TimeMapper is an open source tool that takes data from a spreadsheet and organizes it into a comprehensive visual map. Such a tool can be used by digital humanists with large, location and time dependent datasets in order to express data in a visually appealing and comprehensive way. For example, if a historian has a dataset consisting of the titles, publishing dates, authors, and locations of early European books, they can organize this data with TimeMapper in order to visually represent publishing frequency and location over the course of a given time period.
To start using TimeMapper, navigate to http://timemapper.okfnlabs.org/ and click the login button at the top right corner. TimeMapper will then ask you to login with your twitter account and ask for authorization.
After creating your account, press the “Create a New Timeline or TimeMap” button
In order to create a TimeMap, you will have to have a spreadsheet with all of your data already prepared.
For the sake of experimentation you can try out this tool with the pre-prepared spreadsheet offered by the site. However, I’m sure that you’ll be wanting to use your own data eventually, so you’ll want to create a copy of this template spreadsheet in which you’ll fill in your data.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1LlYBnfhvD3ZUXMGZ8e52UwYp-xn_NeWmaGBx7VBz5V8/edit#gid=0
This template sheet provides instructions on which data to enter and how it should be formatted so that the software processes it correctly. However, in order to do the following steps, you do not need to have any data in your spreadsheet yet. The TimeMap you create will automatically update with the data that is put into your spreadsheet so if that data is not finalized (or maybe doesn’t even exist) yet, that is ok!
To make a copy, click “File” and then “Make a Copy”.
Once your spreadsheet is created, you will need to “publish it to the web”. Don’t worry, this isn’t as daunting of a task as it might seem. Simply click “File” once again and then click “Publish to Web”.
All this does is make a copy of your spreadsheet as a unique webpage with its own URL. As you modify your data, this webpage will update to reflect those changes, so no need to worry about republishing it to the web. Additionally, the webpage that is published will not display any of your Google account information so your privacy will also be protected.
Now, simply copy the link of the webpage and paste it into TimeMapper, come up with a name for your map, make the relevant selections, and click publish! You now have your own published TimeMap!
As you add data to your spreadsheet, your TimeMap will automatically update, so there is no need to continuously create newer versions of the same TimeMap.
