Edit a Tree Structure

Documentation Configuration & Installation
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To Edit a Tree Structure:

Editing the Tree Structure can take several forms, but they all start with the same first two steps to open the Tree Structure. Once you have the tree structure open, you can change the direction data is displayed in the full name, edit level settings, add text before or after a value, add a level, or delete a level. The instructions for each of these actions are given below.

I use different trees in the different instructions below. The steps and expected results will be the same for all trees so even if the instructions don’t use the tree you want to modify, the steps should still work for you.

  1. In Specify, click the Trees icon in the Task Bar to open the tree page.

  1. In the tree screen, click the tree you would like to modify under the Open Tree Definition section.

To Change the Direction in which the Tree Data is Displayed in the Full Name:

  1. Click the yellow pencil next to Geography at the top of the screen.

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  1. In the window that appears, click the down arrow in the Full Name Direction field, and chose a different direction. Forward will read from the most general to the most specific, i.e. Continent, Country, State, etc. Reverse will read from the most specific to the most general, i.e. County, State, Country, etc. The levels listed will depend on the levels in the full name.

  1. Once you have the desired direction selected, click Save.

  2. Changes may require a tree update. If they do, a window will appear to let you know. If the update can be made safely, click OK. If it is not safe to update the tree, click Cancel and none of the changes will take effect.

  1. If the tree was updated, you will see a progress bar of the update. When it is completed, you will return to the Geography Tree page. Changes will be reflected when you enter data in the Geography field.

To Edit Settings for a Geography Level:

Editing a tree level includes changing the name of the level, adding or removing that level from the full name, making the value be enforced or not (this may be restricted depending on the discipline and permissions), adding text before or after the level value, and adding a separator between words in the full name.

  1. In the Geography Tree Definition, check the settings for each of the levels. If you would like to change the settings for one or more of the levels, click the level to highlight it.

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  1. Once the level is highlighted, click the yellow pencil in the lower right corner of the window.

  2. In the window that appears, edit the settings you would like changed.

  3. To edit the level name, edit the Title field.

  4. To be able to see the level in the taxon field in the Determination subform, check the Is In Full Name box. If you do not want to see it, uncheck the box.

  5. To add text before or after the level, enter the text in the Text Before or Text After fields. For example, if you want “ssp.” to always appear behind any subspecies value, add “ssp.” to the Text After field.

  6. To change the separator between this level and the next, change the Full Name Separator value.

  1. Once you have made all the changes you want made, click Save.

  2. Changes may require a tree update. If they do, a window will appear to let you know. If the update can be made safely, click OK. If it is not safe to update the tree, click Cancel and none of the changes will take effect.

  1. If the tree was updated, you will see a progress bar of the update. When it is completed, you will return to the Tree page and the changes will be reflected in the tree definition.

To Add a Level to a Tree:

  1. Click the level that you want to be immediately above the new level. For example, if you want to add “Subclass” or “Superorder”, you would click “Class” in this example because that is the currently present tree level that is immediately above subclass or superorder.

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  1. Once the level is selected, click the green plus in the bottom right corner of the window.

  2. In the Predefined Ranks window, either choose the predefined level you would like to add, or click Custom Rank to add a new rank, if the rank you want is not available.

  1. If you decide to add a predefined rank:

  2. click the rank you want to choose then click OK.

  3. In the Level Properties window that appears you can modify the level properties as described in the section below.

  4. If you decide to add a custom rank:

  5. Click the Custom Rank button

  6. In the Level Properties window that appears, give the new level a name then modify the level properties as necessary following the instructions in the section below.

  7. When you return to the Geography Tree page, the changes will be reflected.

To Delete a Tree Level:

  1. Click the level to be deleted to select it.

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  1. If the level is not enforced and there are no records associated with that level (determined to a value in that level, locality associated with a value in that level, preparation associated with a value at that level), the red minus sign will become activated in the lower left corner of the screen. Click the red minus to delete the level.

If the level is enforced, follow the instructions above To Edit Settings for a Geography Level to unenforce it. If there are records associated, they will have to be either reassociated to another value in the tree or cleared of any association to a value in the tree.

  1. When you return to the Tree page, the changes will be reflected.