User:ColinGreenstreet/Issue log
Issue Log and Open Questions
Contents
- 1 Issue Log
- 2 Open Questions
- 2.1 Item 1. Use of Templates and Forms
- 2.2 Item 2. How deal with some structural issues to do with Property naming and definition in a particular Template and Form?
- 2.3 Item 3. Red links
- 2.4 Item 4. Edit with Form
- 2.5 Item 5. Review the developing semantic structure of the wiki
- 2.6 Item 6. Skype contact buttons
- 2.7 Item 7. Suppressing blanks in an InfoBox
- 2.8 Item 8. Collapsible/Expandible sections in an InfoBox
- 2.9 Item 9. ShowFactBox Magic word often does not work
- 2.10 Item 10. Sub queries
- 2.11 Item 11. InfoBox row not appearing in bold
- 3 Suggested Systems Improvements
Issue Log
Item 1.Duplicate sections inserted every time Form is saved
The Form:SemBioLongInfoBoxThreeWithBanner seems to insert an extra section every time a page created using the Template and associated Form is saved
- Is there a glitch or have I coded the Form incorrectly?
- The form should create three sections, which are optional for filling out. The sections are (1) Biographical synthesis (2) Evidence from High Court of Admiralty (2) Comment on sources
- NB: The extra inserted section on saving is ONLY the Comment on sources section, and the extra insertion only happens if that section contains no text after the Form creating the Semantic biography has been saved for the first time
Item 2. Form filled out in popout mode won't save though logged in
I have filled out a form in popup mode Form:SemBioLongInfoBoxThreeWithBanner to create a new semantic biography, which I accessed via the Create/Edit button I have put on the front page of the wiki.
The button contains popup instructions:
{{#forminput:form=SemBioLongInfoBoxThreeWithBanner|size=50|default value=|placeholder=Type name of an Admiralty Court deponent|button text=Create or edit a MarineLives biography|popup}}
When I try to save the form it won't save, although all the mandatory fields were filled out.
I have re-keyed in the data to the same form accessed through http://www.marinelives.org/wiki/Special:Forms
and I have been able to save this form and data perfectly well.
The saved page is here: http://www.marinelives.org/wiki/Edward_Odling
Am I doing something wrong, or is there a problem in saving data from a popup Form?
Item 3. Uploading an image file from a Form
I am trying to add capability to my Form:SemBioLongInfoBoxThreeWithBanner and Template:SemBioLongInfoBoxThree similar to the upload image capability Rowan Beenje, the designer of the MarineLives SMW built into the Form:Page we use to create standard High Court of Admiralty deposition pages, which contain both transcriptions and a single image. The image in our standard pages has the Property:Transcription image
The relevant MediaWiki manual page seems to be: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:Semantic_Forms/Input_types#Uploading_files
I have created a new Property called "Has signoff image" which is intended to be used for thumbnail size images of signatures or markes taken from the bottom of depositions using the Microsoft snipping tool to create an image.
I want to make these thumbnail images uploadable through the Form:SemBioLongInfoBoxThreeWithBanner and to make them displayable in the InfoBox which this Form produces.
I have given the Property "Has signoff image" the data type "Has type:Page", though perhaps it should be "Has type:Text". There isn't an option "Has type:Image"
The code I have added to the Template:SemBioLongInfoBoxThree
! Has signoff image
| [[Has signoff image::{{{Has signoff image|}}}]]
|-
The Template is now called out as:
{{SemBioLongInfoBoxThree
|Person=
|Title=
|First name=
|Middle name(s)=
|Last name=
|Occupation=
|Training=
|Had apprentice(s)=
|Citizen=
|Literacy=
|Has signoff text=
|Has signoff image=
|Language skills=
|Birth street=
|Birth parish=
|Birth town=
|Birth county=
|Birth province=
|Birth country=
|Res street=
|Res parish=
|Res town=
|Res county=
|Res province=
|Res country=
|Birth year=
|Marriage year=
|Death year=
|Probate date=
|Deposition date(s)=
|Act book start page(s)=
|Deposition start page(s)=
|Personal Answer start page(s)=
|Chancery start page(s)=
|Letter start page(s)=
|Miscellaneous start page(s)=
}}
The code I have added to the Form:SemBioLongInfoBoxThreeWithBanner is:
! Has signoff image
| {{{field|Has signoff image|size=100|default filename=|uploadable|image preview}}}
|-
This should specify an upload box (and does), and should also display a thumbnail image (I believe) in the Form, when the image is successfully uploaded.
