Entering, Viewing and Downloading records on FRDBI

The FRDBI has features that allows you to interact with the records in enhanced ways. Before entering your records, it is worth spending a few minutes to understand your options as it might save you time later on. The way you enter records affects how they are later viewed and downloaded.

Entering records

Records can be entered either by using the entry forms on the menu Data Entry -> BMS (extended) record* for your personal records or via Local Recording Goups -> My Groups -> Enter group records for records for a group you are a member of.

It is important to use the correct option as records entered as a personal record cannot by downloaded as a group record by the group administrator or even viewed as a group record. They may have to be re-entered.

Training mode allows you to practice entering records which are never included for viewing or downloading when in normal mode. This option is set in My Account -> Edit -> Who you are. These records are periodically deleted by the system administrators

Record Privacy setting: Also in My Account is a box to set all the records you enter as private in the sense that although they are viewable on the FRDBI website they cannot be electronically shared or exported to other systems and websites. If someone else is entering your records for you then your records are subject to that other person’s settings. You must enter your own records if you wish for a different setting.

*BMS Extended record: Most experienced mycologists and contributors to the old FRDBI will want to use this form for personal records which includes additional fields. You cannot change a record from one entry form to another.

Viewing records

Records can be viewed via the Explore records menu or via the Local recording goups -> My Groups option. The two main options on the Explore records menu are Explore all records and Explore my records.

Explore all records shows all fungus like records on the system however entered and by any user including those who have set their export privacy button on. However records entered in training mode are not visible.

Explore my records shows all the records entered by you whether as personal or group records. If you entered group records for other people who collected and identified the fungus they will still be visible here because you entered the record. If you wish to only see your personal records here, you will need to register on the system twice using different email addresses one for your personal records and one for the group.

Group records can be seen via the Local recording group -> My groups. There may be more than one option here depending upon how your group administrator set up the group but usually there is an Explore group records option. This will show records entered by group members using the Enter group records option and may additionally show other records depending how your group administrator set up the group options.These may be records from non-group members or records entered on a personal entry form. These may be records from non-group members or records entered on a personal entry form.

Downloading records

Records can be downloaded via Explore records -> Download and a less detailed version via Explore all records and Explore my records.

Explore records -> Download allows users to download the records they entered, either personal or group, and group administrators to additionally download all group records entered via the Local Recording Groups -> My groups -> Enter group record option. This latter option for group administrators differs from viewing group records which may include other records as stated above.

Explore all records option. There are some tabs underneath the map labelled Records – Species – Families – Photos. At the bottom of the Species and Families tabs there is an option to Download this report This will download the columns visible on the screen only ie the full details of each record are not download. If the records have been filtered ( see a separate article on filtering records )  to say a particular site this will at least give a list of all species recorded on that site. These options are also available on the Explore group records option.

Explore my records option. In addition to the downloads described in Explore all records the Records tab now has a Download this report option at the bottom of the page which will download your individual records listed on this page but only including the columns you can see here.

Bulk importing

The same considerations need to be given to importing bulk records as for single records and a further article on bulk importing will be available.