4. Advanced use cases
This section combines multiple features into configurations that address real project types and workflows: step-by-step identification keys, filter-based polyclave identification, multilingual datasets, Darwin Core export, and complete end-to-end project blueprints for non-standard taxonomies.
How to use these examples
Each example opens with the authoring scenario - the practical challenge it solves. Below it, the spreadsheet viewer shows the complete solution; click it to expand. How it works breaks down the configuration behind it, with links to the relevant reference pages for each setting. What you will see tells you what to look for once you hit See it in action, which opens the example as a live NaturaList project in the demo space.
A word of caution
Example data is there to support the demonstrated features and is purely illustrative, don't use it in your biology classes.
A bilingual English/French zoological checklist with translated labels, descriptions, and date formats
A checklist serving English and French audiences - translated species descriptions, UI labels, category badges, and rank names - with automatic fallback to English for species without a French description.
Supported languages declares both languages. Any column that differs by language gets a
:langcodesuffix duplicate:notes:enandnotes:frare the same logical column in two variants. Custom data definition rows follow the same pattern withTitle:enandTitle:fr.The fallback chain is: active-language column → default-language column → plain column. Species without a
:frdescription automatically show their English text - no explicit fallback configuration needed.Customization accepts
Value:enandValue:frcolumns, so the checklist name, date format, and month names all adapt per language.Both
notes:enandnotes:frare indexed for full-text search, so users searching in either language find the same taxa.
What you will see: Use the language switcher in the Side Menu to switch to French: UI labels, common names, the checklist name, Red List badges, and notes all update to their French variants.
Per-country status fields that appear only when a country filter is active
A Pacific checklist where each country has its own presence status and local language common names. Showing all statuses on every card by default would be overwhelming - each country's fields should appear only when that country is active in the filter.
The
countrycolumn drives the filter; itsSearch category titleis prefixed with!to place it in a dedicated filter row.Each national status column uses a conditional hidden expression (
unless country is "...") so it appears only when the matching country filter value is active. This evaluates live: selecting Vanuatu revealsstatus.vu; switching to New Caledonia replaces it withstatus.nc.A wildcard (
.*) in Category display applies the same categorical vocabulary and badge colors across all national status columns, keeping the visual language consistent regardless of which country is selected.The mapregions column always shows the full Pacific distribution with no conditional - it provides context independent of the filter state.
What you will see: With no filter active, no national status column appears on any card. Select Vanuatu in the Country filter: the Vanuatu status badge appears on relevant cards. Switch to New Caledonia: the Vanuatu badge disappears and the New Caledonia badge takes its place.
usercontent/Exporting occurrence DwC-A archive from one project
A project with specimen occurrence records (collector, date, GPS, images) that needs to produce both a species checklist archive and an occurrence archive for GBIF from the same spreadsheet, with EML metadata.
The DwC archive table is a translation layer: each row maps a DwC term to a value source, and Export to routes each row to either the
checklistoroccurrencesarchive.Note: in
Manage(Side Menu) you can download a prefilled sample checklist already configured for DwC-A export - use it to experiment.
What you will see: This demo works differently: hit See it in action, then Download spreadsheet. In the demo, go to Manage (Side Panel) and upload the spreadsheet. Once compiled, download the DwC-A occurrence archive from that same screen.
usercontent/specimens/HMF-156_1080.webp- Scan of the specimen HMF-156 in WEBP format for better compression and smaller file sizespecimens/...- ... and so on for all other specimens
Chained polytomous identification key across taxonomy levels
A step-by-step arthropod identification key where a top-level polytomous key leads to order level, and two orders each open their own species-level sub-key automatically.
Single-access keys uses a four-column structure (Step, Text, Target, Images). When a terminal Target matches the Step code of another key block in the same table, the app chains them automatically - writing
Insectaas a Target and having a second block withInsectaas its Step code is sufficient.As the user works through the key, the main taxon list filters in real time: branches that eliminate a taxon remove it from view, leaving only reachable candidates.
The
Key to Common Arthropod Groupsincludes illustrative images with titles (visible on click); multiple images per step are supported.Note: this example is simplified and not scientifically precise - the focus is the feature, not the key content.
What you will see: Open the Identification Keys panel or click the key icon on any taxon. Work through the first key: the taxon list narrows at each branch. At a terminal step, the identified taxon is highlighted. Use Reset to start over and try a different path.
usercontent/keys/araneae.webp- Illustrative image of Araneaekeys/insecta.webp- Illustrative image of Insectakeys/chilopoda.webp- Illustrative image of Chilopodakeys/diplopoda.webp- Illustrative image of Diplopoda