Wildlife Recorder 4 (4.1.279)

2nd September 2022

New Features

• Family and Genus queries.
  

  Previously, extinct species were not included in these reports.  Extinct species can now optionally be included in the reports by selecting the new option "Include Extinct".
  

• Species Checklist.
  

  A new filter has been added to the distribution type filter allowing a checklist of extinct species to be created.
  
  
  

Fixes

• Creation of a new site using mapping.
  

  When creating a new site for a new trip using the map feature and selecting "New Area", or when selecting a workspace with no geographic limits e.g. the "No Limit" workspace, it was not possible to click on the map to select the exact position of the new site.  
  
  This issue is resolved.

Wildlife Recorder 4 (4.1.275)

20th August 2022

Fixes

• Observer selection.
  

  Fixes an issue where chekbox where not showing on the observers selection screen for some combinations of Windows font size and screen resolution.

Bird Species Update (110)

8th August 2022

The latest Bird Species Update is now available.  This update implements changes in the latest IOC Update Version 12.2.

Important Note for Nature Lister Users

If you use Nature Lister you will need to reload your workspaces to your device(s) after you have applied the species update to your WR4 database.  Please undertake the following steps:

1. Export any outstanding trips from Nature Lister and import them into WR4.
2. Backup your WR4 databases.
3. Apply the new species update to your WR4 database.
4. Upload your workspaces from WR4 to the cloud server.
5. Import the new workspaces to your device(s).
   
   

Full instructions for updating the database are in the WR4 help file, there is also a tutorial.

Species Change History

Wildlife Recorder 4 (4.1.273)

17th July 2022

Fixes

• Sightings Import.
  

  Fixes an issue where restarting a paused import fails.

Wildlife Recorder 4 (4.1.271)

28th May 2022

Fixes

• Mapping.
  

  Fixes an issue on some computers where clicking on a map does not display the intended pin.

Wildlife Recorder 4 (4.1.270)

24th April 2022

New Features

• Mapping.
  

  Mapping for both Bing Maps and Google Maps uses an internal browser within WR4.  The internal browser component is part of Microsoft Dotnet.  Unfortunately Google Maps has changed and will no longer work with the Dotnet browser component.
  
  Microsoft have introduced a new browser component which will allow Google Maps to function.  WR4 has been changed to incorporate this new browser component. 
  
  The new Microsoft browser component requires the installation of a runtime module, "Microsoft Edge Webview2 Runtime".  When you run the new version of WR4 a check is made to determine whether "Microsoft Edge Webview2 Runtime" is already installed on your machine. If it is not installed a message is displayed allowing you to request that it be installed.  If you do not use mapping in WR4 you can reply "No" to installing the runtime.  If you do use mapping in WR4 you should reply "Yes" to install the "Microsoft Edge Webview2 Runtime", WR4 will close and the runtime will be installed after which you can restart WR4.

Fixes

• A few users have had issues with updating their own databases with the species updates we supply.  Typically the species update completes succesfully but the updated database cannot be copied back to overwrite the previous version, a message like "Error copying updated database the process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process" is displayed.  WR4 has been changed so that if this situation occurs the updated file is kept and the next time WR4 is started and the database is opened a message will be displayed which allows the update to be completed.  
  
  Click "Yes" to complete the update or "No" to discard the update.
  
  
• Various other fixes.
  

Wildlife Recorder 4 (4.1.255)

24th March 2022

New Features

• Export to Birdtrack using Scientific names fr species.
  

  If you export sightings to Birdtrack and you record your sightings at the sub-species level you may encounter issues with species name matches in your Birdtrack import.  This is because Birdtrack common names for subspecies are not the same as thosed used by WR4.  Birdtrack subspecies names are also rather inconsistant.  Using scientific names for species in your export from WR4 to Birdtrack will most likely reduce any species name mismatches.  
  
  To send scientific names to Birdtrack instaed of common names you can select the new parameter in the WR4 Export form as shown below.
  
  

• Fixes 
  
  Various fixes.
  

Wildlife Recorder 4 (4.1.250)

4th March 2022

New Features

• Media Strip.
  

  The media strip for a trip, sighting or media list can be expanded by clicking the Expand button at the top of the Media Strip.  A file sized media window will be displayed.
  
  Hovering the mouse over an image in the media strip will display the media title and description.
  
  A new Internal image display option within WR4 allows pictures (jpg, png, gif, tif and bmp) to be displayed in an internal WR4 image viewer.  The internal image viewer allows you to page through all media attached to the currently selected trip, sighting or media list species.  All non-picture attachments, e.g. videos , documents etc. will continue to use the default Windows viewer for the type of attachment.  By default WR4 will continue to use the Windows picture viewer, to use the internal viewer it needs to be enabled by setting the Use Internal viewer option in the WR4 Preferences Media tab.

• Fixes 
  
  Various fixes.
  

Wildlife Recorder 4 (4.1.241)

31st January 2022

New Features

• Nature Lister App Interface.
  

  It is now possible to support lists based on a fixed radius from a defined point in Nature Lister App.    Any  fixed radius lists defined in you database will now be shown along with single geographic area lists when selecting workspace data to be uploaded to the Nature Lister device.

• Fixes 
  
  Various fixes.
  

Wildlife Recorder 4 (4.1.236)

21st November 2021

New Features

• Sightings Media.
  

  Media can now be added to a sighting or a trip by dragging one or more media files from a Windows File Explorer window and dropping them onto the Media Strip. See help topic.

• Fixes 
  
  Various fixes.
  

Wildlife Recorder 4 (4.1.231)

17th September 2021

New Features

• Trip Mapref Validation.
  

