PRACTICES AND PROCEDURES FOR DEVELOPING TEXT GUIDES TO RAIL STATIONS

By Terry Robinson B.ScDESCRIBE ONLINE

June 2011

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Contents

1. INTRODUCTION
2. OBJECTIVES
3. PROCESS
3.1 The Survey
3.1.1 Entrances and Exits
3.1.2 Concourses and Other Open Spaces
3.1.3 Passages and Stairs
3.1.4 Platforms
3.1.5 Facilities
3.2 Structuring Data
3.3 Coding
3.3.1 Environs
3.3.2 General Description
3.3.3 Facilities
3.3.4 Detailed Description
3.3.5 How Do I…?
3.3.6 Lesser Pages - Facility, Detailed Description and How Do I…?
3.4 Submitting Guides
3.5 Maintenance
3.5.1 Errors
3.5.2 Changes to Venues
3.5.3 Sponsorship and Advertising Information
4. STANDARDS
4.1 Header Block
4.2 Plain Text
4.3 "*" Points
4.4 Menus
4.5 Feature Lists
4.6 File Structures and Names
4.7 Links
4.8 Sponsors' and Advertisers' Details
5. SAMPLE PAGES
5.1 Front Page
5.2 Environs
5.3 General Description
5.4 Facilities
5.4.1 Facilities Menu Page
5.4.2 Facilities Item Page
5.5 Detailed Description
5.5.1 Detailed Description Menu Page
5.5.2 Detailed Description Item Page
5.6 How Do I…?
5.6.1 How Do I…? Menu Page
5.6.2 How Do I…? Item Page

1. Introduction

Describe Online was established in April 2000 to develop new solutions to the information shortage which severely restricts the lives of blind and vision impaired people. Since many of us are turning to the Internet as the most realistic means of bypassing the bottleneck of the limited production of information in accessible media, we believe these solutions must be based on a comprehensive online facility, providing information which is not only accessible but is also presented in a form that is meaningful to us.

We consider travel information - enabling us to use the public transport network, the built environment and public venues effectively - to be very important to blind and vision impaired people. Our text only website contains maps and station finders for the UK National Rail, Transport for London and National Tramways and Metros networks, plus a growing number of text guides to stations within these networks. In line with our aim to make travelling easier for blind/vision impaired people, we need to provide text guides to all stations in all networks. This is clearly beyond our current resources.

We are, therefore, offering others an opportunity to provide guides to stations which we are unlikely to survey in the foreseeable future. We see this as a self employment opportunity for blind/vision impaired people, to raise funds through sponsorship and advertising, in the short term. Should we obtain a major source of regular funding, we may be able to sub-contract this work in the longer term.

This manual explains how to produce text guides in accordance with the standards and practices currently adopted by Describe Online. We explain the process of developing guides, the conventions used and give examples of the code we use.

You'll need good mobility skills, an understanding of space, the ability to describe space concisely and, ideally though not essential, a basic knowledge of HTML (so we don't have to code your text for our site).

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2. Objectives

We believe it should be universally recognised that it is necessary and normal for every public venue to have a text guide which imparts understanding as well as directions to and through that venue.

It is not sufficient to give directions in isolation, as this does not generally convey much understanding, nor are directions alone very robust in the light of minor changes to the venue and its surroundings. If we can understand the space we're visiting, we stand a much better chance of using the venue effectively by knowing what it has to offer, set our own agendas for the assistance we need and make more informed decisions about how to spend our time there.

It is from these considerations that we have developed the hierarchical structure of descriptive information which we use for our guides, this is outlined below.

Front Page

This is where you start, having found the guide from either the map or station finder. It names the lines served by the station, followed by a standard menu and, finally, links back to the map and station finder.

The menu contains:

Environs

We explain where the station is located in terms of the local road network,
where the entrances/exits of the station are located, including details of getting in or out of the station,
how the station could be reached via public transport,
how you could leave via taxi or public transport or
move out into the local built area.

General Description

Having given an understanding of the location of the station, we now aim to provide an understanding of the space which the station itself presents.

We explain the principal lines served. The Lines Served paragraph describes the nature of the station (through or terminus) on which line(s) running approximately in (direction) through the station.

We describe the layout of the station including the number of platforms (island or separate) and the order in which they're numbered.
We then describe the relationship between the platforms and the concourse(s) plus the approximate location of bridges or subways across the lines.

In our Accessibility statement, we take the opportunity to make relevant comments about the accessibility of the station, in terms of stairs, escalators, lifts, ramps, etc. In this context we can inform visitors of which parts of a station are, or aren't accessible to them.

