Capture details

Link to or embed a specific detail of an image

We've seen how IIIF viewers always present images in the context of the object they belong to, and because of this, sharing via IIIF has significant advantages over taking an isolated screenshot of a detail.

IIIF allows a link to be generated and shared, that will take the recipient directly to a precise location within a digital object. In a scholarly or heritage context, there are any number of reasons why someone might want to share a small section of a digital object - such as an image in a book, a note in a margin, or an area of damage on a painting.

This might support collaborative research, academic citation, exhibition planning, or even debating potential conservation treatments. The recipient of a link to a IIIF image is able to see the detail in the context of the wider object, and also see the full bibliographic details, including the location of the original.

Exercise: Sharing a link to an image detail

• Open this diary in a new tab. It was kept by Priscilla Scott-Ellis - a member of the English aristocracy, who travelled to Spain to serve as a nurse in the Spanish Civil War. She kept several diaries of her experiences, which she self-censored prior to publication. It's interesting to see which sections are removed! 🔎

• Use the thumbnail menu to find a page which features a crossed out section. Click on the thumbnail to load the page, and zoom into the section.

• In the bottom left corner, click the share icon to open the menu. Copy the link, then close the tab. Open a new tab, and paste the link.

• The link will open the object on exactly the same page, and zoomed into the same area as the tab you closed. This allows you to share a tiny detail with anyone in the world via a link.

• Notice that you can also use the share icon to access html embed code. If you have a website or blog, you can set a pixel size in the dropdown menu, and copy this html into your own site, in order to host your own instance of Universal Viewer. Visitors to your site can not only view a detail of a page, but browse other pages within the object.