Help > FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
The Collections
Subscription Based Collections
Using the Insight Browser and Java Client
General System Requirements
Troubleshooting
The Collections
How can I find a specific collection?
The site has been organized into 5 topics: Cartography;
Fine
Arts; Architecture; Photography;
and Other;
and are also presented in one extensive View
All list.
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Where do these collections come from?
The majority of these collections have been developed by major Universities; others have been built from private collections with the
objective of finding a viable way to share primary materials with the general public for both research and personal enjoyment.
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Who do I contact about a specific collection?
Each collection has a link to a Description pop-up window. Included in this window is a link
to the home page of a collection. Visit that site to locate specific contact information.
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Can I use an image from a collection elsewhere?
Each collection has specific rights associated with their images and
should not be reproduced without consent from the collection owners.
Contact the owners of the collection to learn more by using the Visit
Collection Site link in the description pop-up windows.
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Can I buy reproductions from you?
No. This site is not designed to be an image bank or a poster shop.
For information on a specific image, contact the owners of the collection to learn more.
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As an Insight
client I would like to add these collections to my Insight User Manager,
how do I do this?
Visit for
a complete list of collections and their settings for your User Manager.
Please do not copy the Java Client URL from this site, this will not
work properly- you need to enter the settings in your User Manager. You
can also add your institution’s collection to the registry by clicking
on the “Add
New Collection” tab, please email Anna Miller if you have added
a collection or if you have any additional information.
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Subscription Based Collections
Are there are restrictions to who can subscribe?
Each subscription collection has different terms, click on the Subscribe link next to the collection’s
name to be taken to a separate site with full subscription details.
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What is the Preview link for?
The Preview link will take you to the collection’s site where you can view a preview
of the collection before deciding to subscribe. The Preview collection is in the Insight
Browser and will allow you to zoom into the images on the first two pages.
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Can I order individual subscriptions if I live outside the U.S.?
Yes. Each subscription site allows for both domestic and international transactions.
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What does a subscriptions cost?
Subscription prices are different for each collection, click on the Subscribe
link next to the collection’s name to be taken to a separate site with full subscription details.
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When I click on the Subscribe and Preview links I am taken to a different site, why?
Because the objective of the Visual Collections site is to list as many Insight
collections as possible, it was not built to process transactions. To subscribe to a
collection or to view its Preview Collection, you must perform these actions from that site.
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Using the Insight Browser and Java Client
Should I view a collection in the Insight Browser or Java Client?
Why do you have two ways to view the collections?
Viewing the collection with the Insight Browser is the quickest and easiest way to start seeing the online images - no download is required and
works on all versions of IE, Netscape 7+ and Mozilla. After you have seen the collection with the Insight Browser, you should try the Insight
Java Client which offers advanced viewing features. The Java Client requires a one time download and will work on any Windows machine and
Mac OS 10.2. Installation will take a few minutes, visit the Java
Client page for download speed time
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How can I print and download images?
In both the Browser and Java Client you can use the Print button to print out images and data at a low resolution -
these will print out the entire image. To print out just that portion of the image you are zoomed into, you can use
screen capture to copy the image into an image viewer like Photoshop. For high resolution printing of part of or an entire
image, you need to view the collection with the Java Client, and go to File/Export selected after clicking once on the image
you want in the thumbnail window. You can then choose a resolution and download the image as a jpeg file, then open it in a viewer
and print. Be careful, some large images may have very large files if you choose the highest resolution, so start with smaller resolutions first.
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Can I look at several images at once?
Only one image can be viewed in detail in the Image Workspace using the Insight Browser.
The Java Client will allow you to view multiple images, at different scales simultaneously.
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How do I find the image I am looking for?
With so many images in one collection, sometimes finding an exact image you are looking for is difficult.
Simple search is searching by the terms first listed when you click on search - by artist name, by type, by date, or
by keyword. Advance search is accessed by clicking on "by data fields," then a new list will open with many terms to search on,
with the use of full Boolean operators like "and," "or," "greater than," "contains," and others.
After a search, to return to the full collection, click on "show all" under the search button.
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How do I view the data for an image? Can I only see this data in the Group Workspace?
You select an image by clicking on it once, you’ll know your image has been selected when a white frame appears around it.
Then click on “data” for information on the selected image. This same data window will also appear in the Image
Workspace when you click on data from the Tools Menu.
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How do I enlarge the images and zoom in when using the Insight viewers?
Double click on any thumbnail and a new window will open with tools for zooming and panning the images. When you single click a
thumbnail, you can display the data (catalog description) for that image by then clicking on "Data" on the left side of the screen.
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How far can I zoom into an image?
The level of detail for an image depends on how it has been scanned and prepared, and not all images have the same
level of zooming. Once you have brought up an image into the Image Workspace, select the “zoom in” tool and then
click on the image, you will be prompted when you have reached the largest size available. In the thumbnail of the
image in the tools bar, you’ll see which section of the image has been enlarged. Click on the section of the
image in the thumbnail you want to see enlarged to change this view.