Facilities

This contains a menu of facilities which aren't necessarily available in all stations.
In particular, not all London Underground stations have toilets, so it may be useful to know which of them do, as this may affect the route you choose to take.

Detailed Description - The Nuts and Bolts!

Some people cringe at the prospect of the detail we include here, but we believe it does serve a useful purpose.
It serves us well to obtain this information to provide useful directions and the features we describe (the direction and number of stairs in a flight) can serve as valuable landmarks. For reasons unknown to us, we find many instances where things which we'd expect to be the same, or symmetrical, often aren't; for example, you could go down, say 14 then 15 steps from a bridge to a platform from one side and 13 then 17 to the same platform from the other!.
It's also valuable to retain a sense of direction throughout. We believe this helps us check for consistency and conveys understanding of the space.
If you can't line up the direction of the lines to that of the local road network, via your path through the station, there's something wrong!

How Do I…? - The Bit Everyone Waits For!

This is what you do.
A concise description of how one finds each platform from each entrance; each exit from each platform and changes platforms. For larger stations we also describe how you can obtain assistance and where you buy your ticket. These may not be applicable to smaller stations.

There may be a need to describe other important routes which aren't covered by the above.

So, if you're not already feeling totally dizzy, this is how you go about it.

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3. Process

The following sections describe the process we have found most effective for developing text guides. We can't over stress the importance of collecting good data up front as the basis for a good guide. Even then, we continue to learn new ways in which people misunderstand things. This is all part of an exciting learning experience which moves us towards our goal of conveying understanding and direction.

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3.1 The Survey

This is by far the most important part of the job. We may believe we know our way round a building and, yes, we probably do know our own way. We've probably developed our knowledge, either through occasional help from others or have simply learned the hard way to do what we find necessary.

In practice, there is no substitute for walking the patch, with a sighted companion, even on familiar ground. I was amazed at how much I did not know about those stations through which I was quite happy to move unaided.

You also need to investigate the whole space which is available to the public and take detailed notes of your findings sufficient to produce the Detailed Description section of the guide. If you get this right, the rest follows rather less painfully. If you discover gaps or queries, you'll probably have to re-visit. Sadly, when surveying complicated venues, you may not know you have a problem until you try to write the guide. At least, at this stage, you'll have discovered the gaps in your understanding and will be able to glean the information you need more systematically. Experience will make it easier and natural to ask the right questions of your companion during the first (hopefully only) visit and, of course, your companion will learn what to tell you.

Before you start wandering through the station, taking notes, we strongly recommend that you gain permission from the Station Supervisor, or, if necessary, the company which owns/manages the station. You may receive a "visitor's pass" or "letter of authority" which you can show to anyone who asks what you're doing. You're often merely asked to sign in at the station manager's office, where you may be issued with a pass. You'll need to return your pass and sign out before you leave. This may seem a bit of a chore but you're not only doing the right thing according to those in charge of the venue but are making an essential step to enrolling the powers that be in what we're doing, which should make it steadily easier to continue our work.

It helps to conduct the survey in a systematic manner. This will not necessarily generate all the data you need in the order in which you'll arrange it for the guide. What it will do is build your own understanding of the venue so you can present your data properly.

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3.1.1 Entrances and Exits

A reconnaissance from each entrance/exit should provide the Environs section, though the routes from these to the concourse, if not trivial, plus all other data you collect during your survey, will be part of Detailed Description. In fact, it is from Detailed Description that all other sections of the guide will be developed.

One further thought on entrances/exits - there is an increasing trend towards numbering these, where possible, use the conventions already in place rather than trying to invent something. If there are no signs indicating any naming convention, you'll have to make up your own for example "The North Exit", or "? Road Exit".

Whilst it is essential to put the station in context within the built environment, you probably have no remit, or desire at this stage, to map the whole town. This would be a valid project in itself. So, don't extend your survey too far. Anything beyond say 30 to 50 metres should be considered beyond the scope of a station guide. and any features to do list here should be confined to road crossings, bus stops and phones.

Whilst surveying the environs of the station, you'll probably have walked the routes between the entrances and the concourse, or platforms. You should note these routes in terms of the direction you travel, the stairs or other features you use and any features or facilities of interest you pass en route. We'll discuss how we write this up later. For now, just note the data so you can understand and recover it later.

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3.1.2 Concourses and Other Open Spaces

Many stations have concourses. They often comprise significant areas of open space through which people appear to move at random. This space is usually surrounded by facilities and features of interest. The space itself is frequently occupied tby seats, shops, pillars and other obstacles.

