[Versions 1, 2, 3 & 4] Customise what to record on the Windows app, how-to
Navigate to what to record
What to record lets you customise the display of the new/edit entry page. The customise what to record feature can be found in Options > What to Record.
You can customise what to record by unchecking any of the checkboxes found next to the relevant headings. For example if you are not interested in recording counts then uncheck the ‘Counts, for each sighting’ checkbox, this will hide the count field from view when editing/adding sightings. For existing sightings where a count has been assigned, the count will still be shown when looking back through your journal.
Default properties to record
Below shows which properties you can customise followed by what the property looks like in the new/edit entry page.
Count
In the count field you can enter whole numbers or an approximate counts by using the ‘+’ or ‘c’ symbol and letter, see below:
Weather
Notes about the weather condition can be entered in the weather field.
Photographs
Photographs can be assigned to the location and/or sighting. In the new/edit entry page you will find two photo headings: ‘General Photos’ and ‘Sighting Photos’. To add location photos use the general photos link and to add sighting photos use the sighting photos link.
Clicking on the photo link will pop-up the photo manager, the photo manager lets you manage your photos.
Conservation
The conservation properties are relevant when exporting records to eBird or BirdTrack.
When exporting records from Bird Journal to eBird the records must include a ‘Protocol’. With BirdTrack you must consider the ‘All observations reported?’ which tells BirdTrack if the entry is a complete list of the sightings recorded during that bird trip.
If you do plan to export data to eBird or BirdTrack please consider the conservation properties when adding
Custom properties for entries or sightings
The custom properties option lets you create new properties for the entry or sighting. New properties like ‘Breeding Status’ can be added to the bottom of the properties table, see below:
Each new property needs to be assigned a property type. There are three property types: textbox, checkbox or dropdown list.
Property names can be changed at any time, however names must be unique. Properties can be removed when no sightings or entries have been assigned to them. To hide properties that cannot be removed uncheck the enabled checkbox next to the property name, this will hide the property from view when adding/editing an entry.
Entry properties appear under the conservation properties and the sighting properties appear under the sighting notes. The ‘Move Up’ and ‘Move Down’ buttons let you rearrange the order of the properties when displayed in the new/edit entry page.
A property of type dropdown list will require a list of values. Edit dropdown values by clicking on the values link in the second cell to the right of the property name. The example below shows a list of values added to the property ‘Wind Direction’.
