Neatline Question

[kteach]

Hi everyone

I am brand new to Omeka. I was wondering if there is a way that I can allow my users to change the transparency of a neatline wms layer. I have historic maps layered on top of google maps, and I would like viewers of the site to be able to slide up & down (or using some other method) the transparency/opacity of the historic map. I understand how to do so myself as the site admin, but once it is set by me, it does not seem to be editable by my viewers.

Thanks
Kirsten

[rondagrizzle]

Hi Kirsten,

Unfortunately, there isn’t a way to do this so that users can change the view. We’re always interested in exploring new functions, though. Could you tell me a bit more about this use case that you’re thinking about?

Thanks!
Ronda

[kteach]

Thanks. I am mostly experimenting with Omeka and Neatline at this point and trying to figure out if I can use the software in my (high school) literature classes. At the moment, I am creating a site for my African-American literature class depicting the characters’ journeys over time in Toni Morrison’s Beloved ( Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama and especially Cincinnati, Ohio) and also August Wilson’s Pittsburgh plays. I have not yet figured out whether I’ll be having the students create their own projects as part of the class (maybe tracing imagery & themes) or just use my site for historical background information. But one of the most interesting parts of looking at the historical maps has been comparing the segregation patterns in those cities now vs. at the time the books are set. Plus so many of the course’s books explore the Northern migration of African-Americans post-Emancipation.

All of that said, the transparency feature is not at all crucial to me. I’m not sure yet how we are going to use Omeka. Installing and using the software has been interesting but slow-going! I just think it would be great for my students to be able to more easily look at the contemporary maps underneath the historic maps as they navigate the site. I think that they would be interested in noticing the way that the authors freely mix real street addresses & landmarks with imaginary ones as well as getting a sense of the distances involved in some of the character’s travels given they were often moving by foot. So if they started with a map with various locations marked, they could slide the transparency to reveal which locations are real (and still exist) and which came from the author’s historical research and/or imagination. Also which areas of these cities demonstrate the same racial housing patterns as a century or more ago.

[rondagrizzle]

Thanks so much for this! I think that’s a compelling use case, so I’m going to add it to the Neatline github repository as a request for functionality. I have no idea when or if we’d be able to add such, but it will be a good thing to talk over with the developers about how possible it is.