Habitat Survey Template
for Ecosulis
An example of a Word automated report
Ecosulis are ecological consultants offering ecological contracting and landscaping services.
Ecosulis wanted a report template that helped authors complete habitat surveys by providing a series of prompts, pop-ups, option lists and tick boxes. We developed an automated report template for them.
Report wizard
When a new report is created an input box is displayed where the author can input data and select options to include in the report.
The author can select all the habitats found on the survey site. The selected habitats will be added to a specific section of the report when the Finish button is pressed.
The author clicks the Next button to move to the next check list. There are a number of different check lists to help the author complete the report. All selected items from the checklists are added to specific sections of the report when the Finish button is pressed.
Some items have additional text that will also be inserted, e.g. if the author selects a species from the Species Legislation check list, an appendix with information describing the legislation for the selected species is automatically added to the report.
The underlying data for the report wizard is stored in a library of Excel spreadsheets and Word documents. This allows Ecosulis staff to add to the data and edit the information as required.
Once the report wizard has been completed, the author can edit the report just like any other Word document.
Pop-up boxes
Pop-up boxes to aid further editing of the report and also help boxes are available throughout the document. To insert data in a table, the author can click in a table cell and a pop-up box with the relevant check list is displayed.
The author can click a red question mark to display a help box that provides information about what to include in that section of the report.
