The Slides Edition Page

Purpose

This screen is used to create, view, update, clone and delete Slide records. In the context of Project Hirtius, "slide" is a generic term that covers pictures in any physical or electronic format, such as old black-and-white prints, color slides, negatives, JPEG or RAW camera files, or even postcards.

The only requirement for you to be able to manage your pictures collection with Project Hirtius is that you devise a matching "tray" management policy to hold them (see Slide Trays Edition Page and Pictures Management Workflow). These "trays" may be represented in the physical world by photo albums, slide trays, boxes of postcards or indeed directory trees on your server.

As for the contents of those pictures, they may represent any subject you wish to investigate, or any "evidence" linked with your research on other Project Hirtius objects, such as Individuals, Events, Sources, etc. Typical examples would be buildings, archaeological artifacts, works of art, portraits, inscriptions, etc.

Please note: Slide objects can be marked as "obsolete" if a better, more relevant shot becomes available (see below). Obsolete slides will be visually identified in 'view' and 'edit' mode by a blue background under the card header and the obsolescence controls. Obsolete slides can be further edited if needed, but a warning will be displayed when doing so.

Getting There...

To reach the Edition Page of an existing Slide:

From the Main Application Menu (or indeed almost any other Project Hirtius page), click on the "Manage Slides" icon in the header (). This gets you to the Slides List.
Navigate the Slides List until you locate the slide you're looking for.
Then click on the slide ID (first column), or on any of the action links (last column) to view, edit, clone or delete the slide record in question.

Of course, you can also reach the Slide view or edition screen through a lot of other ways, such as using search results (see Navigation Tips).

To add a new Slide record:

From the Main Application Menu, click on the "Manage Slides" icon in the header (). This gets you to the Slides List.
Press [End] to reach the bottom of the list.
Click the Add action link in the bottom-right corner of the list.

Supported actions

The Slide Edition Page supports the following actions:

Add: the form to fill in and submit in order to create a new Slide record.
Insert: creating the new Slide record in the database (post Add action).
Edit: modifying an existing Slide record through a form populated based on the current database contents.
Update: storing the modified data in the database, updating the appropriate Slide record (post Edit action).
View: display the current database contents for the selected Slide record. No form in this case.
Clone: create a new Slide record from a form filled by the database contents of an existing record. The Clone action will be followed by an Insert upon submit.
DelCon: first step when requesting the deletion of a record -- issues a prompt for confirmation. You will be warned if there are files attached to the selected record.
Del: the actual removal of the selected record (as well as all linked metadata records) from the database (post DelCon action).
That action will be recorded: a new entry will be added to the Event Log.

Of these, only Add, Edit, View, Clone and DelCon are entry points. They are typically reached from the Slides List or the Main Application Menu (but in the case of View, there are many more possibilities).

Fields

Here below are the fields that you can expect to find on the Slide Edition Page. The goal here is not to simply duplicate the database layout information. If this is what interests you, please refer to the Database Layout, the database creation script or the database itself. The purpose is rather to explain what each field is meant for [D], what format it is expected to follow [F] and what are the conditions for its validity (if applicable) [V].

A star (*) after the name of the field denotes a mandatory field (the star is shown in red with the same meaning in the application user interface).

