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Moving and Copying Surveys

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This page is under development. We're still writing it and some details may be missing or inaccurate. If something doesn't match what you see in Cartographer, please let us know (see Contact Us).
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Moving and copying surveys is available to workspaces on the Standard plan and above. If you don’t see it, please get in touch (see Contact Us).

Project Coordinators can move or copy surveys from one project to another project they coordinate. This is useful if:

  • a survey was recorded in the wrong project;
  • you want to split a project into several smaller projects, for example to share a subset of your data with a partner (see Sharing Data with Partners and Stakeholders);
  • you want to merge two projects together.

If you want to give surveys to somebody in another organisation’s workspace, see Transferring Data Between Workspaces instead.

Moving vs Copying#

  • Moving takes the surveys out of their current project and puts them in the destination project. They keep their history and web address.
  • Copying leaves the original surveys where they are and creates independent copies in the destination project. The copies are not linked to the originals in any way: if somebody edits one, the change won't appear in the other.

Who Can Move and Copy Surveys?#

You need to be a Project Coordinator in both the project you're moving surveys from and the project you're moving them to. Workspace Admins and Owners count as coordinators of every project in their workspace. See Roles and Permissions for more information on roles.

Team Coordinators, Approvers, and Surveyors can't move or copy surveys. If you coordinate the project the surveys are in but not the destination project, you can send them to a coordinator of the destination project instead (see Transferring Data Between Workspaces).

How to Move or Copy Surveys#

1. Select the surveys#

Go to the survey list for the project and survey type you want to move from (see Browsing Surveys on the Web). As a coordinator, you'll see a tick box at the start of each row.

  • Tick the surveys you want to move or copy; or
  • filter the list to the surveys you want (for example by date, team, or status), tick the box in the heading, and choose All matching.

A bar appears above the list telling you how many surveys you've selected.

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Add screenshot — area of window. Signed in as a project coordinator, a survey list with three rows ticked and the selection bar showing “3 selected”. Crop to the top of the list.
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Each survey list only shows one type of survey. If you're moving River Condition Assessment data, remember to move the MoRPh River Type surveys as well as the MoRPh surveys. You'll need to do this in two goes, one from each survey list.

2. Choose Move/Copy#

Click Move/Copy in the bar above the list. On a phone or a narrow window, open the Actions menu first.

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Add screenshot — area of window. The selection bar with Move/Copy highlighted. Use a workspace with teams and Send switched on, so Change Status, Change Team, Move/Copy and Send all show. Crop to the bar.

3. Choose where the surveys should go#

In the window that appears:

  • choose the Destination Project. The list only shows projects you coordinate. Projects that can't accept this type of survey are greyed out;
  • choose whether to Move the surveys or Copy the surveys;
  • leave Skip surveys that already exist in the destination project ticked unless you have a reason not to (see Duplicate Surveys below).

Click Next to continue.

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Add screenshot — area of window. The Move/Copy Selected Surveys window with the Destination Project menu open, showing at least one greyed-out project, and Move the surveys selected. Crop to the window.

4. Choose teams (projects with teams only)#

If the destination project is divided into teams (see Workspaces, Projects, and Teams), you'll be asked which team each group of surveys should belong to. There is one row for each team in the source project, plus a row for surveys with no team. Any surveys you don't assign to a team will end up with no team.

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Add screenshot — area of window. The teams step of the same window, moving into a project with teams, with a team chosen for each row. Crop to the window.

5. Confirm#

Check the summary and click Start Transfer. If you've selected more than 50 surveys, Cartographer asks you to confirm that's what you meant.

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Add screenshot — area of window. The summary step with the Start Transfer button. Crop to the window.

6. Wait for the move or copy to finish#

Cartographer moves or copies the surveys in the background, and shows a progress bar while it works. You can wait for it to finish or close the window: we'll email you when it's done.

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Add animation (or a screenshot — area of window). The progress bar filling up and the completed message appearing. Use a transfer of 20–30 surveys so it takes a few seconds. Crop to the window.

Changing the Team Instead#

If you only want to move surveys to a different team in the same project, use Change Team instead. It's quicker, because you don't have to choose a project. See Change the Team of Several Surveys.

What Gets Moved or Copied?#

Everything about each survey comes across, including the form data, photos and other attachments, the surveyor's name, the dates, and the status (an approved survey stays approved). The only things that change are:

  • the project, which becomes the destination project;
  • the team, which is whatever you chose in step 4;
  • the survey type, in a few special cases where the destination project uses a closely related form. You can move or copy between MoRPh, MoRPh Pro, and MoRPh Canals surveys, and between River Type and River Type Pro surveys. All other survey types can only go to a project that uses the same survey type.

When you copy a survey, the copy gets a new web address and starts with a fresh edit history. When you move a survey, it keeps its web address and its full edit history.

TODO: CHECK WHAT HAPPENS TO MOVED SURVEYS IN THE MOBILE APP (WE BELIEVE THEY DISAPPEAR FROM THE OLD PROJECT AND APPEAR IN THE NEW ONE ON THE NEXT SYNC). (The mobile help page A Survey Says It Was Deleted or Moved on the Server may already answer this.)

Duplicate Surveys#

By default Cartographer skips any survey that exactly matches a survey that's already in the destination project. This lets you move or copy overlapping sets of surveys without ending up with duplicates.

A survey only counts as a duplicate if its content is exactly the same. If one of the two surveys has been edited since it was copied, they no longer count as duplicates.

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If you move a survey and an identical survey already exists in the destination project, the survey you're moving is removed from the source project and not added to the destination project, because the destination already has a copy.

The summary at the end tells you how many surveys were skipped.

Checking Progress#

Every move or copy is recorded on the Transfers tab of the project's settings page (see Guide for Project Coordinators). Choose Surveys to see every move, copy, send, and receive into and out of the project. Click an entry to see its details and progress, or click View Surveys to see the surveys it included.

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Add screenshot — full window. Project Settings → Transfers tab → Surveys, with a few entries (a move, a copy, and ideally a send).
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Add screenshot — full window. The detail page for one finished move, showing its progress and the View Surveys button.

Moving or Copying Surveys to Another Workspace#

Move/Copy is for moving surveys between projects in the same workspace.

If you work for a large organisation that has several Cartographer workspaces, you can also move or copy surveys between them, but our Support team needs to set this up for you first. Please get in touch: Contact Us.

To give surveys to a different organisation, see Transferring Data Between Workspaces instead.

Frequently Asked Questions#

I can't see the tick boxes on the survey list#

You need to be at least an Approver in the project to see them. If you're an Approver but not a Coordinator, you'll only be able to change statuses.

There's no Move/Copy button#

You need to be a Project Coordinator, and your workspace needs to be on the Standard plan or above. Team Coordinators don't see this button. Please get in touch if you think you should have it (see Contact Us).

The project I want isn't in the list, or is greyed out#

The list only shows projects you coordinate. Projects that don't use a compatible survey type are greyed out.

Can I undo a move?#

Yes: select the surveys in the destination project and move them back again. To undo a copy, delete the copies. TODO: CHECK THIS IS THE ADVICE WE WANT TO GIVE.

Is there a limit on how many surveys I can move?#

No, but large transfers take longer. Cartographer will ask you to confirm before you move or copy more than 50 surveys at once, just to make sure you've selected what you meant to. TODO: CHECK WHETHER THE PROGRESS BADGES ON THE TRANSFER PAGES SAY "COPYING" EVEN FOR MOVES, AND EXPLAIN IF SO.