Help
How to use this site
Navigating around the site
Using the map
Listening to interviews
Accessibility
Software requirements
Enlarging text
Using Storyteller
Registration
Adding images
How to use this site
This site has 2 main parts. The first contains a single page for each postcode area with a featured museum object and links to local places of interest. The second is an online system which you can use to enter a story and pictures and send them to us to add to the site.
You may prefer to browse through the first part first, then think about your local area and the stories you think people might find interesting. You may also want to go out and talk to people or take photos before you come back to the site to enter your own story. See the section below on Using Storyteller for more advice.
Navigating around the site
The main way of navigating around the site is the map on the home page. You can use this to directly select any postcode area.
The blue title bar at the top also contains useful links for finding your way around the site. 'Places' includes lists of all the London postcode areas with information about the areas they cover and the boroughs they are part of.
'Themes' includes some themed tours. This might be a good place to start if you're not sure what else to look for. The tours will take you through a selection of pages that we have chosen to relate to a particular topic. The Themes section also gives you the option of looking for objects from a particular period, or for particular object types.
Once you are on a page about a specific postcode area you will have a choice of ways to browse through the site:
- Related objects (Theme / Objects / Period) - Find other objects in the same themed tour, with a similar function or from the same period
- Adjacent postcodes - A list of every other neighbouring postcode area with links on to the pages about them
- Stories from... - As local people contribute stories about this area links to them will be displayed in this box. You can also choose to see all the stories about the area, or write a story yourself.
- Local links - A selection of local places of interest. These links go to external websites, and the Museum of London takes no responsibility for the content or maintenance of external sites.
Clicking on the object photograph, or the caption below it, will take you a larger version of the photograph.
Using the map
The maps on the home page and the object pages are the same. On either page you can zoom in or out using the plus and minus symbols
or simply drag the triangle above the controls
to increase or decrease the scale quickly.
To move around the map use the up / down / left / right arrows
On the home page you will see a moving box on the small map to show you which part of the city is displayed on the main map.
To go back to the overview map select the circular symbol with an arrow in it.
Click on the map to go to a postcode area of interest.
The pages for each postcode area are available in 2 versions, 1 with the Flash animated map and 1 with a simple graphic map. You can switch between the versions using the link below the map, and the site will remember your preference for the duration of your visit.
The map is based on a 1:50,000 map of the city. Because you are able to zoom in and out on a sliding scale, it is not possible to provide a scale for every intermediate version of the map. To see the true 1:50,000 scale mapping, please zoom right in.
Listening to interviews
Interview excerpts are included as short audio files in a standard format called mp3. To hear the audio you will need speakers and a 'media player' programme installed on your computer. Common ones are Windows media player and RealOne player for PCs and QuickTime for Macs. If you do not have a media player you can download one:
Accessibility
The maps use flash animation, so may not work well for all users. If you prefer not to use flash you can access any page from the "Places" section, or use "Adjacent areas" to move on to another page of interest.
The pages for each postcode area are available in 2 versions, 1 with the Flash animated map and 1 with a simple graphic map. You can switch between the versions using the link below the map, and the site will remember your preference for the duration of your visit.
This site has been designed to meet WAI single A accessibility guidelines. If you find it difficult to access please contact us on learning@museumoflondon.org.uk.
Software requirements
To use the Flash animated map you will need free Flashplayer software installed on your computer. Download Flashplayer from here: http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer
Enlarging text
You can change the size that text is displayed on this website, and many others. The exact method varies from browser to browser.
-
Internet explorer
Select the View menu, and then the Text size option to select the size setting that suits you. -
Netscape / Mozilla
Select the View menu, and then use the Text zoom sub-menu to select the size setting that suits you. -
Opera
Select the View menu, and then use the Zoom sub-menu to select the size setting that suits you. -
Safari
Select the View menu, and then use the 'Make text bigger' or 'Make text smaller' options to increase or decrease the text size.
Using Storyteller
The Storyteller system is designed to make it possible for you to send us a story about a particular postcode area which we can then add to the Postcodes project website for everyone to see.
Your story can be as long as you like, and is made up of a series of blocks of text (called paragraphs). Each block of text can have one image to illustrate it. If you only have one image you can put all your text in the first text box. If you want to add more than one image you will need to add extra paragraphs. You can then add an image for each paragraph.
You may find it easiest to write your story in a word-processing package and prepare your images first, then copy and paste the text into the text box. You can also type directly into the box if you prefer, but there are no facilities for spell checking etc.
If you have registered you will be able to save your story for later and edit it on another occasion. Please make sure you save your work before logging out.
Once you have added all your words and images you can check how the story will look by clicking on 'Preview'. If necessary you can then go back and edit the story. Once you are happy with the preview click on 'Finish'.
Before sending us your story you must tell us which postcode area it relates to. All the stories are displayed on pages relating to a particular postcode area, so if you don't tell us which area it is about, then we cannot display it. Simply select the correct area from the drop down menu. You can check which areas a postcode covers in the main site, under 'Places'.
Please add your contact details to the form on the 'Finish' page. This will enable us to contact you if there is a small problem about your story. If we cannot contact you to discuss the problem we will not be able to correct it or make your story live. See the Postcodes Privacy policy for details of how we store your personal details.
Registration
Registration is not compulsory if you prefer to simply write a story and send it to us, but we recommend that you do take the time to register as this will make it possible for you to save a half-finished story and then come back to finish it later.
We also recommend that group leaders register in advance. This enables you to control passwords so there is one password for all group members who need to write and edit stories, and a second for others who should be able to read stories but not edit them. Group leaders can also choose to have a personal password that identifies you as a group leader. See the Postcodes Privacy policy for details of how we store your personal details.
Adding images
On the 'Add pictures' page you can use the 'Browse' button to explore the folders on your computer and select the image you want to add. Clicking on 'Add this image' starts the process to transfer (upload) a copy of the image from your computer to ours.
The system automatically re-sizes images to be the correct display size, but uploading large images can take a long time. Any images over 10MB are automatically rejected. If possible check the size of your images in advance and make sure they are the right size. We recommend that each image you add to your story should be about 1mb (1000KB) in size.
The system should recognise all industry-standard file formats, but we recommend saving your images as .jpg or .gif files. Image copyright The reproduction of images on websites is covered by UK and international copyright law. The law restricts the use of images (and other creations) for 70 years after the death of the creator. This means that the Museum cannot display anything created in the last 70 years unless we have permission from the creator. If you take a photograph yourself and submit it to the Museum as part of a story, the Terms & conditions state that you give us permission to use it.
If you want to include a picture you found on the internet, a scan or photocopy of an artwork or published material from a newspaper or book etc, you must get permission from whoever owns the copyright first. If you do not do so you may be prosecuted in a court of law.
In order to avoid legal problems relating to copyright, we recommend you only use photographs you have taken yourself, reproductions of drawings or paintings you did yourself, or similar images by people that you know personally. If you want to use images produced by friends or family, please ask them first.
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