How to use the IIIF Annotation Editor

Chapters

1. 1

   Intro — annotation, OCR & collaboration

   What the editor is, its key features, and getting started by just entering a Manifest URL

   Narration script

   • 0:02IIIF Annotation Editor

     IIIF Annotation Editor is an open-source editor that lets you annotate IIIF digital images and share them, entirely in your browser.

     
   • 0:17Annotation, OCR, and collaboration

     Its key features are creating rectangle and polygon annotations, OCR that reads cursive script, and real-time collaboration powered by Firebase.

     
   • 0:33Just enter a Manifest URL

     Getting started is simple: just enter a IIIF Manifest URL. In this video, we'll walk through the main features on the live screen.

     
2. 2

   Signing in & opening a IIIF image

   Create an account with email/Google, then view the Tale of Genji (Kiritsubo) from the University of Tokyo in OpenSeadragon across multiple pages

   Narration script

   • 0:02Create an account with email

     First, let's create an account. From Login in the top right, you can sign up with an email address. Signing in with a Google account is also supported.

     
   • 0:30Tale of Genji (Kiritsubo), University of Tokyo

     Next, we load an image. Enter a Manifest URL and go to the editor. This time we use the Tale of Genji, Kiritsubo, held by the General Library of the University of Tokyo.

     
   • 0:50Zoom with OpenSeadragon / multiple pages

     With OpenSeadragon, you can smoothly zoom into high-resolution images. For multi-page materials, you can turn pages with the left and right buttons.

     
3. 3

   Drawing rectangle & polygon annotations

   Enclose a region with the rectangle tool, enter rich text saved to Firestore, and use polygons for complex shapes

   Narration script

   • 0:16Draw a region with the rectangle tool

     Let's add an annotation. Select the rectangle tool, then click once and click again on the image to enclose a region. You can mark any area of interest.

     
   • 0:36Rich text, then save to Firestore

     Once you enclose a region, a text field opens. Write freely in rich text, and when you press save, the content is stored in Firebase's Firestore.

     
   • 1:04Polygons for complex shapes

     With the polygon tool, you can also enclose complex shapes that a rectangle can't capture, by clicking each vertex in turn.

     
4. 4

   OCR in the browser

   Run NDL Koten OCR from the toolbar and turn detected regions and text into annotations in bulk

   Narration script

   • 0:10The OCR button in the toolbar

     For classical texts, OCR is handy. Pressing the OCR button in the toolbar opens the text recognition screen.

     
   • 0:36Run NDL Koten OCR in the browser

     It runs the National Diet Library's classical-text OCR right in your browser. It reads cursive script without sending the image to any server.

     
   • 0:55Turn detected regions and text into annotations

     The detected regions and text can be turned into annotations all at once, just by pressing Apply as Annotations. It's a fast way to draft a transcription.

     
5. 5

   Managing annotations & collaboration

   Manage and search in the list, click to focus a region, browse across materials in My Annotations, and sync on any device

   Narration script

   • 0:08Manage annotations in the list

     Your annotations are managed in the list on the left, with sorting and search support.

     
   • 0:24Click to focus on the region

     Clicking an item focuses the image on that region. You can delete the ones you no longer need, right there.

     
   • 1:00My Annotations across materials / any device

     My Annotations lets you browse your annotations across different materials. Because they're stored in Firebase, you can keep editing the same content from another device.

     
6. 6

   Export & wrap-up

   Export as IIIF Annotation, TEI/XML, or JSON, generate a IIIF Manifest with annotations, and find it open-source on GitHub

   Narration script

   • 0:10Export as IIIF Annotation, TEI/XML, JSON

     You can export the annotations you've made. Three formats are supported: IIIF Annotation, TEI/XML, and JSON. Choose TEI and use it directly in research or transcription work.

     
   • 0:30Generate a IIIF Manifest with annotations

     You can also generate a IIIF Manifest with the annotations embedded. It opens directly in other viewers such as Mirador.

     
   • 0:44Open source / available on GitHub

     The source code is available on GitHub. Just enter your own Manifest URL to get started right away. See the links in the description for details.