# Batch adding annotations? **URL:** \ **Category:** General\ **Created:** [May 20, 2019, 2:16pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/batch-adding-annotations/3450 "2019-05-20T14:16:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tiwane](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/tiwane/32/54612_2.png) [@tiwane](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/tiwane)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2019, 7:03pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/batch-adding-annotations/3450/1 "2019-05-19T19:03:21Z")
> [@Searching for observations without annotations](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/searching-for-observations-without-annotations/3431/3): > > Thanks! That’s what I’m looking for. Although the structure only allows one observation to be viewed/annotated at a time: it’s a pity I can’t display all the unannotated observations in [https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/biosam](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/biosam) or [https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/tiwane](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/tiwane) for instance, and apply, “life stage = adult” with a batch edit. Correct, it has to be done one at a time. Which I think is good, IDs and annotations should should be important enough that you should take some time to do them. ---
**Author:** ![biosam](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/biosam/32/836_2.png) [@biosam](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/biosam)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2019, 7:10pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/batch-adding-annotations/3450/2 "2019-05-19T19:10:38Z")
It certainly varies by taxa and annotation field (sex and life stage of a snake may be difficult to determine without closely examining photographs), but butterflies and beetles can, in most cases, be confidently assigned to life stage (egg, larva, pupa, adult) by a quick glance. ---
**Author:** ![dkaposi](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/dkaposi/32/1451_2.png) [@dkaposi](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/dkaposi)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 2:16pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/batch-adding-annotations/3450/3 "2019-05-20T14:16:51Z")
@tiwane Tony - this is an example of inefficiency. I agree that it’s important, but it doesn’t take much time to deduce the life stage or flowering status of something. The need to open hundreds of observations individually is a massive disincentive to adding annotations. ---
**Author:** ![bouteloua](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/bouteloua/32/1180_2.png) [@bouteloua](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/bouteloua)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 2:21pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/batch-adding-annotations/3450/4 "2019-05-20T14:21:07Z")
I would be nearly impossible for me to accurately assess the flowering phenology based on a single small thumbnail. Whether or not some of the flowers are budding or fruiting would be very easily overlooked. ---
**Author:** ![sea-kangaroo](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/sea-kangaroo/32/47_2.png) [@sea-kangaroo](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/sea-kangaroo)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2019, 3:25pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/batch-adding-annotations/3450/5 "2019-05-20T15:25:31Z")
I’ve personally mostly given up on annotating because of how slow it is, even in Identify mode. If it were possible to do by batch in the uploader only I think that would take care of the “actually take time to look at the thing” concern, since after all they’re my own photos that I was moments ago sorting and cropping. I just did all of my Eschscholzia poppies in the Identify pane yesterday, and that definitely required opening each one individually and taking a good look for fruits and buds. But it would be easy to distinguish a caterpillar from an adult butterfly from a thumbnail (as was pointed out). ---
**Author:** ![KitKestrel](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/kitkestrel/32/2501_2.png) [@KitKestrel](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/KitKestrel)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2019, 4:48pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/batch-adding-annotations/3450/6 "2019-06-20T16:48:31Z")
I’d like to be able to batch edit annotations at least for my own observations. I know these photos reasonably well, and choose only the ones obviously in flower when working from thumbnails. I’ve tried doing this through My Observations but the system returns 8 records where there should be many hundred. I’ve tried fooling with the url, but so far no luck - it stubbornly returns all my obs. Here’s what I tried: [https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place\_id=any&reviewed=any&user\_id=notyouraveragecatlady&verifiable=any&without\_term\_id=12&without\_term\_value\_id=13](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=any&reviewed=any&user_id=notyouraveragecatlady&verifiable=any&without_term_id=12&without_term_value_id=13) ---
**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/inaturalist/original/2X/7/7831452cf7f0d653ff1ffd34176334b7ef1b6a17.png) [@system](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2019, 4:49pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/batch-adding-annotations/3450/7 "2019-08-19T16:49:35Z")
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