Object ID*	D	Sequential ID, automatically assigned by the DB during record creation. Hidden in the case of Slides, as we use the Slide ID instead.
Slide ID*	D	Unique identifier for the Slide, manually given when creating the record (chosen by author based on own policy).
Slide ID*	V	Positive integer larger than zero, unique.
Location*	D	Town, village, region where the picture has been taken. Use "Unknown" or similar if unknown.
Country*	D	Country where the picture has been taken. Select from list. Use special value "Unspecified (--)" if needed.
Tray*	D	In-Tray address (i.e. defines address of picture in its container: trayID followed by slot number in a slide tray, pouch number in a photo album, etc.). The contents of this field should be the result of your chosen Tray Management Policy. Please read Pictures Management Workflow before defining it.
	F	String of typically 6 characters (max. 15). The first 4 (unless defined otherwise -- see `$tidlen` in the Global Definitions File) represent the tray ID, and the rest (typically 2 or 3, max. 15 - `$tidlen`) the "address" (= slot number) inside the tray.
	V	The tray ID part (first `$tidlen` characters) must match an existing tray. The rest (slot number), once converted to decimal notation if necessary, must be within the range defined for that tray (between 1 and slides_per_tray -- see Slide Trays Edition Page).
Description 1*	D	Picture subject description
Description 1*	F	Free text. HTML markup allowed, but it is recommended to limit its use to simple tags (e.g. italics). Do *not* terminate by a full stop (.), as these will be added by the application when displaying.
Description 2	D	Picture subject description (continued). Use this second field to provide more specific info on the current slide. E.g. you might have multiple pictures with an identical first description, but then they should each have a second description that allows you to differentiate between them.
Description 2	F	Free text. HTML markup allowed, but it is recommended to limit its use to simple tags (e.g. italics). Do *not* terminate by a full stop (.), as these will be added by the application when displaying.
Coordinates	D	Geographical coordinates of the picture subject location (latitude and longitude expressed in degrees, minutes, seconds). Alternatively, as in the case of landscapes, coordinates of your own location when the shot was taken.
	F	Positive integers for degrees and minutes. Positive floats with 2 decimals for the seconds. Both ',' (comma) and '.' (dot) are allowed as decimal markers.
	V	The value has to be included in the range specific to that field (e.g. 0-90 for long. degrees, 0-59 for minutes, or 0.0-59.99 for seconds). Also, if the degree fields are set, then all the other fields have to be set as well. If the degree fields are empty, the contents of all other fields will be silently ignored.
Shot date	D	Date the picture was shot. Can be left empty if unknown (as in the case of e.g. a commercial picture set) -- will then be stored as all zeroes.
Shot date	F	ISO format: year in 4 digits, then month in 2 digits (padded with zero if needed), then day in 2 digits (padded with zero as needed). The date parts can be separated with either '-' (hyphen), '/' (forward slash), or '.' (dot). Example: "2012-10-31", "2012/10/31" or "2012.10.31".
Shot type	D	Describes the media (e.g. Color Slide, Black-and-White Digital Still, Color Print, Postcard, etc.). Select from list. The values in that list are defined in the Global Definitions File.
Subject date	D	Date of the picture subject. You can use '?' if unknown, and 'n/a' when not applicable. You can also leave empty if you prefer.
Subject date	F	Free text (to allow for such dates as "2nd half XVIth c.").
Can be published	D	Whether or not this picture can be published without the need for any prior vetting. This question is usually rather tricky these days, so you can use this field either to store your "best guess", or the decision resulting from such vetting process.
Is entry point	D	When you have multiple slides on the same subject (e.g. shot at various angles, or global and detail views), you may prefer to centralize most of you general comments on one of the slide records. In this case, mark that record as "entry point". It will then be visually identified in the lists by a bold red spade (♠) -- unless set otherwise in the Global Definitions File..
Quality	D	How good is your picture ? Select from list (four choices, from "Good" to "Bad"). Allows you to easily identify the shots that would benefit from a second take.
Comment	D	Any comment you might have on the picture itself (the circumstances when the shot was taken), or its subject (its meaning, its history, etc). This is where you would store the bulk of your research concerned specifically with the subject of that picture (of course, a much broader scope of reseach is possible as well, encompassing all supported kinds of objects and any number of them -- please refer to Projects Management Workflow for advice on how to manage that).
Comment	F	Free text. HTML markup allowed. Special formats: '`{D1234}`': quote another Hirtius object using its object prefix and ID. Automatically rendered as a link to that object view page. See Objects and Metadata Types for a list of all prefixes supported by the application. Only objects and lesser objects can be referred to in this way. '`[1234]`': Bibref. Refers to the bibliographical reference with said number, as defined further down the page in the *References* section. Rendered as a link to a named anchor. Only works with bibrefs attached to the current object. '`[S1234]`': Srcref. Refers to the source reference with said number, as defined further down the page in the *Sources* section. Rendered as a link to a named anchor. Only works with srcrefs attached to the current object. Insert these formats in your text without the enclosing quotes. If the object that you refer to doesn't exist (yet) or is not linked to the current object (in the case of Bibref and Srcref), the reference will be rendered in a special style (orange italics) and the associated link will point to that object creation page (where possible).
Reading	D	The text present on the object you shot. Mostly used in the context of epigraphy, paleography, etc. but it can also be put to good use if you take pictures of didactic panels (use 'RAW' mode -- see below) for instance, as their text then becomes searchable. If left empty, this field is omitted in view mode.
