RSPB BIRDS OF BRITAIN & IRELAND

RSPB BIRDS OF BRITAIN & IRELAND
INTERACTIVE PC AND PDA EDITION

Description of the PC Edition
The following is a brief introduction to the program modules of the PC Edition. More detailed descriptions of all modules and functions are available in the help module.

Home Page
The program opens to the Home Page. The various program modules are available off the menu on the left hand side.

The Modules button on the blue menu bar also provides a shortcut list to the various modules.

PROGRAM LAYOUT
The program layout includes the following common areas:

a menu bar
a permanent bird list panel on the left hand side
a central display panel for illustrations and module operations.
a right hand side panel used as a text box or list box

The program box can be re-sized and expanded to full screen, and the list panels re-sized to your preference.
The menu bar includes a standard menu of common functions on the left hand side, including which opens the main bird list pages, while V opens a list of families. The other modules can be accessed from the Modules button as an alternative to the Home Page. The large arrows navigate your recent page history, while the small arrows page through the bird pages.

The short-cut icons at the top right of the screen are useful links to the following;

= home page. This links to the front page
= bird page. Opens the bird page for the species selected in the bird list
= Search. A particularly useful function that searches all texts for any text entry
= Help. A context sensitive help that opens to the current module
= Sound toggle. Click to toggle the current bird sound on and off.

BIRD LIST Options
The List Options box is used for selecting the bird list and method of displaying the list. The options are:
List = select either the RSPB list (281 common species) or British list (all 567 species)
Order = sort order for the list, either alphabetically by name, or systematically by number.
Display = select from English name, English family (family name first), and Scientific name
Search = type a name to search the list

BIRDS Module

Field Guide Pages
The BIRDS module opens to 'field-guide' pages that can be browsed as in a typical field guide. Use the drop-down arrow to navigate to a family page, or use the species list to navigate to a species. You can page through the field guide pages , and browse the pages with your mouse.

The red dot indicates the selected species. Placing the mouse over an illustration will pop-up the species name and plumage caption. Selecting a species will display the species text, distribution map and alternative names in the right hand text box, and automatically play the bird sound.

Bird Pages
The individual bird pages present all the included media for the selected species. To display a Bird Page, double-click on an illustration in the bird page or a bird name in the main bird list, or click on the Bird Page button on the menu bar, or short-cut button at the top right of the screen. On any bird page the media bar is found immediately below the menu bar. It includes icons for the illustrations, distribution maps, photos, and sounds. To view an illustration click on an icon. To view at full screen, double-click the icon, and double-click again to go back to the standard page.

The text can be re-sized under Setup > Configuration > Look and Feel. Sound playback can be controlled with the playback bar at the bottom left of the screen, and muted with the speaker button at the top right of the screen.

Useful functions on the Bird Pages include:

Notes. These are displayed at the foot of the bird page text. You can add individual records and notes, and link these to bird lists. All entries in your personal bird lists are summarised here as well, and the earliest entry is reported as your life list record.
Add/Edit. You can add your own multimedia (photos and sounds) to any bird page, and edit the bird names.
Similar. This opens the similar species module.

Add/Edit
On any bird page, you can add your own multimedia (photos and sounds), and edit the bird names.

Similar Species
The Similar Species module suggests similar birds to the currently selected bird. You can compare birds side by side; browse the illustrations and photos, compare distributions, play sounds, and scroll through texts.

IDENTIFICATION
The Identification Module is designed to produce a shortlist of species from which to make a final ID selection. The module uses distribution, habitat, size, shape, and plumage characters to generate a shortlist. As a first choice in developing your shortlist, you can select either the RSPB list of more commonly occurring species, or the full British list. Distribution and Habitat are recommended as primary identifiers, followed by Size, Shape and Plumage. In the final analysis you will need to make a visual identification from the shortlist, or use the Similar Species module or individual Bird Pages to make your identification.

