Taxon Home Page Icon -- Click on this icon to go directly to the home page of the
named taxon that the icon follows. This icon is found throughout the TIARA
system.General Help
General Overview for Newcomers
CONTENTS
What is the TIARA Project? [Contents]
The TIARA Project is a collaborative effort among biologists and computer scientists to develop and deliver fundamental information about the biota of Texas and surrounding regions to researchers, educators, policy makers and the general public through a flexible, interactive, web-based, information system.
Because of the magnitude of this task, the TIARA Project is by necessity a highly interdisciplinary activity, utilizing the accumulated knowledge of biologists with diverse taxonomic specializations, data contained in voluminous research collections of biological specimens, and the skills and insights of computer scientists to organize, manipulate, transform and deliver biological information in digital multimedia formats.
The primary geographic focus of the TIARA Project is the state of Texas and the adjacent parts of the United States and Mexico. Taxa found beyond this focus region, however, are included in the data sets of some collaborators.
The current taxonomic foci of the TIARA Project are insects and terrestrial arthropods. We are, however, actively seeking to collaborate with biologists with other taxonomic specializations. We believe that the greater promise of a general bioinformatics web site lies in its potential to traverse classical biological domains, to stimulate interactions among taxonomically focused biological scientists, and thereby, to facilitate the discovery of new biological knowledge. It is the intent of the TIARA Project to work toward these ends.
How is the TIARA interface organized and controlled? [Contents]
The TIARA web site interface is conceptually organized around the use of Finders to locate and navigate to Taxon Home Pages that are interactively generated from one or more underlying data sets. All TIARA interface screens are divided into three functional areas: the Top Screen Area, the Left Screen Area and the Main-Display Screen Area. Each of these three areas generally contains one or more user-selectable controls through which the user interacts with and navigates the TIARA interface. The user-selectable controls in these areas may consist of text links, image links, icon links, text boxes, combo boxes or buttons. The sections below provide general information about screen areas, Finders, Taxon Home Pages and user-selectable controls. For more detailed information about the visible elements of individual TIARA system screens (and the functionality of specific controls on these screens) click on "Help" in the Blue Menu Bar at the top of the screen to "pop up" a more detailed, context-sensitive, help page relevant to the screen currently being viewed.
Top Screen Area
[Contents]The Top Screen Area consists of two narrow horizontal bars across the top of the screen. The upper bar is the "Blue Menu Bar", from which are available several basic system-level site controls. Most important among these are the "Back" and "Forward" links. The second bar, immediately below the Blue Menu Bar, displays an informational header that identifies the currently active Finder or Taxon Home Page.
Important! The TIARA web site programmatically remembers where you have been within it and maintains a "history list" of the screens that you have viewed. This history list allows you to move backward and forward among previously viewed screens. Keeping track of the complex number and arrangement of TIARA screen element combinations is a difficult task -- one that the standard Back and Forward buttons of most browsers are not designed to do. Because of this, the TIARA system has its own set of Back and Forward buttons on the Blue Menu Bar. To navigate backwards and forwards within the TIARA web site you MUST use the Back and Forward buttons provided in the Blue Menu Bar -- not your web browser's standard Back and Forward buttons. Use of your browser's standard Back and Forward buttons will give incorrect and unexpected results!
The Left Screen Area consists of a broad vertical region on the left-hand side of the screen. This area contains many of the user-selectable controls that change or modify the screens displayable by the TIARA system. The controls found in this area are divided for convenience into functional groups denoted by a short header. The principal functional groups are: Finders:, Back to:, Settings:, Go to: and Show:. Controls listed under the Finders: heading link to a variety of screens that provide different ways to locate the Taxon Home Pages that are of interest to the user. The Last finder link under the Back to: header provides a convenient back-link to the last finder used by the user (this facilitates the use of a favorite finder to sequentially locate a series of different Taxon Home Pages). Controls listed under the Settings: header modify the default options of other functions (e.g., to alphabetize or geographically limit lists), thus permitting the user to customize the data shown by the system. Controls listed under the Go to: heading provide a mechanism for convenient access to the home pages of taxa that are related to the currently active taxon. Links displayed under the Show: header provide access to the one or more screens that collectively constitute the Taxon Home Page of the currently active taxon. For more detailed information about the controls shown in the Left Screen Area for any particular screen, click on "Help" in the Blue Menu Bar at the top of the screen.
Main-Display Screen Area [Contents]
The Main-Display Screen Area -- located below the Top Screen Area and to the right of the Left Screen Area -- is the largest TIARA screen region and displays the main data for each screen. The contents of the Main-Display Screen Area may be changed by controls in the Top Screen Area or Left Screen Area, or by controls located within the Main-Display Screen Area itself. Some different kinds of information that can be shown in the Main-Display Screen Area are maps, images, taxon classifications and lists of various types. For more detailed information about the contents and controls shown in the Main-Display Screen Area for any particular screen, click on "Help" in the Blue Menu Bar at the top of the screen.
