In EarthRanger, Event Type dropdown menus allow users and administrators to classify activities in protected areas, such as species sightings, unauthorized activity, and environmental observations. EarthRanger administrators can adjust dropdown choices for Event fields to better reflect their site’s needs. 

Here is the detailed process for modifying these choices, including adding, reordering, and verifying dropdown options.

Understanding Events and Event Types

In EarthRanger:

• Events are user-facing entries in the application where a specific activity / situation is recorded.
• Event Types are administrative classifications that configure and organize these activities.

Changes to Event Types in the administration interface directly impact the dropdown choices users see when creating or editing Events.

Updating Dropdown Choices in Events

To adjust dropdown menu options in Events, you’ll update the schema for the associated Event Type in the EarthRanger Administration website. Follow these steps to make changes:
 

Step 1: Locate the Choice Field to Modify

1. In the EarthRanger Administration website, navigate to Activity > Event Types.
2. In the Display column, select the Event Type associated with the Event you want to modify (e.g., Human-Wildlife Contact).
3. Within the schema for this Event Type, find the title of the dropdown menu field you wish to update (e.g., "Species").
4. Locate the `enumNames` key, which will display the specific Choice Field value, such as:
       "enumNames": {{enum___wildlifesightingrep_species___names}}  
5. The value between "enum___" and “___names” is the identifier we will use in the next step to update the options for the list of choices. 
   In this example the identifier is  wildlifesightingrep_species

Step 2: Modify or Add Choices in the Dropdown Menu

To add a new choice

1. Search for the relevant Choice Field on the Choices page
2. Select Add Choice to open the configuration page
3. Complete the fields as follows:
   1. Id: Accept the autogenerated value
   2. Model: Enter activity.event
   3. Field: Enter the Choice Field name from Step 1
   4. Value: Enter a lowercase, no-spaces identifier for the new option (e.g. `vervet_monkey`)
   5. Display: Enter how you want the choice to appear in the dropdown
   6. Ordernum: Specify a display order with a numerical value. 
      1. Lower Ordernum values appear higher in the list. 
      2. Choices are listed alphabetically if no order is provided (e.g. using the same Ordernum for all choices)
4. Save the new entry

To adjust the available dropdown options

1. In the Administration website, go to Choices > Choices
2. Use the Search box to enter the Choice Field identifier you'd like to edit the choice options for Step 1 (e.g., "wildlifesightingrep_species") and press the Search button. This will filter the list to show all choice values related to this Choice Field identifier
3. Edit the Display column of an item to update how this choice item appears in a dropdown list or adjust values in the Ordernum column to specify the display order for each choice.

Disabling Dropdown Choices

Rather than deleting a choice option, it is recommended to disable the option instead of removing or updating it. Disabling the option makes it unavailable for new Events while retaining it in past Events.

1. Search for the relevant Choice Field or specific Choice on the Choices page
2. Select the checkbox for the Choice(s) you want to disable
3. From the Action dropdown select Disable selected choices and then click Go

Step 3: Verify the Dropdown Changes in Events

To confirm the changes in EarthRanger:

1. Refresh the EarthRanger web application
2. Create a new Event of the type you modified (e.g., Human Wildlife Contact)
3. Check the dropdown to confirm the new choices display as configured
    

Following these steps allows administrators to customize Event dropdown choices to reflect site-specific classifications and improve usability for EarthRanger users.

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