The module starts in Group View mode (one representative bird for a family group). You can double-click on a group image to view all the species in the group. Double-clicking on a species will open to the bird page. Select View > ALL to display all the images for the listed species (male, female, winter, summer etc). The filter panel on the right hand side can be used to remove a filter if you find yourself without any birds left in your shortlist.

BIRD LISTS
The Bird List module is highly integrated into all the program modules, and includes a number of sub-modules:

Source Lists. The reference lists included with the program (i.e. RSPB list and British list).
Interactive Map. Generates a list for a selected geographic area.
Personal Lists. Lists that you create.
Search Lists. Search for records and create reports.
Photo Lists. A separate list module for your bird photographs.
Backup/Restore Database. Save your list data to an alternative location.
Import/Export bird lists

Source Lists
Source lists can be viewed, printed out as checklists, and the presentation personalised with checkboxes and multiple tick-columns etc. The Edit View option is used to select the data displayed in the columns of the list.

Interactive Map
The interactive map is also a form of source list. You can select a specific birding site, or draw an area or route on the map to generate a list. These lists can be used in other modules: as a source list for creating a personal list, as a short-list for identification, printed out as a bird list, saved as a user list, exported to the PDA Edition etc.

Personal Lists
Personal lists are created by selecting a bird in the reference "source" list, and adding it to your personal list. All bird list entries for a species are summarised in the bird page notes. You can also link notes to a list using the diary notepad, and search the lists for any combination of reports.

The Create Personal List page includes the following functions;

Edit List. The default view, used for adding species to a personal list. To do so, double-click on a bird name, or click [Add Selected]. Use the keyboard Shift or Ctrl to select multiple birds. Details such as place and date can be added with any record. You can also choose to view all records, earliest record, and allow multiple records of one species (with a different place or date).
Edit View. Used for selecting the columns to view and sort the list by.
Full View. A full page view of the list
Search. Used to search and generate reports for any combination of place, date, species and notes.
New List. Create a new list.
Print. Prints a copy of the list
Diary. Opens a notepad for attaching diary notes to the list. These diary notes can be printed with the list.

In any module, the R+ (add a record) and Re (add and edit a record) buttons can be used to add a species to a selected bird list.

Personal lists are assigned to a family tree, and report up the tree to the root list, with the earliest record taking precedence. The root list is therefore your life list. You can create your own lists and personalise the list tree. The first step in creating a list is to select a list from the tree, or to create a new list.

The program allows multiple users, and you can create your own bird list database by selecting [Create New User Profile].

Search Lists
Search Lists is used to generate reports for any combination of place, date, species and notes.

Import/Export Bird Lists
Importing bird lists works through a 'wizard' where you select the list and fields to import. The program then checks that all the data are matched correctly, and imports the list into your personal database. Exporting lists is a similar process in reverse; you select the list and fields to export, and the destination file.

Photographer' Lists
For all those birders who love taking photographs, you can create a database of your photos linked to thumbnails of the images.

BIRDING SITES
Birding Sites is an exciting module that combines an interactive map with descriptions of over 600 birding sites. You can zoom in and browse the map of Britain and Ireland for birding sites. Selecting a site will display the site description, a site map if one is available, and a list of commonly occurring species for the general area. In the site text, all bird names are hot-linked to the bird pages.

You can also add your own birding sites to the map, add notes, link bird lists from the personal list module, and even add your own photos. Similarly, you can add notes and photos, and link personal lists, to the original site texts.

SEARCH
The search function will search for any bird name in all texts, or site name in the birding site texts. The search results are linked directly to the respective texts, and you can browse each result in turn simply by double-clicking on the list.

RSPB Screensaver
This program includes a screensaver with over 660 high-quality photographs. To activate it, click on 'Screensaver' in the RSPB Launcher. You can configure the screensaver from within the PC Edition program (use Setup > Configuration > Screensaver), or via your Windows display properties (right-click on your desktop, select properties, then Screensaver, and choose RSPB Screen Saver from the list.