Neatline questions

I haven't installed Neatline yet because I am trying to first understand what I need. Can someone help me out? I am running the latest version of Omeka. Here are my questions:
1. I want to be able to display georefrenced map in Neatline. I have a GeaoServer running. Do I need Neatline Maps or just Neatline?
2. I would like to have a timeline, what's the difference between Neatline Time and NeatlineSimile?

Thanks

Tarsier

Hi Tarsier,

Integration with Geoserver in built in to Neatline, so you don't need Neatline Maps. You can upload your maps to Geoserver and add them through it's administrative interface. I'll note that we are working on a much better method of loading raster and vector maps to Geoserver (https://github.com/scholarslab/Geoloader) which you may want to keep an eye on.

The NeatlineTime plugin is a standalone plugin that allows you to create a timeline from an assortment of Omeka items (with no dependencies on Neatline). The NeatlineSimile plugin is a Widget for Neatline that enhances the functionality of Neatline (but not Omeka) by adding a Timeline.

Make sense?

Wayne

Hi Wayne,

Thanks for that explanation. Do I need to install Neatline and then Neatline Time if all I want is a timeline or can I just install Neatline Time without Neatline?

Hi Tarsier,

You can just install Neatline Time if you want Timelines for your Omeka collections (and to be used in ExhibitBuilder in one of the most recent releases).

Wayne

thanks for that. I've been away so couldn't respond before.
This sentence got me confused:
The NeatlineTime plugin is a standalone plugin that allows you to create a timeline from an assortment of Omeka items (with no dependencies on Neatline). The NeatlineSimile plugin is a Widget for Neatline that enhances the functionality of Neatline (but not Omeka) by adding a Timeline.

So I have items in Omeka. I want to put them on a map. SO I need to use Neatline for that. But then I want to add a timeline to my map. Do I need to use NeatlineTime or Neatline Simile plugin?

You need the Neatline Simile plugin for to have a Timeline with Neatline...you'll also need to make sure you enable the widget for the exhibit.

Wayne

Hi Wayne,

I am trying to have this kind of timeline with my map, but when I add Simile I only get one band and I can't zoom in on the timeline.
http://ibnjubayr.lib.virginia.edu/neatline-exhibits/show/the-travels-of-ibn-jubayr/fullscreen

How is this done?

That specific exhibit was made using an earlier version of the plugin, but you can read how to use the Date tools in Neatline at http://docs.neatline.org/style-tab-dates.html. If you run in to issues with the documentation, you can let us know at neatline@collab.itc.virginia.edu.

Wayne

Hi Wayne,

So basically there is no way to have a zoom in buttons. Any reason the new version of the tool has less functionality?

When that plugin got split into its own component there wasn't really a compelling use case (at the time) to warrant the time it would take to reimplement the feature. If you would like to see this back, you can create an issue at https://github.com/scholarslab/nl-widget-Simile/issues as a feature request.

Thanks. I noticed that NeatlineTime has the zoom buttons. Can I utilize that instead of Simile? If I added my items to Omeka instead of Neatline, can I utilize NealineTime instead of Simile? Is there any advantage in creating records in Neatline vs Omeka?

Neatline was really meant to take advantage of using Omeka records, so I would encourage you to do that. We had to create a separate "record" system for Neatline as there are times when you want to express a "thing" that is really outside of what you are collecting in Omeka. If you want you are wanting to express is a collection of items on a Timeline, the NeatlineTime plugin is the way to go.

So if I want my Omeka collection to show on a map and timeline at the same time then I can do that by using Neatline and Simile. NeatlineTime has nothing to do with this. NeatlineTime will only show my collection on a timeline but not a map. Do I understand it correctly?

That is correct...

Hi Wayne,

Thanks for explanations. Another question, can I group records so they show up on the timeline as one thing? For example, if I have 3 items that happened between 10,000 and 5,000 BC and that time period is called let's say Paleozoic, I want to be able to show on the timeline the Paleozoic period but on the map I want to show the actual items that belong to that period. Is this possible?

This should be possible if you have one of the items associated with the timeline, then you can use a stylesheet to visually group these together (http://docs.neatline.org/neatline-stylesheets.html).

Thanks so much for all your help Wayne, very helpful!

Hi Wayne,

So I am trying to group records per your instructions by using stylesheets and I am grouping the records together and can change the styles using the stylesheet on a group of records but I am unable to control:

1. The actions using stylesheet. When I click on the timeline I only want to display the records that belong to that group on the map. I want all other records to disappear from the map.

2. The name that shows on the timeline.

3. When I hover over a record on a map, I'd like to only show the group the record belongs to in a timeline.

Would you be able to assist me with this?

Thanks

Hi Tarsierspectral,

So right now there's not a direct control for what you're wanting to do. I have seen people "fake" this by controlling the display of items with the before/after dates. Essentially a control point is created for the main "item", and then things associated with it are displayed.

It sounds like you're wanting to have filter items in the exhibit based on the current item, is that correct? Right now this is beyond the functionality built in to Neatline.

Wayne

HI Wayne,

Yes, that sounds right. Before/after date requires the user to scroll the timeline so this might not work for my purpose but maybe I can figure something out.

Thanks

Hello,

Has anyone tried to use georeferenced maps on the David Rumsey map collection Georeferencer? Is it possible to use those maps in Neatline?

Thank you for the help!

lindsaytday can we start a new thread on this question. I'll answer it here in the forums as more folks should be able to more easily find this info.

Sort answer, it's possible, but there's a crazy workflow...

Wayne