Reading	F	Free text. HTML markup allowed. In the case of ancient inscriptions or manuscripts, the idea is to layout the text in this field as it is laid out on the original media (in terms of line breaks), and to reproduce as accurately as possible the actual writing on the stone using special notations to render abbreviations, missing parts, etc. When rendered in view mode, the lines will then be automatically numbered. *Please note:* it is recommended to submit the record once the Reading field has been filled in, if you want the ability to use the *Populate* button to populate Transcription automatically. Suggested diacritics: Abbreviation resolution: '`()`'. E.g. "A(nn)O D(omi)NI". When resolving a symbol (such as an inverted 'C'), it can contain the equal sign, as in "Ͻ (= centuriae)". Missing text (due to breakage or wear): '`[]`'. E.g. "VERECV[NDVS]" (or "[...]" if the missing text can't be hypothesized). Erased text (as in the case of damnatio memoriae): '`[///]`'. Ligatures: underscore. E.g. "ET". Special formats: Any line beginning with a hash mark ('`#`') is treated as a comment and displayed italicised, outside of the line numbering scheme (line numbers are reset to 1 after each comment). Use '`# RAW`' as first line of the field to bypass the line numbering altogether. Useful in the case of didactic panels, for instance, or any situation where you don't care about the original layout of the text, but would prefer more flexibility in the HTML formatting of your content. '`{D1234}`': quote another Hirtius object using its object prefix and ID. Automatically rendered as a link to that object view page. See Objects and Metadata Types for a list of all prefixes supported by the application. Only objects and lesser objects can be referred to in this way. *(RAW mode only !)* '`[1234]`': Bibref. Refers to the bibliographical reference with said number, as defined further down the page in the *References* section. Rendered as a link to a named anchor. Only works with bibrefs attached to the current object. *(RAW mode only !)* '`[S1234]`': Srcref. Refers to the source reference with said number, as defined further down the page in the *Sources* section. Rendered as a link to a named anchor. Only works with srcrefs attached to the current object. *(RAW mode only !)* Insert these formats in your text without the enclosing quotes. If the object that you refer to doesn't exist (yet) or is not linked to the current object (in the case of Bibref and Srcref), the reference will be rendered in a special style (orange italics) and the associated link will point to that object creation page (where possible).
Transcription	D	Old inscriptions and manuscripts make heavy use of abbreviations, and their alphabet may not entirely match ours (e.g. no distinction between 'u' and 'v' in Latin). They may also use stenography-like shorthands (such as an inverted 'C' for 'centurio' or 'centuria'). Therefore, if you followed the suggestions above to try and reproduce the original text as accurately as possible in the Reading field, you may wish to use the Transcription field to store your fully resolved version of the original text (for search purposes, among others) without any diacritic. E.g. you will often find the following text on headstones: "`A^o DNI`", which you would write as "A(nn)O D(omi)NI" in the Reading field. You should then also store it as "anno Domini" in Transcription. The *Populate* button (only visible in 'Edit' mode) will help you do this. If left empty, this field is omitted in view mode.
Transcription	F	Free text. HTML markup allowed. Special formats: '`{D1234}`': quote another Hirtius object using its object prefix and ID. Automatically rendered as a link to that object view page. See Objects and Metadata Types for a list of all prefixes supported by the application. Only objects and lesser objects can be referred to in this way. '`[1234]`': Bibref. Refers to the bibliographical reference with said number, as defined further down the page in the *References* section. Rendered as a link to a named anchor. Only works with bibrefs attached to the current object. '`[S1234]`': Srcref. Refers to the source reference with said number, as defined further down the page in the *Sources* section. Rendered as a link to a named anchor. Only works with srcrefs attached to the current object. Insert these formats in your text without the enclosing quotes. If the object that you refer to doesn't exist (yet) or is not linked to the current object (in the case of Bibref and Srcref), the reference will be rendered in a special style (orange italics) and the associated link will point to that object creation page (where possible).
Translation	D	In case the text in the 'Reading' field above is not written in the language of your planned work, you can use this field to store the translation. If left empty, this field is omitted in view mode.
Translation	F	Free text. HTML markup allowed. Special formats: '`{D1234}`': quote another Hirtius object using its object prefix and ID. Automatically rendered as a link to that object view page. See Objects and Metadata Types for a list of all prefixes supported by the application. Only objects and lesser objects can be referred to in this way. '`[1234]`': Bibref. Refers to the bibliographical reference with said number, as defined further down the page in the *References* section. Rendered as a link to a named anchor. Only works with bibrefs attached to the current object. '`[S1234]`': Srcref. Refers to the source reference with said number, as defined further down the page in the *Sources* section. Rendered as a link to a named anchor. Only works with srcrefs attached to the current object. Insert these formats in your text without the enclosing quotes. If the object that you refer to doesn't exist (yet) or is not linked to the current object (in the case of Bibref and Srcref), the reference will be rendered in a special style (orange italics) and the associated link will point to that object creation page (where possible).
See also	D	Use this field to link different objects together, even objects of different kinds. For instance, you might wish to link the general view of a subject with detailed shots. Or you might link the picture of a portrait bust (a Slide object) with the Individual object where you record the biography of the subject. As long as the list is empty, you only see the Add field. Once some See also entries have been created, you can also select one or more in the list below and check the Remove selected checkbox to remove the selected entries from the list.
	F	One or more object IDs, each composed of a single letter identifying the object type (see Objects and Metadata Types for a list of supported prefixes -- only fully-fledged objects are eligible here) followed by the numerical ID of the object. The prefix letter is case-insensitive. To add links to multiple objects at the same time, use a comma and an optional space to separate members in the list. E.g. '`d1242, i43, d239`'.
	V	Each object ID has to refer to an existing object. Attempts to link the current object to itself will be reported and ignored.
Obsoleted by	D	In those cases where you're not satisfied with a shot and you have the opportunity to take a new one, you can use this field to flag the old slide as "obsolete", and link it with its replacement. A slide can only be obsoleted by a single replacement, but any given slide can end up obsoleting (replacing) many.
	F	A Slide ID, i.e. the letter 'D' followed by the numerical ID of the replacement slide.
	V	The object ID has to refer to an existing object of type Slide and be different from itself.

