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Exploring a Datasheet
Access datasheets from the Find a datasheet function when you know its name, through the Compendium Search or via the Diagnostic Search (for pest species), or via a Softlink.
Full Datasheets: Datasheets on individual pests of importance to agriculture have been written specifically for the Compendium by hundreds of specialists worldwide (see Contributors for a full list of acknowledgements). Overall, around 1900 full datasheets are available. When searching for a datasheet, Full datasheets are indicated by a red dot in the Find-a-datasheet search page. There are also Outline datasheets, indicated by a blue dot and Basic datasheets, indicated by a black ring.
Datasheets can be of several types and contain various components: a cover sheet and a number of features accessed through the pale grey datasheet Menu bar.
The cover page consists of summary text on the left of the window which contains basic information about the datasheet, and on the right a cover picture and a world distribution map.
Further parts of the datasheet are accessible from the main datasheet Menu bar, the composition of which will change to reflect the contents of the datasheet.
The menu choices are:
The information menu contains textual information and tables, giving more information about the subject of the datasheet. Click on an item on the drop-down list to see more. This information will appear on the screen. To return to the cover page, select that option from the Information menu. The categories used in the Information menu come from a defined list. Most datasheets contain the following sections:
Other sections are specific to the datasheet type.
The sections may also be compiled into a Report.
Selecting a particular word or phrase and selecting the 'Softlinking' feature (on the right of the menu bar) will perform a search for related information, e.g. a Pest, a Country, a Crop, a Natural Enemy, a Glossary definition, or a reference from the Bibliography.
Names include scientific and common names from many countries. All organisms are linked to the Taxonomic Tree.
Distribution information is also represented graphically as Maps, and contains distribution data supplied by our authors and mined from the CAB Abstracts database and the EPPO-PQR database.
References cited within the text of a datasheet are also listed separately. These references to journal articles, books, theses, websites, etc. are where possible attached to the relevant abstract from the CAB Abstracts database. Cited references and abstracts can be viewed directly from within a datasheet, or from the Compendium Search facility. You can Softlink to the reference details from a citation in the text.
Datasheets or Notepad entries may contain weblinks embedded in the text or references. The open architecture of the Compendium allows links to be made to external information resources, such as additional bibliographic databases, and the resources of the World Wide Web. In use, the Compendium becomes part of the global resources of the WWW, including particularly the web community icmfocus.com. Important weblinks on Plant Quarantine and other topics can also be found in the Library.
The Compendium contains over 6500 illustrations, mainly of pest species, their growth stages and symptoms caused.
Pictures for a datasheet may be accessed by clicking the cover page picture, or by selecting Pictures and Show all Pictures from the Menu bar. Pictures may be seen full size by clicking on a thumbnail.
Pictures may be included in Reports, or copied into the clipboard (click the right mouse button for the option) and from there into a document of your choice. Note that pictures are Copyrighted. Contact us if necessary for further details of the copyright holder. Images may be used only in accordance with our Fair Use Statement.
Further illustrations are to be found in the Library.
A database contains country distribution data for all the species covered. This provides the data for a GIS that presents the user with a dynamic mapping capability in which geographic data are automatically projected as distribution maps, global and regional, which can be compared with the distribution of another pest, natural enemy or crop.
Maps may be accessed by clicking on the world map on the cover page, or by selecting from the options on the Maps option on the menu bar. Maps plot information recorded in the Distribution table.
To maximize the world-view map, click on the map on the cover sheet or select from menus.
Maps can be shown for a number of different world regions:
In addition, you can choose to have the underlying map as a soil or climate map, or revert to the normal view.
Distribution records on maps are derived from the distribution table, which can be accessed from the Information menu. Records are displayed on maps as dots of different colours. A key to these dots is displayed underneath the full-sized map. Distribution can be described as:
This information is also presented as a yellow pop-up box when you move the arrow cursor over a particular dot.
A left mouse button click over a particular region of the world map will show the more detailed map of that region.
The Countries and regions used on the distribution maps have their own datasheets, from which you may access particular information about that area, particularly Statistics.
The Notepad function is available from datasheets as well as from the main Menu Bar. This allows you to record your own datasheet-specific notes, as well as more general notes. Once you have saved a note, you can Softlink from the notepad view, using the button provided in the notepad view window (right of menu bar).
To generate a report in HTML from a datasheet, open the Report menu and select Generate Report. This allows you to build a report containing the sections you want. For more information, see the separate section on Reports.
Agricultural production, land use, pesticides trade statistics and other economic data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and US Department of Agriculture Foreign Agriculture Service (USDA-FAS) are presented. Data are linked to a graphical interface, allowing the user to specify and generate visual presentations.
Statistical data are displayed on Country datasheets.
To view the FAOSTAT data select FAO Statistics from the menu bar, and one of the options from the drop down menu:
To view the USDA-FAS-PSD, select FAS Statistics from the menu bar, and plot the data in the same way as described for the FAO Statistics.
Outline datasheets: contains some information from a specialist, supplemented with information compiled by our experienced editorial team; many but not all of the features of full datasheets are present in outline datasheets.
Basic datasheets: Outline data are available for a much broader range of species and are indicated by a black ring. Species names and synonyms, and links to geographic data and pest host records, have been downloaded from the CAB Abstracts bibliographic databases by a process of 'data mining', and automatically cross-checked. These data provide useful indications of the identity, distribution and relationships of these species, but it must be noted that data in this form have not been manually checked by experts.