The Data type of "Has signoff image" is Text (because I can't see an "Image" data type)
The relevant bit of the Form now looks like:
When I click on Upload file I get the following box:
I select a file and add the following data, with the name of the file set to default
I click on Upload File and the URL goes to: http://www.marinelives.org/wiki/Special:UploadWindow, but otherwise the screen is blank and appears to be frozen.
When I go back to the main Template in edit mode the file appears not to have loaded.
For the text in the Form against the Field "Has signoff image" I have typed "Henry Betts signoff image, HCA 13/72 f.30v Annotate", which I assume will display at the footer of the thumnail once I can get the image to display properly?
However, when I try again from the Form to upload the same image I get the following screen
But, I am not getting a thumbnail preview of the image in the Form under the "Has signoff image field" which is what the SMW instruction say I should (See: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:Semantic_Forms/Input_types#Uploading_files).
So I have gone ahead and saved the form.
The image does not appear in the Henry Betts biography, but and in Browse page screen for Henry Betts I get "Has signoff image Henry Betts signoff image, HCA 13/72 f.30v Annotate +"
What am I doing wrong?
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Open Questions
Item 1. Use of Templates and Forms
Is my use of Templates and Forms correct?
- In the case of the SemOccupation Form and Template and I have added a second Template to both the first Form and Template. The second Template is Template:CreateBio and codes for a float box with a purple header bar on the left hand side below the output of the Inline Query, which is the main component of the Template:SemOccupation. I added the second Template to the Form:SemOccupation.
- Is it correct to call the Template:CreateBio a Sub Template, or is that something else?
- The reason for including the second Template is for efficiency of revising the float box content, since the float box will be used on circa 100 Semantic Occupations
- Would it have been better to leave the second Template out of the first Template and simply have the second Template selected through the Form:SemOccupation?
-- I have actually included the following code in the Form:SemOccupation, but I don't think it is correct, and I think it duplicates me pasting the Template:CreateBio into Template:SemOccupation?
{{{for template|CreateBio}}}
{| class="formtable"
|)
{{{end template}}}
Template:SemBioLongInfoBoxThree defines category: Form3withbanner semantic biography
Form:SemBioLongInfoBoxThreeWithBanner
Template:SemParish defines category: Semantic parish
Form:SemParish
Item 2. How deal with some structural issues to do with Property naming and definition in a particular Template and Form?
How handle Mariner occupations?
- Sometimes stated in upfront deposition summary that deponent is a Mariner, but sometimes stated in text
- Many mariners are just described as Mariners, but some have additional roles stated in upfront deposition summary, e.g. Master, Boatswain, Carpenter's Mate
- I have created a second Property called "Mariner occupation"
- How make filling out "Mariner occupation" conditional on ticking a box, or filling out, "Mariner" OR "Sailor"?
Template:SemOccupation defines category: Semantic occupation
Form:SemOccupation
Item 3. Red links
How direct red links of certain types to certain types of Form to create new pages?
- I am keen to stop volunteers having the option of creating a new page without a Form
- I am keen to direct volunteers to using the right Form to create a new Semantic biography (or, just possibly, another type of page)
e.g. links which are Property type "Is apprentice of", "Spouse of"?
e.g. Both red links in free text in a semantic biography page and red links in the semantic biography InfoBox?
Item 4. Edit with Form
How shut off the Edit source code option so that a volunteer or a user with a certain user status can only see the Edit with Form option for pages created with a specifc Form?
- Can another group of users be specified so that they can see the source code opetion (s.g. systems ops/administrators?
Item 5. Review the developing semantic structure of the wiki
Role of semantic biography pages?
Role of semantic geography pages?
Item 6. Skype contact buttons
Is there a way to add a Skype contact button to a MarineLives wiki page?
- Either to show a Skype address, or to originate a call?
Item 7. Suppressing blanks in an InfoBox
How do I code to suppress the blanks in rows in the Semantic biography InfoBox for which there are no data?
