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Take a tour of Uwazi

What you'll learn​

We'll log in to Uwazi and explore content the way any reader does. Along the way, we'll meet the five ideas behind every collection: templates, entities, metadata, relationships, and filters. By the end of this tutorial, we'll have viewed an entity, read its metadata, followed its relationships, opened its document, and learned how to find content again.

Prerequisites​

  • A link to a live Uwazi instance that already holds some content
  • A username and password, if the instance is private

Part 1: Log in to Uwazi​

Let's start by opening the instance and signing in.

note

A private instance shows a login page first. A public one lets you browse without an account, so you can skip to Part 2.

  1. Open your instance link in a web browser.

    You'll see the Library page, or a login page on a private instance.

  2. Go to the login page if you aren't there yet.

    The Uwazi logo sits above a short form with two fields.

  3. Type your username in the User field.

  4. Type your password in the Password field.

  5. Select the Login button.

    The page reloads and opens the Library. You now see a grid of content.

Part 2: Explore the library and its three views​

The Library is your home base. It lists every record you can see. Uwazi calls each record an entity. Each entity has a type, called a template, shown as a small label on its card.

  1. Look at the cards in the Library.

    Each card is one entity. The title sits at the top, and the template label sits at the bottom.

  2. Select Zoom in or Zoom out in the header.

    The cards grow or shrink so you can fit more or fewer on screen.

  3. Select the Table view button, marked with a lines icon.

    The view switches to rows and columns. Each row is an entity, and each column is a metadata field.

  4. Open the Hidden columns menu and turn a column off, then on.

    The table adds or removes that column right away.

  5. Select the Map view button, marked with a map-marker icon.

    A map opens with markers for entities that have a location. The button only appears when your content includes locations.

  6. Select one marker on the map.

    A side panel slides in and shows that entity.

  7. Select the Cards view button, marked with a grid icon, to return.

Part 3: Open an entity and read its metadata​

Now let's open one record and read its details. The fields on an entity are its metadata, and the template decides which fields appear.

  1. Select the View button on any card.

    The entity page opens. The title sits at the top, with its template label right below.

  2. Find the Info tab in the right side panel.

    The tab is open by default. It lists each metadata field as a label and a value, such as a date, a place, or a linked name.

  3. Scroll down the Info tab.

    Below the fields you'll see Primary Documents and any attachments. Empty fields don't appear, so the list stays short.

Part 4: Follow relationships between entities​

Entities can link to one another. Uwazi calls these links relationships, and they let you move from one record to a connected one.

  1. Select the Relationships tab in the side panel.

    A small number badge shows how many links the entity has.

  2. Look at the connected entities.

    Uwazi groups them by relationship type, so links of the same kind sit together.

  3. Select one connected entity.

    Its own page opens, with its metadata and relationships ready to explore.

Part 5: Open and read a primary document​

Many entities have a PDF attached, called a primary document. When an entity has one, Uwazi opens it in the document viewer instead of the info page. An entity can also hold other file types, such as images or spreadsheets, as attachments.

  1. Open an entity that has a document.

    The PDF fills the main area. If an entity has no document, you'll see a short prompt with a view link to its metadata instead.

  2. Select Previous or Next above the document.

    The viewer moves one page at a time and shows your place in the file.

  3. Select the Table of Contents tab in the side panel.

    If this document has a table of contents, the tab lists its sections, each with a page number. Select a section to jump straight to that page. Not every document has one, so the tab may show a short empty message instead.

  4. Select the References tab.

    A reference is a highlighted passage in the document. It can point to another passage in the same document, to a passage in a different document, or to another entity. If this document has references, you'll see them listed here. A document without references shows a short empty message instead.

  5. Select Plain text, then Normal view.

    The first shows the raw text of the file. The second brings back the PDF.

Part 6: Find content with search and filters​

A library can hold thousands of entities. Filters and search narrow the list so you find what you need.

These steps start from the Library. If you're still in a document or on an entity page, select Library in the top menu to return.

  1. Type a word in the Search box and press Enter.

    The library shrinks to matching entities, and short snippets show where your word appears.

  2. Select Search Tips.

    A small window explains wildcards, exact phrases, and word combinations. Close it when you're done.

  3. In the filters panel, select a type under the templates filter.

    If you've opened an entity, its details cover the filters panel. Close that panel to bring the filters back. The list narrows to that type. Each filter shows a count of matching entities.

  4. Select a value in a property filter, such as a date range or a list option.

    The results narrow again. Filters stack together, so each one trims the list further.

  5. Select the Clear Filters button.

    Every filter resets and the full library returns.

What you've done​

  • Logged in to a Uwazi instance
  • Explored the library in cards, table, and map views
  • Opened an entity and read its metadata
  • Followed a relationship to a connected entity
  • Opened a document and used its table of contents
  • Narrowed the library with search and filters
tip

Try opening a second entity and comparing its template and metadata to the first. Spotting the pattern is the fastest way to learn how a collection fits together.

Next steps​