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What an ArkGrid ID is

Every place in Arkhub gets an ArkGrid ID when it is saved. It gives a place a stable reference even when it has no name, such as an unnamed mound or a newly noticed feature. The ID comes from the place’s location, so two people recording the same spot land in the same cell.

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How it is built

An ArkGrid ID has three parts: ARK-{CELL}-{SEQUENCE}.
  • ARK: a fixed prefix.
  • CELL: a six-character code for the 1 km square the place is in. Every place in the same square shares this code.
  • SEQUENCE: a four-digit number that orders the places in that square. The first place saved in a square gets 0001, the second 0002, and so on.

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The cells

Arkhub uses the Military Grid Reference System (MGRS), which many surveyors already use. MGRS divides the world into 1 km squares, each with a name such as 11SNT1234. Arkhub turns that name into a short six-character code, so the ID stays easy to read and write. MGRS does not cover the polar caps. Places above 84° N or below 80° S use a small latitude and longitude cell instead, so every coordinate on Earth has an ArkGrid ID.

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Why it matters

Stable

An ArkGrid ID never changes. Editing the record, or moving its pin a little, keeps the same ID.

Unique

Two places never share an ID. Places in the same square differ by their sequence number.

Readable

Shorter than coordinates, and easy to say or write in field notes.

Grouped

Places in the same 1 km square share the cell code, so neighbours are easy to spot.

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Where you see it

  • On a record’s page. Copy it from the record’s More menu.
  • As a column in a repository table. Add it from Edit properties; it is added for you when you add records by picking areas on a map.
  • When you add records to a repository, you can pick them by their 1 km cells on a map.

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FAQ

No. Places in the same 1 km square share the cell code but have different sequence numbers.
No. Once a record is saved, its ID stays the same.
The ID names a 1 km square, not a point. The exact coordinates are on the record itself.
Only records with a location on the map get one.