A Taxon Home Page is a set of one or more TIARA screens that display(s) biological information for a specific taxon (e.g., a species, genus, family or order). When a Taxon Home Page is being shown, the name of the active taxon is displayed in the informational header at the top of the screen just below the Blue Menu Bar. The multiple screens associated with the Taxon Home Page for any particular taxon are selected by the user from the links listed under the "Show:" header in the Left-Side function area, or from controls displayed in the Main Display Area of one of the taxon's home page screens. The ability to easily and flexibly generate and navigate both within and among a large number of Taxon Home Pages that are generated interactively "on the fly" from a variety of underlying data sets lies at the heart of the TIARA system.
A Finder is an on-screen contrivance that directs TIARA system users to the Taxon Home Pages of the taxa in which they are interested. Because Taxon Home Pages in the TIARA system are generated interactively and "on the fly" from underlying data sets, the Finders that lead users to these pages are an integral part of the system. The TIARA system had two "general purpose" finders -- "Scientific Name" and "Common Name", each of which has a search and a list option. In addition to these, other, more restricted, Finders may also be available under the "Special Projects" Finders link.
This is the standard link type found in most web interfaces. In the TIARA web site, text links are always underlined and are always shown in blue text. Click on the link text to activate the link.
Image links are activated by clicking on a "sensitive area" of a displayed image. Examples of image links in the TIARA web site are the Blue Menu Bar links in the Top-Side Area, the "clickable" maps available from some Taxon Home Pages, and the "lift image" functionality activated by clicking on an image displayed on a Taxon Home Page.
Icon links provide a convenient and space-efficient way to implement commonly-used functions in a graphical user interface. The icon links used in the TIARA web site are show below, together with their names and functionalities.
Taxon Home Page Icon -- Click on this icon to go directly to the home page of the
named taxon that the icon follows. This icon is found throughout the TIARA
system.
Taxon List Icon -- Click on this icon to go directly to a list of taxa of the rank that the
icon follows, within the limits of the associated higher taxon. This icon is
found throughout the TIARA system.
Expand List Icon -- Click on this icon to
expand a list row to show subordinate taxa of lower rank. This icon is found
only in the Scientific Name (Classification Option) Finder.
Collapse List Icon -- Click on this icon to
collapse a set of list rows, thus hiding subordinate taxa of lower rank. This
icon is found only in the Scientific Name (Classification Option)
Finder.
A standard control found on many web pages to receive text input from the user. Generally depicted as a "sunken box". Examples of text box controls in the TIARA web site are found in the "search" finders, where users are prompted for a string of text to search for.
A standard control found on many web pages to permit the user to select one item from a restricted list of options. To activate the control, click on the button on the right side of the control and make a selection from the drop-down list. Examples of combo box controls in the TIARA web site are found where users may select from options to choose Finders or map options, or to change Settings.
A standard control found on many web pages to initiate an action indicated by a word, phrase or image shown on the button. An example of a button controls in the TIARA web site is the "Sources" button located below the maps available on some Taxon Home Pages.
Recommended Browser. The TIARA system has been designed for viewing primarily with Netscape Navigator/Communicator 3.0 and higher. Its basic functionality should be compatible with other browsers, but it has not been possible to verify full and correct operation with the diversity of other browsers now available.
General Troubleshooting [Contents]
Back/Forward Functionality Works Improperly
Back/Forward Functionality. The TIARA web site programmatically remembers where you have been within it and maintains a "history list" of the screens that you have viewed. This history list allows you to move backward and forward among previously viewed screens. Keeping track of the complex number and arrangement of TIARA screen element combinations is a difficult task -- one that the standard Back and Forward buttons of most browsers are not designed to do. Because of this, the TIARA system has its own set of Back and Forward buttons on the Blue Menu Bar. To navigate backwards and forwards within the TIARA web site you MUST use the Back and Forward buttons provided in the Blue Menu Bar -- not your web browser's standard Back and Forward buttons. Use of your browser's standard Back and Forward buttons will give incorrect and unexpected results!
Text Appears "Clipped"
Screen Resolution. The TIARA system is designed for viewing at a screen resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels or higher. Clipping of some TIARA screen areas may occur if the site is viewed as lower resolutions (e.g., 800 x 600, 640 x 480). If some parts of your TIARA screen appear clipped, check the screen resolution setting of your monitor. Windows users can reset the screen resolution of their monitors from the Control Panel. Click on the "Start" button and select "Control Panel" from the "Settings" flyout menu. In the "Control Panel" window, double click on the "Display" Icon. On the "Display Properties" pop-up, click on the "Settings" tab and move the "Desktop Area" slider to a value of 1024 x 768 or greater. Click the "OK" button to resize your screen. This action can be reversed later by simply moving the slider back to its original value.
Font Size. The TIARA web site has been designed around the use of a 12 pt. variable width font as its "standard" text font. Text clipping and unusual wrapping behaviors may occur if your browser's default variable-width text font size is set to a value greater than 12 pt. Use your browser's preferences/options features to check and reset this feature if necessary.