Universal Viewer (module for Omeka S)

New versions of this module and support for Omeka S version 3.0 and above are available on GitLab, which seems to respect users and privacy better than the previous repository.

Universal Viewer is a module for Omeka S that integrates UniversalViewer, a unified online player for any files, so it can display books, images, maps, audio, movies, pdf, epub, 3D, youtuben and anything else as long as the appropriate extension is installed. Rotation, zoom, inside search, etc. may be managed too.

It uses the resources of any IIIF compliant server. The full specification of the "International Image Interoperability Framework" standard is supported (API v2 and API v3 level 2). If you don’t have an IIIF-compatible image server, like Cantaloupe or IIP Image server, Omeka S can be one! Just install the modules IIIF Server and Image Server.

It’s an alternative to the Mirador Viewer or the lighter Diva Viewer.

The Universal Viewer was firstly developed by Digirati for the Wellcome Library, the British Library and the National Library of Wales, then open sourced (unlike the viewer of Gallica, the public digital library built by the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, based on Mirador, which is sold to its partners).

For an example, see Collections de la Maison de Salins.

Installation

See general end user documentation for [installing a module].

The module Common must be installed first.

The module uses an external library UniversalViewer, so use the release zip to install it, or use and init the source.

• From the zip

Download the last release UniversalViewer.zip from the list of releases (the master does not contain the dependency), and uncompress it in the modules directory.

• From the source and for development:

If the module was installed from the source, rename the name of the folder of the module to UniversalViewer, and go to the root module, and run:

composer install --no-dev

Then install it like any other Omeka module.

• Compilation of Universal Viewer

The Universal Viewer is provided as a compressed file in order to be installed quickly with composer. The compressed file is the vanilla version that is built with default options.

So, you need to compile Universal Viewer only for development.

For v4, in a temp directory:

cd /tmp
git clone https://github.com/UniversalViewer/universalviewer
cd universalviewer
npm install
npm run build
# Prepare tar for release if needed. 
mv dist uv
tar -czvf uv-4.0.25.tar.gz -C /tmp/universalviewer ./uv

Then, the content of the directory "dist" is copied in the directory "asset/vendor/uv" of the module.

For v3, an external repository was used in order to include the last version of OpenSeaDragon, the main component that manages the zoom viewer (used in other IIIF viewers), in order to manage IIIF v3. Run this command inside the repository of this external repository, then copy "dist" in directory "asset/vendor/uv3":

grunt build --dist

For v2, the "dist" directory was provided by default in the git repository.

• Access to IIIF images

UV viewer is based on IIIF, so an image server compliant with this protocol is required to use it. So, install the module Image Server if needed.

If you need to display big images (bigger than 1 to 10 MB according to your server, your network, and your users), use an external image server, or create tiles with Image Server. The tiling means that big images like maps and deep paintings, and any other images, are converted into tiles in order to load and zoom them instantly.

• Access to 3D models

The display of 3D models is fully supported by the widget and natively managed since the release 2.3. 3D models are managed via the threejs library. Nevertheless, see the readme of the module Three JS Model viewer for some possible additional requirements and the supported formats.

Usage

Version 2.0, 3.1 or 4.0

Three versions of the viewer are provided and can be selected in site settings: version 2.0.2, version 3.1.1 (adapted for IIIF v3) and last version of series 4.

The first one manages pdf files quicker but supports only iiif v2 (manifest for presentation and info for image), the second is more modern and the last one is the up-to-date version.

Configuration

The url of the manifest of the items should be set inside the property specified in the config form of the module. If you don’t have an IIIF Server, install the module IIIF Server.

To config the universal viewer:

• in the json file "config.json" of UniversalViewer for the player itself: copy and update it in a folder named "universal-viewer" inside the folder "asset" of the theme;
• via the helper: to use an alternative config for some items, add an option config with its url in the array of arguments passed to the viewer (see below), or use a metadata in the field set in the IIIF server config form.

