You can now transfer, merge, and check in surveys directly in Ecobot Manager — no need to download or handle files manually.
Below are instructions and best practices for each workflow.
Permissions
- Admins - Can transfer, merge, and force check-in between any users in their organization
- Managers - Can transfer, merge, and force check-in between any users in their organization
- Users - Can transfer, merge, and for check-in only under their own account
- They can transfer their own surveys to another user
Transfer Surveys
Transferring allows you to move a survey from one user’s account to another within your organization.
Before You Begin:
- Surveys must be checked in before they can be transferred.
- You can only transfer surveys between users on the same account.
How to Transfer a Survey
- In Ecobot Manager, open your main survey page.
- On the right-hand side of the survey row, click the ellipsis (…).
- Select Transfer from the dropdown menu.
- Choose the user you want to transfer the survey to from the list.
- Type Transfer to confirm, then click Transfer again.
Result: The selected user will now own and manage that survey in their Ecobot account.
Notifications of Transfer in Collector
When a survey is transferred, both you and the person you transfer it to will receive notifications in Ecobot Collector. To ensure you get these alerts, make sure push notifications are enabled on your device.
*Phone Settings > Notifications > Ecobot > Allow Notifications
- When you transfer a survey to someone else
- After you transfer a survey, if you try to open it again, you will see a pop-up showing who you transferred it to.
- This confirms that the survey is no longer assigned to you.
- When a survey is transferred to you
- If someone transfers a survey to you: You will receive a notification in Collector. Open Ecobot Collector. Tap the gear icon (top-right) to open Settings. Tap Sync All Surveys to pull the transferred survey down from the cloud to your device.
- Once the sync is complete, the transferred survey will appear in your survey list and is ready to use.
*Be sure to notify colleagues if you are transferring a survey to them in case they miss the notification
*A good form of practice is tapping "Sync All Surveys" when getting into Collector to bring down any changes or transferred/merged surveys from Manager
Merge Surveys
If multiple team members collected data on the same project in the field, you can now merge their surveys directly in Ecobot Manager. This eliminates the need to manually combine CSVs or PDFs after download.
When to Use Merge
- Two or more users collected different points for the same project.
- Each user worked on a separate survey but the data should be combined into one.
Requirements for Merge
- The surveys need to be under the same user (see transfer surveys if another user collected the data)
- The surveys need to be checked-in
- The surveys need to be in the same region
- This includes the older determination forms vs. the 2024 forms.
How to Merge Surveys
- On the right-hand side in Manager, click the dots and click "Merge"
- You will be directed to another screen that shows the survey you selected, and available surveys you can merge
- If you don't see the survey you want to merge, refer to the requirements above
- Drag and drop the surveys to "selected surveys"
- Select which survey name you want to keep
- All other data will not change
- If there are duplicate sampling point names, you need to be sure to review those and change the name, or delete the duplicate points
Notifications of Merge in Collector
If you try to open a survey that has been merged, you’ll see a notification letting you know that it’s been merged and is no longer accessible.
To update your survey list, go to Settings > Sync All Surveys. The merged survey will disappear, and all of its data will now be included in the new, merged survey.
Check-In Surveys
If a survey was left checked out after fieldwork, you can now force check it in directly in Ecobot Manager.
Before You Force Check-In
It’s best to confirm that all field data has been synced before forcing check-in — especially if the user collected data offline.
- Ask the user to confirm that the survey has synced from their device.
- Verify the number of points, photos, and features collected before proceeding.
How to Force Check-In
- In Ecobot Manager, locate the survey on your main survey page.
- Click the ellipsis (…) on the right-hand side.
- Select Force Check In.
- In the pop-up window, type Check-in to confirm.
- Click Check-In to complete the action.
Result: The survey is now available for editing in Manager.
Checking in your own surveys
Checking in other users surveys
Check out our video on force check-in, transfer, and merge!
FAQs
What is the difference between transferring and merging surveys?
Transferring moves survey ownership from one user to another. The receiving user becomes the new owner and can edit and manage the survey.
Merging combines data from multiple surveys into a single survey, typically when multiple users collected data for the same project.
Do surveys need to be checked in before transferring or merging?
Yes. All surveys must be checked in before they can be transferred or merged. If a survey is still checked out, transfer and merge options will not appear.
Can I transfer a survey to anyone?
Surveys can only be transferred between users on the same Ecobot account.
How do I know if a survey I transferred went through?
You will see a pop-up notification in Ecobot Collector showing who the survey was transferred to.
The receiving user will also receive a notification (if push notifications are enabled).
How does the receiving user get a transferred survey into Collector?
They need to:
Open Ecobot Collector Go to Settings (gear icon) Tap Sync All Surveys
After syncing, the transferred survey will appear in their list.
What happens to the original surveys after a merge?
Once merged:
The original surveys are no longer accessible. Attempting to open them will trigger a notification explaining they’ve been merged. After syncing (Settings > Sync All Surveys), the old surveys disappear and all data is available in the new merged survey.
What if two surveys have sampling points with the same name?
Both points will show up in the merged survey. You can rename the points or delete duplicates after reviewing the data.
*You should coordinate with your colleagues on the sampling point naming convention you are planning to use to avoid duplicate sampling point names.
When should I use “Force Check-In”?
Use Force Check-In when:
- A user forgot to check in a survey after fieldwork
- The user is unavailable to check in the survey themselves
- The survey is stuck checked out but you need to proceed with editing
Before forcing check-in, confirm that the user has synced their device so no field data is lost or have them confirm the number of points and photos that are expected to be in the survey.