Recording Fungi

[Alantb]

I've been recording Fungi and sending data to the BMSFRD for about 15 years, using files produced from Lotus Approach. I have my own system using the National Database as a species reference and this works well but I can see it getting out of date. I would like to use a more modern tool but at the last viewing Recorder was not suitable, being inflexible and having no space for all the fields which are commonly used for fungi. (It seems to think that all we want to record is animals and plants.)
MapMate, good though it is for mapping has similar deficiencies and (again) at the last look only permitted recording one species per map.
I don't want to use raw Access because for me it means reinventing the wheel, is slow and cumbersome and anyhow I like to keep off Micro$oft products if I can.
I'd like a program that will simply accept my 38+K records in one lump, using the fields that I (we) currently use. (Don't say Excel). Anybody any ideas?

[Alantb]

Another point is that fungus names are updated quite frequently but many people still use the 'old' names. (e.g. the Collybia genus was split into at least three parts quite a long time ago but folk still send me the old names). I would need a system that would keep up with the most up-to-date nomenclature without being unable to accept formerly used names.

[SheffieldLass]

I've just refound a link that discusses databases fairly recently. That may give a starting point.

New Year's resolutions!

The BMS one is based on Access 97, and they have a version which is stand alone that does not require you to have Access yourself to use it. However if you wish to tinker with it, and add in whole new sections then you do need Access installed on your computer.

That is what I'm using, but I have altered it to suit myself.

Melanie

[SheffieldLass]

Originally Posted by Alantb

Another point is that fungus names are updated quite frequently but many people still use the 'old' names. (e.g. the Collybia genus was split into at least three parts quite a long time ago but folk still send me the old names). I would need a system that would keep up with the most up-to-date nomenclature without being unable to accept formerly used names.

It does that automatically, although it isn't quite up-to-date. Put in the old name and it comes up with the new name in the next box, or if it hasn't changed, the same name, so the name it was originally recorded under is retained, but it uses the current name as priority.

And where you know the database is not quite up-to-date you can manually alter that, put in the current name. (You may need to have Access installed to do that though.)

[SheffieldLass]

Originally Posted by Alantb

I'd like a program that will simply accept my 38+K records in one lump, using the fields that I (we) currently use. (Don't say Excel). Anybody any ideas?

To do that you would definitely need Access on your computer, and a way to transfer them in could be by putting them first into Excel and then into the database. I think that would be pretty straightforward.

[Alantb]

Thanks for your input folks. I do actually know about Mycorec etc. I tried a few databases before I settled on Approach as the most intuitive and easy to use. I have no problems exporting to the BMS or importing data in the proper formats from anybody. I can also produce fomatted output to data processing or publishing programs.
I was hoping that someone would come up and tell me that they are using the NBN 'Recorder' package and/or MapMate - the first because it is widely used by a lot of NBN recorders and may become a national standard and the second because of its excellent (though limited) maps.
Anybody?

[FungiJohn]

Originally Posted by Alantb

Thanks for your input folks. I do actually know about Mycorec etc. I tried a few databases before I settled on Approach as the most intuitive and easy to use. I have no problems exporting to the BMS or importing data in the proper formats from anybody. I can also produce fomatted output to data processing or publishing programs.
I was hoping that someone would come up and tell me that they are using the NBN 'Recorder' package and/or MapMate - the first because it is widely used by a lot of NBN recorders and may become a national standard and the second because of its excellent (though limited) maps.
Anybody?

Hi Alan

Sorry, I meant to post earlier. I like the idea of mapmate but it is a little too general for fungi.

If someone could pick the best bits out of the existing databases and produce a 'standard' it would solve many problems.

I suppose my ideal would be a web based front end to a solid SQL / oracle database, which allowed inputing data with a selection of robust reporting methods.

It's not that difficult to do but the cost could be high and I suspect, this is the real issue!

John

[Alantb]

Hi John;
It is as I feared, the wrong people are writing the specifications for the software - and you have been reading my mind about hoping for a combination of the best features of what is already available.
Since it is the quiet season for recording I'm going to have another go with MapMate (which I really would like to see do the job) to see if I can twist its arm in some way - but the previous efforts have been discouraging. For a start it wants input in tab-delimited files while everything else uses comma-separated . . . This is not a real problem of course but another example of the way all software developers just ignore the rest of the world.
It's also discouraging that all the examples cite moth recording - and the user cannot define his/her own fields, so that you can't get rid of unwanted titles. But the maps are very good, so one would like that feature to be more flexible. I had thought perhaps of experimentally telling the thing lies, so we'll see what might be achieved that way.
Don't hold your breath!
Alan

[FungiJohn]

Originally Posted by Alantb

Hi John;
It is as I feared, the wrong people are writing the specifications for the software - and you have been reading my mind about hoping for a combination of the best features of what is already available.
Since it is the quiet season for recording I'm going to have another go with MapMate (which I really would like to see do the job) to see if I can twist its arm in some way - but the previous efforts have been discouraging. For a start it wants input in tab-delimited files while everything else uses comma-separated . . . This is not a real problem of course but another example of the way all software developers just ignore the rest of the world.
It's also discouraging that all the examples cite moth recording - and the user cannot define his/her own fields, so that you can't get rid of unwanted titles. But the maps are very good, so one would like that feature to be more flexible. I had thought perhaps of experimentally telling the thing lies, so we'll see what might be achieved that way.
Don't hold your breath!
Alan

It could be a worthwhile excercise doing this Alan, they are only labels when all said.

It would be useful also to see a full 'spec' of the software in order to see how it can be tweaked.

I'm sure if enough people, recorders, groups got involved we could bend the rules a little.

Good luck!

John

[Alantb]

Well I had another attempt to use MapMate and it is - frankly- totally useless. So I am giving up. I just wish that I hadn't paid for the upgrade. When a recording program tells you that a grid reference in the commonly used form 'SE123456' is invalid and it doesn't recognise '64' as a Vice-County you know that nobody is listening.
About 18 months ago I emailed their 'support' and I was told that my concerns would be taken on board. Well nothing has happened and since I have emailed them again and received no answer there is no point in going on.

To sum up :-
Maps ---- excellent
Suitability for Fungi ------- negative 100%
Responsiveness of Support ----- zero

Shame, really.
Cheers, Alan