Virtual Archive of Logical Empiricism (VALEP)

VALEP is an archive and edition management tool designed as a platform for the history of Logical Empiricism and related currents. The first version of VALEP went online in 2020. The system is growing rapidly. It currently offers about 120,000 scans from the papers of Rudolf Carnap, Herbert Feigl, Carl Gustav Hempel, Otto Neurath, W.V.O. Quine, Rose Rand, Hans Reichenbach, Franz Roh, Wolfgang Stegmüller, and others. Material from the Moritz Schlick Nachlass will soon be added as well as the Bergen Nachlass Edition of the works of Ludwig Wittgenstein and material from the Nachlass of Heinrich Scholz. Other plans include a facsimile edition of the correspondence of Rudolf Carnap (approx. 10,000 letters) as well as electronic editions (in LaTeX, TEI-XML, and HTML5) of the diaries of Rudolf Carnap and other sources. Since summer 2022 VALEP mirrors its data in Phaidra.

VALEP consists of an archive tree (left part of the window) where sources from several archives are stored, always mirroring the physical structure of the material, including collections, shelves, boxes, folders, and files. Files being stored in the archive tree include photos/scans in jpg format, pdf documents, as well as audio and video files in mp3 and mp4 format. Files then become processed into documents (middle part of the window) that assign a document category, document type, DOI, and several metadata that include title, description, author, and date (upper right part of the window). Documents may contain files from different parts of the archive tree that represent different versions of the document, and they may also contain other documents as subdocuments. Files and documents can be viewed in an integrated document viewer (lower right part of the window). VALEP records titles, descriptions and the like in the text format unicode. But some metadata categories, including date, location, language, persons, and institutions, are stored in a relational database and/or using special formats and parsing tools, e.g., EDTF for dates, and an internal tool for the mereological structure of locations.

This is the electronic manual of VALEP. In addition to this page, you can find more information on the following pages:

• On the current project of a Digital Edition of the Diaries of Rudolf Carnap 1908-1935
• On the history, hosts, cooperation partners, and the scope and mission of VALEP, see about VALEP
• Review our privacy policy and general disclaimer
• Discover how VALEP is processing knowledge into metadata
• Or go directly to the VALEP database

Practical Tips and Hints for First Time Users of VALEP

• Only material with resolved copyright issues is publicly available, the rest is accessible for registered/internal users only.
• VALEP is optimized for the Chrome browser and works well with Firefox; other browsers might also work but have not yet been tested.
• VALEP sometimes gets hung up: try to click on a node or button for a second time, this will resolve the problem in most cases.
• When VALEP gets hung up continuously, or you encounter other problems, we recommend resetting the current state as represented by the current URL with the F5 key or by clicking the refresh button of your browser.
• You may also click the elephant symbol in the upper left corner to reset VALEP to its initial state.
• VALEP is best suited for large screens (4K, > 30 inch) but also works well on medium size full HD screens; smaller screens also work, but it might become tedious at times; VALEP has not yet been adapted for smartphone use.
• You can adjust the sections of your VALEP screen by moving the borders of each section (reset to the initial state with F5).
• Optionally, you can also use the "Details" button in the upper right corner to switch between Detail view and view of the File viewer alone.
• If your screen tends to be too small, try to maximize the window with the F11 key or use the Detail button.
• You can use several instances of the VALEP window simultaneously: open different VALEP objects in different browser tabs or browser windows, or even different browser brands.
• When you created or updated an entry in the database, a green message will confirm a successful update at the server level; however, at times, you may need to refresh the browser window, so that the information will also be visible on the screen.

The Public Part of VALEP

You access the public part of VALEP when you visit valep.vc.univie.ac.at without logging in. The VALEP window consists of the archive tree (on the left/red), the document section (in the middle/green), the metadata window (top right/yellow), and the file viewer (bottom right/blue). Versions contain those files of the archive tree that belong to a document and therefore connect the archive tree and the document section. Chapters combine several documents, represented in the bottom document window.

Adjusting Sections and Resetting the Layout

The borders between the different screen sections (archive tree, top and bottom document window, metadata window, file viewer) can be adjusted. This allows you to customize the size of the screen sections as needed.

Whenever you want to reset the screen layout to its default state, just press the F5 key. But please note that this will delete any changes you made to the screen. You will return to the screen that you see when you first visit valep.vc.univie.ac.at.

