Transfer and merge surveys

In Ecobot Manager you can move a survey to a teammate's account, or combine several surveys into one, without downloading or handling any files. This article explains who can do each, how to do it, and what your team sees in Ecobot Collector afterwards.

Who can transfer and merge

• Admins and Managers can transfer, merge and force check-in surveys for anyone in their organization.
• Users can transfer, merge and force check-in only their own surveys. They can transfer a survey to another user.

You'll find Transfer and Merge in the ⋮ menu on a survey's row on the Surveys page.

Transfer a survey

Transferring moves a survey from one person's account to another in your organization. The new owner can edit and manage it.

Before you start:

• The survey must be checked in.
• You can only transfer surveys between people in the same organization.
• If you need to force check-in a survey, first check with its owner that all their data has synced. You can open the survey in Manager even while it's checked out on a phone, to see what has already synced automatically. Confirm the number of points, photos and map features with the owner. See How syncing works: check-in, checkout, and sync.

1. On the Surveys page, select the ⋮ menu on the survey's row, then Transfer.
2. Under Transfer to, choose the person to transfer it to.
3. Type TRANSFER to confirm, then select Transfer.

The survey now belongs to that person.

What happens in Collector

Both you and the new owner get a notification in Collector, as long as push notifications are on. To turn them on, go to your phone's Settings, then Notifications, then Ecobot, and allow notifications.

• If you transferred the survey: when you try to open it, a message shows who it was transferred to.
• If the survey was transferred to you: tap the gear icon at the top right, then Sync All Surveys. The survey then appears in your survey list, ready to use.

Let colleagues know when you transfer a survey to them, in case they miss the notification. It's good practice to tap Sync All Surveys whenever you open Collector, to pick up any surveys transferred or merged in Manager.

Merge surveys

If several people collected data for the same site in separate surveys, merge them in Manager instead of combining CSVs or PDFs afterwards.

Surveys can be merged when they:

• Belong to the same person. If a teammate collected some of the data, transfer their survey to you first.
• Are checked in.
• Use the same form. All three of these must match:
  • Region: for example, an Eastern Mountains and Piedmont survey can't be merged with an Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain one.
  • Number of strata, where the region offers a choice: for example, a 4-strata survey can't be merged with a 5-strata one.
  • Form version: a 2024 USACE form can't be merged with an older one.

If you need to force check-in a survey, first check with its owner that all their data has synced. You can open the survey in Manager even while it's checked out on a phone, to see what has already synced automatically. Confirm the number of points, photos and map features with the owner. See How syncing works: check-in, checkout, and sync.

1. On the Surveys page, select the ⋮ menu on one of the surveys, then Merge.
2. Under Available surveys, select Add on each survey to merge. Checked-out surveys can't be added.
3. Under Selected surveys, choose Keep this survey on the one to keep. The others' data moves into it.
4. Select Review merge and check the combined totals.
5. Type MERGE, then select Merge surveys.

The points, photos, map features and saved maps from the other surveys move into the one you keep. The other surveys leave the list, and their old links open the survey you kept. A merge can't be undone.

If a survey you expect isn't listed under Available surveys, check it against the requirements above.

The region and number of strata are set when a survey is created and can't be changed afterwards, so agree on them with your team before anyone starts collecting. See Wetland region selection.

Find surveys with the same name

To find your team's surveys for the same site, choose Organization surveys under Showing on the Surveys page, and search for the survey name. Transfer any that belong to someone else to one person, then merge them. Agreeing on a naming convention makes related surveys easier to find.

Duplicate point names

If two surveys have sampling points with the same name, both points appear in the merged survey. Review them, then rename or delete the duplicates. Agree on point names with your team before field work to avoid this.

What happens in Collector

If you try to open a survey that's been merged, a message tells you it's been merged and is no longer available. Tap the gear icon, then Sync All Surveys. The merged survey disappears from your list, and its data is in the survey you kept.

Questions

What's the difference between transferring and merging?

Transferring moves a survey to a new owner. Merging combines several surveys into one, usually when several people collected data for the same site.

Do surveys need to be checked in first?

Yes. A checked-out survey can't be transferred, and can't be added to a merge.

How do I know a transfer went through?

The survey shows under the new owner's name on the Surveys page. In Collector, you'll see who it was transferred to if you try to open it, and the new owner gets a notification.

Related articles

• How syncing works: check-in, checkout, and sync
• Managing large surveys with multiple team members