GODMSurveyor User's Guide
This guide will help you use the GODMSurveyor software for Windows Mobile Personal Digital Assisstants (PDAs). Follow the instructions below to learn to use GODMSurveyor
5. Uploading Surveys to the Web Site
1. Starting GODMSurveyor
To start GODMSurveyor from your Windows Mobile PDA, tap on the "Start" button in the upper left corner of your PDAs screen and tap on GODMSurveyor in the menu. If GODMSurveyor does not appear in the menu you may need to;
- Tap on "Programs" in the "Start" menu
- Tap on "GODMSurveyor"
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2. Downloading a Form
Before taking surveys you will want to download a form from a project on the web site. You should already belong to a project that has at least one form before proceeding. See the (?) tutorial for how to join a project, create a new project, or create a form for an existing project if needed. Before downloading a form you will need to connect your PDA to an Internet connection. This can be a WiFi connection, a cell phone connection, or by connecting the PDA to your computer through a cradle or cable. Make sure you have the 'double-arrows' showing an active network connection at the top of your PDA's screen before continuing. When you have a network connection, tap on the 'Options' menu in GODMSurveyor on your PDA and select 'Form...'. |
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The next dialog will ask for your CitSci login name and password. These are the same login and password you use on the web site. Enter your login and password and click 'OK'. Note: If you obtain an error that your login and/or password are not recognized you may have made a mistake in typing your information or you may be communicating with the wrong server. First, make sure your 'caps lock' key is off and type your login and password exactly as you would into the web site. If this does not work, tap on the 'Options' menu and then tap on 'Preferences'. Unless you are testing the software under the direction of Colorado State Univeristy, the 'Server' popup should read 'Squall (live)'. Change this as needed. |
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The next dialog will ask you to select the project and then the form from the project that you want to download. All the projects you are a member of will appear in the first popup. Select the project you want to add data to in the first popup and then you can see the forms for the project in the second popup. When you click 'OK' the form you selected will be downloaded from the web site. Note: When you download a new form into the PDA you will no longer be able to edit any surveys you have stored in the PDA. You can upload these surveys after downloading a new form (or before) and you can always edit the data on the web site after it has been uploaded. |
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The name of the project and the form you are working on should now appear in the main dialog. In the screen at right we have downloaded the 'Sonoran Desert Field Form' from the 'Invaders of the Sonoran Desert' project. Notice that the names of the project and/or form may be cutoff because of the small amount of room provided by PDA screens. The next step will be for you to collect survey data. |
3. Creating a New Survey
It's time to head into the field and collect some data. We recommend you find a local area with speices you are interested in and have added to your project's form. This will allow you to learn to use the software and upload data close to home. You may also want to print these instructions and take them with you into the field. When you have arrived at a survey location, tap on 'New' to create a new survey. The dialog shown at right will appear. The Recorder and Taxonomist popup
menus will contain all the contributors from the project you are working on. Select yourself as the "Recorder"
and the person identifiing each species as the "Taxonomist". Enter a unique name for this survey in
the "Survey Name" box. This will be the name of the survey that appears in the web site. If you have a PDA with a keyboard you can click in the "Survey Name" field and then type on the keyboard on the PDA. Otherwise you
can click on the keyboard icon |
Entering Location Information
The "Location Information" dialog allows you to enter a coordincate for the survey location or obtain the coordinate from a GPS. GPSes can be attached to your PDA through a vareity of means or you may type the coordinates from a handheld GPS into the text boxes provided. All PDAs have a number of "serial ports" to communicate with other devices. If your GPS is either internal to the PDA, connected through BlueTooth, or connected through a serial cable the software will communicate to the GPS through a specific serial port. You can set which serial port your device is using in the 'Options' dialog avaiable at the bottom of the screen. GPS's typically are avialbale on port 5, 6, or 7. We've provided a few serial ports below but you may need to consult your PDAs settings or your manufacturers instructions to find out which serial port your GPS is using. If you cannot find this information you can simply set each serial port in turn and try to obtain a coordinate until a setting works. HP iPAQ Internal GPS: Serial Port 7 BlueTooth: Serial Port 5 Note: When you click on the 'GPS' button Windows may switch to another view. Just click on the GODMSurveyor program again to return to the program. |
