How do you add strokes when recording indoor rowing

I would like to know this too.  If I set the activity as indoor rowing it shows me the stroke count as if it's the most important metric, but I can't edit it, whereas I can enter a distance.  

Well, I do not have Indoor Rowing on my watch (Instinct), so I just use the stadard Rowing activity type, and it does record, and does show me the stroke data - a graph with stroke rate, another one with distance per stroke (outdoors), and also the total stats: Total Strokes, Avg Stroke Rate, Max Stroke Rate, and the Avg Distance per Stroke. It is true that I cannot edit the stroke data, but there is also no need for doing it - it is recorded automatically by the watch.

Thanks for the quick response!  I don't have Rowing as an available activity to add to my watch (Forerunner 45).  I can select Other when recording and then edit the recorded activity to set it to 'Indoor Rowing' but I guess that's just a retrospective label, and a template for what to display.  I get that the watch won't record Strokes (it thinks I've done steps instead according to my timeline) so I just want to be able to edit the activity to enter this data, which is displayed prominently in the app against the activity.

7138498 said:

I just want to be able to edit the activity to enter this data,

You have couple of options:

1. Use a Connect IQ extension for adding the rowing to your watch
2. Use a Connect IQ extension for adding the number of steps/strokes data into the activity data
3. Use the Ttreadmill activity for recording the activity. When you then change it to Indoor rowing, you'll see the speed, distance, and stroke cadence in the activity stats., With an IQ extension you'll see also the number of steps (strokes in your case)
4. Enter the stroke number into the notes
5. Export the activity into a file, edit it, enter the data you need, and then import back. Easier editable (with a simple text editor), when using a TCX file format, but more details can be used with the "original" FIT file format (but you need a a tool capable of editing FIT files, such as the FIT File Repair Tool).
6. Get a Rowing or Indoor rowing FIT definition file from a watch supporting it, and hack it to be used for your watch (again a tool for editing FIT files will be needed)
7. Get another watch supporting the Rowing or Indoor rowing.
8. Suggest the editable fields to Garmin: Submitting an Idea to Garmin and wait a few years to see whether they implement it

Thanks again Trux for the fast, and very expansive, response!  I already tried no. 8 actually, fully aware that I will never hear back and the feature will never be implemented!  In a way I can see why, because my 'strokes' have already been counted as steps by the watch, whereas if the activity was being recorded as rowing in the first place, they'd have been recorded as strokes.  So they'll kind of get double counted if I add them as stroke data.

I'll have a look through your other suggestions.

Well I personally do need to edit the number of strokes as my watch battery died 3 minutes from the end of my session. My rowing machine has all the data which I can input, except for modifying the number of strokes.

I found this problem as well, but with a twist. When I did my first ever rowing session last week, my Forerunner 945 LTE was not paired with the rowing machine. I got a stroke count. For today—my second rowing session—I paired with the rowing machine. While I got more power data from the machine, and while Connect shows the strokes-per-minute graph, the total strokes, avg strokes/min, and max strokes/min data is gone. Those fields don’t even show up in the display on the computer.

Garmin is such a complete FAIL for rowers. Stroke count is such a fundamental metric. Why even have indoor rowing as an option if you can’t add manual stroke count? Especially if the watch can’t track the completely obvious motion. First HR tracking issues and now this? I’m getting so close to dumping this overpriced POS.