The app

Put the Collective on your home screen.

The Herpetology Collective installs as an app on your phone, tablet or computer. On Windows, get it from the Microsoft Store (opens in a new tab); everywhere else, your browser installs it in a couple of taps. You get an icon, shortcuts, and course units you can read in the field with no signal. This page has the steps for your device, and it is where you manage offline reading.

Install

Get the app on this device

The site installs as an app on your phone, tablet or computer. On Windows it is in the Microsoft Store, on Android it is on Google Play, and everywhere else your browser installs it in a couple of taps. Either way it is the same site with its own icon, its own window, shortcuts, and offline reading for course units.

Checking your device…

Android
  1. Open The Herpetology Collective on Google Play (opens in a new tab).
  2. Tap Install. The icon appears on your home screen.

Prefer your browser? In Chrome, open the menu (the ⋮), tap Add to Home screen (it may read Install app), then Install. Courses and supporter memberships are bought on the website, not in the Google Play app.

Android (Samsung Internet)
  1. Open the menu (the ≡ in the bottom-right corner).
  2. Tap Add page to, then Home screen.
  3. Tap Add.
Android (Firefox)
  1. Open the menu (the ⋮).
  2. Tap Add to Home screen, then Add.

Firefox adds a shortcut that opens in Firefox rather than a separate app window; offline reading still works.

iPhone and iPad (Safari)
  1. Tap the Share button (the square with an arrow, at the bottom of the screen on iPhone, top-right on iPad).
  2. Scroll down and tap Add to Home Screen.
  3. Tap Add.

Use Safari for this step: other browsers on iPhone and iPad cannot add the app. The installed app keeps its own saved lessons, separate from Safari.

Windows
  1. Open The Herpetology Collective in the Microsoft Store (opens in a new tab).
  2. Click Get (it may read Install). It installs like any other Windows app and appears in the Start menu.

Prefer your browser? In Chrome or Edge, click the small install icon at the right end of the address bar (a screen with a down arrow), or open the browser menu and choose Install The Herpetology Collective. The Store version runs on Microsoft Edge behind the scenes, so if Edge has been switched off on your computer, use the Chrome route instead.

Chromebook and Linux (Chrome or Edge)
  1. Look for the small install icon at the right end of the address bar (a screen with a down arrow), or open the browser menu and choose Install The Herpetology Collective (Edge: Apps → Install this site as an app).
  2. Click Install. The app opens in its own window and appears with your other apps.
Mac
  1. Safari: choose File → Add to Dock, then Add.
  2. Chrome or Edge: use the install icon at the right end of the address bar, or the browser menu → Install The Herpetology Collective.
Other browsers
  1. Firefox on a computer cannot install web apps. A bookmark or a desktop shortcut to herpcollective.org works fine; offline reading is not available there.

On Windows, the Microsoft Store version (opens in a new tab) works whichever browser you use.

Once it is installed

Using the app

  • Shortcuts. Long-press the icon on Android, or right-click it on Windows and Mac, for jumps straight to the Course Catalog, My Courses and Resources.
  • Opening. The app always opens on the homepage, so every tool and course is one tap away; your courses are under My Courses.
  • Updates. The app updates itself. If something looks stale, close it fully and open it again.
  • Removing it. Uninstall it like any app: long-press or right-click the icon and choose Uninstall or Remove. Your account and progress live on the site, not in the app, so nothing is lost.

Fieldwork

Offline reading

Students can save whole course units to their device and read the lessons without a connection. Sign in and your enrolled courses appear here, ready to save.

Saved field guides (open the field guides you saved on this device, even with no signal)

Stay in the loop

Notifications

Choose what you hear about: new features, products, courses, videos and events, and updates about your own orders. See them in a list on your account page, get them as push notifications on this device, or by email. Push is off until you turn it on, one device at a time.

Elsewhere

Your account and settings