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Re: release of V6.13 - timetable and feature summary

All,
Just a quick update on the timetable for the next version of Recorder 6. We are currently aiming for accepting a final release from Dorset SOftware on the 21 June with copies shipped to resellers a few days after that. I should stress that the timetable is quite tight (particularly given that we don’t have Sarah any more) but I will keep you informed of any changes.

KEY IMPROVEMENTS

Ability to organise surveys into groups
In addition to organising records into surveys, Recorder now allows you to group blocks of surveys using tags. This can be used for example to easily group surveys from a particular provider, those that have been verified, those that are not to be exported etc. These tags can then be used in export filters and reports.

Improved reporting by polygon
Previously, when reporting on all records within a polygon, Recorder used the bottom left co-ordinate of the grid square which skewed the results. This has now been improved to remove the bias and allow a user to select whether or not to include any grid references that overlap polygon.

Cascading edits made in the observations hierarchy
In previous versions, if edits were made to either the location or date in the observations hierarchy the changes were not cascaded to related samples or survey events. This resulted in invalid data that in some cases was difficult to correct. The user is now asked whether they want the changes cascaded when they edit such entries.

Export to shape files
There is now the ability to export both polygon layers and distribution datasets as GIS files.

Improved import wizard
Improved the performance of the import wizard and allowing species names to be easily matched to all the preferred taxonomic lists at once, rather than matching against each list individually. Location and Location Name columns can be included. Measurement data entered can be restricted to a specified list, e.g. D, A, F, O or R. Improved handling of MapMate keys. User can optionally save a file containing the list of rows added to the database. This file can also be used to filter the observations hierarchy to show only those records which have just been imported.

Taxon dictionary
Users can now search for a species across the preferred lists or across all lists.
Partial word searches can be enabled, e.g. “Q robur” would find Quercus robur.

Locations
Improved facilities for re-organising the location hierarchy.

Rucksacks
Search codes can be added to rucksacks.

Recording cards
Rows can now be deleted from recording cards.
Measurement data entered can be restricted to a specified list, e.g. D, A, F, O or R.
Delimited rapid data entry is available, e.g. typing 'Black Bird-10-Count-Charles Copp' in the Add Species box will place each element in the required row and column.

Report wizard
Order of columns in the filter result can be saved.

Revalidating items
Items such as surveys can be re-validated using the Standard Validation Library. This enables users to detect invalid items prior to exporting data. Data is also validated prior to export with the option to save details of the items that failed validation as a filter.
Saving and loading filters
Various facilities have been implemented to allow filters to be saved for reloading at a later date.

Verification
Facilities for entering verification information for observations have been improved.

Mapping
Distribution dots can now be displayed as dots or squares (covering the grid square represented by the grid reference)

Range of standard XML reports
A range of XML reports provided as standard

Batch updates
The ability to run batch updates on the data has been developed.

So quite a bit of new stuff :)
Best wishes
STeve