Presentation given by Rogier de Kok at the KikForum Abstract: The making of an interactive key has tree distinct phases, definition of characters and their states, character coding and the testing of the key. The character coding is the easiest and least time-consuming of the whole process, while the fist and third phases are often under estimated, both time-wise and in the complexity of the process. Two case studies are presented, the pea-key, a corroborative project dealing with a pea-flowering legumes of Australia (c. 1400 species) and the Malesian Seed Plant key a corroborative project dealing with the c. 350 families from the Flora Malesiana region.

1. The numbers of characters in interactive keys. Two case studies Rogier de Kok 2006

7. Hypothetical relationship between number of characters and possible combinations (blue) Hypothetical relationship between number of characters and possible combinations in real life (purple)