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Choose a Provided IIIF Download Instead of a Viewer Screenshot

By ImgHeal · Updated

A IIIF presentation may advertise an alternative download through a rendering link. Inspect that option before taking a screenshot of the viewer. A provided download can serve a different purpose from the on-screen view, so check its format, coverage, and source relationship rather than assuming it is the best master.

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Compare the available representations

Start from the institution's download menu or manifest documentation. Note whether a candidate is a single image, a PDF covering several views, or another representation of the object. Keep the original item reference and view labels. A viewer screenshot can include interface elements, display scaling, or only the visible region. A provided PDF can also contain reduced images. Choose by the information needed for the task, not by the largest-looking button or file size alone.

Inspect the alternative link's meaning

The IIIF Cookbook explains rendering as a way to offer alternative representations and distinguishes it from machine-readable related data. Follow the institution's provided link within its permissions and inspect the actual saved format. Check whether all expected pages or sides are included. Do not relabel a metadata document as an image or assume a viewer route is a direct download. Record the selected representation, access date, and filename in the source inventory before making edits.

Verify the useful source content

Open the saved representation outside the browser and inspect dimensions, fine detail, borders, and inscriptions. Compare a known feature with the institutional view. If it is suitable, preserve the download unchanged and prepare a separate upload copy where necessary. If it omits the required view or is too limited, ask the institution for an appropriate permitted source instead of repeatedly sharpening a screenshot. Label any ImgHeal viewing restoration as a derivative and retain the route back to the supplied representation, including limitations that affect historical reading.

Check this workflow

  • Compare representation coverage and purpose.
  • Follow supplied alternative-download links.
  • Inspect the saved file before editing.

Sources and further reading

Questions about this restoration task

Is a rendering link always a full-resolution original?

No. It is an alternative representation. Inspect its actual format, dimensions, coverage, and source description.

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