Controls

In View mode

Navigation bar: At the top of the page, just below the header, you'll find links, two on each side, called LOC and ID, flanked by arrows pointing left and right, that you can use to browse your Slides collection based on these 2 sort keys (location + country + description 1 + description 2 for the former, slide ID for the latter). Going "right" moves you toward the end of the list, going "left" toward the beginning, one Slide record at a time.
Pict link: Located at the top of the page, right next to the slide ID (present only for digital slides, as flagged at the level of the Tray that contains it). Click on this link to view the digital picture file referenced by the Slide record (links to a computed path below the "webstore base", as defined in the Global Definitions File).
EXIF link: Located at the top of the page, right next to the slide ID and Pict link (present only for digital slides, as flagged at the level of the Tray that contains it, where EXIF data has been uploaded to the database -- see Helper Scripts). Click on this button to view all EXIF data fields linked with the current Slide record (jumps to the EXIF Data Viewer).
Photo Gallery icon (): Located just above the in-Tray slot ID, that icon is a link to the Photo Gallery HTML index page for the Tray in question, giving you a way to visually identify all other Slides that are part of the same tray.
This icon is only present when the Photo Gallery has been generated for that Tray and its index page is available.
Calendar View icon (): Located next to the Shot Date field, that icon is a link to the Calendar View for the year in question (always treated as Gregorian in this case), giving you a way to identify all other event-like objects in the temporal vicinity of the current one.
This icon is only present when the Shot Date field is set.
Edit link (Switch to edit mode): Located at the bottom of the page, just above the footer. Click on this link to edit the current object (switches the view from a R/O rendering of the contents to an HTML form that allows you to modify that contents and submit it afterward).
Clone link (Clone this slide): Located at the bottom of the page, just above the footer. Click on this link to clone the current object.
Del link (Delete this slide): Located at the bottom of the page, just above the footer. Click on this link to delete the current object (jumps to the delete confirmation page).

