Photos in Collector & Manager

Simplify your photo workflow from field capture to polished PDF.

Photos can be taken in the field in Ecobot Collector, edited in Collector or Manager, and included in a polished PDF deliverable in Manager.

Photos are organized at the Survey level in Ecobot, and can be associated with individual Points. Learn how to use Photos in Ecobot Collector and Manager, and sync between the two below.

Photos in Ecobot Collector

Take Photos in Ecobot Collector

1. On your mobile device, open the Ecobot Collector mobile app.
2. Open or create a Survey in Collector.
3. From the main Survey page, click the camera icon in the upper right of the screen. The capture screen will open. It contains:
   1. The image, as viewed through camera lens
   2. Cardinal direction
   3. Latitude / Longitude
   4. Elevation
4. Tap the round button in the lower center to take a photo.
5. Once the photo is captured, you have the option of adding additional details:
   1. Title (type or dictate)
   2. Description (type or dictate)
   3. Associate point (dropdown)
   4. Favorite (toggle)

View & Edit Photos in Ecobot Collector

1. Toward the top are two tabs: Points and Photos
2. Click on the Photos tab to access photos
3. In the photos tab, you can do several things:
   1. Pinch the photos to see more or fewer of them in the view.
   2. Tap on a photo to view full size and details. On this page, you can edit, favorite, or delete the image as well.
      

Photos in Ecobot Manager

Navigate to the Photo Section

1. In Ecobot Manager, navigate to the Survey you want to add photos to
2. In the upper left, click Photos

Add photos

1. Click "Upload Images" in the upper right
2. Either drag & drop, paste, or browse files to locate and select your photos
3. Click "Upload # files" in the bottom left
4. Photos will upload to the Photo section of your survey
5. Each upload is limited to 100 photos maximum.

Edit Photos

Next, use Edit Photos to add names and descriptions, as well as associate them with points from the survey.

1. Select photos by using the "Select all photos" checkbox or selecting each photo individually with the checkbox in the upper left of each photo thumbnail
2. Click the blue "Actions" button to view a dropdown menu
3. Select "Edit Photos"

On the edit photos page, you can:

1. Associate sampling points
2. Choose which type of Lat/Long to use
3. Name and describe each photo
4. When finished editing, click "Save Data" in the lower right
5. Data will save. To return to photos, click on "Photos" at the top of the page in gray
   1. i.e. Surveys > Your Survey's Name > Photos > Edit

Creating Photo Reports

Generate PDFs

There are two formats for generating PDFs of Survey Photos: Basic and Detailed.

Basic PDF

The basic PDF places four photos on each page and contains the following information:

• Photo
• Photo name
• Photo description (the first ~50 words, depending on word length)
• Associated Sampling Point name

To generate a basic PDF:

1. Go to the Photos section of the survey
2. Select the photos you wish to include by checking either "Select all photos" (for all photos) or the box in the upper left of each photo (for individual photos)
3. Click "Actions" then Generate PDF (basic)

To download or print the PDF:

1. Click on the ellipsis in the upper right
2. Select Print or Download, as desired

Detailed PDF

The detailed version of the PDF contains more information, including:

• Photo
• Photo name 
• Photo description (the first ~80 words, depending on word length)
• Associated Point name
• Lat/Long and association type (photo or sampling point)
• Direction
• Date of Photo

To generate a detailed PDF:

1. Go to the Photos section of the survey
2. Select the photos you wish to include by checking either "Select all photos" (for all photos) or the box in the upper left of each photo (for individual photos)
3. Click "Actions" then Generate PDF (detailed)

To download or print the PDF:

1. Click on the ellipsis in the upper right
2. Select Print or Download, as desired

Deleting Photos

To delete photos from a survey:

1. Go to the Photos section of the survey
2. Select the photos you wish to delete by checking the box in the upper left of the photo
3. Click "Actions" then Delete Photos
4. Confirm you want to delete by typing "delete" into the box (not case sensitive)

Downloading photos from Manager

1. Click "Actions" then "Download photos"
2. This will download a .zip file of all photos and a CSV of photo locations you can upload to GIS

Syncing Photos

Photos can be synced bidirectionally between Collector and Manager at the Survey level. 

If you have photos in Manager, and want to sync them (or any changes made to the photos in Manager) to Collector:

1. Open Ecobot Collector, navigate to the Survey, then the Photos tab.
2. Click the blue "Sync photos" button on the right side. 
   1. If there are no photos, the "Up to date" message will display. This means your survey's photos are up to date and don't need to be synced.

If you have photos in Collector and want to sync them (or changes made to them) to Manager:

1. When you first open Surveys in Collector, then navigate to the Photos tab, the blue "Sync photos" button will appear. Click this button to bring photos from Manager into Collector.
2. As you continue adding photos or making changes, the following sync rules apply:
   1. If you are online, new photos and changes to photos in Collector will automatically sync to Manager as they're made.
   2. If you are offline, any new photos and changes will need to be synced using the "Sync photos" button once you're back in service.

Sync Tips

• If a photo is edited in both Manager and Collector, and then the photo is synced, the most recent change will sync, even if it was done while offline.
• If a point is associated with photo, then that photo is deleted, the photo will sync to Manager with no point associated

 

FAQs

Why are my Photos uploading to Manager without data such as lat/long, direction, and elevation?

There are two reasons why photos may upload without this data: the device used to capture the photo and the process used to get the photo from the device into Ecobot.

• The camera/device used to capture the photo: If you took a photo on a camera or mobile device manufactured within the past few years, it will likely have metadata (i.e. lat/long, etc.).
  • If your device is old, it may not have this data. 
  • If you've adjusted privacy settings to block this data, metadata may not be stored. 
• Getting the photo from device to Ecobot Manager: Make sure you're sending survey photos from a mobile device into a computer using one of the following methods:
  • • • Email, as attachment
      • Airdrop (Mac only)
    • The following methods of sending photos from a mobile device to a computer do not retain metadata:
      • Slack (unless zipped first)
      • Text message
      • Taken directly from third-party apps - letting an app access your camera to take the photo (i.e. Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, etc.)

How do I upload more than 100 photos to a survey in Ecobot Manager?

The limit for each upload is 100 photos, but a survey can contain more than this. To upload more than 100 photos on a single survey, please upload photos is multiple batches, broken into groups of 100 or less each.

Can I see who captured or uploaded photos?

On the Edit Photos page in Manager, the name of the user who captured or uploaded each photo is included.

Why are my photos blurry?

Photos containing hate speech or inappropriate content will be blurred when uploaded.

Is the Photos section in the OHWM form connected to Ecobot Photos?

The photos section inside each point in the OHWM form is from the USACE/EPA guidelines and is designed as a log for photos. The Ecobot photos tool can be accessed in OHWM, and photos numbered to match the log, but the photos don't directly connect automatically.