Key Concepts

CaptrID is built around a few core concepts. Understanding these will help you navigate the platform and make the most of its features.

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Master List

A Master List is your organisation’s central roster of people. Think of it as your source of truth — the canonical list of everyone who might need to be photographed or have their data collected.

• Each organisation can have multiple Master Lists (e.g. “Students 2026”, “Staff”, “Contractors”)
• Master Lists persist across sessions — create them once, reuse them many times
• People can be added manually, imported from CSV, or synced from a directory like Microsoft Entra ID

Master Lists have a schema — a set of fields that define what data you store for each person (e.g. First Name, Last Name, Department, Student ID).

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Session

A Session is a time-bound capture event. It’s where the actual photo capture (or data collection) happens.

• Sessions are created from a Master List snapshot, a CSV import, or from scratch
• When created from a Master List, people are copied into the session — changes in the session don’t affect the Master List until you explicitly sync them back
• Sessions have their own field configuration, capturer assignments, and photo review workflow

Session types:

• Photo sessions — Capture portrait photos for ID cards, directories, or records
• Data sessions — Collect or update data fields without photos (e.g. verify contact details)

Session statuses:

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UID (Unique Identifier)

Every Master List and every session has a UID field — a single field that uniquely identifies each person. This is how CaptrID matches people across sessions and syncs data back to your Master List. Good UIDs:

• Employee number
• Student ID
• Email address
• Staff code

Poor UIDs:

• Full name (duplicates are common)
• Phone number (changes frequently)

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People

A person is an individual record within a Master List or session. Each person has:

• A UID value (unique within their list or session)
• Field data (name, department, year level, etc. — whatever fields are defined)
• Optionally, a photo (from submissions in a session, or synced from a directory)

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Submission

A submission is a photo (or data snapshot) captured for a person within a session. Each person can have multiple submissions (e.g. multiple photo attempts), but only one can be approved at a time. Submission statuses:

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Saving to Master List

After a session, you can push approved photos and field updates back to your Master List using Save to Master List. CaptrID generates a summary of proposed changes for you to review before anything is written. This provides:

• Conflict detection — If both the session and the Master List changed the same field, CaptrID flags it for review
• Per-field resolution — Choose to keep the session value, the Master List value, or skip the field
• Audit trail — Every change is logged and can be rolled back

When to sync:

• After a photo session, to push approved photos back to your Master List
• After a data collection session, to update contact details or other fields
• Whenever session data needs to become the new “source of truth” in your Master List

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Card Templates

A Card Template is a design layout for printing physical ID cards. Templates define:

• Card dimensions and background
• Where the photo, name, and other fields appear
• Variables that map to your roster fields (e.g. {{first_name}}, {{student_id}})

Templates are organisation-level resources that can be linked to any session for printing.

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Digital Cards (Wallet Passes)

Digital Cards are identity credentials issued to people’s phones via Google Wallet or Apple Wallet. Unlike physical ID cards, digital cards don’t require printing — recipients tap a link to add their ID to their wallet.

• Design branded pass templates with your organisation’s colours and logo
• Generate passes for people from a Master List or session
• Distribute via email with a one-tap “Add to Wallet” button
• Verify credentials by scanning the pass’s QR code — no special hardware needed
• Revoke passes instantly when someone leaves your organisation

Digital Cards require a Pro or Business plan. See Digital ID Cards for details.

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Self-Service Photo Upload

Self-service upload lets people submit their own ID photo via a secure link — no app, no account required. This is ideal for distributed teams, remote staff, or anyone who can’t attend an on-site photo session.

• Send personalised upload links via email
• People take or upload a photo, crop it, and submit — all in their browser
• Submissions arrive in the same approval queue as capturer-submitted photos
• Rejected photos trigger an email notification so the person can retry

See Self-Service Photo Upload for details.

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Directory Sync

Directory sync connects a Master List to your organisation’s identity provider (e.g. Microsoft Entra ID) to keep your roster automatically up to date.

• New starters appear in your Master List when they’re added to the directory
• Leavers are automatically deactivated
• Field changes (department, job title, etc.) are synced on each run
• Supports group-based scoping so you only sync the people you need

Directory sync requires a Pro or Business plan. See Directory Sync for details.

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Data Sessions

A data session is a session for collecting or verifying data fields — without photos. Use data sessions when you need to:

• Collect updated contact details from staff
• Verify information like emergency contacts or dietary requirements
• Gather field data before a photo session

Data sessions use the same approval workflow as photo sessions, but capturers submit field data instead of photos.

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Roles

CaptrID has three user roles within an organisation: