FieldHelper

Phone: +61 2 9351 7667
Fax: +61 2 9351 3644
Email: ian.johnson@sydney.edu.au

FieldHelper was developed from 2006 at the Archaeological Computing Laboratory, University of Sydney, in response to the need for a method of managing the volume of file-based information generated during fieldwork (images, recordings, notes, plans, GPS tracks etc.). 

FieldHelper indexes files in user-defined folders and their sub-folders, and displays them along a timeline of data collection. It uses a unique drag-and-tag interface to generate metadata, including spatial metadata, without typing, and generates XML repository packages without programming. It provides a robust methodology to maintain XML manifests for each folder and sub-folder indexed.

Summary of development history:

• Version 0 (2006): ACL staff, Tom Honeyman (Paradisec)
  Java, APSR funding ($70,000)
• Version 1 (2007): Ian Johnson, Tom Murtagh, Kim Jackson (ACL)
  Java, internal funding
• Version 2 (2008-9): Ian Johnson, Artem Osmakov (ACL)
  Flash, internal funding
• Version 3 (2010-): Intersect NSW
  tbd, Australian National Data Service funding ($250,000)

See Current Version and 2006, 2007 reports for a full history of the development and screenshots of the different versions.