The new version of the EarthRanger Mobile app is coming soon and we've made significant updates which focus on users, profiles, and subjects to enhance the experience when using EarthRanger. 

Our main goal with this document is that  you will maintain functionality and ensure a smooth transition and data consistency on EarthRanger. Below are actions you need to take to maintain your current workflow.

Notable Changes in Our Latest Release 

In this new v2 release, we are introducing new features as well as updated workflows of the existing features. It is very important that you review how the functionality of the existing features will be affected by the new update and what are the actions that you will need to  take. 

User Accounts

In v1, sites tended to utilize user accounts in one of two ways:

• One user account (username/password) that was shared by all mobile devices.  
•  Different user accounts for each user/device.  

With this new v2 release, unique accounts are required for each user or profile. This helps to ensure overall system security and allows better location tracking and change history. 

To create new user accounts for these shared users, or if you have new users to add, take these steps:

1. Create a new user account for each user/team that will be using EarthRanger Mobile with appropriate permissions.
2. Make sure each user/team logs in with their own account.
3. Subjects for device tracking will be created automatically when the user logs into EarthRanger Mobile. 

Device Tracking

In v1, the device was tracked on the map by the “Device Name” setting from the Mobile app. A Subject was automatically created with this entered name. 

In v2 the name on the device as it is being tracked on the map is now tied to the user that is currently logged in.  

Every user profile now has a “Subject” setting in Admin which determines the Subject associated with this user and how it will be displayed. For newly created users, a Subject will be generated automatically, with the same name as the user. When a different Subject is desired,  configuration can be modified from the EarthRanger Admin. 

To ensure consistent operation after the migration, the following steps are required.   

Configure User Accounts:

If you already have devices that are being tracked by “Device Name”

1. Go to Admin > Users 
2. On the list  display, find the user you want to configure and open it. 
3. On the “Change user” screen, scroll to the bottom for “Subject” section
4. Click “show” to display a dropdown of “Linked Subjects”
5. Select the subject for that user (same name as “Device Name”)
6. Once done, click on Save

Report Creation

In v1, when you created a report from the device, the user name was the identifier in the “Reported By” field of the report being created. To configure this, the user needed to be added to a special Permission Set called “Reported By Users”.  

When a report is created in v2, from EarthRanger Mobile, the Reported By field will now be populated by the profile logged into the app, meaning, this will no longer require additional configuration in the Admin. 

What key features are included in the Version 2 

To understand a little more about what is changing on EarthRanger Mobile v2 here are some articles that explain further the functionality of each new key feature. er Profiles and PINS

User Profiles and PINS allow partners to give rangers a way to uniquely identify users and provide simpler ways to sign in to the app while maintaining security standards. This allows the possibility to improve the workflow of rangers when sharing devices when using EarthRanger Mobile. 

If have any questions regarding the migration or need help in the process, please reach out to EarthRanger Support Team at support@earthranger.com