Snapshot page - an introduction

SNAPSHOT HELP

A snapshot is like a photograph of a visualization: it preserves the visualization in a particular state so that others can use it and refer to it.

A snapshot maintains links to the datasets it is based on. If it was based on another snapshot, it will have a link to that snapshot as well.

In the first section on the page, summary information about the snapshot is displayed. This includes the name, description, and creator of the snapshot. You can also track which collections are storing the snapshot.

Snapshots have legends that show how the values of the datasets used relate to the visual treatment of the snapshot. You can show or hide the legend by clicking the tab on the legend drawer.

The bottom of the snapshot shows links to the datasets used. Each dataset has an action menu. You can use the action menu options to save the dataset to a collection, download it, or view its comments. If you are the owner of that dataset, you can decide to set this snapshot as the "default style" of the dataset. That means that whenever someone visualizes the dataset, they will see this snapshot's visualization rules used by the default. (The user will be able to override the default.) This is a handy way to show people the most salient feature of a dataset, or a good standard way of viewing it.

The action menu in the upper right corner lets you save the current snapshot to a collection, or view the comments on it. It also lets you create a new snapshot based on the current one: if you see a snapshot you like, you can use this feature to make a new one just like it, which you can then adjust to suit your own needs. Finally, you can download a PNG image file that captures the snapshot for use elsewhere.

If you click on the visualization part of the snapshot, you will get an information box showing the values of the datasets in the snapshot where you clicked. (You can click on the attribute names in the information box to get even more information.)

Click on the annotation tool to leave a visual comment. Visual comments are just like regular comments, but you can specify a defined area that comment applies to. After you click on the annotation tool, click on the visualization to define an area for your comment (double click to stop drawing). Then fill in the comment box to leave the comment. Click the annotation tool again to leave the commenting mode.

If you've saved snapshots to a collection, you can create a slideshow of those snapshots. See the help for collection pages for more information.

You can comment on the snapshot by clicking on the "more details and comments" link.