1. Internal GPS, connected through BlueTooth or a connected with a Cable. Click on the 'GPS' button between the 'Previous' and 'Next' buttons. The dialog at right will appear and will try to obtain a fix from the GPS. If the GPS is BlueTooth or is connected through a cable and the GPS has already obtained an accurate fix from enough satellites, you may immediately see 'Have Fix' change to 'Yes' and a coordinate appear next to 'Latitude' and 'Longitude'. More likely it will take a little time for your GPS to obtain a fix. You will need to click on 'Retry' repeatedly until 'Have Fix' turns to 'Yes'. Regardless you will want to check the 'Accuracy' to insure your coordinate is within your desired number of meters (less than 50 meters is typically ok). The number of satellites is an indication of whether you have a good view of the sky. If the number is less than 4 you may want to try moving around until you have a better view of the sky and the number of satellites increases. 3. External GPS You can also use a stanadard hand-held GPS and enter the coordinates by hand. Make sure the "Projection" popup menu and the "Datum" popup menu match the settings on your GPS. If the Projection is set to UTM you will also need to select the correct "Zone". Now enter the Easting and Northing, for UTM, or the Latitude and Longitude, for Geographic projection, into the dialog. If you know the accuracy you can enter it in the field provided otherwise leave the field blank. |
If you have problems check the GPS Connection section in the Troubleshooting guide. Unless your surveys are close together an accuracy of 10 meters is typically sufficient. After entering the coordinate you can change the projection to see the coordinate in another projection. Then click "Next" to enter information on the species of interest. |
Entering Information on OrganismsThe next dialog will be for the first species in the form on the web (Tamarix is shown in the dialog at right). Select the level of confidence you have in the "Identification" popup menu. The remaining fields will contain the attributes defined by the project manager on the web site. Click on "Camera" to take a picture of the species you are entering data on. You should include a picture of the entire plant or animal and some close up pictures of leaves, flowers, and any interesting features. You will want to try the camera in the GPS to see how close you can get to an organism but it is typically about 3 feet. A standard digital camera can also be used and may provide better results especially for closeup images. When you click "Next" the dialog will change for the next species and so on. When you have entered data for the last species you will return to the main dialog and should see the new survey in the list. |
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4. Editing an Existing SurveyYou can edit an existing survey by simply tapping on the survey in the main dialog and clicking 'Edit'. You will be able to move through the same dialogs you used to enter the original data and can edit the data in the same way you entered it. |
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5. Uploading Surveys to the Web Site
From the main screen select "Upload" from the "Options" menu. This will take you to the login screen. Make sure your PDA is connected to the Internet and enter your login and password for the web site. When you click "OK" your surveys will be uploaded to the web site. If this is successful they will no longer appear in the list on the main dialog. Note: Once you upload surveys to the web site they will no longer be avaialble on the PDA for editing. You can edit them on the web site after uploading. |
The main dialog box for GODMSurveyor should appear as below. The exact appearance of the software may vary a little with different versions of Windows Mobile and different PDAs but GODMSurveyor should always contain the same text, buttons, and boxes.
This dialog shows the name of the project you are working on, the form you are using and lists the surveys you have completed that have not been uploaded to the web site. If the project name is "None" then you will need to download a form from the web site.
and enter text with the wand. You can enter an optional
description that will appear with this visit on the web site. The date and time will be set automatically and should
not be changed unless you are entering data that was collected at an earlier date. If you have an HP iPAQ you can take pictures of your survey site by selecting "Camera".
You can also used a standard digital camera and upload the pictures separately. Click 'Next' when ready.