Getting Started

Creating a project

To create a new project select the New button in the projects view.

You will also be presented with the option of creating a new project during import, so you can skip creating one first if you prefer.

The project creation dialog will ask you to specify a name and a creator for the project, as well as a range base, to indicate which geographic species distribution dataset you want to use for this project.

CH Alphahull is suited for projects in Switzerland, Europe Alphahull for the rest of Europe.

Importing Data

Importing From Source Data

Select Import from the File menu.

You now have a choice of import methods:

  • BATLOGGER SD-Card - for data in the BatLogger format
  • Generic Import - for directly importing WAV files

Select the desired import method and in the next screen, Browse to the location of the data to be imported. After selecting a folder, the file tree of the selected folder will be scanned for valid data, which might take a while depending on the amount of data to be imported.

_images/fig-import-hierarchy.png

Figure 1 A possible hierarchy of data to be imported.

Next, the found data will be presented, grouped into the collections that will be created. This grouping is based on the filesystem hierarchy: the names of the collections are constructed from the paths to the data. Here you can select which collections should be imported into your project.

_images/fig-import-collections.png

Figure 2 The data from Figure 1, organized into collections.

The Generic Importer additionally allows you to create metadata files, which will then be imported together with the WAV files.

To do so, press the Create Meta Data button. A CSV file will be generated in each folder containing WAV files. These files contain a header line, a first example line to illustrate the format required and then a listing of all WAV files found in the folder.

Table 1 The columns of the metadata files
Header Example Details
File example WAV filename
Sequence Example Name Sequence name
Timestamp 28.02.2014T04:42 Recording time
Latitude 47.3635332 GPS data
Longitude 8.4542416
Altitude 1112.80003
Satellites 3
HDOP 1.5
Temperature 10 Air temperature
Recorder Sample Recorder Recording device
Serial SAMPLESERIAL02
Verification 1 Pipistrellus pipistrellus Species verifications
Verification 2 Myotis myotis
Verification 3 Nyctalus sp. or Myotis sp.
Notes Note Comment

Edit these files to set the metadata for the sequences. You can use a plain text processor or a spread sheet program, just make sure that you keep the format of the example line and that no special characters are added. Save the files and click Refresh to reload the metadata status.

Finally, in the next step, select the project you want to import the collections into, or create a new one.

When using the Generic Importer you will be asked to specify the speedup factor, which is used to correctly import audio files that have been slowed down by the recording device. For example, if your device has slowed the recorded files by a factor of 10 to make bat calls audible, you would enter 10. Leave the value at 1.0 if your WAV files have not been slowed down.

Note

Long recordings will be split during import. Sub-sections will have added an increasing numeric name extension xyz_0001, xyz_0002 etc. The splitting allows for faster display of the sequence’s spectrograms (real-time calculation!) when scrolling through the sequences table.

Warning

By default only the first channel of a recording will be considered for importing, thus connect your microphones accordingly before recording in the field. However, in the Generic Import channel selection is possible, together with the indication of the slowdown factor of recordings. BatScope will ‘speed up’ these recording accordingly during import.

Importing Data from BatScope 3

Select BatScope 3 Import from the File menu.

Browse to the BatScope 3 application file that contains your data. The corresponding disks where your BatScope 3 projects reside must be mounted!

BatScope 4 will scan the BatScope 3 application and display an overview of the projects and collections found. Select which projects and collections you would like to import and provide new names if desired.

_images/fig-import-batscope3.png

Figure 3 Selecting and renaming projects and collections from BatScope 3.

Note

When importing from BatScope3, projects already imported will be marked with a white flash.

Exporting Data

Data can be exported at each of the four levels of the BatScope data hierarchy. First, select the items you wish to export in the appropriate view. Then, select Export from the File menu. Choose the level at which you want to export data and then the exporter you would like to use.

All levels down to Sequences provide a Generic Exporter, which exports metadata in the format recognized by the Generic Importer described above. The Generic WAV Exporter does the same, but will additionally export the WAV files. The result of this exporter can therefore be used directly with the Generic Importer.

The other export options are:

  • Collections
    • KML Exporter - will export a KML file containing the recording locations of the Sequences within the selected Collections for display in Google Earth.
  • Sequences
    • CSCF/KOF/CCO - will export a file compatible with the databases of CSCF and KOF and CCO of the Fledermausschutz CH. This will not export sequences that have multiple verifications, even if they are selected!
  • Calls
    • Calls - exports all physical parameters, as well as metadata such as project, collection, sequence, hash of the WAV file and the species and call type the call was verified as. This will not export calls from sequences that have not been verified or have been verified with multiple species, even if they are selected!
    • Learning Base - exports all physical parameters, as well as the species and call type the call was verified as. Will also only export calls from uniquely verified sequences.