Snapshots

A Snapshot is a point-in-time capture of a survey mark's data. When you save a mark to your Ledger, Benchmrk records the mark's current state as a Snapshot. Over time, you can accumulate multiple Snapshots for the same mark and compare how its data has changed.

Why Snapshots matter

Survey mark data isn't static. Over time, marks can be:

• Re-surveyed with updated coordinates or accuracy classes.
• Status-changed (e.g. from active to destroyed).
• Updated with new metadata from the jurisdiction's data source.

Snapshots give you a historical record so you can see what the data looked like at any point in time, not just the current live state.

How Snapshots are created

Snapshots are created through the Capture form in the point details panel. When you capture a snapshot, the form records:

• A title (auto-generated with the mark ID and date, editable).
• An optional description for your notes.
• Optional tags for organisation.
• All metadata fields from the mark's current state.
• Coordinate information (latitude, longitude, and any projected coordinates).
• Status and accuracy class values.
• The timestamp of when the Snapshot was taken.
• Optionally attached reports (PDF, TIFF) fetched from the jurisdiction's data source.

Creating a Snapshot

1. Open the point details panel for a mark.
2. Click the Capture button in the action bar.
3. Review and edit the title, add a description and tags if desired.
4. Choose which reports to attach (Benchmrk PDF report and/or government reports).
5. Click Save Snapshot.

The snapshot is saved to your Ledger in a two-step process: first the snapshot data is created, then any attached report files are uploaded separately.

Creating additional Snapshots

You can create multiple Snapshots for the same mark over time. Each time you open a mark and click Capture, a new Snapshot is added to that mark's history. This lets you track changes without removing and re-adding the mark.

Viewing Snapshot history

To see a mark's Snapshot history:

1. Open the mark from your Ledger or by clicking it on the map.
2. In the point details panel, click the Snapshots tab.
3. You'll see a list of all Snapshots for that mark, with the count shown in the tab label.
4. Click any Snapshot to view the data as it was at that point in time.

When viewing a Snapshot, the panel switches to a "snapshot mode" with a dark header bar showing the snapshot title and capture date. Click Live to return to the mark's current data.

Each Snapshot entry shows:

• Title — The name you gave the snapshot (or the auto-generated default).
• Date and time the Snapshot was created.
• Tags applied to the snapshot.

Comparing Snapshots

Comparing Snapshots lets you see what changed between two points in time:

• Coordinate changes — Did the mark's position get refined?
• Status changes — Was the mark active then but destroyed now?
• Accuracy updates — Did the horizontal or vertical class improve?
• Metadata changes — Were any descriptive fields updated?

tip

Regular Snapshots are valuable for long-running projects. If you're monitoring marks over months or years, periodic Snapshots create a change log that helps you understand how the survey control network is evolving.

Snapshots and reports

Snapshots can have reports attached to them. When you fetch a jurisdiction-specific report (PDF sketch plan, TIFF image, etc.) for a mark, the report is associated with the Snapshot, preserving the report alongside the data state at that time.

Snapshot data vs live data

It's important to understand the difference:

• Snapshot data — Frozen at the time of capture. Doesn't change even if the jurisdiction updates the mark's live data.
• Live data — The current state from the jurisdiction's data source. May differ from your Snapshot if the mark has been updated since you captured it.

warning

Always check the live data before using a mark for professional survey work. Snapshots are a historical reference, not a substitute for current data.