Basic File Format
The file should be a Tab-Delimited Text file.  Tab-text files are created by most applications when you choose to save any 'tabular' data as Text.  The file should consist of rows of 'records' with a fixed set of attributes (or fields) in columns.  This is naturally created by applications like Excel, Access etc.

File Names
•  You can name your file as you wish to reflect its content.
•  The recommended file extension is .txt (the Windows default for all Text files)

First Row
It is essential that the first 'row' of the file contains the following field names in correct order (tab delimited).  If you 'Save As' Text from Excel make the first row of your worksheet contain the field names.  If you 'Save As' Text from Access the field names are added in automatically if you 'name' each fields appropriately.  Each subsequent row in your file is an individual record.

Field Names
The following are the required fields and their names in order (as they would appear left to right):

Taxon – the full scientific name of the species recorded e.g. Pieris napi.  The Taxon is always required and must exactly match an existing entry in the MapMate Taxa Library.
Site – the name of the recorded site e.g. Stoke Sub Hamdon.  The Site is always required.

Gridref – the OS Grid-reference of the Site e.g. ST123456 (use can use 10km, 2km, 1km or 6 to 8 figure references as you wish).  Avoid spaces.  If your reference contains dashes for unknown entities (like ST12-45-) then these are resolved to the correct 'short' format.  The Gridref is always required.

VC – the Vice County number for the Site (1..113 or H1..H40 for Ireland).  The VC is always required.  If you can't resolve a Site to a VC use 0.

Recorder – the name of the recorder e.g. Mark Yeates.  The Recorder is always required.

Determiner – the name of the determiner e.g. Mark Yeates (if this field is left blank then the Recorder will be assumed Determiner).  The Determiner is the person (or authority) who formally identified the species (if applicable).

Date – the date on which the Taxon was recorded – this must be in dd/mm/yyyy format e.g. 12/07/1998. Two digit years are not allowed!  If the Date is a month only you can use 00/mm/yyyy.  If the Date is a year only you can use 00/00/yyyy.  If your date is a year range use yyyy->yyyy (i.e. with a dash followed by a greater than sign between).  If your date is a date range use dd/mm/yyyy-dd/mm/yyyy (i.e. two dates with a dash between).  A Date is always required.

Quantity – the number of individuals recorded e.g. 2.  Quantity must be a number or 0, which is equivalent to 'Present'.  If the quantity is left blank then 0=Present will be assumed.

Method – is the recording method used e.g. Netted, Field Record etc.  Methods should be consistent with, or use, existing MapMate methods.  If the method is left blank then the default 'Unknown' will be used.  If a Method is unknown – then a new method will be created for you.

Sex – is the sex of the recorded taxon.  If this is left blank then the default 'not recorded' is assumed.  You can use the following single letter codes:  Male=m, Female=f, Queen=q, Worker=w, Asexual=a, Mixed sex group=g, Intersex=i, Pair=p, Not recorded=u.

Stage – is the life stage of the recorded taxon.  This must be one of the pre-defined values in the MapMate TaxonStage table.  Browse Taxon Stage to see possible values.  If this field is left blank then 'not recorded' is assumed.

Status – is the record status for this particular taxon in context of this record. This must be one of the pre-defined values in the MapMate RecordStatus table.  Browse Record Status to see possible values.  If this field is left blank then 'not recorded' is assumed.

Comment – is for any additional information, or any comments about this record.  Comment is not required and may be left blank.  Comments can be any length.

Notes

•  When you import, any new Sites, Recorders, Determiners and Methods you have identified will be created for you.
•  All fields are 'text' fields and you can use any alphabetic or numeric characters.
•  Taxa, Site, Recorder, Determiner, Method, Stage and Status fields are all limited to 64 characters maximum. Gridref and Quantity are limited to 10 character maximum.  VC is limited to 3 characters maximum.  Sex must be a single character code and Comment can be any length.  Dates are restricted by required formats and not size.
•  When exporting tab-text from spreadsheets like Excel, we suggest that ALL 'not required' fields are present and filled with "" (i.e. two double quotes with nothing between) – or with a literal default value applicable to the field, like 'not recorded' etc.  This is to make sure they are exported correctly!
•  Note that a Quantity of 0 (zero) is interpreted by MapMate as 'present, quantity unknown' and NOT as 'not recorded'.
•  Import will reject records with Taxa that it can't find in the Taxa Library – it will not create new entries from these.  The Importer has tools built in to check these for you (see note below).
•  When importing from other recording programs (like R3.3., R2000, etc.) make sure you run the 'Check' button test on Taxa prior to import and correct any species names in your original import file.  MapMate has very up to date checklists and there may be some differences with naming here!  If you find any names that are in error on MapMate please let us know at support@mapmate.co.uk.  If you do find a name in error then you can miss-spell it for now (to import) and when it is globally corrected your record will be corrected too!
•  You can use the Analysis > Browse > 'Browse Tables' queries to see currently available terms for Sex, Stage, Status, Methods etc.
•  Take care with dates – formatting requirements are quite strict here!