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Support
Watch this video using Windows Media Player
Technical issues
English Timeline requires Flash Player 10. This can be downloaded from Adobe.
To download fact sheets about the items in the timeline, your computer will need Adobe Reader installed. This can be downloaded from Adobe.
The timeline will operate best on screen resolutions of 1024 x 768 and higher.
If your computer is responding slowly when moving over timelines, you can change the quality setting by clicking on the LQ/MQ/HQ button at the bottom right of your screen. These represent:
LQ: Low quality, best for performance
MQ: Medium Quality, better graphics but still good performance
HQ: High quality, best for graphics but ideally suited for faster computers
Navigating timelines
Select a timeline by choosing from the 'Active Timeline' drop down menu at the top of the screen. This will immediately update the items on screen and the date bar across the bottom of the screen.
Using your keyboard
Use the left and right arrow keys on your keyboard to move from item to item in your active timeline. Holding down an arrow key scans quickly across long the timeline.
Using your mouse
You can either:
Click on the left and right buttons at the bottom of the screen to move through the active timeline.
Or, drag the timeline bar at the bottom of your screen from left to right to quickly scan over long timelines.
Or, click ‘Next Century’ or ‘Previous Century’ to skip to the start of the next or previous century.
Item clusters
When there are a number of items from the same decade, they're grouped into a cluster. Click on a cluster to expand it so the items can be opened individually. To close a cluster, click on the background or click on a different timeline item.
Exploring items
Click on an item to flip it over and explore it in more detail. To return to the timeline, click the close button in the top right of the pop-up panel or click on the background behind the panel.
Image
Click on the image tab to view a high resolution image. Drag the slide bar at the bottom of the screen to zoom in, then click and drag the image to view it in detail.
Video
Many items won't include a video option but where they do, a video tab will be visible at the top of the panel. Click this to watch a short video. The duration and your current position will be displayed below the video.
Audio
Many items won't include an audio option but where they do a tab will be visible at the top of the panel. Click this to listen to an audio clip. The photo will be displayed while you're listening. You can zoom in and out of the image whilst the audio is playing by using the plus and minus buttons. The duration and your current position will be displayed below the photo.
Transcript
Where a transcript is present for an item the button will be shown. This will give you the written words of the document displayed in the photo tab.
Saving and printing
Timeline items can be saved or printed to create instant one page source fact sheets. To do this, click the ‘Download’ button to save in Adobe PDF format or click ‘Print’ to send the item to your printer.
Comparing two timelines
To compare various subjects you may choose to compare a second timeline. To do this, click on the drop down list below 'Comparison Timeline'. This will show a list of timelines to compare with your active timeline. Click any of the items in the drop-down menu to make the second timeline appear. The timeline bar at the bottom of the screen always controls the content of the 'active timeline'. The 'active timeline' is always the line closest to the timeline bar.
Key Events Timeline
The timeline named 'Key Events' is simply a list of important historical events. Key events cannot be explored as they are simply markers in time to provide context to the sources.
Switching timelines
The timeline bar at the bottom of the display always represents events in the 'active timeline'. Notice how this changes when you switch timelines. Click the 'Switch Timelines' button to switch them around both on-screen and in the drop-down menus. The up/down arrow keys on your keyboard perform the same function. Clicking on an item in the comparison timeline also switches timelines.
Creating your own timeline
You can build your own timeline of historical documents from items in any timeline. To do this:
1. Click on a tile and then click the ‘Add to favourites’ button in the top-right hand corner.
2. Repeat this for all the items you need. You may choose to take items from different timelines.
3. Click the 'view' button in the top-right hand corner of your screen to view your timeline. This will show you all the items you've collected in a new timeline. You can now compare your timeline against a second one or the key events timeline.
Removing items from your timeline
View your timeline, click the item you want to remove and then click ‘Remove from Favourites’. To clear all items from your timeline, click ‘Empty’ in the top-right hand corner of the screen.
Printing your timeline
Click the print button in the 'Your Timeline' panel to print the items you've collected in your timeline.
Display Options
There are several display options to enhance your experience when using the timeline.
1. You can change the background by clicking on the 4 buttons at the bottom left of your screen.
2. When comparing two timelines, you can change the viewing style from 2D to 3D by clicking the 3D view in the ‘View’ panel in the top right of your screen.
3. You can view the timeline full screen by clicking on the full screen icon at the bottom right of your screen.
