Dear All,

Hopefully someone can provide me with an answer to the below:

A few years ago now, at a meeting in Peterborough, JNCC were asked to ensure that a 'Master Dictionary' building on the Recorder-3 dictionary was developed. As I understand it the problems associated with this in terms of maintenance etc. led to the development of the Name Server to ensure that the 'correct' name was brought up for reporting even when a record had been put in under a different taxon dictionary.

However, what I don't know is whether the Import Wizard also uses the name server to allow data input using different dictionaries. For me this is at least as important an issue, if not more important, than the reporting aspect. What I need (and I am sure others do too) is for the Import Wizard to allow data with names which can be found in any of the available dictionaries. As an example: the Recorder-3 dictionary does NOT have an entry for Muscovy Duck but I assume as Muscovy Duck is shown on the NBN Species dictionary that it is available in another taxon dictionary in Recorder-6.

SO, if I have a spreadsheet of mixed bird and plant data to import via the Import Wizard and most of the species are available in the Recorder-3 dictionary will the Import Wizard still identify the Muscovy Duck in another dictionary and substitute that dictionary entry (key) for this one record in the spreadsheet ?? If not what will it do - stop altogether ??

I'm afraid I don't have a copy of Rec-6 here at the moment or I would make attempts to check this myself. If anyone could clear up my understanding here I would be grateful.

If the Import Wizard does not accomplish the above I would like to request that such a mechanism is added to the list of required changes as I don't see how any one, or any organisation, receiving large amounts of mixed data on spreadsheets can manage to simply input the records which are split across dictionaries (back to the old master dictionary call again).

Cheers and thanks

Steve J. McWilliam  :|