Import from Excel¶
Basics¶
To create importable data structures, you need the following skills:
- creating folders
- basic Excel, working with multiple spreadsheets, cell contents and cell backgrounds
- basic understanding of tree structures
- creating .xls or .xlsx files
- creating .zip files
- creating .jpg or .png images with specific dimensions
Glossary¶
If a glossary term occurs in the app texts, it is automatically recognized and a link to its definition is added.
1. The Excel File¶
You have to create one Excel file. The Excel file has to be named accoring to the name of your glossary.
| Name of glossary on localcosmos.org | Name of Excel file |
|---|---|
| Glossary | Glossary.xlsx |
2. Excel Content¶
Before you continue to read, it is recommended to download the example Excel file. download example Excel file.
Important: all content you put into your Excel files has to be in the primary language of your Local Cosmos App
The Columns¶
The glossary Excel file has 3 columns: Term, Synonyms and Definition.
| A | B | C | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Term | Synonyms | Definition |
| 2 | bark | Bark is the outermost layers of stems and roots of woody plants. | |
| 3 | Ash dieback | Hymenoscyphus fraxineus | Hymenoscyphus fraxineus is an Ascomycete fungus that causes ash dieback, a chronic fungal disease of ash trees in Europe. |
| 4 | Wood-decay fungus | Soft rot | White rot | A wood-decay fungus is any species of fungus that digests moist wood, causing it to rot. |
Column A: Term
The term is the text that will be automatically recognized if it occurs in a text of your app. A link to its definition is set, so the user can look it up. This term detection happens during build, and therefore can only be seen after you built your app.
Column B: Synonyms
One or more synonyms of the term. Separated by the character “|”. Synonyms are also automatically detected in texts, just like terms.
Column C: Definition
The definition of the term.
3. Uploading data¶
An uploadable Glossary.xlsx has to be compressed as a .zip file. The content of this .zip file is only the Glossary.xlsx file.
Nature Guides¶
Nature Guides are identification keys or species lists.
1. The Excel Files¶
You have to create two Excel files:
- excel file containing the Nature Guide, named exaclty like you named your Nature Guide on localcosmos.org
- excel file containing image licences, named Image Licences.xlsx
Naming the Excel file¶
The import will only succeed if you name your Excel files correctly. The name of the Excel file containing the Nature Guide has to match the name of the Nature Guide you created on localcosmos.org.
| Name of Nature Guide on localcosmos.org | Name of Excel file |
|---|---|
| Identify trees | Identify trees.xls or
Identify trees.xlsx |
The Excel file containing the image licences has to be named Image_Licences.xlsx.
2. Nature Guide Excel¶
Before you continue to read, it is recommended to download the example Excel file. download example Excel file.
Important: all content you put into your Excel files has to be in the primary language of your Local Cosmos App
The Tree sheet¶
The Nature Guide Excel requires at exactly one sheet named Tree. This sheet defines the identification tree. A tree with only one level (= no Parent Nodes) would result in a simple species list. Each line of this sheet equals one entry in the identification tree - except the first one which defines the columns.
Example: Sheet “Tree” of “Identify Trees.xlsx”:
| A | B | C | D | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Node Name | Parent Node | Taxonomic Source | Scientific Name | Decision Rule |
| 2 | Deciduous Trees | with leaves, bare in winter | |||
| 3 | Conifers | with needles | |||
| 4 | Spruce | Conifers | taxonomy.sources.col | Picea abies | |
| 5 | Larch | Conifers | taxonomy.sources.col | Larix decidua | |
| 6 | Sycamore maple | Deciduous Trees | taxonomy.sources.col | Acer pseudoplatanus | |
| 7 | Silver birch | Deciduous Trees | taxonomy.sources.col | Betula pendula | |
| 8 | Oak | Deciduous Trees | taxonomy.sources.col | Quercus robur |
Columns of the Tree sheet¶
Column A: Node Name
A Node is a leveled entry in the identification tree and can have any name. It can be something like Conifers, Whales or even Stones. It does not have to be a biological taxon.
Column B: Parent Node
The parent node of this node. If empty, this node will be displayed on the first identification step. If a Parent Node is specified, this node will appear after the user selected the specified Parent Node.
Column C: Taxonomic Source
The columns Taxonomic Source and Scientific Name only should be filled if the node is an identification result.
Currently, only two taxonomic sources are available, Catalogue Of Life and Custom taxonomy. Therefore, this cell has to be filled with taxonomy.sources.col (recommended) or taxonomy.sources.custom, if you supply a custom taxonomy. Leave empty if your node is not a biological taxon or if you do not want to use taxonomic features.
Column D: Scientific Name
The columns Taxonomic Source and Scientific Name only should be filled if the node is an identification result. Fill in a scientific name without author into this cell. Example: Larix decidua.
Column E: Decision Rule
A Decision Rule is a rule when to decide to choose this taxon or information how to identify it. Decision Rules are optional and make sense if you do not want to use a trait based itentification for this level of the identification tree.
Matrix Sheets¶
A matrix sheet is used to define an identification matrix for a specific level of the identifcation tree. The level the matrix is used for is specified by a parent node. The name of the matrix sheet inside your Excel document has to be set accordingly.
| Name of Parent Node | Name of Matrix Sheet |
|---|---|
| Deciduous Trees | Matrix_Deciduous Trees |
In the example Excel file, a matrix sheet for all deciduous trees is used, and thus is named after the Parent Node Deciduous Trees.
Nodes are entered in Column A, Matrix Filters are entered from Column B onwards.
