Updating a Life List to include the latest splits and taxonomic changes can be a laborious task. We are often asked for, and want ourselves, a tool that simplifies and perhaps automates updates of IOC Life List Excel spreadsheets.
Here are beta versions of two such tools, courtesy of Peter Kavalik and Phil Tizzard.
#1. Kovalik IOC Transfer Tool
The Kovalik Tool uses a Transfer File that works with Excel on both PCs and Macs. It requires that the rows on the previous version are up-to-date and do not contain extra rows with potential splits, for example. The taxa in the two files must be in the same sequence, which may require manual preparation. We are exploring ways to make the tool respond to taxonomic sequence changes.
Basic Steps:
This tool transfers a column of information, for example “My List,” from an older version (e.g. 2.11) of the IOC Life List Excel spreadsheet to the new version (3.1) that includes updates of scientific names, taxonomy, ranges, English names etc. The new version also includes newly accepted splits, but may require manual updates of these on “My List”.
It is possible to add all previous versions of IOC, also columns of scientific or English names of previous versions or ID cards instead of numeration of rows (see BirdLife Checklist) etc if required.
#2. Tizzard IOC Update Tool
This tool transfers the content of the “My List” column of an old version (e.g. 2.9) of the IOC Life List to the corresponding species in a later version. It automatically deals correctly with species whose English or Scientific names have been changed from one version to the next. The Tizzard Tool uses an Update File that includes an imbedded Visual Basic macro that works on a PC, but not (yet) on a Macintosh computer.