The concourse will normally provide access to all facilities within the station so we need a systematic means of describing how a blind person would understand where all the points of interest are and how he could locate them. Even if he decides to use assistance from others, there is real value in his understanding where he's going.

In the first instance, we record the sequence of features around the concourse, usually going clockwise from an identifyable landmark such as an entrance, or we may just start in one corner. Whichever way you choose, for clarity we indicate the direction in which features appear on each side of the space.

The sense of direction comes in handy here as the question of names comes up again. We use compass points to identify the walls or sides of a space. This being the direction in which you'd move to go through them. You simply go round the concourse and list what's there including any irregularities like recesses or projections.

When dealing with such recesses or projections, we've found it helpful to break the sequence and list details on each side of the feature as if it were a separate space.

For example. The east wall of a concourse may contain a recess with 2 phones on one side, a passage to an exit on another and a photo booth on the third side before you return to the original line of the east wall. We note this kind of feature as follows:

East Side, Going South

 
recess

North Side

  2 card and coin phones

East Side

  passage to exit 3

South Side

  photo booth

Continuing East Side, Beyond the Recess

 

Note our use of headers to indicate the structure:

In practice, we've yet to find a need to go beyond the H6 level. If this seems likely in complex areas, we're either going over the top on detail or need to rethink what information is to be included at each level. The aim is to convey understanding of the space in a concise and structured manner.

For a projection, as opposed to a recess, our conventions dictate that it would look like this:

East Side

 
wall juts out

South Side

  2 card and coin phones

East Side

  passage to exit 3

North Side

  photo booth

Continuing South, on East Side, Beyond the Passage to Entrance 3

 

We do this because the projection still bounds an enclosed space.

It is more difficult to describe the position of features within the space. Those which are adjacent to something you've identified on one side can be mentioned (as an aside) in this context. For distances over, say, five metres, you'll probably have to list features individually as being opposite something you've identified on a side, or in line between two such features. Alternatively, you may be able to identify blocks of features within the space; if you can devise a means of locating one or more of the principal features, you can describe the block as a free-standing item. For the proposed conventions of doing this, see our reference to pillars, below.

A good example illustrating these techniques is the concourse of Paddington mainline station.

One more point to note, pillars don't bound space and so we define the sides as the direction in which you move to walk away from them. So, in saying that a pillar has a phone on the west side, indicates that the phone juts out west from the pillar.

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3.1.3

Passages and Stairs

One is tempted to use terms like "left" and "right", but this can be ambiguous depending on the direction in which you're travelling when collecting such data. The situation becomes more frought when you try to identify the position of features of interest.

"On the left" isn't terribly useful if you happen to be moving in the opposite direction to the narator.

So, its compasses out again! Moving in which direction, on which side, (e.g. north) are the stairs to platform 3? etc.

The simplest approach is to walk through the passage, noting any bends, slopes, steps (including number of), until you reach either a significant destination such as a platform, a junction or sharp corner. At this point you could note what, if any, features of interest e.g. help points, were found on each side before continuing. These features would be listed, for each side, as in the concourse.

You will need to walk every available passage and associate each end with an identified point in the station, e.g. the concourse to a platform, or a junction to a bridge over platforms, etc.

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3.1.4 Platforms

We have identified two principal situations, namely closed and open island platforms. Some stations combine the two, where a covered area with buildings gives way to an open area towards the end of an island platform.

The closed platforms are those with the track to one side and a wall, or other obstruction, to the other. The open platform, by definition, has a track to either side.

When surveying platforms, you simply list the features of interest (seats, phones, vending machines etc.) along the wall, plus other features or obstacles on the platform itself. It is helpful to survey each platform in the same direction to maintain consistency and save tedious editing later.

For open platforms, you would survey the island (two numbered platforms) as one, with common features.

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3.1.5 Facilities

Facilities such as help points and lifts should be examined and note taken as to how these are operated. This information would be included as an entry in the Facilities section.

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3.2 Structuring Data

When you've completed the survey, you should have a mass of data which needs to be transformed into information. It's probably not that bad, actually. You'd be well advised to go through it as soon as you can face the task to remove any errors and make sure that what you've written makes sense in the light of your understanding of the space you visited. Having done that, I suggest you take a break before returning to it, fresh.

The first step is to create a folder for the guide. This will normally be the name of the station, in lower case. The folder will contain all the HTML files, preferably not your raw data, which should be stored elsewhere. I have a "descriptions" folder for this.

At this stage, you should have all you need for the Environs and Detailed Description sections. Anything which talks about exits, buses, roads etc is Environs, whilst the rest is Detailed Description. You may need to add some profundity to the Environs section like "This station is located a few metres north of the junction of … Road, which runs … and … Avenue, which runs … past the station". If the exits are numbered, list them in order otherwise, use a convenient geographical sequence.

