it handles in the Observer(s) column.
● At the end of the import process users have the option to save a filter file of the imported items. This option is on the Invalid Items tab. It is extremely useful to have the file if there are problems with the import as it can be used in Batch Updates and Reports to help resolve them. The default has been changed so that the file will be saved unless the user chooses not to.
● The option to use the old import wizard has been removed from Tools - Options. If this has been previously ticked it will no longer be applied.
● Users now have the option to include the data stored on the Private tab on samples when exporting data using the NBN Access Database (zipped) export type. An extra tick box is provided on the Data Export window.
● The following have been added to the list of Available fields on the Conditions tab for the Additional Filters in the Report wizard:
o Admin. Area Name
o Associate (Name or Key)
o Private Code
o Private Location
o Reference Title
o Survey Status
● The following xml reports have been added to Reports - Run 'System Supplied - Information':
o JNCC_H9_Taxon_Details - finds a specified taxon and shows details including the recommended name and the dictionaries.
o JNCC_H10_User_Added_Taxa - provides a list of all records which use User Defined Taxa.
