Whatbird.com

Use this forum to discuss the Winged Toolbar from Whatbird. You can ask questions about how it works, get help for bugs you find, suggest new features, in other words what ever you feel like.

What is it and Where is it?

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Matthew 6:26
James 1:2-5

I like to call it an "instant field guide to birds". Install it in Internet Explorer and it basically whittles down North American species names as you type. Hit Enter or click the name and it gives you the species page at whatbird.com.

Where is it? Very close to announcing a limited beta in the forum, which will last for a few weeks. If anyone happens to find this message and would like to be a tester, please send a message using the contact form.

sounds like the search engine on the Whatbird homepage.  So this would be for anyone who doesn't keep Whatbird on the their toolbar all the time already.  What would being a tester involve?

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Matthew 6:26
James 1:2-5

You may have misunderstood. The toolbar is like the google toolbar you can add to IE, where you type into the box and Google not only will open a page with that keyword, but as you type it offers suggestions. With Winged Toolbar when you click a suggested bird name the species page opens.

Testing is simply using it and giving feedback on this page about how it worked for you.

I wouldn't mind testing it out for you, but I don't use IE...  don't suppose there's a Firefox version, is there?

Will it work with Vista?  If so, I'd be willing to test it for you

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Matthew 6:26
James 1:2-5

No Firefox version yet, we first want to make sure 70% of the browser market is okay with it.

FF requires a whole different approach to toolbars than IE.

But its definitly important and on our list.

Yes it works with XP or Vista.

OK.  Just let me know when and how

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Matthew 6:26
James 1:2-5

We are working on a list of new features to add to the Winged Toolbar. Would anyone like to contribute their ideas? You can just add them here.

It would be nice if, under where it says "Birds of North America" it would drop down a list of each state or province,which we could select and get a list of birds common to that state/province and then be able to get info on a certain bird from there.

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Matthew 6:26
James 1:2-5

I was thinking along those same lines but thought why limit it to just state, why not put all the whabird search criteria in the menu. Look at this for example

http://www.whatbird.com/wingedtoolbar/rev2.jpg

You can see the family attribute is selected and its waiting for a family to be selected. What happens next has several possibilities.

1. Narrow the drop down list so it shows just those birds selected with the attribute-value menu. Then you can select any bird in the list and it would open that species account page for you like now. (Note I show the attribute:value in the combo box so its clear what has been selected even when that menu is closed.

2. Open the search page on whatbird,com with the birds that resulted from the attribute-value selection (for example all the birds in California).

For this to be realistically useful it would be limited to just ONE attribute-value ssearch election. To add yet another choice would make the entire interface much more complicated. Not that it cant be done or that its a bad idea. Its just a much larger and more complex job.

That looks good.  I don't understand all the technical stuff but it looks like it would be very useful.

Also, I've tried to change my email address under my profile but I get an error message.  All the responses are coming to my work email and I need them to come to my personal address.  Can you help me?

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Matthew 6:26
James 1:2-5

There is a new sticky note at the top of the Help Me Identify a Bird forum that will show you how to control your email. You set the email address things are sent to in your user account - click on your name in the upper right of the screen when logged in.