Geolocation altitude: keep the reference surface and draft date

An altitude number copied into an equipment note needs more than a unit. A later reader also needs to know where the number came from, what its label meant, and whether a value was unavailable. Preserve that context before attaching meaning to the figure.

W3C's Geolocation draft is a useful example of why this matters. This article explains how to document a submitted browser reading. It provides no survey method, machine-height calculation or clearance advice.

The document date identifies a version

The 30 October 2026 Geolocation document is a Candidate Recommendation Draft. W3C describes it as work in progress that may change; publication at this stage does not imply endorsement. Its publication history places that draft after the 26 March Candidate Recommendation Snapshot and 24 March Recommendation.

A version date is useful provenance for a note. It is not evidence that a device, browser or AuditIt changed on that date. A claim about the software that produced a particular reading would need separate implementation evidence.

Keep the altitude label with the figure

In section 9.2, the draft defines altitude relative to the WGS84 ellipsoid, in meters. It defines altitudeAccuracy in meters too; 10 meters is the document's example, not a field reading.

The acquisition dictionary allows altitude and altitudeAccuracy to be null when unavailable. It describes altitude accuracy at a 95 percent confidence level. Keep a missing value distinct from a measured zero. Likewise, a number without its original label should not silently acquire a different reference surface in the hire file.

The March snapshot's section 9.2 already uses the ellipsoid wording. The later document date alone therefore does not establish a new altitude definition in that section. For a current note, cite the version you actually used rather than guessing at a change from its publication date.

A practical note for a submitted browser reading

If a colleague supplies a browser altitude figure with a condition record, the following editorial format keeps the source visible. It is not a survey form or a shipped template field list:

• Asset and record reference: the internal label that connects the note to the relevant hire.
• Source: the browser or screen the colleague identified, with uncertainty left visible when the origin is unknown.
• Displayed fields: the value, unit and original label, including any separately displayed accuracy field or unavailable value.
• Time and version: when the reading was submitted and which documentation version was used to interpret its labels.
• Record context: whether this was a typed note, a gallery import or a live capture recorded by the product.

Keep these details together. A neat column of numbers can look more definite than the source information warrants. If the original screen is missing, say which details remain unknown instead of filling them from a nearby example.

Example: unavailable is useful information

Take the fictional training label Yard example A. A colleague sends a note that explicitly shows altitude as null and supplies no machine-height measurement. The recorder writes “Altitude unavailable in the supplied reading” and keeps the source description. They leave the height question unanswered rather than entering zero.

In a second training note, the colleague supplies a number and an accuracy field. The recorder keeps both labels beside their values. They do not borrow the specification's example value for the missing accuracy box. These examples describe documentation choices, not actual device readings or customer work.

If a reviewer later needs a surveyed elevation or clearance decision, that is a separate job requiring appropriate evidence and expertise. The submitted note should remain readable without suggesting that such a job has already been done.

For horizontal accuracy, see Location accuracy in condition records. For the origin of imported media, see Capture facts versus import facts.

Where AuditIt fits

AuditIt's equipment starters include a two-stage checkout-and-return workflow and single-visit damage and pre-hire records. Equipment rental is part of the wider multi-industry catalog. Choose the workflow for the condition-record job, and keep a submitted browser note labeled as such.

AuditIt's vocabulary distinguishes live capture facts from import facts. When enabled, live capture facts can include location and accuracy. Import facts describe when and how a gallery file entered AuditIt; they do not establish the source file's capture time or location. Typing an altitude into a note does not turn it into a live capture fact.

The exact-capture-location sharing control is off by default. Enable it only when the recipient needs exact coordinates and capture accuracy. Explore AuditIt for condition records, or use the note format above in your existing process.

AuditIt creates tamper-evident, human-review-ready records. It is not legal certification and does not determine liability. A submitted location figure remains information for a person to review.

Prepared with AI assistance and checked against the linked primary sources.

• equipment rental
• location notes
• condition records