End-user guide

Getting oriented

This guide is for anyone browsing a published NaturaList project. No knowledge of how the data was created is needed.

The main screen

The main screen has three permanent areas:

• Top bar - navigation and the view configuration button.
• Analysis panel (left/centre) - the results of your current view and filters.
• Search & filter panel (right, or collapsed behind a toggle on mobile) - all controls for searching and narrowing the data.

The ☰ hamburger button (top-left) opens the Side Menu. The project name is shown in the centre. The view configuration button (right) shows the active analysis tool name and, when occurrence data is present, the active data scope (Taxa or Occurrences); tapping it opens the Configuration dialog where you switch tools and adjust view settings. On secondary screens (Details, Manage, etc.) the hamburger is replaced by a ← Back to search button.

The side menu

The side menu slides open from the ☰ button in the top-left and contains all project-level navigation. Items marked (optional) appear only if the project author configured them.

• About (optional) - project description and background, with links, images, or formatted notes.
• How to Cite (optional) - citation text for the dataset. Use this to reference the data in publications or reports.
• Identification Keys (optional) - step-by-step identification tool. See Identification Keys.
• Literature (optional) - full bibliography of references cited in the dataset.
• Share URL - copies or shares the current URL, including all active filters. The link encodes your filter state, text search, active tool, and language.
• Pinned Searches - saved filter combinations you can return to. See Pinned Searches.
• Languages (optional) - switch the interface language. Shown only on multilingual projects.
• Manage - data upload and publishing area for project authors.

The menu footer shows the NaturaList version, the dataset's last-updated date, and whether offline storage is active on your device.

Status banners

Two banners may appear above the analysis panel:

• Draft notice (amber) - the loaded data is a preview not yet published.
• Modified parameters (blue) - one or more view settings are non-default. A ↺ Reset to defaults button restores them all.

Searching and filtering

All filtering happens in the Search and filter panel. The panel provides filter buttons for every dimension the project author has configured, plus a free-text search box. What you see depends on the project.

Dynamic filters

Filter buttons are grouped into Taxa filters (one per taxonomic rank) and Data filters (one per data field, grouped by category if the project defines them). Tapping a button opens a dropdown for that filter.

Text and category filters show a scrollable list of all values present in the dataset. Values ruled out by other active filters are greyed out. A search box within the dropdown lets you find specific values quickly; Check all shown selects all matching values at once.

Month filters show a 12-month grid - tap to toggle individual months. Multiple months return taxa active in any of those months.

Numeric, interval, and date filters offer two modes: List (pick from existing values) or Operator (equal to, less than, greater than, between, around - with a live result count before you commit). For interval fields (e.g. a min–max body length range), a taxon matches if any part of its range satisfies the condition.

Distribution map filters show region checkboxes and, where configured, a status sub-filter (e.g. breeding status or establishment means) that may be categorical or numeric.

Match mode

By default, selecting multiple values from a category filter returns taxa matching any of them. Inside the dropdown, a match mode indicator lets you switch between:

• Match any (default) - taxa with at least one of the selected values.
• Match all - taxa that have every selected value simultaneously. Useful when taxa can hold multiple values (e.g. multiple growth forms).
• Exclude - taxa with none of the selected values.

The search box

The free-text search at the bottom of the panel searches across all fields simultaneously and applies immediately. Multiple words without a separator are treated as AND - all words must appear in the taxon's data. Separate terms with / for OR logic:

Litoria / Pelamis

This returns taxa whose data contains either term. Matching starts from the beginning of words; accents and case are ignored.

Combining search and filters

Text search and individual filters all combine with AND: a taxon must satisfy every active filter and the text search to appear in results.

Active filter pills

Each active filter appears as a colored pill below the search box. Click a pill to remove that single filter. A Clear all button removes everything at once.

Analysis tools

​NaturaList provides four tools for browsing and exploring a dataset: Taxonomic Tree (the default), Hierarchy Bubbles, Trait Matrix, and Regional Distribution. Switch between them using the Configuration dialog (view configuration button, top bar). Tools unavailable for the current dataset are greyed out with a brief explanation. When occurrence records are present, the dialog also shows a Data Scope toggle - switch between Taxa and Occurrences to change what the analysis counts.

Taxonomic tree

The default view - a scrollable nested list of the full taxon hierarchy. Each row shows the taxon name and its configured data fields. Tap a name to open its Details screen. The tree is ordered by taxonomic rank; the exact hierarchy and rank labels depend on what the project author configured. When the result set is large, results load in batches via a Show next N items button at the bottom.

Configuration options in the Configuration dialog:

• Taxon display level - collapse the tree to a chosen rank (e.g. show only families) for a high-level overview.
• Show terminal taxa only - skip intermediate ranks and show only the deepest-level taxa as a flat list.
• Show taxa without occurrences - include or exclude taxa with no attached occurrence records.
• Include children in search matches - when a parent taxon matches the text search, include its children too (on by default).

Hierarchy bubbles

A zoomable circle-packing diagram where each circle represents a taxonomic group, sized by the number of terminal taxa or occurrences it contains. When a filter is active, colour encodes the proportion of matching taxa within each group. Hover over a bubble for a tooltip showing counts and percentages; click to zoom in, click the background to zoom back out. A Download SVG button saves the current diagram. No special configuration is required; this view is always available as long as the project has taxon data.

Trait matrix

A cross-tabulation table showing how taxa (or occurrences) are distributed across a chosen attribute. Select a primary trait for the column headings, optionally a second trait or date field for the row dimension, and toggle between counts and percentages. Click any cell for a plain-language description of what it represents. In taxa mode, taxonomic groups are clickable for drill-down, with a breadcrumb trail to navigate back up.

TIP

Only traits marked as filterable by the project author appear as options in the Trait Matrix.

Regional distribution

A choropleth map coloured according to the distribution data in the dataset. Select which map to display; if the data includes status categories or numeric values, a segment picker appears - choose whether to count any presence, focus on a specific category, or switch to numeric mode. In numeric mode, choose a statistical operation: count, sum, mean, median, min, max, standard deviation, or percentage above/below a threshold.

When a filter is active, choose how proportions are calculated:

• By filter - of the currently filtered taxa, what share occurs in each region?
• By region - of all taxa in a region, what share matches the current filter?
• By total - what share of the entire dataset is present in each region?

The map is shown alongside a ranked data table. Click any row to expand a drill-down panel of individual records with numeric summary statistics where applicable. A plain-language sentence below the map controls always describes exactly what is being computed. Click the map to enlarge it fullscreen. If the map defines region groups (e.g. provinces by state), a toggle aggregates data at the group level.

Taxon and occurrence details

Tapping any taxon or occurrence name in the Taxonomic Tree opens its Details screen. A breadcrumb bar at the top shows the full taxonomic path (e.g. Reptilia > Squamata > Elapidae). The screen is divided into tabs - only tabs with actual data for the current record are shown:

• Summary - statistical summaries: occurrence counts, distribution breakdown, trait distributions. Always present.
• External search - links to external databases pre-filled with the taxon's name. Some links appear only for specific taxonomic groups.
• Media - photos, audio, and other media with captions. Tap any image for fullscreen.
• Map - static or interactive distribution map for this taxon.
• Text - descriptive content (ecology, morphology, habitat, field notes) with formatted bibliography references.

A ← Back to search button returns you to the checklist with your filters intact.

Identification keys

Accessible from Side Menu → Identification Keys - this entry only appears if the project includes at least one key.

The key list

Keys are listed as cards showing a title, optional description, and a Taxa Included count. Tap a card to start.

Inside a key

Each step presents a set of choices as cards. Tap a choice to advance. Your answer history is shown above the current step; tap any past choice to backtrack and revise - the key widens to the reachable set from that point.

The Taxa Included (X / Y) footer shows how many taxa remain reachable at the current step versus the key's total. Tap any taxon chip to jump directly to the sequence of choices that identifies it. If a result is the entry point of another key, a Continue to [Key Name] button chains them together.

As you navigate a key, the main checklist filter narrows automatically to show only the taxa still in play.

Pinned searches

Accessible from Side Menu → Pinned Searches. With your filters and text search configured, tap Pin this search to save the state under an auto-generated name. Tap any entry in the list to restore it. Tap × to remove a pin.

Browser-local storage

Pins are stored in your browser's local storage and are not shared across devices. Clearing browser data removes them.