Self-service API keys and place search on the map

From today you can manage your API keys yourself, directly from your account settings, without having to go through our team. API keys are used to connect the platform to other systems and to read your sites' data automatically, for example from spreadsheets, company dashboards or third-party software. With this new feature you can create a new key, give each one a name so you remember its purpose, and revoke it when it is no longer needed. Everything happens in a few clicks, completely on your own and at any time. This greatly speeds up integrations and gives you full control over who and what can access your data. To manage your keys go to XNatura → Settings → API Keys. From there you see the list of active keys and you can generate new ones or safely deactivate them. Remember to keep each key in a safe place, because it is shown in full only at the moment of creation.

We have added a search bar for places and coordinates to the position pickers on the monitoring map. When you need to place a site, an area or a point, you can now simply type the name of a locality, an address or geographic coordinates and the map takes you straight to the right spot. Before, you had to pan and zoom manually until you found the desired area, a slow operation especially for distant or little-known places. With integrated search a few characters are enough to centre the map exactly where you need it. This makes creating and editing areas much faster, reducing the time spent navigating the map. To use it go to XNatura → Monitoring → Map and type your search in the bar at the top. You can search by city name, address or coordinates in decimal format. Finding the exact point on the map has never been so immediate.

In the census Summary section you can now download charts and data with a single click. Each chart can be exported as a PNG image, ready to drop into a presentation or a document, while the data for the most relevant species can be downloaded in CSV format to be analysed in a spreadsheet. This lets you easily take the monitoring results out of the platform, to share them with colleagues, consultants or stakeholders. Before, you had to recreate tables and charts by hand, now a few seconds are enough to have a ready-to-use file. The feature is particularly useful for those who prepare periodic reports or presentations on biodiversity results. To use it go to XNatura → Monitoring → Census → Summary and look for the download buttons next to each chart. Choose the format you prefer, image or table, and the file is generated instantly. This way your data is always ready to be told and shared.

We have added a new map layer dedicated to agricultural land use systems at the European level. This cartographic layer, based on official European data, shows how agricultural land is organised and used across the different regions, distinguishing for example arable areas, pastures or permanent crops. Displaying it directly on your site helps you frame the agricultural context that surrounds it and interpret environmental indicators better. It is a valuable tool for those who work on rural territories or on areas where agriculture plays an important role. The layer can be turned on and off like the other information layers on the map. To display it go to XNatura → Monitoring → Site → Map → Layers and select the new layer dedicated to agricultural land use. You can overlay it on the other data to compare the agricultural context with your areas of interest. A more complete picture of the territory leads to more solid assessments.

The report generator takes a big step forward in handling text content and tables. Long tables now spread automatically across multiple pages without cuts or overlaps, so even the bulkiest data stays readable in the final document. Inside cells you can insert line breaks to organise the information better, and you can create bulleted and numbered lists to make texts clearer. We have also reorganised the block menu by grouping items by type, so you can find the element you need more quickly. All these improvements make reports more professional and faster to build. To try them go to XNatura → Monitoring → Site → Report and add or edit a text block or a table. You will immediately see the new controls for lists, line breaks and automatic pagination. Composing a tidy and complete document thus becomes much simpler.

We have improved several aspects of the census observations gallery. Thumbnails now keep a stable four-to-three ratio, eliminating the irregular crops that sometimes made the grid look untidy. When you open an observation in detail the image is always shown in full, with no cropping, so you can clearly see what was photographed. We have also fixed the display of camera-trap shots, which now show the real frame captured in the field instead of a generic photo. Finally, site editors can now delete observations when needed, without having to ask an administrator. All these fixes make consulting the observations tidier, more faithful and more practical. To see the changes go to XNatura → Monitoring → Census → Observations and open the gallery. The images look immediately more polished and consistent with each other.

We have fixed an annoyance in navigating between different sites. Before, when you moved from one site to another, the platform always brought you back to the initial page, forcing you to manually find again the section you were working on. Now instead the current sub-page is kept: if you are looking at the map, the census or a chart, you find the same section even after switching site. This is particularly handy when you need to compare the same type of data across several sites, one after another. The result is much smoother and more consistent navigation, with no unnecessary steps. The fix is already active automatically for all users, you don't have to do anything to benefit from it. To notice it, open a monitoring section and use the site selector to switch site. You will find yourself exactly where you were, ready to continue your work.