Archive Tree (Elements)

This is only an overview. For details, see the respective section on the metadata page.

The Structure of the Archive Tree:

• Archives (the root of the tree, it does not represent anything in itself)
  • Archive X (A physical archive or repository, either public or private)
    Examples: Institute Vienna Circle, Archives of Scientific Philosophy, Xs private collection
    • Y Collection (A collection that represents holdings on an authority Y, which can either be an individual or an institution - Y collections might exist in several archives)
      Examples: Carnap collection, Vienna Circle collection
      • Box O (Boxes might contain ...
        • Box P ... sub-boxes or folders, but no files)
          • Folder S (A folder is a box that is either empty or contains files and/or versions)
            • Version F (this is a list of files that is associated with a document - versions can only be created within a general document)
              Examples: Original letter Neurath to Carnap, 1935-05-12; Copy of Carnap, From Chaos to Reality
            • File a (A folder might contain several files arranged in VALEP according to the alphabetic order of the file names - non-trivial metadata can be associated with files via versions only)
              Files can be photos (jpg), text files (pdf), audio (mp3) or video files (mp4)

Archive Tree (click and double click)

• An arrow to the left of an element indicates content. Just click on the arrow and the content becomes visible. Clicking the arrow again will hide the content.
• Clicking an Element will display its metadata in the top right window
• A double click on a version will display the document in the bottom middle window
• A double click on a file will display the sequence of files to which it belongs in the file viewer

Documents (top window)

In the upper part of the document window, a list of all VALEP documents is displayed, by default arranged according to their processing date (the most recent on top). The functionalities of this section are:

• Sorting the Documents
  • Sort by processing date (most recent on top)
  • Sort by title (A top, Z bottom)
  • Sort by document date (oldest on top)
  • Group by authors (A top, Z bottom), sort by date (oldest on top)

• Filter the documents. You can (de)activate the filter by clicking on the active box.
  To change the filter click Filter and select among the options:
  • Full Text: for now, this covers only title and description
  • Document category, display, e.g., only letters or photographs
  • Date, select all documents whose date matches the date or date-range you are entering (you may use the EDTF format only)
  • Location, select all documents whose location matches the entered address, city, or area (not available yet, coming soon)
  • Collection, select all documents that belong to any instance of the X collection (not available yet, coming soon)
  • And Box, activate, to select those documents that match the author, recipient, and involved authorities you are entering, deactivate, to combine these filters with a logical "OR"
  • Author, Recipient, Involved: You may enter in any of this field several persons or institutions, in order to display those documents that match these criteria

There are similar clicking functionalities here as in the archive tree, except:

• Double clicking a document will open the document (and its chapters) in the bottom document window
• Double clicking a version will open the version in the archive tree (not available yet, coming soon)

Documents (bottom window)

Used in the public mode, the bottom window offers these options:

• To view all subdocuments and versions of a document
• To view a document whose version was opened in the archive tree
• To view documents that were called via their DOI

Versions

Versions connect documents and files. In other words, they are the missing link between the archive tree and the document window. Note these features:

• Documents might contain any number of versions of any version type
• Double click the title of a version in the top or bottom document window, to display this version in the archive tree (coming soon)
• Double click the title of a version in the archive tree to display the document in the bottom document window
• Double click on any file of a version, to display the sequence of files of the version in the file viewer
• Click on a version, to display its metadata
• Note that each version of a document has extra metadata that add to the overall metadata of the general document

Subdocuments

Every document can be specified as subdocument of several other documents. The subdocuments of a document can be viewed in the lower document window. Subdocuments allow for the construction of hierarchical document structures such as, e.g., a document that represents a book and subdocuments that represent chapters (first level), sections (second level), subsections (third level) etc.

Metadata Window

For all elements of the archive tree, the metadata window is one unit.

For general documents and versions, the metadata window is split into four parts, vertical, from top to bottom:

• The status line comprising the document category, document type, and document title
• The General section containing the core metadata of general documents
• The Details section covering additional metadata of general documents
• The Version section covering the metadata of versions

The File Viewer

The file viewer can adapt to different file formats: an image viewer (for JPEGs), a PDF viewer, and a video viewer for mp3s and mp4s.

