Quick start (new)

Quick Start

The fastest way to get started is with the demo version. This is a full version of Neon, but it is hosted statically so your files are only saved locally to your browser or disk. Exactly what this means is explained later.

On this page, you'll find summarized instructions on getting started with Neon. A detailed step-by-step video tutorial how to get started can be found here: Neon Tutorial Video - Part 1.

(For an old version quick start, please refer to this page)

The Demo Launch Page

The launch page contains information about Neon and its creators. Click on "Get Started!" to access your files and upload new ones.

Opening a Sample Document

Sample pages from the Salzinnes Antiphonal manuscript are provided for use, under the "Sample Documents" heading. Double-clicking on any file name will open that file in a new tab, where you can experiment with Neon's functionalities.

Uploading a User-Provided Document

To upload your own document, click on the + icon in the upper right corner. You can then select the image and MEI files that you want to upload. You can upload more than one file at once, in more than one type; files will be automatically sorted into the correct column. You can then pair each MEI file to its corresponding image by selecting each and clicking on "Make Pair." When all the pairs are ready, click on "Upload." Your files will appear under the "Uploaded Documents" menu, and will remain there as long as you don't clear your browser history.

Uploading.docs.to.Neon.mov

Any documents loaded will not leave your device. Instead, all files will be saved in a database in your browser. This provides access to documents other than those provided as samples.

Opening a User-Provided Document

The process of opening a document that was manually added to the database is identical to that of opening a sample document. Simply double-click on the file you want to open, and it will do so in a new tab.

Using Neon

Once a document is loaded, Neon largely looks the same. Full instructions on how to use Neon can be found in the main instructions document.

Saving and Downloading in Neon

Neon prioritizes saving to a server when possible but, barring that, it will save changes locally in some way to avoid losing the changes. How this works only will make sense in context of the Neon Manifest. Neon data is stored in four places:

1. On a server.
2. In the browser database.
3. In the NeonCore cache.
4. In a downloaded file.

1. On a server

If the URI for the MEI file in an annotation is NOT a data URI Neon will attempt to update the file in that location via a PUT request. If this request receives a 200 response, the file is considered updated. Otherwise the URI is converted to a data URI in this and the following places.

2. In the browser database

Neon uses PouchDB to maintain a database of documents in the browser. This is where "uploaded" documents are stored. The database holds an entry for each document that has been "uploaded" or opened in Neon and contains the same information as in a manifest. Whenever the user saves a document, the annotations that have changed are updated in the database.

3. In the NeonCore cache

A cached version of any change to a document is updated in the NeonCore component, whether or not it is manually saved. This component will read from the browser database when necessary and write to it whenever an entry has changed and the user manually saves.

4. In a downloaded file

When a file is exported, the cache and browser database are synched and the contents of the browser database are downloaded in the form of a manifest.