Referencing of images/graphics (feature enhancement)

Question

Referencing of images/graphics (feature enhancement)

Something for the "Feedback" button...

I require my students to include references with their slide show presentations, and I try to do the same, but it is often difficult to manage and cite images.

Perhaps, an option, a command-I say for images within Keynote that would allow the user to input information such as:

URL:
Web site:
Text:
Author/Artist:
Other:
Date Retrieved: (auto fill)

Rather like the "end note" feature in a word processor, you could then "smart build" a set of reference slides at the end of your presentation.

It would also make it easier to track changes in images that may have been updated, e.g., from the wiki commons media library (for which you just can't remember exactly what that source image was called, or would like to look up yourself from some one else's presentation).

Slide show presentations have become increasingly popular in schools, and including references has become de rigeur, in this era of easy cut and paste, to help students understand the value of sourcing and crediting their information.

Macbook, Mac OS X (10.5.6)

Posted on Mar 20, 2009 10:46 AM

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Answer 1

Brian Peat

Level 6

18,216 points

Mar 20, 2009 11:02 AM in response to Kyle Kirkwood

The pasteboard area outside the slide is still visible when you are in edit mode in Keynote. Why not make the students put the info out there, or in the speaker notes area? They could always describe the photo if there are more than one on a slide (like, kids talking, guy sitting at table, etc).

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Answer 2

Mar 20, 2009 11:25 AM in response to Brian Peat

I do this myself, just drop the URL into the pasteboard beside the slide (a good stop gap solution).

Alas, this doesn't work so well when the image is moved from its original spot, or with graphics that come supplied with the texts; you can have multiple editions with slightly different images, image titles (e.g., Fig. 21.1 XYZ, and in the next edition Fig. 22.1 XYZ).

Also it is much easier to mark a hard copy associated with a presentation, than opening each slide show individually and looking for a URL or comment pasted into the empty space to the side.

Again the speaker note area is another good stop gap, but if you are also using this area for actual speaker notes... it gets a bit cluttered (and time consuming to label each image, especially if you are using an Action feature).

I would still like some way to drag an image in, tag it, and drop it where needed and later just smart build a set of reference slides.

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Answer 3

Mar 20, 2009 8:31 PM in response to Kyle Kirkwood

Kyle Kirkwood wrote:>
Alas, this doesn't work so well when the image is moved from its original spot, or with graphics that come supplied with the texts; you can have multiple editions with slightly different images, image titles (e.g., Fig. 21.1 XYZ, and in the next edition Fig. 22.1 XYZ).

Possibly group the image and text object?

Also it is much easier to mark a hard copy associated with a presentation, than opening each slide show individually and looking for a URL or comment pasted into the empty space to the side.

When teaching at uni I assessed a Illustrator project from file so I could see what mistakes/innovations students were making in construction etc. Always assessed hard copy after that as it took me a heap of time just opening/closing 100+ assignments let alone inspecting.

I would still like some way to drag an image in, tag it, and drop it where needed and later just smart build a set of reference slides.

I have been thinking an Inspector palette for Tagging objects and pages like Illustrators Attributes and/or styles palettes would be great for making global changes to slides/objects. Eg tag all automatic advance pages with the word "auto-advance". Then have a script or better still a command that can select all the pages with a "auto-advance" tag and change the delay time to 3 secs.

Could do the same with text styles and object styles and anything else with the ability to tag. I used to write illustrator scripts to make textile patterns and using the tag in attributes was a neat way to identify objects inside the script and move them around etc. In KN you could select all objects with "medium-shadow" tag and decrease shadow to 10% etc. etc. with very simple applescripts - or the ability to select multiple objects across pages from a tag based menu/palette command.

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Answer 4

Kyn Drake

Level 7

21,597 points

Mar 20, 2009 10:45 PM in response to Kyle Kirkwood

Here's a combination of things that might work as well. It doesn't make it any more automated, but it does tie the info to the image.

1) First, create a shape that has those fields.
2) Make the image the FILL for the shape.
3) Fill in the fields.
4) Make the text's opacity zero.

Now, for ANY image, if you want to see the citation information, you just change the opacity of the shape's text from zero.

Also, I hope you actually used the feedback button to send your idea to Apple! 🙂
http://www.apple.com/feedback/keynote.html

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