• Use the the square with four arrows in the bottom right corner to maximize the file viewer, return to the default size via the esc key or by clicking on the symbol again
• Click through the files by using the list on the left, the arrows in the top status line, or with the arrows at the bottom of the window
• Use the arrows ↻ and ↺ to rotate the image or PDF
• Use the + and - symbols or the mouse wheel to zoom in or out
• Use the maximize icon above the file list to fit an image to the screen
• Use the PDF symbol to download a PDF that includes the entire sequence of JPEGs from the file list (not yet implemented, coming soon)

The Internal Part (Construction Site) - registered users only

User Accounts and Roles

To access the internal part of VALEP and/or view files restricted from public view, you need to register. In order to register, send an email to Christian Damböck describing your plans. We then will decide together what type of access is applicable in your case.

Here is a list of the possible user roles in VALEP. Which role you might obtain depends on your tasks and relationship to the IVC and/or the institutions that host material in VALEP:

Read only

• Friend is a user who gets reading access to all restricted files in the published part VALEP
  This user role is restricted to members, friends, and close cooperation partners of the IVC
• Guest is a user who gets reading access to a selection of the internal part (not yet implemented, coming soon)
  This is for all users who get reading access to parts of the internal material in VALEP
• Member is a user who gets reading access to all objects of the public and internal part of VALEP
  This is for members of the IVC only

Read and write

• Beginner is a user who gets full reading and writing access to those published and unpublished objects of VALEP where the user is specified as owner.
  This is fits users who want to learn VALEP and use all its functionalities
• Advanced is a user who gets full reading and writing access to all parts of VALEP
  For members of the IVC only
• Admin has also access to the admininstrative part of VALEP

Login

After logging in with your user account VALEP's user interface might look differently depending on your user role:

• Friend: VALEP does not change its appearance but you can view the content of every file
• Guest and Member: in the top left corner, to the right of the elephant, there now appear two buttons Construction and Public
  • Public restricts what you see to the public part of VALEP -- you may use it at times, to get a better overview
  • Construction adds to the public material (font color black) material that is only visible in the internal construction site of VALEP (font color grey)
• Beginner and Advanced: like Guest and Member you may shift between the Public and Construction view; in addition:
  • You have access to toolbar allowing you to use certain functionalities: uploading files and folders, adding nodes to the archive tree, creating documents, and deleting objects
  • You may add objects to and remove objects from all these nodes in the archive tree where you have that permission
  • You may create general documents and versions and you may also delete them, if you have that permission
  • You may change metadata for all those objects for which you are entitled to do so

How to edit fields in the metadata window

• Some of the metadata fields are rather self explanatory - just try to use them
• Read through the metadata page, before you start

Text fields

• Text fields (title, description, URL) may contain any UNICODE text
• Just enter or edit the text
• As soon as you click somewhere outside of the text field, you should see a green message box ""Updated X successfully

Persons/Institutions

• Most metadata fields of the category person/institution may contain several entries
• Enter some characters of the individual or institution
• If the correct name appears, select it or move down with the keyboard and press enter
• If the name is not on the list, press + to the right of the metadata field
  • Select Person or Institution
  • Enter an abbreviated name, which needs to be unique
  • Enter any further data, as needed
  • Click OK
• Optionally, you may enter further persons/institutions (unless the data field accepts only one entry)
• After clicking outside the data field, the Updated X successfully message should appear

Language, Card File, Document Format, Copying Process

• Enter some characters of the name you are searching for
• If the correct name appears, click on it or move down with the keyboard and press enter
• If the item you need does not exist, ask the admin to create it for you

Date

• Most metadata fields of the category date may contain several date-time entries
• Enter the first string in the field which should match the EDTF format as outlined in the metata page
• Press ENTER (this is required, otherwise the date is NOT going to be saved)
• If needed, enter additional EDTF strings, each time hitting ENTER (unless the data fields accepts only one date)
• After click somewhere outside the field, the Updated X successfully message should appear
• At this point, the date entries are sent to the parser. Any time you have entered an invalid date (e.g., 1910-12-32), you will get an error message Invalide EDTF data and the incorrect entries are removed
• Since the date field is so far the only field you have to confirm the entry by pressing ENTER, it might take some time to get used to. After several entries, you will get the hang of it.

