Klaus-Dieter Kemp's Diatom Database - V.2.2 - Help
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This database has been compiled over a number of years from many of the classic publications and also from material gleaned from more recent publications. The latter has, where this has been possible, been included with the full permission of the original author.
The format of the data and the presentation are by Little Imp Publications and may not be duplicated in any form.
If you wish to copy this system to your hard disk then you may do so but you must retain the original CD. The advantages of doing so are related to speed as hard disk access is inherently faster than access to a CD.
Should you choose this method of running then you will need to launch the pages by double-clicking the file 'index.htm' in the 'diatomdb' folder or dragging this file to your browser or its related icon. You may choose to simply create a shortcut to this file on your desktop.
The data items have been designed to assist diatomists in determining which genus their example might belong to and by following that genus, which species or closely related species it might be.
The database does not attempt to cover every species, a somewhat larger number of CDs would be required together with considerably more years of labour.

How to use

The main window should be maximised (please note that the design has been optimised for a 1024x768 display). Maximising the display is best achieved with Internet Explorer by pressing the F11 key. To best utilise the functions available you should be using IE5.5 or above (or an equivalent). Some functions are not supported by other Browsers.

When you load the main page (index.htm) the system will display a reminder as follows:-


The topmost and leftmost portions of the window contain the instruction and selection controls as depicted below.




The first control on the left hand side, when clicked will produce a menu of Genera categories.


The buttons from this menu can be used to display the Genera images. These images can be used as a guide to your samples possible genus. The first button bearing the legend 'Centric' will display only the Centric genera examples, the next button marked 'Pennate' will display only the Pennate examples and the button marked 'All' (you've guessed!) displays all sample genera. You will see in some of the images presented that these are text details which describe the characteristics of the genus in question.

The next button below this group is one named 'Sources'.

Clicking this button will result in the display of the title pages of the publications used in the creation of this database.

Once you have decided on a probable genus you may then select that genus from the drop down list as in the example below.



Once you have selected a genus name you may then click the button marked 'Search' and your results are displayed in the main portion of the window.
The Search button is situated on the top right of the window.



The other two buttons in this area are the 'Help' button which you must have clicked to display this window and the 'Reset' button which sets all selections back to the values they were when the window was first loaded. Please note the Version number displayed, this should match the version number in the help title at the top of this page.

There are three selection criteria - Genus, Location and Publication.
Searching on a single criterion e.g. genus, will result in an almost immediate response. Although the system will search on multiple criteria e.g. a genus and a location, these searches can take a considerable amount of time.

To ensure that you don't start a search that may take some minutes a confirmation display is presented as follows:-



If you click OK then the top right section of the screen will display:-



Should you choose to cancel the search the top right area is blank.

In most cases the system is likely to be used for Genus and species matching and will consequently prove more than adequate for such use.

When you do submit a search you should be sure that only the drop down criteria you require are selected. To ease the selection of 'Don't Care' each selection has a button marked 'X' associated with it. Clicking this will set the appropriate selection to 'Don't Care'.

If you simply wish to browse the entire database then submitting a search where all selection are 'Don't Care' will return every item in the database.

Should your search fail to find any matching records then the following is displayed in the top right hand corner.



Once matching items have been located they are displayed in the main body of the window in a 2x2 matrix. In the top right of the top panel you will see an indication of the number of matches as in the example below.



The button marked with a question mark enables you to recall the details of the last search you did.



You may navigate the results using the back and forward buttons that appear in the bottom of the window as in the image below.



The button '|<' will move you to the first of the results and the button '>|' will move the current pointer to the last four matches.
The button '<<' will move back 10 records and the button '>>' will move forward 10 records.
The button '<Back' moves back 4 records and the button 'Forward>' moves forward 4 records.

You may jump directly to an image number using the 'Record Number box and the Locate button.
If you request a record number that is beyond the scope of the returned results you will be presented with an error window as below:-



You will also notice a small box in the side panel similar to that below.



This box contains the numbers of the images as displayed in the main body of the window. Thus, if you have chosen to locate number 412 then this box will indicate which of the four images displayed is number 412.

By placing the mouse pointer over the image details of the image may be displayed as a popup. This is illustrated in the image below:



The image presented is as originally published. However, in our experience the images may not necessarily repflect what you see with you chosen lighting technique or it may be that a particular feature is apparent in your own sample that doesn't seem to be as prominent in the illustration. An example of a different lighting technique might be using dark-ground. We have found that by creating a negative image it is possible to recognise features that perhaps we would otherwise overlook. To this end the Inverse button has been provided.



Clicking this button will produce a negative image of all images on the displayed pages.

 


By clicking on an image in the main body of the window a new window is opened which contains the full sized image and also details of source, plate/figure, location and name/authority as in the sample below.



On this display you will notice three buttons - Tag, Add to Notes and Done.
The Tag button tags the record and records it in the main database window. See Tags tab.
The Add to Notes button adds the details of the record to a note of your choice (See Notes tab below.
When you click this button the focus is switched to the main database window where you will see a confirmation window as below.



