Introduction

This is the manual for the BatScope 4.

We can improve BatScope 4 and this manual with your feedback to the BatScope email!

Furthermore, with BatScope Talk , there also exists a discussion group for BatScope.

You may request to participate with a respective request to the BatScope email!

Features

With BatScope, you can

  • transfer recordings from BatLogger and other devices to a database on your computer.

  • search, filter and sort your database of recordings using a large selection of filtering options.

  • view spectrograms and play your recordings at different speeds.

  • cut recordings into single animal calls.

  • automatically analyze and classify calls to species.

  • export your data and results to easily share them with other users.

  • directly open recordings in any audio editor like Audacity or Raven Pro 1.4 or 1.5.

  • view GPS records of recordings mapped in Google Earth.

With BatScope 4, you can now additionally

  • play back your recordings in frequency division, heterodyne or real time mode.

  • use six different classification systems.

  • check your species classifications against recording location and species distribution.

  • define and save custom workflows and filters and exchange them with other users.

  • compare your recordings to reference recordings directly in BatScope.

  • share your verified classifications with the WSL to allow us to improve the software.

System Requirements

  • macOS 13 or newer, Windows 11

  • 8 GB RAM (16 GB recommended), 2 GHz dual core CPU

  • SD card reader for importing from BatLogger SD cards directly

(not recommended, but still working: macOS 10.10 or newer, or Windows 10+)

Includes

BatScope 4 comes with the following applications bundled. As such they will not interfere with existing installations of these programs and do not need to be installed separately. Bundled are:

  • Java 8 - for the main application

  • PostgreSQL 9.6 and 10 with PostGIS - for database and GIS storage

  • R 3.x - for performing classifications

To use the additional features described above, you will also need

Note

We link here to older versions of Raven. Most recent versions Raven Pro 1.6 and Raven Lite 2.0 will NOT work with BatScope.

Installation

macOS

To install BatScope 4, simply mount the provided disk image and drag the BatScope application to the desired location. We recommend installing to the Applications folder by dragging BatScope onto the provided link.

Note

After installing “Batscope”, the first launch attempt may fail due to Apple’s security framework:

For macOS Sonoma (v14) and earlier: To enable “Batscope 4”, control-click (hold the control key and click) on its icon in your folder and select “Open” from the context menu. A confirmation dialog will display where you need to click the Open button again. This only has to be done once.

For macOS Sequoia (v15) and newer: To enable “Batscope 4”, control-click (hold the control key and click) its icon in your folder and select “Open” from the context menu. A warning dialog will appear; click the Done button. Next, navigate to “System Settings > Privacy & Security” and scroll to the “Security” section. You should see a message stating that “Batscope” was blocked to protect your Mac. Click “Open Anyway”. A confirmation dialog will appear; click “Open Anyway” again. This only has to be done once.

User settings and log files are written to the user’s library folder ~/Library/Application Support/BatScope4.

To uninstall, simply delete the BatScope application. User settings and log files can be removed manually by deleting the directory mentioned above.

Important

BatScope will NOT work properly on an administrator account (due to PostgreSQL), you have to use a non-admininstrator account!

Warning

Removing the user settings folder will delete your settings and logs as well as your saved filters and custom processes!

Windows

Run the installer executable as administrator and follow the instructions on screen. Shortcuts will be created in the Programs section of the Start menu and on the desktop, as specified during installation.

Important

After installation, you have to switch to a non-admininstrator account to run BatScope4. It will NOT work properly on an administrator account (due to PostgreSQL)!

User settings and log files are written to %APPDATA%\BatScope 4.

To uninstall, launch the uninstaller as administrator from the Start menu or from the Add/Remove Programs panel in the system settings. During uninstallation you may choose to remove the user settings folder.

Note

As of BatScope V.4.2 new workspaces created (and old ones converted to PostgreSQL 10 [File > Upgrade DB to latest]) can be shared between platforms Windows <-> Mac. Older workspaces can only be shares through archiving of a workspace on one side and loading it again on the other side (see: Projects View)!

Warning

Never open a single workspace on a remote volume simultaneously with different instances of BatScope 4!

Registration

Registration of BatScope 4 is free and is valid for any number of copies of the software. The functionality of unregistered copies is not limited, but registration is required to upload data to WSL servers.

To register BatScope, use the dialog presented after startup. This dialog can also be shown using the option in the application menu. From here you can request a registration key by email. Please don’t forget to enter your name and email address before sending.