Topic: Implemented Enhancement: Media Browser and Upload for easier image inclusion from the Rich Text Editor

Topic type:

This set of refinements to Kete aims to speed the inclusion of images within descriptions for users by enhancing the capabilities of the included rich text editor to provide a clickable list of available images (and eventually other media types). Financial goal reached!

Update: Image Selector implemented and in Kete 1.3 - hopefully other media type selectors to come in Kete 1.4

Pledge goal of $5,980 reached. Thank you to all that contributed!

Users often use Kete's rich text editor to include images (or embedded videos) in the description of topics and other item types in their Kete site.

Currently this process requires a very manual process of seeking out an image in a separate browser window and determining its URL and then copying that back into the rich text editor's image widget. This process requires knowledge of how the web works and is confusing for non-technical user.

This set of refinements to Kete aims to speed the inclusion of images within descriptions for users by enhancing the capabilities of the included rich text editor to provide a clickable list of available images (and eventually other media types).

Katipo proposes adding the following to Kete included rich text editor (TinyMCE) software features via a new plugin:

 1.The ability to browse and keyword search for already existing available images on the Kete site. Selection of an available image will result in the HTML technical details (URL, image width, image height, alt tag value based on image time) being populated for the user. This should make the currently very technical process largely ‚ point and click.

 2.If no suitable image is already entered in the Kete site, the user will have the ability to upload a new image from within the rich text editor. This should appear as an option from the same image widget that includes the available images interface. After creation of the new image, it will populate the technical HTML details for the user in the same was if it was selected from available images.

Here is Katipo's estimate for the work to be done:

Budget:

20 hours -- Available Images Browse/Search: Implementation of TinyMCE plugin that will allow for browsing/searching for available images on a Kete site.

16 -- Integrated Image Upload: Implementation of addition to TinyMCE plugin that will allow image uploading to a Kete site without leaving rich text editor session

4 -- Project Management & Administration

40 hours total

Katipo will do this work at its lowest Kete development rate of $130 per hour, making the estimate $5,200 NZD before GST. With a 15% GST (recently changed in NZ), the total is $5,980.

Notes on enhancement's design and first phase:

When creating the technical design, Katipo kept in mind many requested multimedia usability improvements. This particular set of functionality, though limited to images for this phase, will build a foundation for users to be able to browse all media housed on a Kete site and select it for embedding.

In addition, as it will be based on the OpenSearch and Media RSS standards it should be trivial to expand to it to handle searching for EXTERNAL sources of multimedia, including Youtube or other any other Kete site, that supports those standards in the future.  It is envisioned that site administrators will be able to specify available externals sites the user can choose from.

 

Funding Campaign

This functionality is a huge usability win for Kete. Many people have mentioned it as something they would like. The APNK Kete from the West Coast of the South Island actually outlined it in a YouTube video:

http://old.kete.net.nz/site/topics/show/242-west-coast-kete-proposed-enhancments

It also dovetails nicely as a first step towards making audio and video nicer on Kete as outlined in this set of enhancements:

http://old.kete.net.nz/site/topics/show/275

However, Katipo was unable to secure a funder for the entirety of the estimate. So we are tried something different and did our first public campaign for funding of an enhancement.

We received the final donation bringing us to the total of $5,980 on July 21st, 2010. Thank you to all those that contributed!

Funds will be held by Horowhenua Library Trust (not Katipo, except for some special cases as specified by contributor) until work proceeds. If the goal for this campaign is exceeded, funds will go to other enhancements or costs associated with release management for 1.3 as decided by the community.

Discuss This Topic

There are 7 comments in this discussion.

Read and join this discussion

join this discussion

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 New Zealand License
Implemented Enhancement: Media Browser and Upload for easier image inclusion from the Rich Text Editor by Walter McGinnis is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 New Zealand License