Enter a number in the range 1 thru 10 and click OK. The record details will be transferred to the appropriate note. If you enter an invalid number, nothing or click Cancel then no data is written to the notes area.

The Done button will simply set focus back to the main window.

This full sized image window also provides buttons to produce a negative image (Inverse), and because the valves on your slide are not always the same orientation as the illustration (and it is more difficult to turn a computer upside down than it is a book), two buttons marked 'Flip Vert.' and 'Flip Hori.' which flip the image vertically and horizontally, are provided. At present you can apply these funcions singly only.

  


You may also keep freehand notes during the session without the need to switch to another process. In the left hand panel you will see five tabs - Database, Notes, Species, About and Tags.



The database tab should be used to return to the database after making Note entries as below.
When you click the Notes tab the central portion of the display will change to present a Session notes area as below:-



If you have not entered any session notes before the notes area will be empty (as above) otherwise any notes will be presented in a format similar to that below.



The ten buttons above the text panel allow you to maintain ten seperate notes for the Session.
The eight buttons on the bottom of this page allow the user to insert the current date and time, copy a marked selection of the displayed note to the ClipBoard, copy the entire contents of the displayed Session Notes to the clipboard, clear the current Notes, paste text from the clipboard, Merge all notes into Notes 1, Save the notes as file on your machine and email the notes.
Users should be aware of a confirmatory message associated with the Session Notes. When you click the Reset button you are asked to confirm that it is persmissible to delete the Session Notes.



If you wish to save your session notes then click Cancel and copy and paste the notes into another application. Clicking OK will erase the notes and reload the session.

The Save As button enables you to save the currently viewed note to a file on your system. When you click the Save AS button you will be presented with a dialogue box similar to that below:-



The first thing you should do is change the file type from HTML to TXT as in the illustration below:-



...and then select your target folder and a filename. DO NOT USE THE FILENAME PRESENTED. Click the save button and a standard format text file will be saved.

If there is no text in the currently selected note you will see the following informational dialogue box:-



Notes generated by record pages (the Add to Notes button) are formatted as below:-



Note that the full sized image filename is included in the details recorded. This can be useful if you are communicating with other Diatom DataBase users who might want to go directly to the file. The function to load a file from the main database window is invoked using the 'Load Rec.' button found in the leftmost panel.



When you cick this button you are prompted for a filename as below:-



Enter the filename but not the path and click OK. The species window will be opened containg the file image and details.

You may also email the notes. The email button will open your default mail program and insert the notes into the body of the email document. An example of the format is procuded below:-



You simply have to enter the recipients address, add any personal message and send.

Personal Notes Pages

You will notice the button 'View Personal Notes Pages'. Clicking this button will result in the following display:-



The two rightmost panels of the screen depicted above are derived from two text files in the 'diatomdb' folder. - 'pnp1.txt' and 'pnp2.txt'.
These files are simply provided to provide an initial display.
The lower left quadrant provides some controls via which you may load your own files into the two rightmost panels. The Browse buttons allow you to examine your own system for files to be loaded as per the example below:-



You may load image files, HTML files and text files into the two panels. Having selected your files simply click the load button and the files are loaded into the panels. You might want to use these pages to load a photograph you have taken that you wish to compare, or an HTML file downloaded from the web, or perhaps some notes you have accumulated from your session notes.

An example of the display of a file that contains an image and the other a HTML file is displayed below:-



The button 'Return to Session Notes' in the upper left quadrant will revert to the session notes pages.

Species Index

The Species tab enables you to locate a specific species.



The image above represents the display you will see when you click the Species Tab.
The top left quadrant contains the buttons representing the initial letter of the species you are after. The upper right quadrant contains the list of the species associated with the initial letter (this is A to begin with). When you click a species name in this qudrant the quadrant below (lower right) displays that species image.



You may click the image (as you do in the main database) to be presented with further detail.

The next tab 'About' simply displays details concerning the authors and publishers.


Clicking Klaus D. Kemp will present an image of the database compiler.

You may, however, obtain some details about your system from these pages. In the upper right qadrant you will see a button 'Display system details' as depicted below:-



Clicking this button causes a diaplay of the characteristics of your Browser and also some details about your hardware/software platform.



It may not be apparent what this information has to do with this product. Some of the features built into these routines are Browser specific and if you ever have cause to contact us about a feature that doesn't appear to work then this information will be required. You can mark the text with your mouse and copy it.

Clicking the Tags tab presents a page on which are recorded any Tagged records. If you have no tagged records then the presentation is as follows:-



When you have tagged records for later perusal the display includes references to these records as hyperlinks:-



You may now re-examine these tagged records by simply clicking the hyperlink and the record image will be displayed in the lower right quadrant of the display. This image may, as everywhere else, be clicked to view the full size image.
The button Clear Tags initialises the tagged records area.

