Suggested Project Setup for a Search or Recovery Case

Use this when

You are starting a search-and-rescue, dive-recovery, or structured survey operation and want a project layout that holds up across multiple scan days, operators, and handoffs.

Suggested project setup

Create one project per body of water and search period. Name it with the location and the date range: Lake Monroe, May 2025. Inside that project, keep every recording from that operation, regardless of scan type.

Within the project, use recording names to carry the detail. Rename scans as you import them using a short pattern that covers what matters most: grid-north-pass1, swath-channel-edge, deepwater-target-A. Consistent naming lets you sort visually and brief teammates without opening each file.

Assign one recording as your reference baseline, usually your first full-coverage pass. Pin that recording so it stays at the top of Home and opens in one click throughout the case.

If the operation produces side-scan and down-scan for the same area on the same day, keep both in the same project. Cross-referencing scan types is where most target confirmations happen.

When to break it into more than one project

Split into a second project when:

• The search area changes materially — a new lake, a different river segment, or a grid that does not overlap with the first. One project per distinct geographic scope keeps the recording list from growing unmanageable.
• A new search period starts after a break — if the team returns to the same water weeks later with a fresh grid plan, a new project with the new date range makes the timeline clear.
• You are handing off to a different team — give each team their own project so they can work and share without touching the primary case record.

Do not split by scan type (side-scan vs. down-scan) or by boat. Splitting on equipment creates gaps in the timeline and forces manual cross-referencing that a single project handles automatically.

What to share with the team

Before a handoff, walk through these four things:

1. Project name and date range — confirm both people are looking at the same project.
2. Reference recording — tell the incoming operator which recording is pinned and why it is the baseline.
3. Naming convention — share the pattern you used so they name new scans consistently.
4. Active targets: open each recording that contains a contact or annotation worth following up and brief on location, depth, and confidence level.

If the team is on a shared workspace plan, assign the project to the shared workspace so new recordings are visible to all members in real time.