FAQ
Open Foris Support is the question and answer site for the Open Foris tools. Ask a question, help others with what you know, and find answers that the community has already worked out. Please read the Terms of Service before posting.
About this site
What can I ask about here?
Anything about using the Open Foris tools: Collect, Collect Earth, Collect Earth Online, Arena and Arena Mobile, Earth Map, SEPAL, Whisp and the related Open Foris software. For example: installing a tool, designing a survey, importing or exporting data, processing satellite imagery, error messages, or how to do a particular analysis.
Questions about forest inventories and land monitoring in general are welcome too, as long as they relate to working with these tools.
What doesn't belong here?
- Questions that have nothing to do with the Open Foris tools.
- Opinions and debates with no clear answer.
- Personal or confidential data: never post passwords, API keys, or survey data you aren't allowed to share. Use small, made-up samples instead.
- Advertising and links that aren't relevant to the question.
Who answers the questions?
Other users of the tools, and members of the Open Foris team at FAO. Everyone answers voluntarily, so the clearer your question, the sooner you'll get help.
How is this different from a discussion forum?
Every page here is one question with its answers, and the best answers rise to the top through votes. This keeps answers easy to find for the next person with the same problem. Use comments on a post to ask for details or suggest small changes, not for long discussions.
Asking a good question
Before you ask
Search first: many problems have been solved already. You can search by words, a tag such as [collect], or an exact phrase in quotes. While you type the title of a new question, the site also shows existing questions that look similar.
What should my question include?
- The tool and its version, for example "Collect 4.0.110" or "SEPAL", and your operating system if it matters.
- What you were trying to do, step by step.
- What happened instead: copy the exact error message, and add a screenshot if it helps (once you have 60 reputation you can paste images straight into the editor).
- What you have already tried.
Use a short, specific title ("Export to CSV fails with 'out of memory' in Collect 4") rather than a general one ("Help with export"). Add the tags of the tools involved, and choose the version your question applies to when the form offers it.
My question was closed. Why?
Questions are closed when they are off-topic, unclear, or the same as an existing question. A duplicate links to the original, where the answer usually is. If your question was closed as unclear, edit it to add the missing details; experienced members can then reopen it.
Answering, voting and accepting
What makes a good answer?
An answer should solve the problem in the question. Explain the steps, include code or settings where useful, and mention the version you tested with. If you only want to ask for more information, write a comment instead.
Why should I vote?
Voting up good questions and answers is how the most useful content rises to the top. Vote down posts that are wrong or misleading, and explain why in a comment if you can.
What does accepting an answer mean?
If you asked the question, click the check mark next to the answer that solved your problem. This tells everyone the question is resolved and gives the person who answered extra reputation. You can change your choice later.
Reputation and privileges
How does reputation work?
Reputation is a rough measure of how much the community trusts you. You earn it when others find your posts useful:
- your question or answer is voted up: +10
- your answer is accepted: +15
- you accept an answer to your question: +2
- your post is voted down: −2
You can earn at most 200 points a day from up votes.
What can I do with more reputation?
New members can ask, answer and edit their own posts straight away. More reputation unlocks more ways to help look after the site:
- vote up: 10
- flag a post for moderators: 10
- comment on others' posts: 50
- upload images and files: 60
- vote down: 100
- create new tags: 250
- close your own questions: 250
- change the tags of any question: 500
- edit anyone's posts: 2000
- delete comments: 2000
- close or reopen any question: 3000
Why can other people edit my posts?
So that questions and answers stay clear and up to date for everyone who finds them later, for example to fix a broken link, add a tag or update a step for a new version. Members with less reputation can suggest an edit, which an experienced member then approves or rejects. Every change is kept in the post's history, and you can see exactly what was changed.
Who moderates the site?
Mostly the community itself: members with enough reputation can edit, retag and close questions, and anyone with 10 reputation can flag a post that needs a moderator's attention. The Open Foris team moderates spam and anything that breaks the Terms of Service. The first posts of new members may be checked by a moderator before they appear.
Your account
How do I sign up?
Create an account with your email address and a password, or sign in with one of the other options shown on the sign-in page. Once signed in, you can also add a passkey for signing in without a password, and turn on two-step verification on your account's security page.
Why do I need to confirm my email address?
So that you get notified when someone answers or comments on your posts, and so that you can recover your account if you forget your password. If the confirmation email didn't arrive, check your spam folder or send it again.
How do I control the emails I get?
In your profile, open Email settings. You can get notifications as they happen, as a daily or weekly summary, or not at all, and choose which questions and tags you follow. Every email also has a link to change or stop it.
How do I change my picture?
The site shows the picture linked to your email address on Gravatar. If you don't have one, a generated image is shown instead.
Can I download my data or delete my account?
Yes. In your profile menu, open Your data and account to download everything you've posted, or to delete your account. When you delete it, your personal details are removed.
Still have questions?
Ask a question and the community will help.