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What is the difference
between the Group Window (thumbnail window) and the Image Workspace (window
for enlarging images) and how do I move between them?
The Group Window displays results of your searches as thumbnails and allows
you to browse the collection page by page; the Image Workspace is where
you enlarge, zoom, and compare images. To move between the two you click
on the curved arrow symbol at the bottom of the tool bar in the Image
Workspace, or click on "return" from the Group (thumbnail) Window.
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What are the names of the
tools in the Image Workspace?
As you mouse over each tool, a small label will show with the name of
the tool.
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How do I make Groups (favorites)
in the Insight Browser? In the Java Client?
First go to group/new group, put a name for the group in the text window
and click on create group. Then select an image by clicking once on
it,
go to group/save image into group and click on the name of the group
you just created from the list of groups. Scroll up and click on save.
Repeat
this for the next image, and other images you want to add to the group.
In the Java Client, the process is easier—go to file/new group and a
new group window will open, then click on as many images in the main
collection window that you want to save into the group and drag them
over to the
new group window. Then go to file/save group. Saving groups from the
browser must be placed in the AMICA General folder. With the Java Client
you
can save your groups into your personal folder. Once you are within a
Group from the Browser and want to return to the entire collection,
you must exist and re-launch.
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What are the methods to search the collection?
Simple search is searching by the terms first listed when you click on
search—by publication author, by country, by state, or by keyword.
Advance
search is accessed by clicking on "by data fields," then a
new list will open with many terms to search on, with the use of full
Boolean
operators like "and," "or," "greater than,"
"contains," and others. After a search, to return to the full
collection, click on "show all" under the search button.
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Can I sort a collection
by date or other terms instead of the "sort by" that the collection
opens with?
Yes, you can do this in the Java Client by clicking on group/sort by.
The Insight Browser does not allow you to sort.
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Can I create my own slideshows
with the images?
Yes, you can, using the Java Client. It is called making
a presentation. This will create a powerful visual sequence of images. These presentations can also
be exported to HTML or PowerPoint.
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How can I view multiple collections simultaneously?
In the Java Client, using the file/open collection menu, highlight the collections you want to view. For searching
across several collections at once, we recommend you start by using the “keyword” search function. When opening a
collection from its category page, all collection from that category will be available in the collection menu.
To view several images from different categories, open a collection from the view all page and select you collection
from the same file/open collection menu.
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General System Requirements
Insight Browser Requirements
Browser Insight 5.5 operates
with Internet Explorer 4.0+, Netscape 7+, Mozilla 1.1+ and Safari 1.2+
in Win95/98/NT/2000/XP and Mac OS 8.0-9.x, OSX. Browser Insight does not
require installation or plug-ins, but does have some basic requirements and
settings you need to know. Run Browser Insight on a PC or Mac that is 166Mhz
or faster. Actions happen faster when images are kept in memory. More memory
is an advantage for using images. For Macintosh system users not viewing
the collection in OS 10.2 you may need to increase the memory for the application,
and turn on virtual memory. You should have at least 800 x 600 screen resolution
and 16-bit color depth. You can use 8-bit color, but will lose a significant
amount of image quality in The AMICO Library. Your ideal internet
connection would be LAN 100MB+, DSL, ISDN, or CABLE. And the minimum would
be a 56K Modem.
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Insight Java Client Requirements
Insight Java Client
5.5 works
on all Windows operating systems and Mac OS 10.2. The Ideal amount
of memory to run the Java Client would be 128MB+, and the minimum
would be 32MB. You should have 60 MB allocated to your hard drive
space. The ideal monitor would be 20" or larger non-interlaced
monitor (1024x768). The minimum would be a 15" non-interlaced monitor (800x600).
Your ideal internet connection would be LAN 100MB+, DSL, ISDN, or CABLE.
And the minimum would be a 56K Modem.
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Troubleshooting
Using the Java Client,
I get the message that I am unable to connect to the Insight Server -
what is going on?
The most likely reason is a firewall problem—some older firewalls do
not allow java to pass through. Update your firewall, or use the Insight
Browser. Test by turning off the Firewall and/or allowing Pop-ups from
this site only—if this corrects the problem, adjust your Firewall settings.
For more
information on Firewalls view our
support
pdf.
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Using the Insight Browser, I am having
difficulties accessing the collection- what is going on?
The most likely reason is a blocking Pop-ups and/or Java setting within
your browser. Try allowing Pop-ups and Java from this site only—then
adjust your browser settings accordingly.
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I am on a modem connection
and the Insight Browser does not seem to be loading - what is happening?
The Insight Browser will take about 1 minute to completely load with
a modem at 28K, faster for a modem at 45K. The Java Client will take
about
the same time. When you zoom into images, be patient. But once you have
accessed with a modem, when you access the next time, it will be about
twice as fast since Insight stores some of the data in your Browser cache.
The best way to get the benefit of the high resolution images we offer
is to get some kind of broadband Internet access—Cable or DSL.
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The images are loading slowly, what can I do?
Try closing other applications. If you are on a Mac, you may want to try and allocate more
memory to the Insight program.
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