I’m a new iNaturalist user coming from eBird (which I use extensively), so I was expecting a similar experience here (perhaps wrongly). I thought I’d start by submitting a half dozen anuran species I’ve seen in my yard in the last month. I didn’t include photos or audio this time. I was working off my desktop.
First, I’m not seeing where previously visited locations are saved, if at all, so every time I submitted a species, I had to drill down on the map to my pond. That seems like it would get old fast.
Second, when I went to check out the ‘life list’ it showed zero, although I submitted 6 or 7 spp. I finally set the filter to ‘observed: no’, which for some reason listed the species I had submitted. Setting it to ‘observed: yes’ still showed zero, which makes absolutely no sense to me.
For saved locations, there’s an option in the desktop uploader. When you change the location on the map, give it a name in the Locality Notes section, and a little pushpin icon will appear in the bottom right corner. You can then access your pinned locations for reuse later at the top center of the map.
Thanks, I’ll try that. The main reason I was finally trying out iNat was I wanted a good place to store my non-birding life lists. I had been using herpmapper for herp stuff, but iNat is so trendy, I figured it was about time to check it out. Plus, I was thinking of including moths and butterflies.
@bouteloua - is there a limit to the number of locations you can store on the map? Recently I’ve added a few and pinned them, getting the interface response that it was saved. However, when I’ve gone back to it, I’ve not been able to retrieve them from the dropdown menu. It shows I have around 36 locations, but some are not showing in the menu.
On a side note, it would be great if you could pick from a map of your locations, rather than just the dropdown menu.
As far as I know there is no limit to the number of pinned locations. If there is a certain location you can’t find, please let us know here or at help@inaturalist.org so we can investigate.
@tiwane - It seems like I’m running into a pinned limit, I’ve seen it for a few sessions now.
However, I had no idea about the possibility of the geotagging workflow - that looks very cool. I am using an older Pentax which does not have any GPS, so I’ll give this a try next time I’m out!
Thanks, I really should double-check before answering. ;-) Definitely try geotagging, it does take a few extra minutes before and after a hike, but I think it’s totally worth it. It’s made iNatting so much more enjoyable.
There is no limit, but we only show 30 by default. If you want to use something beyond the default 30, you need to search for it by name in the Your Pinned Locations field. If you’re searching for something and it’s not coming up, please let us know exactly what text you’re using to search and what you’re expecting as a result.
Ahhh I see. Ok that makes sense. I have always used it as a drop down rather than a search bar. In fact, I didn’t realize it WAS a search bar before now. I think because the words “pinned locations” were already inside the entry box, rather than below or above it - the UX convention I’m more used to.
