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Getting Started with Z3

This document explains how to create your workspace and get started the first time you run Z3.

  1. Download the Sample Schema (Zooplankton).
    • To use Z3, you will need to create a Workspace file. This file is a database that will house all your data: your counts and measurements, your samples and subsamples, and your species list (or however you identify your counted individuals). It will also contain metadata which describes what kinds of data are stored for your samples, subsamples, and species, and what kinds of measurements you are making. This metadata is copied from a Schema file, so a Schema file is essentially a template for your workspaces.
    • NOTE: The Z3 Metadata in the Schema files can be created and modified using the Schema Editor Tool. This tool has not been written yet. Instead, Daniel has manually created a Schema file that contains the Zoopomatic2 metadata. That is the Sample Schema.
  2. Open Z3. Look on the Start Menu under Synergy, UW Center for Limnology, or Z3, depending on when you installed it.
  3. Go to File > New Workspace.
  4. Select the Sample Schema that you downloaded.
  5. Choose where to save your Workspace file. This will house all your data and must be on a local hard drive. Z3 will remember the last file you opened and open it again next time.
  6. Create species, or Import species data from a CSV file. See this page to find out how to format your CSV file for import.

At this point, you have set up your workspace and can begin using it to take measurements. See the Usage section for further instructions.