Preparing for Data Collection
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Allow pop-ups
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If it is your first-time collecting data with Collect Earth Online, or you have switched computers, you may need to allow pop-ups from the CEO site. CEO uses pop-up windows to display additional, relevant information about each plot through the Geo-Dash interface.

How to enable pop-ups varies based on the browser you are using. The most used browsers are discussed below. However, if your browser is not covered, simply search online for your browser name & “allow pop-ups” and the search engine should return relevant results.

**For Google Chrome:**

#. Check the address bar. If it is marked with a pop-up blocked icon (see image below), click on the **[popup blocked]** warning.
#. In the popup window that appears, select **Always allow pop-ups from https://collect.earth/.** Then click **[Done]**.
#. If there is no icon, follow the directions here: `Chrome Support <https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95472>`__.

.. figure:: ../_images/preparing1.png
   :alt: The pop-up blocked icon for Chrome.
   :align: center

**For Mozilla Firefox:**

#. Check for a yellow bar below the address bar (see image below). If there, click on the **[Options]** button.
#. In the popup window that appears, select **Allow pop-ups for** collect.earth.
#. If there is no icon, follow the directions here: `Mozilla Support <https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/pop-blocker-settings-exceptions-troubleshooting#w_pop-up-blocker-settings>`__.

.. figure:: ../_images/preparing2.png
   :alt: The pop-up blocked icon for Firefox.
   :align: center

Option 1: Work on a public project
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From the **Home** page, you can begin collecting data on public projects. There are map pins representing each project at the project location.

1. Select a project by first clicking on a **[map pin]**. Then from the pop-up **Project info** menu, click on the name of one of the projects in the pop-up window.

.. figure:: ../_images/preparing3.png
   :alt: Joining a public project.
   :align: center

2. This will take you to the **project’s homepage**, a screen that shows a **Map** of the whole study region on the left & the **Data Collection Toolbar** on the right.
3. Under **Plot Navigation**, Click the green **[Go to first plot]** button to begin collecting information.

.. figure:: ../_images/preparing4.png
   :alt: The project's homepage.
   :align: center

Option 2: Select a project from an institution
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If your institution has a specific project you want to work on, make sure you are logged in.

1. Click on your institution’s name on the left-hand side of the **Home** page. You may want to use the **Enter text to filter** box to find your institution.
2. A drop-down list of the institution’s available projects will open. Select the project of interest by clicking on the project’s name.

.. figure:: ../_images/preparing5.png
   :alt: Navigating to a project from an institution.
   :align: center
   :width: 60%

3. This will take you to the project’s home screen as described above.
4. Click the **[Go to first plot]** button to begin collecting information.
5. You can also go to a project through the **Institution’s** page via the **info button**. There are three colors of projects on the **Institution** page. 

   - Blue-green highlighted project names have completed data collection.
   - Yellow project names are partly collected.
   - Red project names have no data collected.