Project setup

The Project tab in Configuration is where you tell Onsite which project you're currently working on. Onsite configures itself for one project at a time, and every form you create is automatically tied to that project.

See Forms & projects for the conceptual background on why Onsite works this way.

Project number rules

Project numbers are restrictive because they double as folder names on disk and may appear in URLs in future online features. Allowed characters:

• Letters (A-Z, a-z)

• Numbers (0-9)

• Hyphens (-)

• Underscores (_)

Spaces and special characters (*, @, #, /, and similar) are not allowed. If you type a disallowed character, Onsite automatically replaces it with an underscore.

Be careful reusing a project number. Onsite saves forms into a folder named after the project number. If you reuse an old project number for a new investigation, new forms mix into the old project's folder, and sorting them out afterwards is painful. Use a fresh project number for every new investigation.

Two modes: manual vs GeoDinML-driven

You can choose how Onsite gets project details (project number, client name, location list). Set this in Configuration → Integration → Project metadata.

Manual mode (default)

You type the project number and metadata directly into the Project tab. Fast and simple, but:

• No validation — you can mistype a project number

• No list of past projects — you have to remember what you used

• No cross-check against a master list

GeoDinML-driven mode

In this mode, you provide a GeoDinML file containing a list of projects. Onsite reads the file and populates the Project tab with a dropdown of project numbers, each pre-populated with its associated client name and locations.

This is useful for teams with a central project database. One person exports a GeoDinML file from GeoDin Desktop containing the current list of active projects — just the project and location headers, no sample or measurement data, so the file stays small. The file is shared to the team; each person loads it in Onsite, and the dropdown keeps everyone consistent.

When the list of active projects changes, export a fresh GeoDinML and reload it.

Onsite does not connect directly to a GeoDin database — it only reads GeoDinML files. This is by design: Onsite is built to work offline in the field.

Project settings

Within the Project tab you also set:

• Project number (as above)

• Client name

• Client number

• Project description

These values auto-fill into every form you create under this project, saving repeated data entry. For additional auto-fill fields (crew names, rig, units), see Form defaults.

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See also

• Forms & projects — the conceptual background

• Form defaults — other fields that auto-fill into forms