The Hopewell Valley History Project site contains several distinct collections, each of which contain different types of materials (e.g., documents vs. maps vs.images vs. panoramas), so that each type of collection needs to be organized differently – and each requires different interfaces to browse and search them.
The Collections Viewer provides a common simple interface format for browsing the different collections (except the separate Image Gallery). See the Site Index for a more detailed breakdown of the different collections.
The Collections
The History Project collections, with direct links to view the collections and links to more information:
- 📖 Document Archives – The primary research collection of historic books and other reports, with descriptive information. Or use the Document Collection as a simpler way to quickly search and explore the files. (See the Archives About page for more information.)
- 📌 Map Archives – The primary research collection of historic and municipal maps, with descriptive information. Or use the Map Collection as a simpler way to quickly search and explore the files. (See the Archives About page for more information.)
- ◳ Panoramas Collection – Aerial views and wide-angle panoramas, including 360-degree panoramas. Explore by panning and zooming into the images. (See the Panorama About page for more information.)
- 📚 Pamphlet Collection – Leaflets and pamphlets distributed by local municipalities and organizations. (See the Pamphlet About page for more information.)
- 🏠 Property Reports Collection – Documentation on historic properties: Cultural Resource Survey reports and Historic Property Briefs based on research by the History Project. (See the Property About page for more information.)
- 📷 Image Gallery – A separate image gallery with a dedicated interface for albums of photos, postcards, illustrations, and artwork, with interface for browsing, searching, viewing, and stepping through the albums. (See the Image Gallery About page for more information.)
Collections Viewer
The Collections Viewer web application provides a simple interface to these collections by displaying all the files in the collection in one table with a thumbnail preview of each file, for convenient browsing, searching, and filtering. Click on an entry to display the associated file in a new window, with an associated viewer.
The Collections Viewer is designed to be used in standard Web browsers (e.g., Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Internet Explorer, and Edge). The interface is designed for use on computer displays and on mobile tablet devices. The display automatically adapts so that it is still usable when run in smaller windows and on smartphone screens (all the controls are available in the dialog).
Displaying Files
When you click on a row in the Collections Viewer, it displays the associated file in a new window, similarly to the way the browser displays any file:
- Document files (e.g., PDFs) are displayed using the built-in browser support, so you can then can page, zoom, and search in the selected document.
- Image files (e.g., JPGs) also are displayed in the browser, so you can scroll on desktop computers and pinch-zoom and drag on mobile / touch devices.
In addition, Panoramas are displayed using a dedicated Pan-Zoom Viewer, since these tend to be large images, and are therefore pre-processed to be sub-divided into tiles to facilitate fast loading, panning, and zooming. (This same interface is used for Map images on non-touch desktops, and in the interactive History Map.)
Pan and zoom into the image:
- The Navigator (top right) displays a red rectangle that outlines the currently-selected region withing the full image thumbnail.
- The Caption shows information about the currently-displayed image. Click the caption for a link to the original image file.
- Click the zoom buttons (bottom left) to pan and zoom In and Out in the image. On a computer, also use the standard mouse movements (click and drag to pan, roll the mouse wheel to zoom). On mobile / touch devices, also use the standard touch movements (finger press and drag to pan, two-finger pinch-zoom to zoom).
- Click the Home button (bottom left) to to reset to the initial view with the entire image visible.
Spherical 360-degree panoramas are displayed using a separate Pan 360 Viewer, which wraps the image into a full circle, to pan in circles and zoom into the scene.
Collections Viewer Interface
The Collections Viewer table includes the file name, a thumbnail of the the file, plus additional columns breaking out the town, category, and other information. Click on an entry to display the associated file in a new window.
The Collections List
In the list, you can scroll to browse the files, sort the list by a column, or use the header to search and filter the list to drill in on a specific group of entries.
The columns include:
- View – A thumbnail preview of the associated file (e.g., document or image)
- Fmt – The file format (e.g. PDF document or JPG image)
- Name – The file name. All files in all collections begin with the date (year) for convenient sorting and searching (and as the default sort order)
- Category – The categorization used to group the collection (specific to each collection)
(e.g., House Tours and Harvest Fair for Pamphlets, or aerial flight identification for Panoramas) - Town – The associated municipality (e.g., HwBoro, PennBoro, HwTwp)
- Size K – The file size, in KB
- Date – The file date (when last updated on the site)
Filtering the List Rows
Use the Filter row to quickly display only a subset of the full collection list, based on the name, category, or town. The next row then displays the number of currently selected files from the full list. (The Filter row is removed on small-screen devices, but the same controls still are available in the Options dialog.)
Filter on the name, category, or town:
- Name – Use the the Name field to enter text to search for in the file names (such as all files that contain “125th”).
- Category – Use the drop-down menu to select only one category to view (such as “House-Tours”). Select the first “(All)” entry to return to viewing all entries.
- Town – Use the drop-down menu to select only one town to view (such as “PennBoro”). Select the first “(All)” entry to return to viewing all entries.
Table Columns
The Collections Viewer table uses the same interface as the Property table in the Hopewell History Map, with advanced features for sorting and searching the rows accessed through the table column headers.
- Click in a column header to sort its entries alternately ascending/descending (indicated by an up/down arrow). Shift-click to sort another column within the current selections.
- Use the column menu for advanced filtering of the column values using more complex searches (hover to the right of the column header on a desktop, or press and hold in the column header on mobile). You can search for fields that contain, equal, or start with some text (or not the text), and specify two such search fields simultaneously.
- Click and drag the column header dividers to resize the column width. Click and drag a column header left or right to reorder the columns.
Options Menu
Click the drop-down menu in the top left of the window (the “hamburger” icon with three horizontal lines) to access associated pages and options:
- Options / Filter – Display the Options dialog
- Collection – Select the Collection to display: Pamphlets, Property Reports, Pamphlets, Documents, Maps, or Panoramas
- About the Collection – Display Help for this collection (in a new window)
- Main HV History Project Site – Open the main Hopewell Valley History Project site (in a new window)
Options / Filter Dialog
Select the Options / Filter in the menu to display the Options dialog. This is primarily useful on small-screen devices, when the Filter row is not displayed.
The dialog then stays open until it is explicitly closed by clicking the close box (“X”). While the dialog is open, you can continue to cycle through the different collections, adjust the filter settings, and even interact with the table to scroll, sort, or click to display an entry.
- Select Collection – Use the drop-down to switch between the different collections
- Filter Collection – Same Filter fields, especially for use on small screen / smartphone devices