Display

If the IIIF Server is installed, all resources of Omeka S are automatically available by the viewer, else the url of the manifest should be set in the configured property.

The viewer is always available at http://www.example.com/item-set/{item-set id}/uv and http://www.example.com/item/{item id}/uv.

Furthermore, it is automatically embedded in "item-set/{id}" and "item/{id}" show and/or browse pages. This can be disabled via the module Blocks Disposition for each site.

In Omeka S v4, you can use the block in the resource page theme options. Note that when this new feature is used, the option in module Blocks Disposition is automatically skipped.

Finally, a block layout is available to add the viewer in any standard page.

To embed the Universal Viewer somewhere else, just use the helper:

// Display the viewer with the specified item set.
echo $this->universalViewer($itemSet);

// Display the viewer with the specified item and specified options.
// The options for UV are directly passed to the partial, so they are
// available in the theme and set for the viewer.
echo $this->universalViewer($item, $options);

// Display multiple resources (items and/or item sets).
echo $this->universalViewer($resources);

Exemple of full config for version 4.

See the Universal Viewer examples, then choose "Config example", that redirects to a sandbox on codesandbox.io, where the full config is available.

Notes

• If an item has no file, the viewer is not able to display it, so a check is automatically done.
• Media: Currently, no image should be available in the same item.
• Audio/Video: the format should be supported by the browser of the user. In fact, only open, free and/or common codecs are really supported: "mp3" and "ogg" for audio and "webm" and "ogv" for video. They can be modified in the file "routes.ini".
• The Universal Viewer cannot display empty item sets, so an empty view may appear when multiple resources are displayed.

Bugs

• When an item set contains non image items, the left panel with the index is displayed only when the first item contains an image.

TODO

• [x] Improve integration of pdf for big scanned files in last version in order to use it in any version, not only v2.0.2 (fixed in v4).
• [x] Integrate json config inside site settings.
• [ ] Remove dependency to IiifServer for block.

Warning

Use it at your own risk.

It’s always recommended to backup your files and your databases and to check your archives regularly so you can roll back if needed.

Troubleshooting

See online issues on the module issues page on GitLab.

License

This module is published under the CeCILL v2.1 license, compatible with GNU/GPL and approved by FSF and OSI.

In consideration of access to the source code and the rights to copy, modify and redistribute granted by the license, users are provided only with a limited warranty and the software’s author, the holder of the economic rights, and the successive licensors only have limited liability.

In this respect, the risks associated with loading, using, modifying and/or developing or reproducing the software by the user are brought to the user’s attention, given its Free Software status, which may make it complicated to use, with the result that its use is reserved for developers and experienced professionals having in-depth computer knowledge. Users are therefore encouraged to load and test the suitability of the software as regards their requirements in conditions enabling the security of their systems and/or data to be ensured and, more generally, to use and operate it in the same conditions of security. This Agreement may be freely reproduced and published, provided it is not altered, and that no provisions are either added or removed herefrom.

The UniversalViewer is published under the MIT licence.

See documentation on the UniversalViewer and the IIIF on their respective site.

Copyright

Player UniversalViewer:

• Copyright Wellcome Library, 2013
• Copyright British Library, 2015-2017
• Copyright National Library of Wales, 2015-2017
• Copyright Edward Silverton 2013-2023

Module Universal Viewer for Omeka S:

• Copyright Daniel Berthereau, 2015-2024 (see Daniel-KM)
• Copyright BibLibre, 2016-2017

First version of this module was built for Mines ParisTech.

This Omeka S module is a rewrite of the Universal Viewer plugin for Omeka by BibLibre with the same features as the original plugin. Next, it was separated into three modules, the IIIF server, the Image server and the player Universal Viewer.

See a demo on the Bibliothèque patrimoniale of Mines ParisTech, or you can set the url "https://patrimoine.mines-paristech.fr/iiif/collection/7" in the official example server, because this is fully interoperable.

For Omeka S: example on Collections de la Maison de Salins.