Support

Help, troubleshooting and contact for the Baseline Environmental™ field app and Platform.

1. Contact

The fastest way to reach us is by email. We aim to reply within 5 Australian business days. For App Store reviewer questions please use the reviewer-specific address so we can prioritise.

Operated by Baseline Environmental Pty Ltd (ACN 698 391 490; ABN 73 698 391 490), based in Australia. All times are Australian Western Standard Time (AWST, UTC+8) unless noted.

2. Field App: Two Modes

The Baseline Environmental field app (iOS and Android) operates in two user-selectable modes. Most support questions come down to understanding which mode you're in. The mode chooser appears on first launch and the current mode is shown at the top of the Sync screen.

2.1 Local Survey Mode

  • No account, no sign-in, no servers involved.
  • Surveys, photos, GPS tracks, drafts and incident reports are stored on your device only.
  • The only network requests made in this mode are map tile requests (Esri, OpenStreetMap, OpenTopoMap, and Digital Earth Australia) and optional species reference image lookups (Atlas of Living Australia).
  • To get your data out, use Sync → Export Backup (JSON), or any of the interchange exports (CSV, GeoJSON, KML, GPX, photo manifest, photo bundle, PDF photo sheet).

2.2 Team Workspace Mode

  • Sign in with a Baseline workspace account (pairing code, manual login, or API key).
  • Surveys, photos, GPS tracks and incidents sync over HTTPS to your organisation's tenant on api.baselineenvironmental.com.au.
  • Local Survey Mode data is NOT automatically uploaded if you later sign in. You always choose whether to upload.
  • Account-level data deletion is handled by your tenant administrator on the Platform.

3. Exporting Your Data

The field app ships with seven export formats. Every format works in both Local and Team mode, against whatever survey data is currently on your device.

  • JSON backup — full snapshot of unsynced data. Best for moving data between devices or restoring after a reinstall.
  • CSV — surveys with a documented stable column schema. Drops straight into Excel, Google Sheets, or any tabular tool.
  • GeoJSON — sites, surveys, incidents, GPS tracks and waypoints as FeatureCollections. Opens in QGIS or ArcGIS without conversion.
  • KML — Google Earth and Avenza Maps compatible.
  • GPX — Garmin, OruxMaps, generic GPS devices.
  • Photo manifest CSV — a spreadsheet listing every photo with its filename, parent survey, GPS coordinates and timestamp.
  • Photo bundle ZIP — all photos for the current selection in a single ZIP.
  • PDF photo sheet — printable client deliverable.

All exports are saved through the system share sheet, so you can send them to Files, iCloud Drive, Google Drive, email, AirDrop, Nearby Share, or any other app that accepts files.

4. Deleting Your Data

4.1 Local Survey Mode

All data lives in the app's sandboxed storage on your device. Deleting the app from iOS or Android removes the IndexedDB and Capacitor Filesystem contents, including surveys, photos, GPS tracks, drafts, incidents and consent records.

If you exported a backup file (for example to iCloud Drive or Files), that copy is outside the app sandbox and Baseline cannot delete it for you. You control retention of those exported files.

4.2 Team Workspace Mode

Signing out clears the active session and cached credentials on the device. To delete data already synced to your tenant, request deletion through your tenant administrator on the Platform, or email privacy@baselineenvironmental.com.au for an account-level deletion request.

For full privacy detail see our Privacy Policy and our obligations under the Australian Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

5. Troubleshooting

5.1 GPS isn't working

  • Open iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services → Baseline Environmental. Make sure access is set to "While Using the App" or "Always".
  • On Android, open Settings → Apps → Baseline Environmental → Permissions → Location and allow location access while using the app.
  • Some Apple devices restrict precise location for some apps. Confirm that "Precise Location" is enabled for Baseline Environmental.
  • If GPS shows a fix but the accuracy circle is wide, give it 30–60 seconds outdoors with a clear sky view.
  • If the GPS consent screen rejects you on first launch, you can re-open it from the Sync screen.

5.2 Sync is failing (Team mode only)

  • Open the Sync screen and look at the connection status. If it says "Offline", sync will resume when a connection returns.
  • If you see "Authentication expired", sign out and sign in again. Your queued surveys stay on the device until they upload successfully.
  • Photos upload separately from survey records and can take longer on a poor connection. The Sync screen shows the photo upload progress.
  • If a specific item fails repeatedly, tap it to see the failure reason. Common causes: file too large, project archived, or a server-side validation error your tenant admin can resolve.

5.3 Map tiles are blank

  • Tiles need an internet connection on first viewing. Once cached, the same tiles work offline for 7 days.
  • If tiles fail to load after that window, open the Map screen briefly while online to refresh the cache.
  • For long field trips into known areas, download an offline map pack from the Map screen before you leave signal.

5.4 Storage is filling up

  • Open Sync → Manage Storage. The screen shows what's using space and offers per-category clearing.
  • Cached map tiles and species reference images are the largest non-survey items and are safe to clear — they re-download when you next need them.
  • Export a backup before clearing anything you cannot easily re-download (e.g. completed surveys not yet synced).

5.5 The app won't open or crashes on launch

  • Force-quit the app (swipe up in the app switcher) and reopen.
  • Make sure the device is on a supported version: iOS 15 or later, or Android 7 or later for V1.
  • If you have cloud or file backup enabled (per the recovery onboarding), you can reinstall the app from the App Store or Google Play and restore from the backup file on first launch.
  • If the crash continues, email support@baselineenvironmental.com.au with your device model and OS version. If you have opted into Apple's "Share With App Developers" setting in iOS Settings → Privacy & Security → Analytics & Improvements, an anonymised iOS crash report may already be on its way to us.

6. Pricing and Subscriptions

The V1 release of the field app is free. There are no in-app purchases and no subscriptions. Future paid features and team-tier billing will be announced before they ship — we will never silently add charges to an existing install.

Team Workspace pricing for organisations using the Platform is handled directly via admin@baselineenvironmental.com.au.

7. Known Issues

Active known issues are tracked here as the V1 release rolls out. There are currently no published issues. If you find a problem not already listed, please email support@baselineenvironmental.com.au with steps to reproduce and your device model + OS version.

8. Resources

  • Privacy Policy — what we collect, how we use it, how to access and correct it
  • Terms of Service — the agreement that covers your use of the field app and Platform

9. Accessibility

We target WCAG 2.2 AA compliance for the field app and Platform. The field app supports system text-size settings, VoiceOver and TalkBack on critical paths (Survey, Map, Sync), reduced-motion preferences, and high-contrast colour pairs that remain legible in bright outdoor conditions.

If you encounter an accessibility issue, please email support@baselineenvironmental.com.au with the specific screen or interaction so we can prioritise the fix.