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CensusIO CensusIO Guide

Using ODK Collect

This page is the day-to-day cycle for ODK Collect. If you use the CensusIO app, it works a little differently (two-way sync, offline edits, live skip logic, and photos), and the caveats below do not apply to it.

Once ODK Collect is connected, the day-to-day cycle is simple.

  1. Get Blank Form: download the forms the collector is granted. They appear by name.
  2. Fill it out offline: collect in the field with no connection needed; ODK Collect stores each one on the device.
  3. Send Finalized Form: when back in range, send the records to CensusIO.

The forms come from your survey types

Section titled “The forms come from your survey types”

The forms a collector fills out are generated from your survey types, so the same fields and the same validation apply in the field as everywhere else. Your organization’s controlled lists appear as dropdowns: a species field offers your species list, and a lookup field offers its list, so field entries stay consistent. A long survey type’s sections, choices, dates, numbers, and a GPS point, line, or polygon all collect the way you would expect.

When you change a survey type, its version changes, and ODK Collect notices and re-downloads the updated form the next time it syncs. Collectors always fill out the current form.