Subjects in EarthRanger represent real-life entities being tracked, such as an elephant named Horton or a helicopter identified as Focke-Wulf. This guide outlines how to add, view, edit, and manage subjects effectively within the EarthRanger Administration interface.

Managing Subjects

To manage subjects:

1. Navigate to Home > Observations > Subjects in the EarthRanger Administration interface.
2. From here you can view all subjects in the EarthRanger site.
3. Clicking on a subject's name allows you to view more details and make changes to that subject (such as assigning sources, see more about sources here: Manage Subject–Source Assignments for Accurate Tracking)

Viewing and Editing Subject Details

Click on any subject name in the list to open its details page, where you can review and update its settings, including its name, subtype, active status, common name, and group assignments.
 

Subject Settings Overview

Each subject includes the following settings:

• ID: A unique, non-editable identifier for the subject (e.g., 000c5333-7e08-4b69-8332-cb9b4ec2460d).
• Name: A custom name for the subject (e.g., Horton or Focke-Wulf).
• Subject Subtype: Classifies the subject within a broader type, for example, "Cheetah" under "Wildlife," or "Patrol Boat" under "Vehicle." The subtype determines the icon displayed for the subject on the map. See Managing Subject Types and Subtypes in EarthRanger
• Active: Indicates if the subject is visible on the map and in the Subjects tab.
• Common Name: A general name for the subtype (e.g., White Rhino).
• Groups: Lists any existing Subject Groups that can be assigned to the selected subject.
• Subject Attributes: Includes RGB trail color, sex, external ID and External Name.
• Advanced Attributes: Additional data like creation or update timestamps.
• Source Assignments: Shows the source linked to the subject. For more information about Source Assignment visit Managing Sources. 
• Latest Observations: Displays recent observations (location data) for the subject. 

  Note: To understand more bout the Subject Settings visit Subject Types 

   

Disabling / Deactivating Subjects

When a user, ER Mobile device or animal tracker is no longer in use, a vehicle is decommissioned, or tracking equipment is no longer in use, deactivate the subject rather than deleting it. Deactivation preserves historical tracking data while removing the subject from active views.

Why deactivate instead of delete?

• Maintains complete historical movement data and observations
• Preserves source assignments and data associations
• Prevents data gaps in reports and analytics
• Reversible if you need to restore the subject

How to deactivate a subject:

1. Navigate to Home > Observations > Subjects
2. Select the subject you want to deactivate
3. Uncheck the "Active" checkbox
4. Click Save at the bottom of the page

Deactivated subjects will no longer appear on the map, in layers, or in subject selection dropdowns (e.g. “reported by”), but their historical tracking data remains accessible for reports and analysis.

Using the Action Menu

The Action menu on the Subjects page allows you to:

• Export: Save subject data as a .csv file.
• Delete (Use with Caution)
  • ⚠️ Warning: Deleting a subject is permanent and cannot be undone. This action removes all associated tracking data, observations, and source assignments.
  • Only delete subjects in exceptional circumstances where complete removal is necessary. In most cases, deactivating subjects is the preferred approach. To delete a subject, select it from the list and choose the delete option from the Action menu.
• Assign Random Trail Color: Generate a random RGB color for the subject’s trail (see more below).

Importing Track Data for a Subject

EarthRanger supports two ways to bring historical tracking data into the system for a subject: importing a CSV file using the CSV Observation Import Wizard, or importing a GPX file directly from the subject's profile.

Which format should I use?

Both methods bring historical tracking data into EarthRanger — the right one usually comes down to what format your existing data is already in.

• If your tracking device or app exports GPX files natively (common with GPS collars, handheld GPS units, and many tracking apps), use the GPX import to bring that data in directly.
• If your data is in a spreadsheet or CSV file — or you need to combine/clean data from multiple sources before importing — use the CSV Observation Import Wizard, which lets you map your existing columns to EarthRanger's fields.

Importing CSV data

Use the CSV Observation Import Wizard to bring in historical tracking data from a standard CSV file with location and timestamp columns.

1. Navigate to Home > Observations > Import Observations.
2. Upload your CSV file and map its columns to the required EarthRanger observation fields.
3. Click Import to convert the mapped rows into observations.

For the full walkthrough, including column mapping and troubleshooting, see Importing Observations Using the CSV Observation Import Wizard.

Importing GPX data

You can also import a GPX file directly from a subject's profile.

1. Navigate to Home > Observations > Subjects and open the subject you want to add tracking data to.
2. On the subject's profile, scroll just below the Source Assignments section to find the GPX Data imports.
3. Click the button to open the GPX import window.
4. Add a description (optional) and select your GPX file to upload.

Note: Only track point data is imported. Waypoints and route points in the file are ignored.

Each import is logged in a table showing:

Exporting a Track Data for a Subject

• Select a subject from the list.
• In the Action menu, choose Export as .csv file.
• Click Go to download the file to your local directory.

Assigning a Random Trail Color

• Select a subject from the list.
• In the Action menu, choose Assign a random color.
• Click Go to apply a random RGB value 
• The random RGB color will appear in the Subject Attributes (e.g., 255, 255, 0).

Adding a New Subject

To add a subject:

1. Go to Home > Observations > Subjects, then select Add a Subject.
2. Enter the required settings: Name and Subtype.
    

Note: Subjects must be added to a group to appear on the map. You can assign groups during creation or later on the subject details page.