11 Replies Latest reply on Sep 17, 2021 10:02 AM by Lauren Algee

Is your transcription box too small? We need your feedback!

Lauren Algee Feb 10, 2021 3:29 PM

Hi volunteers!

A few weeks ago, we made a design update to the By the People site which inadvertently made the transcription box smaller. We were able to quickly update, which resolved the issue for most of our users. However, some volunteers are still reporting their transcription box is too small. In order to figure out the solution, we need more information. If you are having this problem, please answer the questions below to help us improve the usability of the transcription box!

If you think your transcription box is still too small, please comment with the following info:

How many lines of text you are able to fit in the box
What device you are using (for example, ipad or PC laptop)
What browser you are using (for example, Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge)
A screenshot of the transcription box as you see it (optional but extremely helpful!)

Thank you!

Lauren

Re: Is your transcription box too small? We need your feedback!

Henry Rosenberg Feb 10, 2021 3:43 PM (in response to Lauren Algee)

FYI, mine has been okay. I use a PC laptop with Google Chrome. This is before I go full screen.
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Re: Is your transcription box too small? We need your feedback!

Samantha W Feb 11, 2021 10:33 AM (in response to Lauren Algee)

Hi, I have found that my edit box is smaller than it was before. It just seems like there's plenty of space to make it bigger and it would require a lot less scrolling and be easier to use. I use a laptop PC with Microsoft Edge and it fits exactly 7 lines of text.
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Re: Is your transcription box too small? We need your feedback!

Sandra Barclay Feb 15, 2021 3:41 PM (in response to Lauren Algee)

I have noticed the transcription box is smaller. I often use another computer but today am using a Chromebook where I can only fit 4 lines of text in the box. The Chromebook uses Google Chrome for the browser : Version 89.0.4389.48 (Official Build) beta (64-bit).
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Re: Is your transcription box too small? We need your feedback!

judith yellen Feb 16, 2021 4:25 PM (in response to Lauren Algee)

Temporary solution--
I'm on a desktop PC, and use Google Chrome. The initial number of lines in transcription boxes for me varies between 14 and 9 until I hit Save, which I do fairly often. Then it shrinks to only four lines. Have learned that if I hit Accept and then hit Edit to reopen and continue, the original number of lines appears.
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Re: Is your transcription box too small? We need your feedback!

Heather Castillo Feb 16, 2021 7:57 PM (in response to Lauren Algee)

I find that I need more zoom on some documents, so in that way, it's not working for me.

You can slide the center of the document left and right to increase the size of your box, which is ok. The amount of garbage at the bottom could be significantly reduced in size. The buttons take up way more space than needed. If you just changed the layout a little, maybe something like this, it would open up more room.
1 person found this helpful
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- Re: Is your transcription box too small? We need your feedback!
  
  Samantha W Feb 17, 2021 9:22 AM (in response to Heather Castillo)
  
  Heather, I agree with your comments! But your transcription box looks huge compared to mine. Do you have a trick to get the box so tall? Which browser is that? Mine only fits a maximum of 7 lines of text.
  Thanks!
  
  Samantha
  
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Re: Is your transcription box too small? We need your feedback!

judith yellen Feb 17, 2021 10:28 AM (in response to Lauren Algee)

To get the depth that Heather shows, hit the full screen icon above the original document. Thanks Heather!

Judith
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- Re: Is your transcription box too small? We need your feedback!
  
  Samantha W Feb 17, 2021 10:56 AM (in response to judith yellen)
  
  Thanks Judith, fullscreen helps a lot, but there's still a lot of empty space at the bottom of my transcription box when I'm editing:
  
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  - Re: Is your transcription box too small? We need your feedback!
    
    Lauren Algee Feb 18, 2021 5:00 PM (in response to Samantha W)
    
    Hi Samantha,
    
    Unfortunately it may be a matter of your screen size rather than browser. Our site design is responsive, meaning it adapts to the space allowed depending on the device/screen you're using. There will probably always be a difference for volunteers with different sized monitors or screens, but we hope we can make the experience better even for users on smaller screens!
    
    Thanks for sharing what you see!
    Lauren
    
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    - Re: Is your transcription box too small? We need your feedback!
      
      Dorothy Shea Sep 16, 2021 8:20 PM (in response to Lauren Algee)
      
      Hi,
      
      I am having trouble reviewing a page because only 2 lines of text appear in the transcription box. Usually I can see 10 lines of text.
      This is the page in question:
      https://www.loc.gov/resource/mss34132.mss34132-047_00612_00671/?sp=31
      
      I am using an iPad and the Firefox browser.
      There were a lot of tags added to this particular page. I was thinking perhaps that might be the reason for the problem. Any way to remedy the situation? If not, I can move on and review other pages.
      
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      - Re: Is your transcription box too small? We need your feedback!
        
        Lauren Algee Sep 17, 2021 10:02 AM (in response to Dorothy Shea)
        
        Thanks, Dorothy! This does seem to be more of an issue for volunteers using tablets and other smaller-screen devices. I think you've hit the issue on the nose, that pages with more tags are causing the transcription box to be smaller than we'd like. Your feedback is super helpful and I'm adding it to our documentation of the issue. It isn't something we'll be able to resolve right away, but we are hoping to have our technical team work on it soon. So in the meantime, I recommend moving on to another page.
        
        Best,
        Lauren
        
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