Common Questions
These are some common questions or issues that others have faced when learning how to use Omeka and its available modules. If you can't find an answer to your particular question or problem, please email digitalservices@union.edu. Thanks!
Getting Started
Where do I login?
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For Omeka Digital Scholarship, go to https://academic.schafferlibrarycollections.org/admin
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For Library & Art Exhibitions, go to https://exhibits.schafferlibrarycollections.org/admin
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Use your full Union email address to login (including the @union.edu) along with the password that you used to initially sign up.
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You will see the Admin dashboard upon login with a list of sites you are assigned to, Find the name of your site under "Manage sites".
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You will be prompted to enter your full email address (with @union.edu) and password. Upon first signing up as an Omeka user, you should have received an email that lets you create a password.
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Once you are logged in, you will see a list of sites on the right hand side of the screen. Find the name of your site and click on the pencil icon to begin making edits to your site.
What is my site name?
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There are two names for your site; One is the system name found when you log into the backend and the other is the front facing or public website name as your visitors will see.
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Your public site name is what your visitors will see in the top banner when they visit your website. This can be changed at anytime under theme settings, which can be found in the left box when you go to edit your site. (see screen shot)
Image Management
How do I change the banner?
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Go to your site's Theme option (next to a paintbrush icon in a blue box) and it will be located underneath your site's name field. Here's a couple important points to keep in mind about choosing your own banner:
- Be sure to upload an image that is optimized for screen display - so no large resolution photos made for print (look for a resolution under 96 dpi). This will slow down your site's loading time if an image is much larger than it needs to be.
- Choose an image that is much wider than it is tall, so it fits nicely within the website's frame.
- If you choose an image that is not yours (say you obtained it from Wikipedia), be sure to provide us with a URL along with image information like title, so that we can give appropriate credit on the website.
- Be sure to upload an image that is optimized for screen display - so no large resolution photos made for print (look for a resolution under 96 dpi). This will slow down your site's loading time if an image is much larger than it needs to be.
What's the difference between Media Gallery and Item/image?
The difference will be how the images on your page are presented and linked. For example, when choosing to display images on your page, you can have them present as a gallery of images that don't link to anything further, or you can display items/images that can link to more information about that image. There is a lot of flexibility in how you can present items on a page in Omeka.
How Do I Use the Mapping Module?
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Make sure that each item that you want on your timeline is assigned to an item set.
- Make sure that item set is assigned to a resource template which contains a date field that is a numeric data type of interval or timestamp. There are a couple basic presets you can use, including "Timeline item" and "Timeline date range", which would be for a specific timestamp date and interval of time, respectively . Our Digital Services team can help you set up a new resource template if you need more information in your item besides the basic title, description and date.
- Make sure that you have added a location within the mapping tab of your item(s). Even if you don't need to show locations and just want a timeline, this current module cannot fuction unless you provide something on the map.
- Make sure that the item set you are using for your site is selected under the Resources option of your site.
- Once you have checked off the above, you should be able to create a page and use the page block "Map by attachments" or "May by query" to start using the timeline on your website.