The detailed Description may be a bit fragmented and the structure may not be obvious from your notes. Think of the station as a whole and list the main features. You'll probably come up with something like:

This will make life a whole lot easier as you can now break out the data you need for each of these headings. As will be discussed later, each of these items will be a separate file linked from the Detailed Description menu page.

So, after cutting out all the bits you've identified, You'll probably have details of inter-connecting passages. You'll need to make a decision has to how to include these essential details in the guide. I've tried three aproaches in the past.

I suppose this last, is the least helpful option, they will all duplicate information in the How Do I…? section, but that's too bad.

If you have anything left after this, you've forgotten something. If you've a gap, you've misplaced something during the carve-up or, "oh no!", you've missed it out of your notes.

The allocation of detailed data to identified headings also clarifies the picture of the space in your mind so you should now be able to write the General Description. This should pull together all the items listed into a coherent description of the station itself. You will only have to add a profound statement like, "This is a through station on the line which …" and give the necessary general statements about accessibility.

You've now reached the stage where you can write the "How Do I…?" section. The structure of the space you've understood will determine the structure of this information. From your understanding of the station, you need to decide what people need to do. This is generally, find platforms from entrances, exits from platforms and change platforms. Experience has shown that the Environs section should contain details about buses, taxis, road crossings etc. so you should only need to serve routes to/from the entrances/exits of the station itself. The Facilities section will tell users where they are, so specific routes to these add no value to this section. We have had requests for specific instructions about how to get assistance and buy tickets in major stations so these ought to be provided.

Begin by writing:

From the three sections you've produced already, you can work out what needs to be said under each of these headings. There will usually be a wide range of potential options, but these can usually be rationalised to something manageable.

For example, if six platforms are linked via a bridge, a single passage joins the bridge to the concourse.
You need only describe the route from each platform to the point on the bridge where the passage starts. You have a single passage to the concourse, then a description of the route to each exit.

Note that, in this section. You're being concise, using left, right, up/down stairs. In other words, what you do!

In the above example, you may be able to simplify matters further by saying that you go towards the front of the eastbound train (rear of the westbound) to locate the stairs to the bridge. From platforms 1 - 3 turn left then right into the passage (right then left from 4 - 6). Continue through the passage into the concourse, the gates are in front of you, the exit gate is to your left. Go through the gates. Turn right for exit 1, go forward to exit 2, left and follow the passage left then right for exit 3.

You may find that, for complex stations, these three titles aren't good enough. In which case you'll need to break out whichever titles make sense to you. We had to do this in our guide to Baker Street Station where there are four exits, two concourses, ten platforms with little commonality of routes to, from and between them.

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3.3 Coding

You should now have all your data ready in separate files, according to the naming conventions given in section 4.6.

I suggest you now build the hierarchy of the guide starting with the front page. You should only have to fill in the network (e.g. National Rail or London Underground),station name, lines served, author and sponsor's details. All other links are provided.

We then build the major pages: Environs, Facilities, General Description, Detailed Description and How Do I…?. Each of these will need the station name inserting into the title and the station name into the back links.

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3.3.1 Environs

Insert the station name into the title and include your text in the appropriate sections:

The outline back link is already provided you'll need to insert the station name in the filename and text areas. Any sponsorship/advertising information will follow this link.

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3.3.2 General Description

Insert the station name into the title and insert your text into the appropriate sections:

Insert the station name into the filename and text areas of the back link. Add sponsorship/advertising infomation below the back link.

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3.3.3 Facilities

Insert the station name into the title and create the menu of the facilities you've identified, where shown. You'll also need to link to files, in accordance with section 4.6. Insert the station name into the filename and text of the back link. Any sponsorship/advertising information should be included below the back link.

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3.3.4 Detailed Description

Insert the station name into the title and create the menu according to the items you've identified and link to file names in accordance with section 4.6. Insert the station name into the filename and text areas of the back link. Add any sponsorship/advertising information below the back link.

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3.3.5 How Do I…?

Insert the station name in the title. The basic menu is already provided, add extra items to this if needed. You should have already got files corresponding to the basic menu links. Insert the station name in the filename and text area of the back link. Add any sponsorship/advertising information below the back link.

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3.3.6 Lesser Pages - Facility, Detailed Description and How Do I…?

Samples of each are provided. You'll need to insert the station name and feature in the title; then insert the feature into the header. You then insert your information where shown. The back links are already provided, you'll need to enter the station name into the filename and text areas of the back to station link.

