Table of Contents
As with taxonomic names and specimen data, MorphoBank maintains a central directory of characters for each project. The directory lists each character once - no duplicates are allowed. Matrices using the same character are actually referring to a single entry in the character directory. This means that if you modify a character, the change will be reflected everywhere it is used in your project.
While it is possible to perform rudimentary editing of characters in MorphoBank's
matrix editor, most management of character data in your project will be performed
using the character editor. located under the Characters
tab in the project tool tab bar.
As shown in the figure below, the character editor provides a number of useful features designed to streamline the management of character data. When you first select the character tab in your project the character editor will display the list of characters from the first matrix in your project. The characters are displayed in the same order in which they appear in the matrix. You may display characters from other matrices in your project by using the matrix menu located on the upper left-hand corner of the editor. You can make changes to a character (assuming you have project -level privileges to do so) by double clicking on its number or name. You may delete or move a character by clicking on it once and then using the "del char" or "move char" buttons. To select a range of characters, click on the first character in the range, then click on the last character in the range while simultaneously depressing the shift key on your keyboard. The delete and move functions work on single or multiple character selections. To add a new character, select the character you wish the new character to appear under and then click on the "new char" button.
If you need to move a character or set of characters a relatively short distance in your list you may drag the selection to its new location by clicking on a selection of characters and, with the mouse button held down, dragging it with your mouse to its new location.