Example: Sheet “Matrix_Deciduous Trees” of “Identify Trees.xlsx”:
| A | B | C | D | E | F | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | name of filter -> | Leaf structure | Shape of the leaf | Color of the bark | Taxonomy | Length of the leaf | ||
| 2 | trait type -> | DescriptiveTextAndImages | DescriptiveTextAndImages | Color | Taxon | Range | ||
| 3 | unit -> | cm | ||||||
| 4 | step -> | 1 | ||||||
| 5 | Sycamore Maple | side by side | lobed | grey | 10-18 | |||
| 6 | Silver birch | alternating | heart shaped | white | 3.5-7 | |||
| 7 | Oak | alternating | lobed | brown | grey | 8-15 | |||
Within the matrix sheet, the first 4 rows are used to define the matrix filters (=traits).
- row 1: Name of the matrix filter (trait)
- row 2: Type of the matrix filter. Available matrix filter types are:
DescriptiveTextAndImages,Color,Range,Number,Taxon - row 3 (optional): unit, for example
cm - row 4: step of the Range. Only applies if row 2 (type) is
Range. Defines the step of the rendered slider.
Row 5 onwards are used to assign values to nodes. If you want to assign more than one value to a node, use the OR seprator |. For example brown | grey, which stands for brown OR grey.
You can create one Matrix Sheet for each Parent Node, but no Matrix Sheet is required.
Matrix Filter Types¶
DescriptiveTextAndImages
A text with an image. Suitable for traits like “Shape of the leaf”.
Color
Colors consist of a name and a color code. Both are defined in the Colors Sheet. In the Matrix Sheet you only reference colors by name, as defined in the Colors Sheet.
Range
A range of numbers, for example from 10cm to 50cm. You can define the step of the range in row 4. If the step is 1, the range slider, which the app user uses to select a value, would consist of the numbers 10, 11, 12, … 48, 49, 50.
Number
Numbers that are no ranges, for example the numbers 2,4,5,8.
Taxon
Taxonomic filters are defined in the Taxonomic Filters Sheet. You can only add a taxonomic filter, but you cannot assign values in the Matrix Sheet as you can with the other matrix filters. Taxonomic Filters work automatically using the taxonomic backend of your App.
Colors Sheet¶
The Colors Sheet is used to define colors. Column A sets the name of the color. Column B sets the actual color by using a cell background.
Taxonomic Filters Sheet¶
This sheet has to be named Taxonomic Filters, and your Excel file may only have one Taxonomic Filters sheet.
Example: Sheet “Taxonomic Filters” of “Identify Trees.xlsx”:
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scientific names | Taxonomic sources | Matrices | Matrix Filter Name |
| 2 | Fagaceae | taxonomy.sources.col | Matrix_Deciduous Trees | Taxonomy |
| 3 | Sapindales | taxonomy.sources.col | Matrix_Deciduous Trees | Taxonomy |
| 4 | Oleaceae | taxonomy.sources.col | Matrix_Deciduous Trees | Taxonomy |
Column A (Scientific Names): Scientific name of the taxon which will act as a filter.
Column B (Taxonomic sources): See “Columns of the tree sheet”.
Column C (Matrices): The Matrix Sheet this taxonomic filter is used by.
Column D (Matrix Filter Name): The Name of the Matrix filter, has to match the name of the matrix filter in the references Tree Sheet.
3. Images¶
You upload your Nature Guide as a .zip file. Within this .zip file, you can supply images for the following assets:
- Nodes
- Matrix Filters of the type
DescriptiveTextAndImages
All images have to reside in a folder called images. All images for Nodes have to reside in images/Tree. All images for matrix filters have to reside in the folder images/Matrix_<parent_node>/<matrix_filter_name>/, and the name of the image has to match the value.
Example: images/Matrix_Deciduous Trees/Shape of the leaf/heart shaped.jpg`
For the example Excel file, you would have a folder structure similar to this:
Each Tree Image has to be exactly 600px x 600px in dimensions. Each Matrix Filter Image has to be exactly 400px x 400px in dimensions.
4. Image Licences Excel¶
You have to supply an image licence alongside its creator for all your images. The image licences are provided by the file Image Licences.xlsx.
download example Excel file.
You have to supply at least the columns Image (column A), Licence (column B) and Creator (column C). Creator link (column D) is optional.
The Image column expects paths to the image, relative to your image folder, where the images reside.
Examples: Tree/Conifers.jpg or Matrix_Deciduous Trees/Shape of the leaf/heart_shaped.jpg.
Only short licence names are allowed for the Licence Column. Available Licences are:
| Full Licence Name | Short name |
|---|---|
| Public Domain Dedication | CC0 |
| Creative Commons Attribution | CC BY |
| Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike | CC BY-SA |
| Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs | CC BY-ND |
| Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial | CC BY-NC |
| Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike | CC BY-NC-SA |
| Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs | CC BY-NC-ND |
| Public Domain Mark | PDM |
Example: Sheet “Image Licences” of “Identify Trees.xslx”:
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Image | Licence | Creator | Creator link |
| 2 | Tree/Deciduous Trees.jpg | CC0 | Pablo Picasso | |
| 3 | Tree/Conifers.jpg | CC BY | Vincent van Gogh | https://localcosmos.org |
| 4 | Tree/Silver birch.jpg | CC BY-SA | Claude Monet | |
| 4 | Tree/Matrix_Deciduous Trees/Leaf structure/lobed.jpg | CC0 | Claude Monet |
5. Uploading data¶
All uploadable Nature Guides consist of the folder images, the file <name_of_nature_guide>.xlsx, and the file Image Licences.xlsx. You have to create a .zip file containing these 3 items. After you have created your zip file, you can upload it in the localcosmos.org app kit.