You could add sponsorship/advertising information below these. Note it is not usual to have such information on these pages.

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3.4 Submitting Guides

The following would apply to your submitting guides for inclusion in the Describe Online site. If you're providing information for other sites, this should be amended accordingly.

The coding procedure, together with the sample pages, should avoid much potential for errors and broken links. However, we recommend that you test the guide offline before submitting it. With the best will in the world, there are almost bound to be some errors, either in linkage or the code itself. We don't want to fall over these later if we can avoid it. I've experienced problems which have been present for ages, without anyone telling me about them - Cyberspace is a lonely place! Bear in mind that you are the author.

Having assured yourself that the guide is working and correct to the best of your knowledge, you simply email the contents of the folder to info@describe-online.com, together with a suitable covering message. If the guide contains any advertising or sponsorship information, payment should be made as per our current terms and conditions.

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3.5 Maintenance

Throughout the life of software projects, of which this is an example, there are two kinds of maintenance which result in updates to the information the guides contain. These are those which result from errors in the initial data and those arising from changes to the venue the guide describes. In addition, we encourage authors to obtain sponsorship and advertising information to be included in their guides. This may need to be amended from time-to-time. In particular, advertisements should be renewed annually.

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3.5.1

Errors

Whilst we all make reasonable efforts to ensure that our data are free of errors and ambiguities, we cannot guarantee this in practice. Nor can we be sure that someone out there won't misunderstand what we say. We therefore ask authors to include their email address on the front page of each guide so that users can contact them to resolve such problems.

Updated guides should be submitted, in whole, to Describe Online for replacement on site. Unless there appears to be a major problem, it seems reasonable that this should be done occasionally, say monthly, or less.

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3.5.2

Changes to Venues

Unless you, yourself become aware of changes to a venue, you'll probably have to rely on user feedback as, in our experience, we receive little information from the owners/managers of stations. Should updates be required, amended guides should be submitted, in full, to Describe Online.

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3.5.3 Sponsorship and Advertising

It is in the interest of us all that guides be either sponsored or supported by advertising. You may be able to obtain sponsorship before you produce the guide. However, customers may wait to see the guide online before they're prepared to support the venture. This gives rise to the third category of maintenance - sponsorship and advertising.

If you receive sponsorship, you should send the necessary information via email and make the requisite payment as per our terms and conditions. Sponsorship is considered as a one-off payment, good for the lifetime of either our service or that of the sponsor, whichever is the shorter.

Advertising is for one year only and, therefore should be renewed accordingly.

Note that sponsoring a guide does not preclude the advertising of products and services unrelated to those provided by the sponsor.

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4. Standards

It is desirable for every site to have a standard look and feel throughout. This makes it easier for users to find their way around and also introduces an element of cross-checking for potential problems. The following sections define those standards employed throughout the Describe Online site.

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4.1 Header Block

Each page should contain a header block with a title and page header.

The title for the front page of a guide will include the network name, e.g. National Railways, followed by the station name. This is written in upper case; for example:
<title>National RailWAYS - BOLTON STATION</title>

Other pages within the guide will contain the station name plus the feature described on the page. All this will be written in upper case; for example:
<title>BOLTON - THE MAIN CONCOURSE</title>

The H1 header of the page will contain the feature described in the page, plus "Describe Online" RIGHT JUSTIFIED in blue, italic script.

The coding for this is already provided. The H1 header of the front page will contain the station name in upper case; for example:
<h1>BOLTON STATION</h1>

The H1 header for other pages will contain the feature name in uppercase; for example:
<h1>THE MAIN CONCOURSE</h1>

The coding for this is also provided, except for the names.

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4.2 Plain Text

The Environs, General Description and How Do I…? pages will normally contain passages of plain text, which will be divided into paragraphs (<p> </p>) as appropriate.

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4.3 "*" Points

There are many conventions for associating similar items. We have chosen to adopt bullet lists from now on, though "*" points have been used previously. The lists may start either from the margin or inset by 5% of the width of the displayed window. Whilst there are several alternative ways of achieving this. The use of "blockquote" although widely used, is officially discouraged. We understand that tables provide a reliable and consistent result. The use of a two-column table, with column 1 being blank causes no difficulties to those using screen reading software.

Typical code for such paragraphs is:
<table border=0 cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 width=90%>
<tr>
<td width=5%>
 
</td>
<td width=95%>
<ul>
<li>(text item 1)</li>
<li>(text item 2)</li>
... <li>(last item)</li>
</ul>
</td></tr></table>

This indents the list by 5% of the table width. The table itself is restricted to 90% of the screen as this has been found to be more readable.

