I am building a list of the Fishes, Creatures, Corals & Sponges (everything alive underwater) of the Caribbean. I begin by adding a new 'thing', then going to the taxa I am building and sequencing it properly. This process is quite time consuming for such a large list (100s of entries to go). So, I am wondering if there is some much easier way to do this (e.g. build on an Excel spreadsheet and import to create the new taxonomic list, other means?)

Anyone have ideas?

Hello Tadas,

I created the Taxonomy builder to be faster than a spreadsheet and any other way that I could think of. Now, I admit, I don't always get it right, and sometimes make it more complicated than necessary and therefore folks miss some of the features I intended for them to use in order to make it functional.

So, please let me ask you a few questions to see where you find it slow to use and if you are using it correctly. I see already that my pages for the Thing Editor and the Taxonomy Editor in the Online Users Guide are empty. Always something to get done. Sorry about that.

The basic idea is

• Create your new taxonomic list using the TAX Viewer - "All things under the water"
• Open the Thing Editor, check the Tax Builder Mode checkbox, create your first thing. This window's use should be self-evident once you look at the fields available and read the Info text on the left. Check the Auto-create Name... checkbox for convenience. (Always hold your mouse over any field, checkbox, button, etc. to get additional info on what it does.) See first picture below for example. Click the Add button, the thing is created and the Taxonomy Editor opens automatically which allows you to assign this thing to your new tax list.
• On the Taxonomy Editor window, you will see that your new thing is already populated in the Thing field. All of the fields on this window are SmartSearch auto-complete. Now TAB down to the taxonomy dropdown, type the first few letters of your tax list, tab down to the preferred common name field and select from one of the aliases you chose for this thing; again, this is auto-complete so just type a few chars; no need for the mouse at all on either of these windows.
  Now, the next field, Classification-Preset is important for all things except the first. After you have added your first thing to your new tax list, use this field to preset the classification (e.g. full scientific name) on all the fields. Then all you have to do is TAB down to the first field that is different (e.g. Species, Genus, etc) and change that. On the first thing in your tax list, you will want to type in the classification at each level.
  Also, the Sort After field doesn't mean anything on the first thing added, but after that, will always default to the last thing under the current classification; this assumes you are adding things in taxonomic order.
  See second screen shot for an example of adding the first thing.
  After you click ADD on this window, you will notice that the focus shifts back to the Thing Editor and you are ready to go for your next thing!
• You now go back and forth between these two editor windows with ease and just enough characters typed to meet your needs. I find this is much faster than anything else I can imagine using.
• See the next two screenshots for how I added the second thing. Note my use of the preset field in the tax editor. I used thing123 to preset the classification for my new thing124 and then all I have to change is the species designation. Also, the sort after was preset to be after thing123.

So - with that short description, let me ask...

1. Were you using tax builder mode?
2. Did you use auto-create name?
3. Did you know how to use the preset field?
4. Did you know that you could automatically go back-n-forth between the two editors without ever using the Mouse at all - only the keyboard?

Let me know if you have comments on this once you have tried it for a few things and if you have any suggestions or further questions.

Thanks much,

Jeff