Settings

NAHPU separates project records, shared database records, reproducible user configs, and installation-only preferences. Open a project, open the Dashboard menu, and select Settings to configure the current installation.

What each setting affects

Kind	Examples	Transfer behavior
Project information	Name, accession, location, time zone, dates, project field-ID values	Included in project-info and project transfers
Shared database records	Taxa and personnel	Stored in the NAHPU database and associated with projects
User configs	Controlled vocabularies and export or document presets	Transfer with Export user configs and Import user configs
Installation state	Theme and current main taxon	Remains on the current installation

Changing a setting while one project is open can therefore affect other projects on the same installation. Review transferred user configs before replacing your current configuration.

Catalogs

Format

Format selects the main taxon used for new specimen forms on this device. A project can contain more than one taxon group; this setting only controls the currently active specimen format and its measurement fields.

Events and sites

Use Events to manage the controlled primary-activity list, collection methods, event-personnel roles, and environmental fields shown on event forms. Primary activities default to Collecting, Recording, and Observing; Other is not included unless you add it. Environmental forms initially show ambient temperature, ambient humidity, cloud cover, rainfall, and notes. Like Geography settings, the other built-in fields can be shown or hidden without deleting stored values. Use Sites to manage controlled vocabularies for site and habitat types. Keep these settings consistent across field devices by transferring user configs.

Specimens

Specimens contains capture-field visibility, field IDs, tissue IDs, specimen sexes, specimen types, treatments, conditions, and taxon-dependent parasite settings.

The specimen-sex vocabulary is restricted. Male, Female, and Unknown remain available for every taxon. Use the + chips to add Gynandromorph, Hermaphrodite, Female?, or Male? to specimen dropdowns. Optional chips can be removed only when no specimen record in the database uses that value.

Under Field ID, leave Use project ID off to use a Cataloger's initials and personal field number. The Cataloger must have the Cataloger role, field registration enabled, initials, and a current field number.

Turn on Use project ID to configure a prefix, current catalog number, suffix, and auto-increment behavior. NAHPU concatenates the three values directly. For example, NAHPU-, 120, and -M produce NAHPU-120-M.

Caution

Changing a project-ID prefix or suffix changes how assigned project IDs are displayed. Confirm the change carefully if those identifiers have already been exported or written on labels.

Database

• Taxa manages taxonomy records available to projects.
• Personnel manages people in the database and their specimen-care roles.
• Backup database saves a full ZIP or TAR.GZ archive of every project, record, and managed file.
• Replace database replaces the active SQLite database from a backup.

Caution

Make a current backup before using Replace database. Replacing the database is different from merging a project or importing user configs.

Exports

• Tabular Data manages reusable record-export presets.
• Documents manages document templates, print-layout presets, and the fonts available to templates.
• Template Editor creates and edits document templates.

Load defaults in the options menu, or in an empty preset list, lets you choose which bundled presets to add. Presets that suit any catalog format start checked; presets written for one catalog format start unchecked and are also offered in Setup NAHPU. Loading never overwrites a preset of the same name, and any preset can be deleted.

These presets are user configs. Export them when another installation must reproduce the same columns, labels, or layouts.

Applications

Theme

Use Theme to select System, Light, or Dark. The choice applies only to the current installation.

Data usage and cleanup

Open Data usage to scan the folders managed by NAHPU. The summary reports total storage, file and media counts, and space that can be reclaimed from unlinked files.

Remove unlinked files deletes files that are no longer used by any record, including leftovers from deleted media or cancelled imports. Linked files, databases and backups, custom fonts, map layers, and files outside NAHPU-managed folders are not affected. Remove an installed font from Documents > Fonts rather than from here.

The Files tree lets you inspect stored files, save a copy, or remove eligible files individually. Choose Select to work with several files. Use Clear or Select all, then choose the floating Review button to check the file count, size, and grouped locations before exporting an archive or permanently removing the files.

Choose Rescan after files have changed outside NAHPU to refresh the storage report.

Transferring user configs

Export user configs and Import user configs are in the project Dashboard menu, next to Settings; they are not inside the Settings page. User-config transfer can reproduce controlled vocabularies and presets without replacing the project database. See Export before replacing configs or data.

Custom fields

Field definitions specify where a value belongs and how it is entered. Types are Text, Number, Yes / No, and Dropdown. Use a consistent unit in the label and project protocol for numeric observations. Scope is selected at creation: Current project applies to one project and Global to the installation. Specimen-related fields can be restricted by catalog; environmental fields belong to events.

Optional Darwin Core mappings specify an export target and field. Review their meaning in the intended export and inspect a sample output before sharing data. Mapping a field name does not validate its values. Existing values can prevent deletion; archive a field to stop using it while retaining the data. Discarding legacy values is a separate irreversible action.

Define additional fields and verify how they appear in project records.

Steps

1. Open the intended project and go to Settings > Custom fields, then create a field and choose its target section.
2. Set Label and Type. For a dropdown, enter the permitted options. Choose Current project or Global scope; global definitions apply across this installation.
3. For specimen-related fields, check catalog applicability. Use the reference guide for optional Darwin Core mappings.
4. Save the definition, open a record in the target section, and enter a test value using the agreed unit convention. Reopen the record to check the value.
5. Use Archive to retire a field while retaining its data, and Restore to make it available again. Delete is unavailable while stored values remain.
6. Export the definition from Custom fields or include it in user-config transfer. Import it on the receiving device and verify the target section, scope, and options.