Location

• Most metadata fields of the category location may contain several location entries
• Try first to enter several characters of the address that you plan to enter (cf. the specification in the metadata page)
• If the address you are looking for appears in the list, just click on the entry or move down with the keyboard and press enter
• If the address is not in the list, press the + symbol on the right of the data field
• Enter the city: again, type several characters of the city name, if it shows up, just select it; otherwise click the + symbol:
  • Enter the city name
  • Then specify the smallest area to which the city belongs
  • Contact the admin if there are problems, but note that an area can always be assigned to a city later on
• Enter additional information (such as street, postal code, etc.), if applicable
• If the address should only be city, leave all other fields blank
• Click OK or press enter
• Optionally, you may enter further addresses to the field (unless the data field accepts only a single location)
• When clicking outside the field, the Updated X successfully message should appear confirming that the information was saved

Event

• Most metadata fields of the category event may contain several event entries
• Try first to enter several characters of the event you are looking for (cf. the specification in the metadata page)
• If the event appears on the list, click it or move down with the keyboard and press enter
• If the event does not show up, press the + symbol to the right of the data field
  • Type in the event and select an event type (required)
  • Optionally, you may also add location, address, and an event description
  • Click OK to create the event
• Optionally, you may enter further events to the data field (unless the data field accepts only a single event)
• After clicking outside the field, the message Updated X successfully should appear confirming that the entry was saved

How to create, edit, and delete parts of the archive tree

Only selected users can use the functionalities outlined below, as described in the login section.

How to create, edit, and delete an archive

• Right click on Archives and click Add child node / or click on archives and then click + in the toolbar
• Enter the name of the new archive and press Ok or type Enter
• To edit the archive, click on the name of the new archive and enter or edit the metadata (note that the owners field can be changed only by the admin)
• To delete the archive, right click on the name and click Delete / or click on the name and then on the paper basket symbol in the toolbar

How to create, edit, and delete a collection

• Right click on the archive where you want to store the collection and click Add child node / or click on the archive and then click + in the toolbar
• Enter some characters of the name of the person or institution holding the collection, then select the name from the list (either click or move down with the keyboard and press enter) and press Ok or type Enter
  • If the person or institution you are looking for is not in the list, ask the admin to create it
• To edit the collection, click on the name of the new collection and enter or edit the metadata (note that the owners field can be changed only by the admin)
• To delete the collection, right click on the name and click Delete / or click on the name and then on the paper basket symbol in the toolbar

How to create, edit, and delete a digital object

Uploading a folder to a collection automatically turns it into a digital object: see How to upload a folder

• Right click on a collection and click Add child node / or click on the collection and then click + in the toolbar
• Enter the name of the new digital object and press Ok or type Enter
• To edit the digital object, click on its name and enter or edit the metadata (note that the owners field can be changed only by the admin)
• To delete the digital object, right click its name and click Delete / or select its name and then click on the paper basket symbol in the toolbar

How to create, edit, and delete a box

In general, you will not be creating boxes within VALEP but uploading them from your computer: see How to upload a folder; however, it might be useful at times to create boxes directly, in order to structure the contents of a digital object:

• Right click on either a digital object or a box and click Add child node / or click on the collection and then click + in the toolbar
• Enter the name of the new box and press Ok or type Enter
• To edit the box, click on the name of the new digital object and enter or edit the metadata (note that the owners field can be changed only by the admin)
• To delete the box, right click on its name and click Delete / or select its name and then click on the paper basket symbol in the toolbar

How to upload files to the archive tree

The functionalities outlined below accessible only to authorized users, as indicated in the login section.

How to prepare files and folders for uploading

A key aspect of VALEP is its ability to upload arbitrarily nested structures within a folder, i.e., it might contain folders, subfolders, subfolders of subfolders etc. However, please note the following requirements and guidelines:

