Opening an Edition
The Viewer does not have a catalogue of its own. It is pointed at one manuscript at a time by its URL, and everything on screen follows from that.
The two URL parameters
A Viewer link carries two query parameters:
| Parameter | What it does |
|---|---|
iiif-content | The IIIF manifest to load. This determines the text and its images. |
edition | Which edition of that text to display. Optional. |
A complete link looks like this:
https://<viewer-host>/?iiif-content=https://<supabase-host>/functions/v1/iiif/v3/texts/1&edition=1Both parameters are read once, when the page loads. Editing the address bar afterwards does nothing until you reload — use the edition dropdown in the header instead.
Opening a link with no manifest
If iiif-content is missing, the Viewer opens a dialog asking for a Manifest URL. Paste a IIIF manifest URL and press Enter or click Load. The dialog cannot be dismissed without loading something: with no manifest there is nothing to show.
If the manifest fails to load, an error appears and the dialog stays open. The address bar is left exactly as you found it, so the link you were trying to open is not lost.
Switching editions
A text may have more than one edition. The dropdown in the header lists every edition in the manifest; choosing one reloads the transliteration, the glossary, and the paleography table against the new edition. The manuscript images do not change — they belong to the text, not the edition.
The address bar updates to match your choice, so the URL is always a link to what you are actually reading. It updates in place rather than adding a history entry, so Back does not step through your edition changes.
What if edition doesn't match?
The Viewer does not fail. It shows the first edition in the manifest and warns you which one it substituted, naming both the value it could not find and the one it used. You are never left reading a different edition than you think you are.
Related
- Sharing and Citing — minting a link to a particular reading.
- IIIF and Deep-Zoom Images — what a manifest contains.