ISLSCP Initiative II

Related Pages ISLSCP Initiative II Home     Archive User Tutorials

Tutorial: Using the Interface

This archive has an HTML-based interface that has been designed to be simple and intuitive. This tutorial will show you the various elements of the interface, how they operate, and how the process of finding data works.

The HTML Interface

HyperText Markup Language (HTML) is the basis of this interface. This was done for several reasons: 1) most computer users are already familiar with the use and design conventions of Web pages; 2) the interface looks and operates the same for users on any of the supported computer platforms (Macintosh, Windows, UNIX); 3) HTML is a stable language, and there is a very good chance that the HTML files on this archive will still operate in 10 or 20 years; 4) Web browsing software will be updated and distributed by commercial vendors, ensuring that the interface will continue to work as operating systems evolve.
      Either Netscape Navigator Web Browser (from Netscape Inc. [Internet Link]) or Microsoft Internet Explorer (from Microsoft Inc. [Internet Link]) can be used to view the interface on this archive.

Note: You must be running at least version 4 of Netscape Navigator or MS Internet Explorer in order for the JavaScript on this archive to operate properly. Click here for help in configuring your browser, such as turning JavaScript ON.

Standard Navigation Aids

The title of the page, visible in the title bar of the browser window, tells you what page you are on. The standard features described below also help tell where you are and help you get around.

ISLSCP Initiative II	The ISLSCP II icon at the top-left of each page is a clickable link that always takes you to the ISLSCP Initiative II Home page.
Related Pages ISLSCP Initiative II Home     Archive User Tutorials	The "Related Pages" box at the top-right of each page gives a list of HTML links that display a hierarchy of pages, giving you easy access to previous pages.
Related Pages:     ISLSCP Initiative II Home         Archive User Tutorials             Tutorial: Installing the Software             Tutorial: Configuring Netscape             Tutorial: Using the Interface             Tutorial: Decompressing and Viewing Images	The list of "Related Pages" is also at the bottom of each page, giving a complete list of HTML links showing the page hierarchy, including the current page in italics.

There are also numerous Internet links within the interface. These links give you access to additional information from various sites on the World-Wide Web. But because we have no control over the continued availability of these sites, some of the links will become inactive over time. All of these "outside" links are labeled with the phrase "[Internet Link]".

"Multiple" and "Single" Window Mode

This interface has two ways you can view things: (1) multiple windows are used, showing documents in different overlaping windows; or (2) everything occurs in the same window. You can set which "Window Mode" you want on the "Set the Window Mode" page. You select this by clicking on one of the "dot" buttons, as shown below. Your selection will be saved between sessions using a "Cookie", a small file that your browser saves on your computer.

Click here to change your Window Mode setting.

Finding Data Using the Indexes

There are multiple ways to find data on this archive. The best way is to use the indexes. These are collections of HTML links to the data sets, each organized in a different way. They include:

• Select Data by Category -- an overview of the general category of data included, with further links to the data sets.
• Select Data by Scale -- a list of all the data sets by scale (1-degree, half-degree, quarter-degree).
• Select Data by Details -- a list of all the data sets in a matrix, with other information.
• Select Data by Parameter -- a list of the major parameters in the data sets (with coverage and units).
• List Contents by Disc -- a list of what data sets are on each Disc.

Since many of these pages are large and take a while to load, all the links off of them come up in a new window, preserving the index page for you to reuse without reloading.

The Data Set Description Page

Once a data set has been selected, you are presented with a Data Set Description page, which gives you a summary of information on the data set: title, general description, acknowledgements, column names, column units, and column descriptions. There are also three buttons (shown below, for the "Sea Ice Extent Map"):

Data Files (ISLSCP II Disc #1)

Data Set Documentation

Image Viewing Tutorial

The button on the left takes you to a file list for the data set. It also shows which Disc the data are located on, and you may be prompted to swap Discs. The middle button opens a window that shows you the complete documentation for this data set. The button on the right connects you to the appropriate tutorial for the data set (numeric data, image data, etc.).

The File List View

Once you click on the "Data Files" button (shown above), and perhaps changing Discs, you are presented with a listing of the available data files for your chosen data set (the example is for the "Sea Ice Extent Map"). The other files shown contain useful information:

• "Up to higher level Directory" is a standard link you can use to navigate around the disc's directory structure.
• "-_image_tutorial.html" is an HTML link to the Decompressing and Viewing Images tutorial, popping it up in a new window to help step you through viewing the images.
• "0_sea_ice_extent_readme.txt" is a short text version of the documentation file for this data set.
• "1_sea_ice_extent_doc.pdf" is a PDF (Portable Document Format) version of the documentation file for this data set.
• The PKZip compressed image files themselves all end with the extension ".zip".

Saving the Data Files Within Your Browser

If a data file is not compressed (not ending with ".zip" or ".pdf" or ".html"), you can simply click on the file to view it in your browser. One the file is visible on the screen, you can save the entire contents of the file by using the "Save As..." command under the browsers "File" menu. This will save the data as it appears on the screen. You can also select specific text on the page and copy it out into another file, perhaps pasting it into a spreadsheet.

Decompressing and Viewing Images

This archive contains many image products that are compressed using the Zip compression software. Click here to see a tutorial on how to Decompress and View Images.

Data Acknowledgements and Copyright Issues

The data from this archive can be used in models and scientific papers, as long as credit is given to the Principal Investigator, and the ISLSCP Initiative II data archive should be cited as the source. Please include the specific data set acknowledgement from the documentation file, and cite this data archive as:

Hall, F.G., B. Meeson, S. Los, L. Steyaert, E. de Colstoun, D. Landis, eds. ISLSCP Initiative II. NASA. DVD/CD-ROM. NASA, 2005.

Related Pages:
    ISLSCP Initiative II Home
        Archive User Tutorials
            Tutorial: Installing the Software
            Tutorial: Configuring Your Browser
            Tutorial: Using the Interface
            Tutorial: Decompressing and Viewing Images

Revision Date: March 31, 2005