What's new
Everything we have changed on the data platform, newest first. The small fixes are here too, so you can see what we are working on.
v2.78
Features
- Asked search engines to skip observation pages, photo tabs and download forms.
- Ordered data check readings to match the form they were recorded on.
- Sped up data downloads and stopped them straining the server.
- Shrank spreadsheet downloads by dropping repeated columns.
- Sped up the locations page and kept it fast as sites are added.
- Updated navigation across the site, for better navigability.
- Added our release history back to June 2025, in English and French.
- Added a "What's new" page, a notification bar for the latest change, and a line in Monday's digest!
Fixes
- Fixed search results counting what fit on the page instead of what matched.
- Fixed the organization filter on admin locations returning every location.
- Fixed the admin observations export failing with no word to anyone.
v2.77
Features
- Added location deletion for dataset admins.
- Showed the DataStream option only to Canadian groups with data to share.
- Lined up trend charts on a location page to the same dates.
- Added choosing who sees a parameter on the observation form.
Fixes
- Patched permissions for edge cases across forms, locations, observations and invitations.
- Patched what spreadsheet downloads include.
- Fixed the observation form losing your entries when a photo fails.
v2.76
Features
- Sped up the homepage, dataset pages and organization pages.
Fixes
- Fixed the webhook test view reporting no matches.
- Fixed stale counts on dataset and organization pages.
- Fixed admin location pages and water body type names.
v2.75
Features
- Made screenshots in the help pages full width.
- Separated real readers from automated traffic, with views and downloads by country.
v2.74
Features
- Stopped holding real sign-ups for review, including swimming clubs and French-language groups.
- Shrank pages and data downloads.
- Sped up location pages, the map and the API.
- Sped up the form builder from as long as nineteen seconds.
- Cut the memory and database load of imports.
- Added webhooks for API key holders.
Fixes
- Fixed data check links erroring when you are signed out.
- Fixed raw bank vegetation labels when staff edit a location.
- Fixed the data download email body not being in French.
v2.73
Features
- Sped up the data check spreadsheet about three times on photo-heavy datasets.
- Added a data check queue, most urgent first, with a progress bar.
v2.71
Fixes
- Fixed observations not saving after an edit.
v2.70
Features
- Branded our error pages as Water Rangers.
- Added name sorting to dataset contributors, with counts and last visit.
- Blocked deleting equipment and test types that have data.
- Sped up dataset maps coloured by a parameter.
- Translated data check screens and flag reasons into French.
- Added a way to confirm a flagged reading and add a note.
Fixes
- Fixed point of interest categories, editing, and where the add button lands.
- Stopped editing an observation changing its recorded date.
- Stopped notes on an observation undoing its quality check.
- Fixed dashboards and group pages for non-Latin group names.
- Fixed the form builder crashing on a parameter with no test type.
v2.68
Fixes
- Fixed dataset invitation emails not sending from the dashboard or a location.
v2.67
Fixes
- Fixed buttons across the site, like adding a parameter to a custom form.
v2.66
Features
- Moved images and page files onto a content network.
v2.65
Features
- Locked accounts after ten failed sign-in attempts.
- Tightened sign-up spam filtering and stopped it holding back real water groups.
- Translated sign-in, confirmation and account emails into French.
- Blocked a scraper flood that was slowing the site.
- Added a short welcome for new members after they confirm their email.
Fixes
- Removed an unused file-fetching page.
- Stopped the observation form accepting dates before 1900.
v2.63
Features
- Saved half-finished observations as you go, including option list forms.
- Accepted French decimals and iPad autocorrections in readings.
v2.62
Features
- Kept the location link in step with the pin as you drag it.
- Split sub-questions into their own spreadsheet columns.
- Added bilingual help pages with images, tables and video.
- Replaced the scattered reference pages with Help and guides.
v2.61
Features
- Stacked slider questions on phone screens.