It is worth noting at this juncture that it is possible for the Tag and Add to Notes button on the full size record display can cause a Javascript error. This is caused by progressing to a selection before the initial screen has had time to fully initialise. The error display will resemble that depicted below:-



If this occurs you should click No, close the window down and then click Reset on the main database window. Wait a reasonable time, say 10 secs, and then continue as normal. Unfortunately it is impossible to be more specific as machine speeds vary considerably as do CD and Disc access times. Note: This will also happen if you close the main database browser window and attempt to address it from a subsidiary window.

In the lower left hand corner of the window you will see another button - 'Licence'.



Clicking this button will display another window containing details of the restrictions and rights you have as a purchaser of the database.



Clicking the OK button on this screen will simply close the window. Clicking register will open up your default mail process with a registration email already in place. The registration is simply a means by which we may keep you informed of any updates or upgrades.

Other features



There are six other features that have been included in the production. These are accessed by clicking the Utilities button which then presents a menu as below:-



The Authority Pages

The authority pages display details about species authorities and also a list of authority abbreviations, which whilst not complete may prove useful when referring to older texts. The initial display is as depicted below:-



The panel on the left displays the genera



and that on the right the species details.



Simply select the genus you wish to view and the species in that genus are displayed in the right-hand panel. The top panel allows you to change the selection criteria to Author or back to Genus.







The Provenance names and abbreviations list follows a similar format:-





The buttons marked Explanation and List allow you to move between the display above and the list as below:-



The Genera list has also been designed to operate on like lines:-



Clicking this button will present a display similar to that as follows:-



The hyperlink to the Science Gossip articles presents (in the right panel) a facsimile image of the said article.



Clicking the Genera button will revert the display to the Genera list.
From any of the above data screens you may mark areas of text and click the Copy to Notes button. If you have marked text then the main database window is brought to the foreground and a selection window appears as below:-



Enter a number in the range 1 thru 10 and click OK. The record details will be transferred to the appropriate note. If you enter an invalid number, nothing or click Cancel then no data is written to the notes area.
If you have not selected any text and you click the Copy to Notes button the following message is displayed:-



The Bibliography Pages

The bibliography contained on this CD is an accumulation of references from various sources, gathered over a number of years. It is not complete as papers in obscure languages (obscure to us, that is) appear all the time and publication via the web has meant that it is an almost impossible task to keep up. However, the large number of references available should prove useful.



This section is split into two panels, top and bottom. The top panel contains the navigation buttons:-



and the lower panel the bibliography for the selected letter (by author).



From the above data screens you may mark areas of text and click the Copy to Notes button. If you have marked text then the main database window is brought to the foreground and a selection window appears as below:-



Enter a number in the range 1 thru 10 and click OK. The record details will be transferred to the appropriate note. If you enter an invalid number, nothing or click Cancel then no data is written to the notes area.
If you have not selected any text and you click the Copy to Notes button the following message is displayed:-



The Utility Page

The Utility page is simply a conversion program that allows for the conversion of decimal fractions of an inch to microns. This is particularly useful when looking at an older publication and attempting to reference a more modern text.



The three buttons in the left panel provide access to the functions.



The general button will display some general detail concerning measurements and the 'Dec->Micron' button will present the following diaply in the centre panel:-



Simply enter the decimal measurement in the Decimal Fraction box (e.g. 0.0003) and click the Convert button and the right most panel will display the micron equivalent.



From the above result screen you may click the Copy to Notes button.If there is a result then the main database window is brought to the foreground and a selection window appears as below:-



Enter a number in the range 1 thru 10 and click OK. The result details will be transferred to the appropriate note. If you enter an invalid number, nothing or click Cancel then no data is written to the notes area.
The result data is entered into the notes in the following form:-



Please note that the utility only converts values less than 1. If you enter anything greater (or leave the value blank) then the following message appears below the Convert button:-



Micrometer

The Micrometer utility provides you with a means of making measurements on all manner of images as long as you have a scale somewhere that relates to the image. This scale may be on the image itself or as a seperate image that has a relationship to the image from which you wish to take measurements.



The Micrometer utility has a Help page of its own.
This utility is Internet Explorer specific.

The Histogram utility

This utility is useful for plotting counts and obtaining a graphical representation of the results. It is provided as a simple Browser based utility which is not intended to take the place of more feature rich programs. It is, however, simple to use and included formatted table output and also the ability to read for simple text files.



The Histogram utility has a Help page of its own.

The British Diatom List [Beta]

This list is in the process of being completed. The original list was exactly that, a list, whereas this new version allows for the inclusion of pictures and photographs. The only images currently ported to this utility are some of the Amphora.

Version 2.2



Version 2.1



Version 2.0 Major release



Version 1.7 improvements



Version 1.6 improvements



Version 1.5 improvements



Version 1.4 improvements



Version 1.3 improvements



Version 1.2 improvements



The design, presentation and code routines are all ©Little Imp Publications
Please don't make illegal copies of this CD as we think we deserve a little return for our efforts, if only to fund the next project. This includes copying the CD to your disk and letting someone else have the CD.