Help:Uploading files

Help index

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Using the repository

The repository is the place where we keep all document files used in Canonbase (image files, audio files, PDFs, and so on). Once they are stored in the repository, they can be used in any item of the database and in the wikipages. The documents are enriched with metadata. These are structured elements of extra information about the document.

• Media ID: the unique number of the file that is used to reference in Canonbase (automatically generated)
• Media item: based on the file type (automatically generated)
• Date: the month the file is entered in the repository (automatically generated)
• Project: to keep a large group of files together, we can assign them to a project. For example, “lighting design” or a magazine.
• Source type: is related to the source types in Canonbase and is mainly used to help find a specific type of document
• Language(s): the language(s) of a document
• Creator: the original creator of the item
• Access type: is the document public, or only available to those logged in to the database? (for example, documents under copyright but allowed to use for research)
• Copyright: the type of copyright licence
• Copyright Holder: the current holder of the copyright
• Contributor: the person that uploaded the file (automatically generated)

Other metadata:

• Attached to: refers to Qid in the Canonbase. Providing this is not necessary, but is useful.
• Date taken: this information is read from exif data in the image itself.

In the future, we will also add:

• AltTxt: a description used for the visually impaired (image only)
• Caption: a caption that can be used under the image (image only)

Logging in

The repository is a separate application from the database, with a separate login. To login, go to https://repository.canon-project.eu/login and fill in your credentials.

Browsing the media

Click on the media library.

You will see a list of files that are available with their metadata. You can filter and search the media based on the metadata.

You can select the metadata you want to see and define how many items you want to see on each page in the screen options.

Hovering over the image or name of the file provides different actions that can be performed:

• Edit: opens the page to edit the metadata of a single file
• Delete Permanently: removes the file and its metadata permanently
• View: shows the original file
• Copy URL: copies a URL to refer to the picture outside the database.
• Download: downloads the file

Editing the Metadata (single file)

You can edit the metadata of a single file by clicking on the file. A new page will open where you can edit the metadata. To save the information, click the Update button.

FIXME – need to add this capability to the WordPress.

Each item in the repository can have a Q number associating it with an item in Canonbase. Add the Canonbase Q number to the repository metadata value Attached To. Over time, these will be connected to Canonbase automatically, or you can do it manually – see Using Files in Canonbase below.

Editing the Metadata (series of files)

To edit a batch of files, you first need to select the files by ticking the checkboxes to the left of each file you want. You can use the “select all” checkbox (top left of the list) to select all the files shown on the current page.

Next put the metadata to be added in the Add Metadata in Bulk frame at the top of the page, and click apply. All files will be updated.

To remove Metadata, select the files, select the values to be removed and click Remove. For example, if I want to remove the language Dutch in a series of files, I select the files, I select Dutch in the language drop down language and then click Remove.

Naming of files

Once a file is uploaded, the name in its url can’t be changed, so before uploading files, check the clarity and consistency of the filenames. Ideally the names represent the content of the file and are understandable for other users.

Avoid using special characters with accents in the file names, as they can cause issues later in the process. The other fields such as title, caption etc. are all changeable later.

For detailed guidance on naming files, see Naming conventions.

Filetypes and upload size

For the file types preferred and allowed by the repository, see Preferred and allowed document types.

The maximum file size is 256 MB.

Uploading files

Click Add Media File in the left-hand menu bar.

Fill before uploading the metadata that are common for all files you upload in this batch. These metadata will be added only to this specific batch.

Drag the files into the upload window or select a series of files.

The files will be added to the repository, including their metadata.

Check the files you uploaded in the library and adapt or add metadata that is unique for individual files.

Adding new Metadata values to the lists

You can add languages, source types, and projects by clicking the appropriate link and add a value.

Avoid adding too many values to ensure clarity. Please think if it is really necessary to add a new value, or if a combination of metadata will be sufficient to find the files.

Using files in Canonbase

To use a file in Canonbase, copy the Media ID and put it in the correct property of the item in Canonbase:

• Canon document public ID (P71) Documents (PDF etc.) for public access
• Canon document private ID (P369) Documents for only for private access use – these will not be accessible at all to the public and should be set to Private Access in the repository
• Canon image ID (P74) for public images.

Note that images are treated separately to other documents, with a different property, as images will be displayed when viewing the item in the Canonbase.

• Canon video ID (P76) for public videos.

OLD

FIXME - remove the content below once it has been covered elsewhere.

Files are pictures, documents, videos, 3D objects, ... that are used to illustrate the information in the items. We only use files when they are not available on other sustainable sources or when needed for the functioning of the database.

Used Properties

1. Repository Documents are stored at https://repository.canon-project.eu/, CanonBase interact with their id from there,

P71 for documents (PDF etc.) for public public access P369 for copyrighted documents P74 for public images

2. External images with full source url can be used with property P361

3. Other media P116 Youtube P351 Vimeo

4. CanonBase site itself

Uploading files for P24

Images can be uploaded to Canonbase as well with property P24. Video with P76

To upload a file, go to the "Upload files" page.

• search the file on your computer
• check the destination filename (the name that will be used in the database) and correct if necesery.
• add additional information and provide a summary
• click upload file
• once the file is uploaded, you can copy the filename and use it in the items.

Maximum file size

• The maximum file size for all document types is 160 MB

Updating files

If you have a new version of a file, you can upload this, it will be replaced in all items where it is used. Older versions are kept in the history files.

metadata and structured data

• add creator
• add licence
• add provenance of the document or source
• add creation date and place

Preferred and allowed document types

See the help page about document types

Naming conventions documents

See the help page about naming conventions

Bulk renaming of documents

If you need to rename a large amount of documents, you can use specialised software

> example with Excel files