DIGITAL SCHOLARSHIP GUIDES

Digital Scholarship Guides

Exhibit.so Guide

Introduction

Exhibit.so is a web-based platform for creating and sharing digital exhibits of digital objects (including audiovisual materials like film and 3D models), compatible with International Image Interoperability Framework. Because of the nature of IIIF, which is used to present high quality images, scans, models, and video, media in Exhibit.so can be zoomed in on and manipulated while maintaining a certain level of quality and legibility. We suggested Exhibit.so for the project because it’s particularly good for creating exhibitions with maps, since users can zoom in as much as they want on a map in the exhibition and be able to see every tiny detail.

Getting Started

Exhibit.so does not require an account to create an exhibition. All you need is a computer, phone, or tablet with access to the Internet and a way to search for and download images on the Web. To create an exhibition in Exhibit.so:

  1. Navigate to https://www.exhibit.so in your web browser.
  2. Scroll down to the Create an Exhibit button.
  3. When the exhibit page opens, copy and save the URL from the search bar. Since Exhibit.so does not use accounts to create exhibits, you need to save or bookmark the edit URL to be able to edit your exhibit in the future. Do not lose the edit URL!
  4. Whenever you want to edit a part of your exhibit, use the edit URL.
    • The edit URL will always start with https://www.exhibit.so/exhibits/edit/
    • If an error appears when the first open your exhibit, simply reload the page.

Settings

To change the settings of how your exhibit is presented, including the title, description, and template, click on the pen icon in the corner of the top box on the edit page. To save a change, scroll down in the settings window and click the blue update button.

Template

Exhibit.so has four template options for how users view your exhibit: Kiosk, Scroll, Slides, and Quiz.

Of these views, Kiosk, Slides, and Quiz are effectively the same view with only slight variations. All three are horizontal views, where the user moves between images and text by clicking a right arrow that takes them from one slide to another. Kiosk runs automatically through the slides and Quiz prompts questions between the slides. 

Scroll is a vertical view that allows the viewer to scroll down through the text in one seamless column, with transitions between images based on how far a user has scrolled. Templates do not affect the way an exhibit is created, only how an exhibit is presented. 

Title

The title of your exhibition can be as long as you’d like and can use any characters, though the Exhibit.so platform may not be able to properly display special characters or non-Roman characters.

Author

We recommend including your name is this space to ensure that your exhibit is findable and properly attributed to you.

Description

The description can include a subtitle, thesis statement, or abstract for your project.

Rights

Including rights information is optional. However, we recommend protecting your work. For a quick spiel about using Creative Commons licenses to protect your work, see this guide for copyright and intellectual property concerns for eCommons users, which is generally relevant for all Cornell folks publishing stuff on the web.

Access

Exhibits can be either public or password-protected. If you choose to password protect your exhibit, remember to save the password.

Allow Duplication

Allowing duplication allows other users to search for, duplicate, and use your exhibit to create their own exhibits. You can choose whether to allow others to duplicate your exhibit or not by unchecking or checking the box next to “Allow Duplication”.

Adding Content

There are two main types of content in Exhibit.so: text and images. Since the primary purpose of Exhibit.so is to exhibit media, text is always attached to images. To add content to your exhibit:
  1. Click the Add Item button at the lower left of the screen.
  2. Paste the IIIF Manifest URL for your image in . Click the blue import button to upload the image. You can import multiple items before adding them to your exhibit.
  3. Click on the item you’d like to add to your exhibit from the list. Click Add to exhibit to add the item to the exhibit viewer.
  4. Click on the grey bar with the plus sign to add text that will display alongside your image. Exhibit.so refers to these as comments. Once you’re done editing your text, click the check at the bottom of the box.
  5. If you want the text to appear alongside a specific zoom point on the image, like a significant landmark, a group of bodies of water, etc., use the image viewer to zoom in on the point you want on the map. Then add a comment with your desired text. Once you click the check at the bottom of the text box, both the zoom point and the text will save.

Saving

All content on Exhibit.so autosaves, meaning creators do not need to hit a save button after every change. Creators must save the edit URL for the exhibit by copying and saving the URL from the search bar when they create the exhibition or are editing their exhibition. Because there’s no official save feature, exhibits can constantly be updated and edited easily.

Creators can preview their exhibit by clicking the preview button with an eye (optical) symbol next to it. A preview will open in a separate window.

Sharing

An exhibit can be shared through the URL or by embedding the exhibit in another web page. Click the share button with a less than sign with dots at all the joints and select whether you’d like to share the edit link or the view link. With the view link, anyone on the Internet can view the exhibit.

To embed the exhibit on another site, click the share button with a less than sign with dots at all the joints. Select the size you’d like the exhibit to be and copy the HTML code that is generated.

Want to know more? Here are two videos created by the IIIF YouTube channel:

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