- Added the rule and the comparison to quality check notes.
- Added autosave while you fill in an observation.
Fixes
- Fixed repeated sample values being dropped on submit.
v2.60
Fixes
- Fixed iPhone photo uploads from browsers that do not report the file type.
v2.59
Features
- Enlarged the Water Rangers pin on location maps and added a map to observation pages.
- Linked each latest value on a parameter card to its observation.
- Sorted location data collectors alphabetically and added a clear-all button.
- Added a dashboard filter for locations assigned to you.
- Added join requests to the dataset management page.
- Added colouring dataset maps by any parameter against the dataset's guideline.
Fixes
- Fixed the reference photo date not saving.
- Fixed invitations sent before signup not being picked up.
v2.58
Features
- Carried organization membership through to its datasets.
- Trimmed about 770 KB off the homepage.
v2.57
Fixes
- Fixed deleting a standard a dataset has chosen.
v2.56
Features
- Added form parameters and equipment to dataset spreadsheet exports.
- Added water body and distance filters to the locations API, and documented the rate limit.
- Added in-browser conversion for iPhone photos.
Fixes
- Fixed the French "About this location" heading.
v2.55
Features
- Split category parameters into quantitative and qualitative tables.
- Made the map fetch sites on any move.
- Added address search to the location form.
- Added location autocomplete to the map search box.
Fixes
- Fixed French dates in map popups.
v2.54
Fixes
- Fixed the data table on embedded locations.
v2.53
Features
- Added a salinity tag to the public standards page.
- Showed which datasets use a guideline before retiring it.
- Led guideline pages with the ranges table and added export.
- Added units beside readings and switched limits to ≤ and ≥.
- Matched guidelines to the kind of water body a site sits on.
- Added water quality guidelines for Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom.
Fixes
- Fixed readings at the edge of a range losing their < or >.
v2.51
Features
- Added a changed-since filter to the API.
- Added a secure way to send observations through our API.
v2.50
Features
- Added local observation time to the API.
v2.49
Features
- Added multi-sample readings and their averages to spreadsheet downloads.
Fixes
- Fixed a corrupt photo breaking its page.
- Fixed dataset sorting by when data was last added.
v2.48
Features
- Added photo links and country and equipment filters to the API.
- Opened the simple data table to everyone.
- Added data downloads for a single location.
Fixes
- Removed the External ID column from spreadsheet downloads.
v2.47
Features
- Added help icons and qualitative options to preset forms.
- Opened the region map on your own location.
- Showed all your organizations in the dashboard sidebar.
- Reformatted the data download email with a readable table.
Fixes
- Fixed "Content missing" when saving a form during dataset setup.
- Stopped digest emails retrying to addresses that bounce.
- Fixed the notification digest toggle not saving.
v2.46
Features
- Moved parameter and option labels into the translation system.
- Added restoring set-aside parameters and showing their readings.
- Added parameter export and import between platforms.
Fixes
- Fixed the French "other" box on qualitative questions.
- Fixed other slider options not fading on "None".
v2.45
Features
- Added a bulk off switch for the observation digest.
- Added dataset details to download emails.
- Fixed organization and dataset links.
v2.44
Features
- Kept set-aside parameters visible on observations that have readings.
- Added form editing for dataset admins, including setting parameters aside.
Fixes
- Fixed editing a triplicate reading replacing its values.
v2.42
Features
- Raised the API page size and clarified the limit message.
- Added a help link to the data check page.
- Moved quality check notes beside their status.
- Added an email when a dataset admin notes your observation.
- Added a Monday digest of new data from your groups.
v2.41
Features
- Switched quality trends to the median.
- Ran quality checks before an observation opens.
v2.39
Features
- Redirected expired sessions to sign in.
Fixes
- Fixed dataset region pages breaking on location lookup.
- Fixed captions on the homepage photos.
v2.38
Features
- Showed unreviewed observations in quality checks.