1. Start from the HabITS Dashboard and click the Habitat Improvement module, then click Create a New Mechanism under Mechanisms.

2. Start by clicking the Planning? check box, this will allow you to start entering your information and save the Mechanism as a draft. Continue by entering a Mechanism Name, Type, Agreement Number, Parent Mechanism (if applicable), Lead Office, etc. After entering all of your information click the save button at the bottom of your screen. **After you have entered all required data and the Mechanism Geometry has been created you will need to uncheck the Planning? check box, if you do not, all Projects and Accomplishments nested under the Mechanism will be in planning mode.** 

3. After clicking Save you should see a green splash banner (for just a second or two) saying your Mechanism was saved successfully. After saving you will see a message in the upper right of your screen “This Mechanism does not have a geometry”, this will be the next step in the tutorial, click +Create Mechanism Geometry now.  

4. After clicking +Create Mechanism Geometry you will be taken to the HabITS mapper. From here you can choose to draw or upload your mechanisms geometry. For this tutorial we will be uploading a shapefile that has already been created using ArcMap. Click upload now.  For more information on how to create and package shapefiles to be uploaded into HabITS click How-To Create and Package Spatial Data in ArcGIS for Uploading in HabITS V5 (Not available yet)

5. After clicking Upload a file explorer window will open allowing you to search for an choose your shapefile. Once you select your shapefile click Open. 

6. After opening your shapefile in the HabITS mapper you should see your Mechanism polygon.   

7. Click on the polygon and you will see a small box that says +Activate. Click it in order to make the polygon active in the Mapper. 

8. After clicking +Activate your polygon should turn blue and you should be able to see the vertices within the polygon. Now click on the green Return to Mechanism Form button in the upper left of the screen.

9. After returning to the Mechanism Form you should see your geometry in the small mapper window in the upper right of your screen. You must hit the Save button in order to save the geometry to the Mechanism, after saving you should see the green splash screen (for a couple of seconds) saying your Mechanism has been saved successfully. After saving, move on to entering information in the Non-FWS Partners and Files if applicable. 

10. After clicking the Non-FWS Partners tab then proceed by clicking the Partner Search dropdown box. Type the name of the Partner to search, after searching, select the Partner by clicking on it. 

11. After clicking the Partner you would like to select, click Select Partner to add them. Repeat the previous steps to add multiple partners. 

12. After adding your Partners you can now choose to select their rolls in the Mechanism. You must click the save button in order to fully add the Partners to the Mechanism. After saving you will see the green splash screen (for a couple of seconds) saying your Mechanism has been saved successfully. Next click the Files tab to the right of the Non-FWS Partners tab. 

13. After clicking the Files tab proceed by clicking the +Add File button. 

14. From this page you can add any files related to the Mechanism. 

15. Proceed by entering the Title, Document Type, Author, and Abstract. Then click Choose File, a file explorer window will open allowing you to select the file you would like to upload, select file and click open then click the Save button. **You must remove Publically Identifiable Information (PII) from ANY file you add to HabITS**

16. After saving you should see the file you added in a list. Repeat the previous steps to add more files. Now that all applicable information has been entered in to the Mechanism, uncheck the Planning? check box to save the final version (you can still edit if needed).

17. Now that a Mechanism has been created you can move on to adding a Project to the Mechanism. For more information click How-To Create a Project in HabITS V5.