Over the past year and a half, we have been educated, entertained and amazed by the great Story Pages that have been created by Footnote Members. Thanks to everyone for your contributions.Last month we introduced Footnote Pages, the next generation of Story Pages, with timelines, facts, related pages, weblinks and more. Now that we’ve had some time to work on and improve these new features, we’ve added them to all Story Pages on the site.

There are a few things that owners of existing pages can do to take full advantage of the new features:

Choosing a page type: With Footnote Pages you can choose to make a page about a Person, Place, Event, Organization or Topic. Since we didn’t have this information for your pages, we’ve marked them as “Topic” pages. You can change the page type for your pages in the “About this page” section near the bottom of the left hand column.

Opening up your page:Footnote Pages allow you to open your page to contributions from other Footnote Members. No one else can edit or remove things you’ve added, but they can add new photos, facts, related pages, etc. As the page creator, you can always control the page by removing unwanted or inappropriate contributions made by others. Since Story Pages allowed only you to contribute, we’ve set your Footnote Page to do the same. To change your settings and allow other Footnote members to contribute, go to the “About this page” section near the bottom of the left hand column.

Adding to the Timeline and Map: Entries you added to your Story Pages will appear as Stories in the new format. Dates and places that you added to your entries will automatically show up on the Timeline and on the map. You can add to the timeline and map by adding facts to the fact box or dates and places to your stories.

Choosing a cover image: Images you added to entries on your Story Pages will appear in the page gallery and with the Stories. You can now choose a picture from the gallery to be the cover image for the page.

Send us your feedback: If you see a problem or have suggestions for us, please use the “Feedback” link at the top of the pages or the “Contact Footnote” link at the bottom to let us know how we can make things better.You can see a list of Footnote Pages that people are working on here.

Note: Some members have been thrown off by what looks like the repetition a Footnote Page in the contribution lists on their Profile page. Sorry for the confusion. We’ll work on improving this, but for now, don’t worry, there is just one version of the page out there, it just shows up again each time you add something new.

Do you often wish you could insert a thread through the documents and images on Footnote that relate to the same person, place, event or topic?   You can!  Just create a connection between them.

Connections

When you find images that you’d like to connect, simply click on the Connection link above the image.   Then click on the next image from you gallery or from Footnote.  Choose a Connection Type from the drop down list and add Details about why they are related.  The text you enter for the Details describes the connection so everyone understands the linkage.

Moving Connection Order

If you want to move the images from side to side, click on the flip icon above the Connection Type.

Sequential Order or Relational Order

You may want to link the images in chronological order or in relation to surrounding events, places, etc.

How many images can you link together in a string?  There really isn’t a limit although excessively large groups may be more difficult to review than more targeted groupings.  However, you understand the story or concept that you are showing and hence are the best judge of how the connection groupings are best presented.

Viewing Other Connections

Great!  You’ve made a connection or have found a connected image in your search.   How can you see the other images that have been connected to it?

Click on the image so it shows in the Image Viewer. If the image has connections, there will be a number above the Connections link.    Click on the number and choose the ‘View Connections” link.  The other connected images will then be displayed.

An alternative to searching for an image by title or subject and watching for the connection indicator is to click on ‘Member Discoveries’ at the top of the home page, then on the down arrow and choosing “Connections” from the drop down list.

The list of member connections is shown in chronological order

Choose a connection from the list and click on it.

The results will look like the connection below.  Note that links below the images tell how many other connections exist to that image.  Click on the links and all of the associated connections will be listed.

If you’ve discovered or know of connections that will benefit yourself or others, take a few minutes to ‘make the connection’ just like member “grandmaginny222′ did here.  Everyone wins when you do.