About Recorder 6

Recorder 6 is the ultimate tool for those entering, collating and exchanging records of species and habitats. It includes extensive, and very flexible, facilities for outputting the data including the ability to link other systems, such as GIS, directly to the data holdings. All of this makes it the package of choice, particularly within the professional sector of the market where efficiency, flexibility and scalability are critical. However, the low cost means Recorder is readily accessible to individual recorders who want to harness professional quality software for their own use.

JNCC ceased to support  R6 at the end of March 2018, however, they have not suggested any alternative system which would provide all  the features available in R6, or suggested a  way in which existing R6 data can be migrated to another system without loss of information. In these circumstances the above statement remains as true as ever.

Key features include:

Fast and accurate import of data from a variety of sources and different formats – includes a very flexible import facility for importing spreadsheets of data including exports from other recording packages such as MapMate  

• Flexible reporting framework – contains a wide range of standard reports which can be further tailored and added to in order to meet specific needs as well as a flexible reporting wizard
•  Mapping facilities to enter, view and query data – the internal mapping facility allows records to be viewed and interrogated. Recorder users can request access to the 1:50 000 OS data from the NBN to provide a visual context to their records

Further Features

In addition to the key features of fast data import, flexible reporting and excellent mapping facilities there are a range of additional features that make Recorder 6 versatile and functional whilst ensuring the highest quality of data. Here are just a few of them:

• Recording card - Easy data entry through ‘recording cards’ – Recorder provides a simple record card style interface for entering records which the user can tailor to their own species list. Recorder now has built in recording cards ready to use and you can download new ones from the User Files section of this website.
• Easy export to the NBN and other systems – There are a wide range of easy-to-use export formats available including excel spreadsheets, Esri shape files and Google Earth as well as a suitable format for submitting to the NBN Atlas. In addition you can use survey tags and filters to export subsets of your data which is particularly useful for submitting records to a recording scheme or local record centre.
• Scalable data storage capacity – Recorder uses a Microsoft SQL Server database which allows the system to be scaled up to hold limitless numbers of records.
• Active support network – An active on-line forum of Recorder users and a network of a number of experts are able to help with most questions or problems encountered.
• Extensive help system –  In addition training courses are also available, plus various documentation  giving more information on specific topics.
• Ownership of records – To avoid problems with record duplication Recorder strictly controls record ownership and only allows the record owner to edit the details. When exporting data you can now transfer the custodianship of the exported records to the receiving system.
• Temporary data import - Data can be imported on a temporary basis and replaced when a new data set becomes available.
• User access to the database - The system manager is able to configure user profiles for access to certain levels of database management and for restricting access to individual surveys.
• High quality data - A suite of validation rules including the strict checking of the data as it is imported or entered ensures that the data held is of the very highest quality.
• Includes maintained dictionaries – Recorder includes comprehensive dictionaries for species names (the species dictionary as used by the NBN Atlas). Habitats and administrative areas.
• Ability to hold a wide range of record attributes – Recorder allows a wide range of associated information to be held including information on individuals, documents and locations.
• Extensible platform for addins and well documented, open and accessible data model (NBN) - The open and accessible data model enables specialist users to develop addins for Recorder to provide additional functionality alongside the main Recorder application.
• FastReport addin which  allows formatted  reports to be generated quickly from the R6  XML  Report and Report Wizard output.