Documentation
Technical Docs This is the home for technical documentation relevant to developers, API interactions, and advanced database actions. Interactions Interactions in Specify allow users to create and manage documentation associated with the movement of specimens or data into or outside of the collection. This includes information about loans, gifts, borrowed items, permits, shipments, accessions, disposals, deaccessions and information requests. Data Cleanup Documentation and workflows related to data clean up Labels & Reports This is the central discussion board for all topics related to Specify Labels & Reports. Forms A form is a window in which data can be viewed, entered, or edited. Specify categorizes forms as Data forms, which are used to enter collection data, and Interactions, which are used to record transactions of either data or collection objects. Each discipline has access to a set of forms for both data and interactions, specific to their discipline. Trees Discuss the Trees inside of Specify! Ask any questions that you have about how to use, edit, view, synonymize and merge tree nodes. WorkBench Workflows The WorkBench is a powerful tool in Specify 6 and 7 for importing and modifying data. Ask questions and discuss with members and Specify staff. Query Building This category is all about queries, building queries, and exporting them. This encompasses Schema mapping and DwCA definition exports. Configuration & Installation This category contains all of the documentation related to configuring and installing the Specify software suite. Data Entry This category includes all documentation involving importing data, images, files, attachments, and more!
| Topic | Replies | Views | Activity | |
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| Batch Attachment Uploader |
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9 | 1094 | April 9, 2025 |
| How to use the Specify 7 API |
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15 | 1597 | December 3, 2024 |
| Get Started with Specify 7 Localization |
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9 | 1428 | January 4, 2024 |
| Editing Forms in Specify |
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1 | 2590 | May 27, 2024 |
| Create a Report or Label (Jaspersoft Studio) |
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1 | 2260 | May 23, 2024 |
| Specify Institutional Scopings |
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0 | 2032 | February 14, 2023 |
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Data Entry in Specify
:open_book: This guide covers the workflow for creating, viewing, and editing records. Data Entry :data_entry_: Data forms are used for entering, editing and viewing collection data. Because Specify uses related fiel… |
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0 | 1602 | December 29, 2022 |
| Editing Table Formats and Aggregations |
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0 | 641 | May 13, 2024 |
| Specify 7 Architecture Overview |
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0 | 311 | June 5, 2025 |
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Getting Started with Specify
Table of Contents [!abstract] About This Page This page defines the content available in the Documentation sidebar shown to your left. If you do not see it, you can expand it by clicking on the :hamburger_: (three li… |
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0 | 2380 | June 5, 2025 |
| Data Conversion Process |
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0 | 331 | June 5, 2025 |
| Useful Expressions for Reports and Labels |
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3 | 605 | June 22, 2025 |
| Exporting & Publishing Data using Darwin Core (DwC-A) (GBIF, iDigBio, etc.) |
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0 | 2551 | February 5, 2025 |
| Configure Database Date Format |
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5 | 948 | January 14, 2026 |
| Batch Edit |
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5 | 1390 | October 13, 2025 |
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View the Specify Schema & Data Model
In general, a database schema refers to the logical structure of a database, which defines how data is organized, stored, and accessed in a database system. The Specify database schema defines the tables, fields, relati… |
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5 | 2405 | October 17, 2025 |
| Setting Default User Preferences |
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0 | 326 | November 27, 2023 |
| Specify Web Portal Examples |
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2 | 1030 | August 25, 2025 |
| Specify Terminology |
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0 | 313 | December 8, 2025 |
| Solve '413 Request Entity Too Large' error |
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5 | 3532 | January 3, 2025 |
| Dependent vs. Independent Relationships |
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0 | 226 | June 17, 2025 |
| Using Schema Config |
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0 | 1253 | July 12, 2022 |
| Edit the Form Grid to Display Different Fields Than the Subform |
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2 | 397 | October 28, 2025 |
| Webinar: Implementing Specify for the Australian National Research Collections |
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0 | 212 | February 12, 2026 |
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Using Forms in Specify 7
:open_book: This guide explains using and modifying of forms. It covers navigating records, using query combo boxes, managing subviews for one-to-many relationships, and utilizing the carry-forward and auto-numbering. T… |
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0 | 1137 | December 29, 2022 |
| Security and Accounts |
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0 | 1055 | July 12, 2022 |
| Linking Attachments via SQL |
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3 | 153 | October 29, 2025 |
| Specify's Organizational Model and User Accounts for Multiple Collections |
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0 | 1689 | November 5, 2025 |
| :video_: Install Specify 7 with Docker (macOS & Ubuntu) |
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0 | 919 | November 24, 2024 |
| Migrate from Specify 6 to 7 with Docker |
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1 | 1126 | August 1, 2023 |
| Automatically create a new Preparation, Determination, or Collection Object Attribute upon CO creation |
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7 | 559 | January 3, 2025 |
| Enable creating children for synonymized nodes |
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6 | 560 | April 14, 2026 |
| Record Merging |
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0 | 806 | January 13, 2025 |
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Self-Hosting Specify 7
:book: This guide describes how to self-host an environment of Specify 7. :gear: This guide is intended for technical or IT users only. [!info] :thought_balloon: Before you begin, consider that the Specify Collect… |
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0 | 749 | June 5, 2025 |
| Webinar: Specify 7 WorkBench |
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2 | 767 | April 1, 2024 |
| Add links from Agent to ORCID, Bionomia, Wikidata, and more |
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2 | 230 | September 26, 2024 |
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Specify 7 Introduction & Demo Database
Explore the features of Specify 7 with a copy of the University of Kansas Ichthyology database hosted on Specify Cloud. Username: sp7demofish Password: sp7demofish https://sp7demofish.specifycloud.org/specify/ … |
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0 | 1226 | April 6, 2022 |
| Using the Query Builder |
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3 | 1900 | May 14, 2024 |
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Trees in Specify
:open_book: This guide explains the hierarchical Tree structures to manage data like Taxon, Geography, and Storage. It covers navigating the Tree viewer, search for specific nodes, and critical data management such as … |
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2 | 1987 | October 19, 2023 |
| Collection Object Groups |
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0 | 602 | March 10, 2025 |
| Stored procedure to clean up a tree (removing unlinked nodes) |
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6 | 127 | April 3, 2025 |
| Importing Updated Records via Batch Edit |
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0 | 104 | October 30, 2025 |
| The Specify 7 WorkBench |
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0 | 3199 | February 7, 2025 |
| Collection Object Types |
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0 | 543 | March 10, 2025 |
| Webinar: Specify 7 Docker Setup/Overview |
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0 | 540 | April 1, 2022 |
| How to Update Your RSS Feed |
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0 | 534 | July 25, 2022 |
| Shared vs. Embedded Records & Configuration |
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0 | 535 | April 29, 2024 |
| Catalog Number Regular Expression Formatter Set Up |
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0 | 504 | March 27, 2025 |
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Specify 7 Installation Instructions
:open_book: This guide provides a concise, up-to-date overview for installing and running Specify 7 using the compose recipes in this repository (Docker and Podman). :gear: These instructions should be followed by an I… |
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0 | 2753 | May 6, 2025 |
| Webinar: Specify 7 Security & Accounts |
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0 | 478 | August 4, 2022 |