In Edit mode

Pict link: Located at the top of the page, right next to the slide ID (present only for digital slides, as flagged at the level of the Tray that contains it). Click on this link to view the digital picture file referenced by the Slide record (links to a computed path below the "webstore base", as defined in the Global Definitions File).
EXIF link: Located at the top of the page, right next to the slide ID and Pict link (present only for digital slides, as flagged at the level of the Tray that contains it, where EXIF data has been uploaded to the database -- see Helper Scripts). Click on this button to view all EXIF data fields linked with the current Slide record (jumps to the EXIF Data Viewer).
Populate button: (Only shown when there is content in the 'Reading' field AND the 'Transcription' field is empty). Populates the Transcription field based on the current contents of the Reading field, passing it through a filter to remove all diacritics. If the Reading field contents was written in ALL-CAPS, the resulting transcription will be converted to lower case automatically. If the Reading was written in Mixed Caps, the capitalization of the original text is preserved.
Important: Make sure to review the resulting text and correct it if necessary. Among others, the 'V' to 'u' conversion typically required by latin epigraphy will not occur automatically.
This button is meant to be used only once per object (it disables itself after use). If you later update the Reading field, you would need to apply the same changes manually to the Transcription field.
Submit button: (Also in "Add" and "Clone" modes). Commits the locally modified HTML form fields contents to the database that stores Project Hirtius data. Use it to save your latest modifications. It is of course perfectly legitimate to click Submit any number of times during a long edition session to avoid loosing unsaved data. When doing so, use the Edit this slide some more... link on the update result screen (see below) to return to the current slide record and edit it further.
Reset button: (Also in "Add" and "Clone" modes). Cancels any un-committed change, and returns all HTML form fields to their initial value (i.e. the one they had when the page was last loaded in the browser). Use this button to revert any erroneous edit you might have done (Beware: this only works on local changes that have not been saved to the database yet, i.e. for which you've not clicked on Submit yet).
Edit Categories: This will open the Object - Category Edition Page.
Edit References: This will open the Object - Bib. Ref. Edition Page.
Edit Sources: This will open the Object - Source Ref. Edition Page.
Edit Attachments: This will open the Object - Attached File Edition Page.
Edit Events: This will open the Object - Event Edition Page.
Switch to view mode link: Located at the bottom of the page, just above the footer. Click on this link to view the current object (switches from the current HTML form that allows you to modify the object contents and submit it afterward to a R/O rendering of that contents).

In Insert or Update result mode

This result page appears once you have clicked the Submit button on the Add, Edit or Clone page. It will offer the following links:

View this slide link: Brings you back to the current Slide record in view mode. Use this link to visually check the effect of the latest changes you submitted.
Edit this slide some more... link: Returns you to the current Slide record in edit mode. Use this link to further edit the slide in question. This link is also present just after you added a new slide. You have to use this link to add some of the metadata that can only be attached once the record has been created (categories, bibrefs, srcrefs, attachments, etc.)
Add a new slide link: Opens the form that allows you to create a new Slide record. Usefull when creating multiple records in sequence.