- I haven't decided whether it is best to show blanks or not, but want to know technically how I would do that
Item 8. Collapsible/Expandible sections in an InfoBox
How would I create collapsible/expandible sections in my InfoBox in the Semantic biography pages?
- This would be an alternative to suppressing the blanks in rows for which there is no data
Item 9. ShowFactBox Magic word often does not work
In a good number of pages the ShowFactBox magic word does not generate a semantic FactBox at the bottom of a page
- The magic word __SHOWFACTBOX__ is included in the various Tenmplates I have used to create new pages
- There seems no good reason why it works on same pages and not others
e.g. It doesn't on most of the Semantic biography pages, e.g. Samuell Haughton, but the semantic properties are there and can be seen in the Samuell Haughton example Special Browse for Samuell Haughton
e.g. It does work in the Semantic parish pages, for example Saint Dunstans in the East
You can see the __SHOWFACTBOX__ code at the bottom of the Template:SemBioLongInfoBoxThree
...
! Has source comment completed
| [[Has source comment completed::{{{Has source comment completed|}}}]]
|-
|}
__NOEDITSECTION__
__SHOWFACTBOX__
[[Category:Semantic biography]]
[[Category:Form3withbanner semantic biography]]
</includeonly>
Item 10. Sub queries
I am struggling to understand how to write and use a subquery
- I want to be able to combine queried data from our two main types of semantic page (1) Transcription pages (Category:Page) and (2) Semantic biography pages (Catgeory:Semantic biography
- The sort of queries I have in mind are:
e.g. Show me the all the start pages of depositions for people with semantic biographies of a particular type, and show me for those people the deposition start pages and when they were first transcribed! (Property:First transcribed)
e.g. Show me the all the start pages of depositions for people with semantic biographies of a particular type, and show me for those people the deposition start pages and the text of the transcription (Property:Transcription)
Item 11. InfoBox row not appearing in bold
One row in my InfoBox on Semantic biography pages is not appearing in bold
- I created a new Property:Has opening text and gave it "Has type" Text
- I added the new Property to the Template:Floatboxsembiolong defines category: Semantic biography
- I added the new Property etc. to the Form:SemBioLongInfoBoxThreeWithBanner
s far as I can see everything is correct, but when I look at the InfoBox in any Semantic biography, after refreshing the page, the row label is NOT bold
What am I doing wrong?
Suggested Systems Improvements
Item 1. Adding Semantic Drill Down and Semantic Maps Extensions
Extensions
I have been reading up on various SMW extensions, and looking at examples of their implementation on other SMWs.
The two extensions which would have the biggest impact on improving the user experience of the MarineLives wiki would be
(1) Semantic Drill Down [1]
(2) Semantic Maps [2] (which I believe also requires the MediaWiki Maps extension as well: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:Maps
Drill Down will be a very powerful way of using filters to navigate through the 3000 + semantic biographies which I am suggesting we plan to have on the wiki by March 2017 and the 10,000 transcription pages (with related images) we already have.
An example of Drilldown applied to European Public Sector projects can be seen here: http://www.epsa-projects.eu/index.php?title=Special:BrowseData/Projects. The EPSA drill down analyses 825 projects with 7 filters (1) Award year (2) Award category (3) Award type (4) Sector (5)Type of activity (6) Level of Government(7) Country.
We could do something similar to drill down through 3000+ semantic biographies filtered by:
(1) Occupation (2) Geography (3) Age.
We could also drill down through the volume type and number and page hierachies, using filters such as Record type (Depositions, Personal Answers, Act Books, Miscellaneous, Letters, Prerogative Court of Canterbury Will), Volume number, Year and month of record creation...)
Semantic Maps would be a powerful way to find and display data, and could be used as a way of displaying drill down data. I believe the current versions are Maps 3.5 and Semantic Maps 3.3 [3]. A lot of our data have strong geographical patterns, so mapping is an obvious functionality.
I have begun to assemble basic geographical coordinate information which I would like to be able to include in (1) Queries (2) Display of query results as soon as possible
See: Category:Semantic parish , which includes a table showing London parish geo-coordinates
Semantic Results Formats Extension is also worth looking at
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