• Use either Firefox or (even better) Chrome
• File extensions are limited to JPEG, PDF, .mp3, or .mp4
• File names cannot contain dots except for the one preceding the file name extension (such extra dots will replaced with a hyphen)
• No folder in the uploaded folder structure may contain both files and folders; in other words, files are contained in a special type of folder in VALEP, which cannot contain any folders
• All folders and files in the archive tree are organized alphabetically; this alphabetic order is critical because you are only able to add alphabetically organized sequences of a folder to a version
• JPEGs must be compressed to less than 600KB; though VALEP is capable of compressing the files during upload, this might slow down the process. In addition, compression during upload sometimes fails.
• Try to keep your PDFs, mp3 and mp4 files small; those files won't be compressed during upload; any file that you upload to VALEP cannot be larger than 15MB.
• If a folder contains more than 1.000 files and/or 1GB, please discuss the upload in advance with the admin
• Note that large uploads (of several 10,000 files) might become difficult; do not attempt this without assistance of the admin

How to upload a single folder

• Study the previous section and prepare your files and folders accordingly
• Click on the collection, digital object, or box where you want to place your folder
• Click on the upload folder symbol in the middle of the toolbar
• Select the folder on your local computer and press OK

How to upload several folders at once

• To upload several folders at once to a specific folder X, you will first need to put these folders into a local folder also named X.
  • The local folder X may also contain folders already uploaded to the VALEP X folder - these will simply be ignored during the upload process. This means that when you want to add new material to an already uploaded subfolder of X, you need proceed differently
  • If you want to upload several folders directly to a collection called X collection (e.g., Carnap collection), the folder in your local folder must be called X rather than X collection (or Carnap rather than Carnap collection)
• Click on the folder X (or X collection) to which you want to upload the unit of folders
• Click on the upload folder symbol in the middle of the toolbar
• Select the folder X on your local computer and press OK

How to upload files

The standard way of getting files into the archive tree is to upload a folder. However, in some cases it might be necessary to upload just several files into an existing folder:

• Follow the guidelines in the upload a folder section.
• Ensure that the box/folder to which you plan to upload your files is either empty or only contains files
• Click on the box or folder where you want to place your files
• Click on the upload files symbol in the middle of the toolbar
• Select the files on your local computers (several files might be selected at once) and click OK

How can I track the upload? How can it fail?

• The progress of your upload is reported in the toolbar; typically, 4 files per batch are uploaded, which should take only a few seconds
• To track the success report and possible error messages during the upload, press F12 in Chrome or Firefox and select Console
• Should you interrupt the process by shutting down the browser or the computer, the upload will fail and cannot be continued; in that case, just delete the initial fragmented upload and try again
• If the upload fails several times in a row, please contact the admin
• Here are some scenarios that can lead to problems with the file upload:
  • JPEGs larger than 600KB will sometimes not be compressed, triggering an error message and a failed upload
  • If a file contains a dot somewhere in the file name, VALEP will delete the file name between the dot and the file extension; though the upload works, the resulting cropped file name may corrupt the intended ordering of the uploaded files
  • Files, in general, cannot be larger than 15MB

How to create, edit, and delete general documents

The functionalities outlined in this section are accessible only to some users, as indicated in the login section.

How to create a general document

Before you create a general document, please check the details on general documents in the metadata section.

• Click on the create new general document symbol in the toolbar, or right click in the upper document window and click Create new general document
• In the New Document window select the Document Category (which cannot be changed later); if the document is a file card, you will need to select the card file to which it belongs
• All other metadata fields are optional; complete them as you wish; you can change the data at any time
• If you have questions about a particular metadata category, please consult the metadata page
• Press OK when you are done

Who can edit or delete a general document?

• The Document status indicated in the Details section of a general document determines the available functionalities for each user
• General documents with the document status Beginner can be edited or deleted by any user who has writing permissions
• General documents with the document status Advanced can not be edited or deleted by users whose role is Beginner
• General documents with the document status Admin can be edited or deleted only by the admin
• The document status can be changed by the admin only

How to edit a general document

• If needed, search for the document using the filter tab and the ordering function
• Click on the document either in the upper or the lower document window
• Change any metadata in the upper section (document type, title), in the General or Details section
• Note that you cannot change the document category, and the card file (exists only for file cards), cf. the next paragraph
• Note that the Document status can only be changed by the admin

How to change the document category or file card to which a document is assigned

• The only way to do this is to delete the document and create a new one with the correct document category and/or file card
• We recommend creating the new document first and then deleting the old one to avoid data loss

How to delete a general document

• Click on the general document and then click on the paper basket symbol in the toolbar
• If it doesn't work, check the Who can edit or delete a general document? section

How to create, edit, and delete versions

Before you proceed, read the versions section in the metadata page. The functionalities outlined in this section are accessible only to some users, as indicated in the login section.