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4.4

Menus

Our Facilities, Detailed Description and How Do I…? pages contain menus with each item, indented by 5% of the table width, on separate lines. Typical code is:
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=90%>
<tr>
<td width=5%> </td>
<td width=95%>
item 1<br>
item 2<br>
...
final item
</td></tr></table>

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4.5 Feature Lists

The "lines Served" in the front page and many items in the Detailed Description pages will contain such lists. These are indented by 10% of the width of the table and are displayed on adjacent lines. Typical code is:
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=90%>
<tr>
<td width=10%> </td>
<td width=90%>
item 1<br>
item 2<br>

last item
</td></tr></table>

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4.6 File Structures and Names

Our site contains a folder for each network - "lul" for Transport for London Services, "br" for National Railways, "tramways" for National Tramways and Metros. These folders contain the map and station finder files for the network concerned, plus a folder for each guide, e.g. "oxfordcircus". All files for a guide will reside in one such folder.

For example, the Detailed Description item for platform 1 in Oxford Circus station can be found in:
./lul/oxfordcircus/platform1.htm

The above example also illustrates our convention for file names. these are lower case strings containing the principal words, without spaces. For example:
Find a Platform from an Entrance becomes
findplatformfromentrance.htm

This link is already provided in the sample How Do I…? page.

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4.7 Links

Most of the internal links are already provided in the sample pages. Our site is constructed as a hierarchy of information through which users are intended to move systematically. In other words, we have decided not to adopt the common practice of providing navigation links to many parts of the site on each page.

You'll need to provide the Lines Served links, from the front page.
Since the lines of the National Rail network aren't explicitly named, we've had to develop a convention which names the start and end of each identified line. For example:
Birmingham - Derby
That's what should be displayed to the user (station a - station b).
The filename for the above example is:
birminghamderby.htm
It is, of course one folder level below that of the guide, so the link will read:
<a href="../birminghamderby.htm">Birmingham - Derby</a>

You may also need to provide additional links to items from the Facilities, Detailed Description and How Do I…? pages. These will follow the examples already provided.

Finally, there may be links to advertisers' or sponsors' sites, plus email addresses.

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4.8 Sponsors' and Advertisers' Details

We hope most of your sponsors will have their own web sites, which makes our job very much easier as we can just link to their sites. We normally say, on the front page:
<p align=center>This Guide Is Sponsored By<br>
<a href="website">sponsor</a><br>
To Whom We Extend Our Sincere Thanks</p>

We invite our sponsors to provide brief statements about their products and services which we can include on the major pages. For example:
<p align=center>This Guide Is Sponsored By<br>
<a href="website">sponsor</a><br>
The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread</p>

Each advertisement will normally be provided by someone else. You'll need to code this accordingly and insert it into the page you choose. Discretion alone will determine how many you put on each page. We would expect the major pages to be occupied first. I'm not sure whether it's desirable to put adverts on the lesser pages as they'll receive less exposure than the others.

Our recent practice has been to put a same page link towards the top of the page, which would draw readers' attention to an adverrt which appears near the foot of that page. Such code would be:

<p><a href="#advert1">Advertisement</a></p>

normal page content
...
<a name="advert1"></a>
text of advertisement
</body>
</html>

Clearly, the caption of the link should give some understanding of what's being advertised by whom.

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5. Sample Pages

The following sections represent each page required to build the guide. Simply fill in the information as necessary.

5.1 Front Page

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd">
<html>
<head>
<title>network - stationname STATION</title>
</head>

<body link=blue vlink=purple>
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=90%>
<tr>
<td width=50% valign=bottom style='border-top:solid green 1.5pt; border-left:none;border-bottom:solid green .75pt;border-right:none; padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'>
<h1>stationname STATION</h1>
</td>
<td width=50% valign=bottom style='border-top:solid green 1.5pt; border-left:none;border-bottom:solid green .75pt;border-right:none; padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'>
<h1 align=right><i><span style='color:blue'>Describe Online</span></i></h1>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

<h2>Lines Served</h2>
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=90%>
<tr>
<td width=10%> </td>
<td width=90%>
<a href="../stationastationb.htm">station a - station b</a><br>
</td></tr></table>

<h2>About the Station</h2>
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=90%>
<tr>
<td width=5%> </td>
<td width=95%>
<a href="environs.htm">Environs</a><br>
<a href="generaldescription.htm">General Description</a><br>
<a href="facilities.htm">Facilities</a><br>
<a href="detaileddescription.htm">Detailed Description</a><br>
<a href="howdoi.htm">How Do I…?</a>
</td></tr></table>