  A new validation has been added which will check the map reference recorded for a trip against the map reference defined for the trip location.  If the trip is more than the distance specified by the user the trip will be shown in the validation results.  See help topic.

• Sightings Pinpoint Validation.
  

  A new validation has been added which will check sightings pinpoints against the map reference defined for the trip location.  If the pinpoint is more than the  distance specified by the user the sighting will be shown in the validation results.  See help topic.

• Sightings Validation.
  When clicking on a suspect sighting, the full sighting details including date, notes etc are shown below the suspects list.
  
  
• Import.
  

  A feature has been added which makes it easier to re-import a previously processed Nature Lister import file should that become necessary.   See Import Sightings and Import Locations
  

• Custom Queries
  The method for creating custom sightings and list queries has been streamlined. See help topic.

Fixes 

• Fixed error preventing query "Binomial sightings which can be changed to subspecies" not to run.
• Other fixes.

Wildlife Recorder 4 (4.1.219)

3rd September 2021

New Features

• Housekeeping.
  

  A list of the files which will be deleted by the housekeeping operation has been added to the form.

Fixes 

• Fixed an error causing the population of Area Radius lists to be very slow.
• Fixed an error in the calculation of the total size of files on housekeeping screen.

Other fixes.

Wildlife Recorder 4 (4.1.216)

1st September 2021

New Features

• Area Polygons.
  

  In older versions of Wildlife Recorder the boundaries of a location could be given as a rectangle defined by a NW and SE corner map reference.  List could also be created to summarise sightings within an area defined by a NW and SE corner map reference.

  Wildlife Recorder has now been enhanced so that an area for a location or list can be described by the use of a multi-point polygon. See full details.

  
  
  

• Housekeeping.
  

  Some functions within WR4 create temporary files which after time are no longer necessary and can safely be deleted.

  The Housekeeping function enables you to delete these temporary files and free up space on your hard drive. See full details.

  
  
  

Fixes 

• Various issues have been resolved.

Bird Species Update (108)

30th August 2021

The latest Bird Species Update is now available.  This update implements changes in the latest IOC Update Version 11.2 and the Clements/eBird 2021 update.

Important Note for Nature Lister Users

If you use Nature Lister you will need to reload your workspaces to your device(s) after you have applied the species update to your WR4 database.  Please undertake the following steps:

1. Export any outstanding trips from Nature Lister and import them into WR4.
2. Backup your WR4 databases.
3. Apply the new species update to your WR4 database.
4. Upload your workspaces from WR4 to the cloud server.
5. Import the new workspaces to your device(s).
   
   

Full instructions for updating the database are in the WR4 help file, there is also a tutorial.

Species Change History

Wildlife Recorder 4 (4.1.201)

4th June 2021

New Features

• Sightings Pinpoints.
  

  The ability to add pinpoint locations to species sightings is added in this release.  One or more pinpoints can be added to a species sighting N.B. the pinpoints do not have details about counts, status, notes etc for the pinpoint but merely show the exact locations at which the species was recorded.  If you wish to make detailed species notes for each pinpoint location visited then you should start a new trip for each pinpoint visited.  Pinpoints added by this facility will be plotted on any maps produced maps produced in WR4.  Sightings pinpoint data can also be imported from the latest vsersion of Nature Lister.
  
  Pinpoints can be added form the Sightings Entry form and from the Bulk Sightings entry form.  Pinpoints are selected by clicking the desired position on a map.  N.B. This facility is only avaiable if you are using Bing Maps as your Map Provider, it is not availabl if you are using Google Maps.

Fixes 

• Various issues have been resolved.

Nature Lister (1.0.101)

6th June 2021

New Features

The following new features are available in this release.

• List Comparisons.
• Expanded Sightings Details on Species Selection Screen.
• Pinpoint locations in sightings.
• Plotting species sightings on a map.
  
  

A full description of the changes is available here.

Wildlife Recorder 4 (4.1.197)

24th March 2021

New Features

• Attached Media Improvements.
  When adding media if the metadata in exif of the file being added has the "Image title" or "IPTC Description" present, then that value is used as the Media Description for the attachment.
  
  When adding media if the metadata in exif of the file being added has the "ObjectName" or "IPTC Title" present, then that value is used as the Media Title for the attachment.
  
  
• Media List.
  You can now create a list which only contains the species for those sightings which have attached media, thereby allowing a rapid way of getting a list of the species for which you have photos or videos. To make a Media List select the "Include only sightings which have media" setting.
  
  When a "Media List" is displayed, the Media Panel shows thumnails for all the attached images.
  
  

Fixes 

• Various issues have been resolved.

Mammal Species Update (16)

4th March 2021

The latest Mammal Species Update is now available.  This is a major update with many splits and new species.  The taxonomy now follows that in the Handbook of the "Mammals of the World" and the "Illustrated Checklist of the Mammals of the World", both published by Lynx,  The distribution data and descriptions have been improved and are now present for all subspecies.

Wildlife Recorder 4 (4.1.191)

28th January 2021

New Features

• It is now possible to include any "spuhs" you have recorded as sightings, e.g. Subalpine/Moltoni's Warbler (Curruca cantillans/subalpina), in lists.  To do this the "Include Spuhs" option must be selected when defining a list.

Fixes 

• In Bird Species update 107 the way "spuhs" are represented changed. This change caused older versions of WR4 to incorrectly add "Spuhs" to lists.  This is fixed in this version, repopulating all lists will remove the "spuhs" from the lists, unless the new "Include Spuhs" option has been selected.
• Various fixes.