Creating and managing TIM projects

TIM is browser-based and can be run from any compatible web browser. Assuming a user has stable internet connection, convenient and reliable access to the web-based TIM app can be found here: https://cartograforce.github.io/tim/. TIM can also be run offline, though it still uses a local browser as the interface. See Advanced Topics for local installation instructions.

Below is a workflow diagram for TIM that expands on the Conceptual Diagram for TIM, indicating some additional details about creating and managing TIM projects.

Workflow diagram for TIM

Starting in TIM

To work in TIM, choose an option from the “Create” menu: New Project provides a fresh Workspace.

• Sample Project - Provides an example indexing project with markdown applied to the text and shown for five fields, readable in OHMS.xml. No media are loaded by default for the sample project.

• Import (project) - For loading previously saved “Project JSON” files from a local drive.

• “Choose a file format” 

  • When importing a Project JSON file, you must explicitly select “JSON” at the very bottom of the drop-down menu.
  • Other document types in this menu are rarely used. They may be removed in the next version of TIM.

The Create menu allows users to start a new project or continue a previously created JSON-saved project

Load video

To load an A/V file to work with in TIM, users can upload a local media file or provide a video URL. You can load any media file that has playback support in your browser.

Load local media file: 

1. Click the media file button
2. Navigate to and select the file you wish to load
3. A video player will appear in the upper left part of the TIM workspace with the selected video loaded

Load video via URL

1. Enter a valid video URL into the text box provided under “or load URL”

2. Press the Load button 

3. A video player will appear in the TIM workspace with the video loaded

   • YouTube, Vimeo, Soundcloud and various other media streaming platform page URLs can be pasted into the URL field as-is, others may require a direct link to the media file itself to load.
   • If the media file loads properly a green check mark icon will appear at the end of the URL. If TIM is not able to load a media file from the URL, a red warning icon will appear instead.

Options for loading media in TIM

Saving your work in TIM

TIM is a web-based application for modern browsers, i.e., it functions entirely "client-side" with no database required, meaning there is no available file storage. Files auto-saved in TIM are kept within the local computer in the browser’s local, short-term storage. Users need to actively manage TIM files individually by exporting and importing “Project JSON” files. Active TIM projects can be saved in JSON format, which retains the location of the active media file, of any transcript active in the transcript area, and of the contents of the notes field of the TIM Editor and its markdown code. Projects can be saved and exported as JSON by clicking the save icon button on the top right corner of the page, or selected as an option under the “Export” icon next to it. (Note: if transcript or media files associated with a particular Project JSON file get moved on your local computer between uses, they will need to be located and reloaded when the project is reopened. Naming your media, .vtt files, and the Project JSON file in a way that explicitly identifies the content in natural language and with version numbers (e.g., interviewee name + date worked on) is helpful in retrieving these indexes over time.

Location of the “Save” button, to save as “Project JSON”

For creating OHMS/Aviary indexes, marked-down text in TIM needs to be saved as “XML (OHMS)” files (see “Building an OHMS or Aviary index” below). Data can also be formulated as closed captioning or subtitle formats (.vtt files) or in generic formats (.txt and .csv) for a variety of uses.