<h2>We Want to Hear from You</h2>
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=90%>
<tr>
<td width=5%> </td>
<td width=95%>
<a href="../../intro/feedback.htm">We Need Your Feedback</a><br>
<a href="../../intro/termsandconditions.htm">Would You Like to Join Us?</a><br>
</td></tr></table>

<h2>Back Links</h2>
<p><a href="../...map.htm">network map</a></p>
<p><a href="../...stationfinder.htm">network STATION finder</a></p>

<p align=center>Author ???<br>
email: <a href="mailto:>>>"> ???</a><br>
Surveyed mm/yyyy.</p>

<p align=center>This guide is sponsored by<br>
<a href="http://www.sitename">sponsor</a><br>
to whom we extend our sincere thanks.</p>

</body>
</html>

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5.2 Environs

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd">
<html>
<head>
<title>stationname - ENVIRONS</title>
</head>

<body link=blue vlink=purple>
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=90%>
<tr>
<td width=50% valign=bottom style='border-top:solid green 1.5pt; border-left:none;border-bottom:solid green .75pt;border-right:none; padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'>
<h1>ENVIRONS</h1>
</td>
<td width=50% valign=bottom style='border-top:solid green 1.5pt; border-left:none;border-bottom:solid green .75pt;border-right:none; padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'>
<h1 align=right><i><span style='color:blue'>Describe Online</span></i></h1>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

<h2>Location</h2>

<h2>Entrances and Exits</h2>

<h2>Local Road Crossings</h2>

<h2>Local Buses</h2>

<h2>Local Features</h2>

<h2>Back Links</h2>
<p><a href="stationnamestation.htm">stationname STATION</a></p>

sponsorship info

</body>
</html>

BACK TO CONTENTS

5.3 General Description

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd">
<html>
<head>
<title>stationname - GENERAL DESCRIPTION</title>
</head>

<body link=blue vlink=purple>
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=90%>
<tr>
<td width=50% valign=bottom style='border-top:solid green 1.5pt; border-left:none;border-bottom:solid green .75pt;border-right:none; padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'>
<h1>GENERAL DESCRIPTION</h1>
</td>
<td width=50% valign=bottom style='border-top:solid green 1.5pt; border-left:none;border-bottom:solid green .75pt;border-right:none; padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'>
<h1 align=right><i><span style='color:blue'>Describe Online</span></i></h1>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

<h2>Lines Served</h2>

<h2>Layout</h2>

<h2>Accessibility</h2>

<h2>Back Links</h2>
<p><a href="stationnamestation.htm">stationname STATION</a></p>

sponsorship info

</body>
</html>

BACK TO CONTENTS

5.4 Facilities

 

5.4.1

Facilities Menu Page

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd">
<html>
<head>
<title>stationname - FACILITIES</title>
</head>

<body link=blue vlink=purple>
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=90%>
<tr>
<td width=50% valign=bottom style='border-top:solid green 1.5pt; border-left:none;border-bottom:solid green .75pt;border-right:none; padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'>
<h1>FACILITIES</h1>
</td>
<td width=50% valign=bottom style='border-top:solid green 1.5pt; border-left:none;border-bottom:solid green .75pt;border-right:none; padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'>
<h1 align=right><i><span style='color:blue'>Describe Online</span></i></h1>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

<h2>Which Facility?</h2>
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=90%>
<tr>
<td width=5%> </td>
<td width=95%>
<a href="stairs.htm">Stairs</a><br>
<a href="escalators.htm">Escalators</a><br>
<a href="manualgate.htm">Manual Gate</a><br>
<a href="automaticgates.htm">Automatic Gates</a><br>
<a href="phones.htm">Phones</a><br>
<a href="photobooth.htm">Photo Booth</a><br>
<a href="vendingmachines.htm">Vending Machines</a><br>
</td></tr></table>

<h2>Back links</h2>
<p><a href="stationnamestation.htm">stationname STATION</a>

</p>

sponsorship info

</body>
</html>

BACK TO CONTENTS

5.4.2 Facility Item Page

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd">
<html>
<head>
<title>stationname - facilityname</title>
</head>

<body link=blue vlink=purple>
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=90%>
<tr>
<td width=50% valign=bottom style='border-top:solid green 1.5pt; border-left:none;border-bottom:solid green .75pt;border-right:none; padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'>
<h1>facilityname</h1>
</td>
<td width=50% valign=bottom style='border-top:solid green 1.5pt; border-left:none;border-bottom:solid green .75pt;border-right:none; padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'>
<h1 align=right><i><span style='color:blue'>Describe Online</span></i></h1>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

