We Now Have an Index for the Galleries and New Flipbooks; Licensing Reminder
We recently made two useful additions to the website. First, we have heard many of you say it is hard to remember where things are located within the Galleries section. Initially, this was by design, as we intended for the Galleries environment to be be a place for exploration and discovery.
However, with the website’s upcoming expansion and hard launch later this year, the Galleries’ emphasis will shift from discovery to reference in nature. To facilitate this, we have installed a new Gallery Index.
By definition, an index is alphabetical in structure. This posed a few logistical problems, such as having various federal and Marion County Galleries being located up and down the index, rather than being grouped all together.
As we worked to develop some sort of hybrid index, we came to the realization that there was no way to ensure it would remain future-proofed, elegant and serviceable. For this reason, we decided to keep the Gallery Index conventional and, therefore, purely alphabetical (see Figure 1).
Figure 1. Top portion of the new Gallery Index.
To enter the image galleries, click on Galleries in the Home page drop down menu or beneath the Home page banner. This will take you to Gallery One. There is now a button which takes you to the Gallery Index, located at the upper left of each gallery page. Simply click on the title of a gallery and you will be taken directly to the thumbnails. If you wish to read the introductions, you may access them by using the main Gallery Buttons. These are now located to the right of the Index button.
Welcome to the Flipbooks!
According to our Beta testers, this is the most enjoyable and exciting innovation we have introduced in some time. We have now made all of the articles, blog series and exhibits that were previously available to download as a PDF – available for your viewing as separate Flipbooks. These are, essentailly, virtual books. For those of you who are not aware, viewing a Flipbook online is very similar to reading an actual book.
In this format, the PDFs appear as books that fill your screen (see Figure 2). You turn the pages by either 1) using the right and left arrow keys on your keyboard, 2) using your mouse to click on the forward or back arrows located on the sides of the pages or 3) use your mouse to grab the pages in any corner and then manually turn them like a real book! The latter is definitely the most fun option.
Figure 2. This what the PDFs look like in the Flipbook version.
You are able to increase the magnification of the images by either 1) simply clicking on a page with your mouse – this automatically takes you up to 250% (a second click will take you back to 100%), 2) using the scroll wheel available on some mice to gradually increase or decrease the magnification or 3) click and drag the tool located at the top center area of each Flipbook page (or facing pages) to manually adjust the magnification (see Figure 3).
Figure 3. You may slide this tool to adjust magnification.
Either way, once you have reached the desired level of magnification, you may grab the page with your mouse and then move it around to center the object you wish to view. As most of our images are scanned at 600 dpi, they respond favorably to magnification (with a minimum of distortion). In order to get back to the Table of Contents, click on the back arrow of your browser.
Figure 4. The stamp and caption shown on the above (left-facing) page, viewed at 250%.
The main reason for adding the Flipbook section, was to aid those who may have less than 20/20 vision. All of the PDF articles and blog series have been reformatted, page by page, and the font is larger and bolder than the default font used throughout the website. In other words, the articles and blog posts are easier to read in our PDF format.
For those of you with good eyesight, we still encourage you to visit the Flipbook Table of Contents and try a couple of them out. Once there, you will find three buttons across the top of the page. By clicking on any of these, you will be taken down to the Articles, Blog Posts and Exhibits sections, respectively. A Flipbook icon is located to the right of each introductory paragraph (see Figure 5). Simply click on one to try it out.
Figure 5. The Flipbook icon.
Going forward, all of our PDFs will be constructed with a Flipbook in mind and the layout (particularly the juxtaposition of images on facing pages) taken into consideration. We may even create covers, just like real books.
A Friendly Reminder
All of the content within the Flipbooks is protected by our standard licensing agreement, located at the bottom of every page on the website and also (prominently) on the last page of each Flipbook (see Figure 6). It is important to understand these images have been generously provided by the hobby’s leading collectors for your personal enjoyment and for educational purposes, only.
Figure 6. All of the images in the Flipbooks are licensed by waterfowlstampandmore.com.
Under no circumstances are they allowed to be taken from our site and used within any materials for profit (commercial use). In addition, those desiring to use the images in non-commercial publications must give appropriate credit and provide a link to waterfowlstamsandmore.com.
If you wish to enjoy a good working relationship with us, simply identify the desired images and outline the purpose of your work in an email – then request written permission. Requests will be reviewed and permission to reproduce our content granted on a case by case, one time only basis (there is no limit to the number of requests that can be made by any one individual or organization).
From all of us at Waterfowl Stamps and More, we look forward to working with you to spread the word and educate others about our wonderful hobby!