Select future dates on calendar for observation field (ideally only future)

Platform(s):

website

Description of need:

We have an observation field ‘Date for next visit’ which users set as a future date when the observation should be revisited. We have set this up as a field of type Date. On adding a new observation via the project (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/new?project_id=147177), the calendar only shows past dates. The user can only set future dates by selecting a past date and then editing the text.

The same applies when adding an existing observation to this project or selecting “Fill out project observation fields” on an observation that is part of this project.

Feature request details:

We would like the Date field type to be configurable to show future dates on the calendar (and ideally only future dates).

Here’s an addition to that idea:

If you have a future visit data set up in that Observation field, have iNat automatically send a reminder message with a link to that observation the day before the future visit to the email set up in your profile.

2 Likes

i don’t think iNat needs to be your personal reminder service. you’ve got lots of other ways to get reminders.

4 Likes

True, this would be a nice feature for people who would use it a lot, however. It would add a lot more emails to your inbox, which would be something to think about.

1 Like

sure, in a world with unlimited resources, make iNat a place where you can schedule reminders and book travel and do personal banking.

1 Like

Please create a separate feature request for this, so we don’t detract from the original request around allowing future dates to be selected from the calendar control.

2 Likes

I’ve added a note to the field:

The calendar does not currently allow future dates. Please type in a date in the format yyyy-mm-dd, eg 2025-01-19.

It’s not a great user experience to tell them not to use the calendar control that has just popped up.

Maybe the “Allowed Values” field for Date and Datetime types could be used to define the dates that are allowed, eg. “future”, “any”, “past” (the default):

1 Like

Note that the Android app allows any date to be entered when adding an observation to this project.

Can someone try the iPhone version and iNat next to see what they allow?

Or just allow any date on the browser version?

EcoNet’s CAMS synchronises weed observations from iNaturalist into the CAMS GIS Weeds eToolkit. The CAMS Weeds eToolkit symbology alerts people on a GIS map what weed sites need to be revisited to see if the previous weed control visit was effective. It can synch with CAMS CRM to send an alert to the user or a group.