Template:LTM collection/doc

Purpose

The purpose of this template is to access images on the London Transport Museum Photographic Collection website at http://www.ltmcollection.org. This site contains an extensive collection of images of London and its public transport (buses, trams, trolleybuses and tube trains) from the 19th century to the current day. It is therefore a useful resource for anyone preparing articles on any of these topics.

Usage

The template takes the format: {{ltmcollection|1|2}} which expands to: [http://www.ltmcollection.org/images/webmax/{{{1}}} {{{2}}}]

Currently the two parameters are:

1. The final subpath and filename of image required. To obtain this:
   • Find an image on the Museum website
   • Right-click on the image and select properties from the context menu, then:
     • If you are using Internet Explorer, copy the last two groups from the Address property that is displayed
     • If you are using Firefox, copy the last two groups from the Location property that is displayed (you may need to resize the box to see it in full)
     • Thus in the following URL, http://www.ltmcollection.org/images/webmax/iz/i00008iz.jpg, the bold section should be copied. Note this includes the filename extension
2. The description of the image you want to be displayed.

Example

In the following example the last two groups of the URL are iz/i00008iz.jpg and the description to be displayed in the article is Tube train at Aldwych station, 1958.

Thus: {{ltmcollection|iz/i00008iz.jpg|Tube train at Aldwych station, 1958}}
Produces: Tube train at Aldwych station, 1958

Further development

The search form provided by the London Transport Museum Photographic Collection generates a very long and cumbersome URL and I am currently investigating ways to use a template to link directly to this search form using keywords, possibly so that some of the additional context information provided on the web site for an image can be displayed through the template.