Omeka Documentation: Multimedia Hints

Digital Image Issues

What kind of image files are acceptable?

Omeka is capable of handling just about any kind of image format. Ideally, you want to upload .jpg or .png images. Other formats result in large file sizes and slower download times.

My images are rotated the wrong way. What happened?

If you are importing images from your phone or other mobile device, the camera software adds metadata telling your computer to rotate images that are taken with the device held sideways. When you upload these images to the internet, this metadata is sometimes lost. You need to open the image in an image editing program, rotate it, and "save as" a different file name.

Where can I find high resolution images?

See our Guide on Finding Images.

Digital archives published by libraries, museums, and institutions of higher education often have downloadable high-resolution images on a variety of historical topics. Try searching for “Your Topic Area + Digital Archive.” Broader search terms, such as large geographical areas or time periods, work better for this. Be sure the source you are using is related to an academic, government, or research organization. Reputable sources will have this information listed on the front page, usually in the footer information. Ask a librarian if you have questions about the legitimacy of a source.

Where can I find a large format scanner on campus?

The Multimedia Development Lab in Hunter has a scanner available to use. No appointments are necessary. Photo and video editing software are also available in the lab.

What About Copyrighted Images and Video?

Please see our guide on Copyright at Whitman College. Be sure to ask your instructor what the guidelines are for finding appropriate items for your collection.

Adding Images with HTML

Detailed tutorial on adding images with HTML.

Sometimes, you will want to add images to a block of text and there won't be a handy "add image" icon in your toolbar. In cases like these, you may be able to use a short snippet of HTML code to add your image manually. This is not hard to do! All you need is the web address of where you uploaded the image (http://www.yousite.com/blablabla/img.jpg). To find this URL, go to the image online and right click, then choose "copy image location," or if you cannot see it, "view image."

If the option to use HTML is available, you should see a checkbox or hyperlink that says "use HTML" in the editor where you have placed your text. When you select it, you should see some tags (like <p> or <br>) around your text. Navigate to where you want your image to appear and place your cursor there. The code you will add looks like this:

<img src="http://www.yoursite.com/filename.jpg">

You can change the width and height of your image by adding the attributes to your code after the URL:

<img src="http://www.yoursite.com/filename.jpg" width="300" height="500">

Note that if you only specify height, then width will be calculated proportionally, and vice versa.

If you need the image to appear to the left or right of your text, rather than directly below or above it, you can use the style attribute to set the direction the image floats, like so:

<img src="http://www.yoursite.com/filename.jpg" width="300" height="500" style="float:right">

Be aware that not all rich editors allow the use of HTML. Contact the Multimedia Development Lab if you need additional assistance adding images to websites!

Digital Video Issues

How do I embed a video from YouTube or Vimeo?

First, make sure you have chosen “Moving Image” for your item type. Then, go to YouTube or another video hosting site and find the embed code (usually this is under “share”) and copy it. Paste the embed code into the Omeka item under the item type metadata field called “Video Embed,” then save your changes.

You can also directly upload video files that you may have provided they are in a web-compatible format such as MP4 or WebM.

My video thumbnails are black squares. Can I change them?

The easiest way to create a thumbnail for a video item is to upload a still image file as the first file for your item. You could use a screenshot or images related to the video. At this time, Omeka does not have support for automatically generating thumbnails for embedded video from YouTube.  

How do I split a video into clips so that I can show just one segment?

There are a couple of ways to do this depending on the kind of video you are working with. For all video, you can use Screenflow (available in the Language Learning Center and Multimedia Development Lab) to record your screen while the part of the video you want to show is playing. If you have a video file from your camera or one that you have downloaded, you can also edit it using software such as iMovie. If you need assistance editing your footage, please contact mdl@whitman.edu.