Who can create, edit or delete a version?

• To edit a version, you need authorization to edit the general document to which the version belongs
• Thus, examine the How to create, edit, and delete general documents section first

How to create a version

• Double click the general document to which the version will belong in the upper document window -- it should show up in the lower document window
• Select the files of the versions in the archive tree: click on the first file of the sequence, hold Shift, then click on the last file of the sequence
• Click on the selection and pull it to the appropriate Add version category in the list in the lower document window
• Move the mouse slowly and, in the lower document window, wait until the appropriate Add version line is turning gray - this will take a few seconds: at that point can you release the mouse to drop the files into the appropriate version category
• Wait a few seconds: if the version contains many files, it may take a while until the green Successfully created new Version" message pops up
• If it doesn't work, try again!

How to edit a version

• Click on the version
• Edit the Version tab in the metadata window

How to delete a version

• Open the version in the lower document window
• Right click on the version and press Delete or click on the version and then on the paper basket symbol in the toolbar

How to create, edit, and delete subdocuments

Functionalities in this section are accessible only to some users, as described in the login section.

What is a subdocument?

• Several general documents can be combined to become a sequence of subdocuments of another general document
• Each general document can be the subdocument of several other general documents
• To view subdocuments you need to open a general document in the lower document window (just double click the document in the upper window or double click any of its versions in the archive tree)
• If the general document has subdocuments then you find them listed below its versions
• If the general document has parent documents (i.e., documents to whom it belongs as a subdocument) then you find them listed below its versions and subdocuments under the header Parents (just click on the arrow to watch the list of parent documents)

How to add a subdocument

• Open the general document to which you want to add a subdocument in the lower document window (double click in the upper document window on any general document that belongs to the sequence or double click in the archive tree on any version that belongs to the sequence)
• In the upper document window select the document that you want to add as a subdocument to the document in the lower document window
• In the lower document window there should show up a + button now (if it does not show up then you do not have the permission to add the selected document as a subdocument here)
• Then you have two different options:
  • Simply click the + button: the selected document will be enqueued as the final document in the list of subdocuments
  • Select a subdocument from the list in the lower document window (if applicable) and then click the + button: the selected document from the upper document window will be enqueued as a subdocument below the selected document in the lower document window

How to remove a subdocument

• Open the general document from which you want to remove a subdocument in the lower document window (double click in the upper document window on any general document that belongs to the sequence or double click in the archive tree on any version that belongs to the sequence)
• Select the subdocument that you want to remove
• Click the - button (if there is no - button then you do not have the permission to remove a subdocument)

How to move a subdocument up and down in the queue

• Open the general document in which you want to move a subdocument in the lower document window (double click in the upper document window on any general document that belongs to the sequence or double click in the archive tree on any version that belongs to the sequence)
• Select the subdocument that you want to move up or down
• Click on one of the arrow buttons to move the subdocument up or down (if there is no arrow button then you do not have the permission to remove a subdocument)

Why do you don't have the permission to add, remove, or move subdocuments

• If you are not the owner of the documents being involved this may cause that you don't have permission (namely, if your user role is beginner)
• If one of the documents being involved is set to the status locked then subdocuments cannot be added, removed, or moved (the locked flag can be set or unset by the admin only)

The Internal Part (Admin)

VALEP also consists of an internal part accessible to the admin only, who is authorized to modify the following categories:

• Users can be created, edited and removed
• Tables and indices containing important data of VALEP can be edited, including:
  • Document formats
  • Copying Processes
  • Institutions
  • Persons
  • Locations
  • Events
  • Card Files

Some of the indices can also be edited in a more restricted way within the Construction Window, including:

• Addresses and Cities can be created directly in the metadata window by any authorized user: just click the plus symbol to the right of a location field
• Events can be created in the metadata window by any authorized user: just click the plus symbol to the right of an event field
• Persons and Institutions can be created in the metadata window by any authorized user

In addition users of type beginner and advanced have access to the tables of the admin tab (except for the user table) and they can do the following:

• View every item
• Add new items (limited in the locations tab)
• Edit existing items (limited in the locations tab)
• Users of type beginner and advanced, however, cannot delete any items here