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Click on a topic below to jump to that section: Introduction How to Search How to Sign Up How to Add/Edit a Magazine How to Add/Edit an Issue How to Add/Edit a Search Term How to Export a Magazine Index How to Switch Views How to Generate Thumbnails from PDFs If there are other topics you'd like to see, don't hesitate to click the 'Contact Us' link above.

IntroductionTop^

The goal of the MagDB is to help you find relevant articles in magazines. Data is broken down into three large chunks. Magazines- this is the top level container. Everything starts from a magazine. This is not a particular issue, just the general magazine details. e.g. Good Housekeeping Issues- this is a magazine for a partiular volume/issue/number/date. e.g. March 2017, Volume 38, Issue 241. Search Terms- These are the things that you might want to search for, and include details like page number, main search term, and secondary search term. e.g. Page 34, Ornament, Christmas. Check other topics for details on how to add, edit, and search the database.

How to SearchTop^

Search is pretty straightforward. Enter the term(s) you want to search for in the Keyword Search box (1.). Press 'Go' to search. Terms can be in any order, and are not generally case sensitive. The search is smart, you can use Boolean terms. Here are some common operators: Multiple words with no other operators are treated like an 'OR' condition. So 'Curved Desk' finds results that include either 'Curved' OR 'Desk'. The plus (+) operator is a 'must include' operator. Place it in front of a term, and that term MUST match the result in part. '+dining table' will return all data points that have 'dining', but also search for those that might include table. The minus (-) operator is a 'must not include' operator. Place it in front of a term, and that term MUST NOT match the result. 'table -dining' will search for 'table' but exclude those that also contacin 'dining' The asterisk (*) operator is a wildcard operator. Place it AFTER a term and the search will find things that start with the phrase. 'orna*' will find 'Ornament', 'Ornaments', and 'Ornamental Rose Engine'. Surround a search with double quotes (") for an exact search. "Rose Engine" searches for this exact phrase only. If your search fu is strong, you can chain these together and even use parentheses to group them together for a very complex search. '+jig +(mortise tenon) -tablesaw' returns search results that must have 'jig' and either 'mortise' or 'tenon', but exclude those results that also have 'tablesaw'. If the search results are still too numerous, you can filter them further by choosing a particular year (2.), category (3.), or even a specific magazine (4.) and searching again. In the search results, click on the magazine name to go to the magazine, click on the issue to see the issue details, including all search data in that issue. Use the icons in the middle of the page to move between pages of results, and/or use the drop-down to determine how many results show up per page.

How to Sign UpTop^

It's not necessary to sign up in order to use the MagDB, but you do need to sign up and log in if you want to add or edit data in the db. Click the 'New User?' link at the top or bottom of the page. Enter a username, and the same password twice. Enter an email address (MagDB will never send you unsolicited email,) and a name that you'd like others to see. (Don't be nasty!) Click 'Save' and you'll either be sent to the login page where you can use your new username and password, or the registration page again if there's a problem with the data you entered.

How to Add/Edit a MagazineTop^

Click the 'Add Magazine' button at the bottom of the home page. Enter a name for the magazine, and if it has a website, enter it into the URL field If the list of available categories doesn't properly fit the magazine you want to add, click the 'Contact Us' link at the bottom of the page and I'll add it. Feel free to enter a description of the magazine in the large text box. Finally, browse to a logo image for the magazine. This is the logo that will be shown on the homepage and search results, and should be recognizable by readers of the magazine. A good rule of thumb is to start with a logo about 150 pixels wide. Click 'Save' to add the magazine. Editing a magazine is very similar to adding. To edit a magazine, click on it's title on the home page, then click the small blue pencil beside the logo. The last time this magazine was edited shows up on the bottom right.

How to Add/Edit an IssueTop^

When browsing a magazine's content, click 'Add Issue' at the bottom of the page. The most important field on this page is the 'Issue Date'. This date determines the sort order for issues. Every issue must have an issue date, everything else is optional. The more information you can enter, however, the better the data will be. Some magazines have a volume and issue number, others only have a label, like 'October 2015'. Browse to specify an image file that should serve as the issue cover. This will show when browsing the magazine as well as in search results. A good starting point is 150 pixels wide. If you're entering more than one issue, save time by checking 'Add another?' -- the result is that, you'll be taken back to the 'Add Issue' screen on save. Once everything looks good, press 'Save'. Editing an issue is very similar to adding. While browsing a magazine, click on an issue, then click on the small pencil beside the cover photo. You'll notice that the last time an issue was modified is shown at the bottom right.

How to Add/Edit a Search TermTop^

When browsing an issue's content, click 'Add Search Data' at the bottom of the page. The two most important fields on this page are the 'Main Search Term' and 'Page Number'. Personally, I try to present the most important word first, so that when sorted in the index, like terms are grouped together. For example, I might enter 'table, dining room' so that this entry ends up in the T's rather than the D's. Secondary search term represents other terms that might be useful. For a table, that might be (as an example) 'legs, turned', or 'joinery, breadboard edge'. Feel free to enter the title of the article and short description, if you think it important. If you're entering more than one search data, save time by checking 'Add another?' -- the result is that, you'll be taken back to the 'Add Search Data' screen on save. Once everything looks good, press 'Save'. Editing a search term is very similar to adding. While browsing am issue, click on the small pencil beside the data. Click 'Save' once you've updated the search data.

How to Export a Magazine IndexTop^

If you're familiar with the index at the back of a reference book, this will be familiar. From the homepage, click on a magazine's logo. Click the black export icon, and a file download should start. This is a plain text file with all search terms for all issues of a magazine, with their respective issue details and page numbers.

How to Switch ViewsTop^

Two views are available for many of the MagDB's displays- grid and list. Whenever you see the list / grid icons ( / ), click on them and that preference will be remembered between sessions. Grid view (magazine list): List view (magazine list): Grid view (search results): List view (search results):

How to Generate Thumbnails from PDFsTop^

Click the button to choose a pdf file on your filesystem. Next, enter the page number you wish to use to generate the thumbnail. The default is the first page (1). Enter a width in pixels for the thumbnail. The height will be calcuated based on the pdf and the width you enter. You can optionally specify a color for the background of the image. Click 'submit' and the page will refresh with your thumbnail.

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