Preparation instructions
For the XIMPEL workshop entitled Engaging the User – Creating Touch Applications for Libraries using XIMPEL, taking place at the University of Oslo Science Library on 20 November 2017
Requirements
Participants must bring a laptop with a Windows, Mac, or Linux operating system (not a tablet, etc.) that they have administrative privileges on, and be able to use the Chrome browser. If this is not possible, or if other issues occurs during the steps below, please contact the workshop organizers in advance of the workshop.
Installation instructions
The following steps (detailed below) are needed to prepare your laptop for the workshop:
- Install the Chrome webbrowser (if necessary)
- Install an XML editor
- Download and uncompress the XIMPEL package
- Open Chrome & install the Web server for Chrome extension
- Open the XIMPEL example application
Step 1: Install and open the Chrome webbrowser
If Chrome is already installed on your computer, you can continue to step 2.
First, install the Chrome browser, which we will use to run XIMPEL. Head to: chrome.google.com/ and select download Chrome. Accept the license terms. Download the installation files and run the installer.
Step 2: Install an XML editor
To edit XIMPEL playlists, a specialized code editor with syntax highlighting (i.e. highlighting of XML code) is recommended. For this workshop, you can use one of the tools below.
- Notepad++ (Free, Windows)
- TextWrangler (Free, Mac)
- Atom (Free, Windows, Mac, Linux)
- Sublime Text (License-based, Windows, Mac, Linux)
- Oxygen (Commercial, Windows, Mac)
If you are familiar with another specific code editor already, you can also choose to use that one instead.
Step 3: Download and uncompress the XIMPEL package
Next, download the following XIMPEL package:
- XIMPEL workshop package (version 1.1)
Uncompress the package into a directory of your choosing (for instance, on your Desktop). A folder named ximpel_workshop_app_20171120 will be created, which contains the files needed to run XIMPEL.
Step 4: Open Chrome & install Web Server for Chrome extension
Now, open the Google Chrome browser and open the Web server for Chrome extension page. Choose add to Chrome.
Then, open the extension (if it is not visible, enter chrome://apps in the address bar and click Web Server).
Step 5: Open & test the XIMPEL workshop application
After opening the Web Server for Chrome extension the previous step, select choose folder. Navigate to the folder created in Step 3 (ximpel_workshop_app_20171120), and select it.
Next, it is possible to click on http://127.0.0.1:8887 which has now appeared under Web Server URL(s). The XIMPEL application will open. (In case the link opens in another browser than Chrome, you can manually enter http://127.0.0.1:8887 in Chrome’s address bar).
You will see a simple overview of the possibilities of XIMPEL, including the displayal of overlays, images, videos, YouTube videos, quizzes and PDFs.
