16 May 2026

How To

How Collections work in BotanicalMapper

Making Collections

What Collections are

Collections are named groups you assign to plants and landmarks.

They are useful when you want to organise records by project, tour, survey, route, or seasonal theme.

For example:

  • National Collection
  • 2024 survey
  • Public tour
  • Spring interest

Collections are not a separate type of map object. They are labels attached to existing plants and landmarks in order to group them together.

In short
  • Collections are named filters for plants and landmarks
  • One plant or landmark can belong to many collections
  • Areas and shapes do not use collections
  • Collections belong to the active workspace

Where collections appear

Collections are available throughout BotanicalMapper, making it easy to organise, filter, and manage your data.

Settings → Customise

Create, rename, and delete collection names for Plants and Landmarks.

Map

Assign a collection to Plants or Landmarks, then use the collection filter to display only items in the selected collection.

Spreadsheet

Edit the Collection column, apply bulk changes, filter records, and include collection information when exporting data.

Gallery

Filter Plant and Landmark photos by collection to quickly find related images.

Public Map

If enabled, visitors can filter the public map by collection, making it easier to explore related Plants and Landmarks.

Creating and managing collection names

The main place to manage collections is:

Settings → Customise → Collections

Here you can:

  • Click Add Collection
  • Enter a name
  • Save it
  • Rename existing collections
  • Delete collections you no longer need

Duplicate names are rejected within the same workspace.

Deleting a collection does not delete plants or landmarks. It simply unlinks that collection from any records using it.

You can also open Manage Collections from the Map or Spreadsheet, usually from the Collections filter area.

Teams and permissions

In team workspaces, Team Admins can create, rename, and delete collection names.

Other members may see a read-only message, but they can still use filters and assign collections to records where they have editing access.

One exception: if a plant or landmark is already Public on the map, non-admin members cannot change its collection assignment. Ask a workspace admin to make that change.

Assigning collections to records

On the Map

  1. Select a plant or landmark
  2. Open its Details panel
  3. Click edit
  4. Find the Collection row
  5. Use the multi-select dropdown to tick one or more collections
  6. Save

In view mode, collections appear as comma-separated names.

In the Spreadsheet

On the Plants or Landmarks tab, use the Collection column.

You can:

  • Edit one row inline
  • Tick multiple collections
  • Use Bulk Edit to update selected rows

Bulk editing the collection field applies the chosen collection set to all selected records for that operation.

During import

When importing plants or landmarks, map a column such as Collection or Collections to the collection field.

Collection names are then linked during import according to the import rules.

Filtering with Collections

Map

On the Plants or Landmarks tab:

  1. Expand FILTERS
  2. Open Collections
  3. Select one or more collection names

The rules are:

  • None Selected means no collection filter, so all records can show
  • Selecting one or more collections shows records in any selected collection
  • Clear All removes the collection filter

This is OR logic. If you select “Public tour” and “Spring interest”, a plant in either collection can appear.

Search also matches collection names.

Spreadsheet

The Spreadsheet uses the same idea.

  • Empty selection means show all rows
  • One or more selected collections narrows the table
  • Export then follows the visible or selected rows, depending on your export choice

The exported Collection column uses readable collection names, not just internal IDs.

Gallery

The Gallery lets you filter plant and landmark images by collection.

Use Gallery when you want to browse photographs across a group, such as all plants in a tour or all landmarks in a project.

Collection names are managed elsewhere, not directly in Gallery.

Collections on the public map

If your workspace uses public map publishing, you can choose which collections appear in the visitor filter.

This is managed from Your Public Map, under the collections settings for the published map.

Important points:

  • New collections are not automatically shown publicly
  • You choose which collection names visitors can filter by
  • Clearing all public collections hides the visitor collection filter
  • Visitors see collection labels on relevant public records

This only affects visitor filtering. It does not change your private workspace data.

Practical workflows

National Collection

  1. Create a collection called “National Collection”
  2. Assign relevant plants
  3. Filter the map by that collection
  4. Export a CSV or XLSX list when needed

Bed renovation

  1. Create “Bed 12 renovation”
  2. Bulk assign plants in the Spreadsheet
  3. Filter the map while planning work

Spring Flower tour

  1. Create “Spring Flower tour”
  2. Assign selected plants and landmarks
  3. Enable that collection on Your Public Map
  4. Use the public filter during visitor interpretation

Multiple membership

A single plant can belong to several collections, for example:

  • Roses
  • Fragrant plants
  • Spring Flower tour

This is expected. Collections are flexible labels, not exclusive folders.

Troubleshooting

No Collections filter

What to check

No collections have been created yet. Create at least one collection in Settings → Customise before the filter will appear.

Filter doesn't show any records

What to check

The selected collection may not have any Plants or Landmarks assigned to it.

Can't rename a collection

What to check

Only Workspace Admins can create, rename, or delete collections.

Can't change a record's collection on the map

What to check

The record may be public, or you may not have Workspace Admin permissions to edit it.

Imported records weren't linked to collections

What to check

Confirm that the Collection column was mapped correctly during the import process and that the collection names already exist.

Collections aren't available for Areas

What to check

Collections apply only to Plants and Landmarks. They can't be assigned to Areas or Shapes.

Closing checklist

  • Created collection names in Settings → Customise or Manage Collections
  • Assigned plants or landmarks on the Map or Spreadsheet
  • Tested the Collections filter
  • Chosen public map collections if publishing

Naming collections well

  • Use short, clear names
  • Include dates for surveys or projects
  • Avoid names that duplicate plant types
  • Keep spelling consistent
  • Review old collections after major projects finish
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