<p>enter information here</p>

<h2>Back Links</h2>
<p><a href="facilities.htm">FACILITIES</a></p>
<p><a href="stationnamestation.htm">stationname STATION</a></p>

</body>
</html>

BACK TO CONTENTS

5.5 Detailed Description

 

5.5.1

Detailed Description Menu Page

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd">
<html>
<head>
<title>stationname - DETAILED DESCRIPTION</title>
</head>

<body link=blue vlink=purple>

<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=90%>
<tr>
<td width=50% valign=bottom style='border-top:solid green 1.5pt; border-left:none;border-bottom:solid green .75pt;border-right:none; padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'>
<h1>DETAILED DESCRIPTION</h1>
</td>
<td width=50% valign=bottom style='border-top:solid green 1.5pt; border-left:none;border-bottom:solid green .75pt;border-right:none; padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'>
<h1 align=right><i><span style='color:blue'>Describe Online</span></i></h1>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

<h2>Which Feature?</h2><

<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=90%>
<tr>
<td width=5%> </td>
<td width=95%>
<a href="concourse.htm">The Concourse</a><br>
<a href="platform1.htm">Platform 1, Westbound</a><br>
<a href="platform2.htm">Platform 2, Eastbound</a><br>
</td></tr></table>

<h2>Back Links</h2>
<p><a href="stationnamestation.htm">stationname STATION</a>
</p>

sponsorship info

</body>
</html>

BACK TO CONTENTS

5.5.2

Detailed Description Item Page

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd">
<html>
<head>
<title>stationname - featurename</title>
</head>

<body link=blue vlink=purple>
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=90%>
<tr>
<td width=50% valign=bottom style='border-top:solid green 1.5pt; border-left:none;border-bottom:solid green .75pt;border-right:none; padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'>
<h1>featurename</h1>
</td>
<td width=50% valign=bottom style='border-top:solid green 1.5pt; border-left:none;border-bottom:solid green .75pt;border-right:none; padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'>
<h1 align=right><i><span style='color:blue'>Describe Online</span></i></h1>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

<p>insert information here</p>

<h2>Back Links</h2>
<p><a href="detaileddescription.htm">DETAILED DESCRIPTION</a></p>
<p><a href="stationnamestation.htm">stationname STATION</a></p>

</body>
</html>

BACK TO CONTENTS

5.6

How Do I…?

 

5.6.1

How Do I…? Menu Page

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd">
<html>
<head>
<title>stationname - HOW DO I…?</title>
</head>

<body link=blue vlink=purple>
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=90%>
<tr>
<td width=50% valign=bottom style='border-top:solid green 1.5pt; border-left:none;border-bottom:solid green .75pt;border-right:none; padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'>
<h1>HOW DO I…?</h1>
</td>
<td width=50% valign=bottom style='border-top:solid green 1.5pt; border-left:none;border-bottom:solid green .75pt;border-right:none; padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'>
<h1 align=right><i><span style='color:blue'>Describe Online</span></i></h1>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

<h2>Do What?</h2>
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=90%>
<tr>
<td width=5%> </td>
<td width=95%>
<a href="findplatformfromentrance.htm">Find a Platform from an Entrance</a><br>
<a href="findexitfromplatform.htm">Find an Exit from a Platform</a><br>
<a href="changeplatforms.htm">Change Platforms</a><br>
<a href="buyticket.htm">Buy My Ticket</a><br>
<a href="assistance.htm">Get Assistance</a>
</td></tr></table>

<h2>Back Links</h2>
<p><a href="stationnamestation.htm">stationname STATION</a></p>

sponsorship info

</body>
</html>

BACK TO CONTENTS

5.6.2 How Do I…? Item Page

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd">
<html>
<head>
<title>stationname- instructionname</title>
</head>

<body link=blue vlink=purple>
<table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=90%>
<tr>
<td width=50% valign=bottom style='border-top:solid green 1.5pt; border-left:none;border-bottom:solid green .75pt;border-right:none; padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'>
<h1>instructionname</h1>
</td>
<td width=50% valign=bottom style='border-top:solid green 1.5pt; border-left:none;border-bottom:solid green .75pt;border-right:none; padding:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt'>
<h1 align=right><i><span style='color:blue'>Describe Online</span></i></h1>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

<p>enter information here</p>

<h2>Back Links</h2>
<p><a href="howdoi.htm">HOW DO I…?</a></p>
<p><a href="stationnamestation.htm">stationname STATION</a></p>

</body>
</html>

BACK TO CONTENTS

Back Link

Describe Online Home page

© 2011 Terry Robinson