Frequently Asked Questions About Luna Insight

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Luna Insight?
Insight is a powerful software tool from Luna Imaging, Inc., for building, publishing, searching and presenting collections of digital images and other media via the Internet. Vassar’s Insight system currently provides access to multiple collections amounting to over 200,000 images, ranging from historical maps to contemporary art.

What is the difference between using the Insight Java Client and using a web browser?
The Insight Browser is available without downloading or installing any software. The only image collection available through the Browser is the Scholar's Resource Collection. If you just want to get a sense of the images available in the Scholar's Resource Collection and don't need to create a presentation or save a group of images, the Browser may be useful.

Within the Insight Browser you can:

Search for images
Open selected images in a new browser window, zoom, get info and print

For full operability with Vassar's Insight collections, we recommend using the Insight Client. The Client gives you access to all of the image collections in Insight for cross-collection searching. You can use the Client to create presentations, manage annotations and links, and export images, and select and save multiple images to groups.

Among other things, the Insight Client allows you to:

Cut, copy and paste images
Select more than one image at a time
Save groups of images
Create a presentation
Change the thumbnail labels
Sort images
Export images to your desktop
Export presentations to Powerpoint or Keynote
Print

Where can I get the Insight client software?
Members of the Vassar community have permission to download the Insight client. (If you encounter difficulties with the download, please visit the CIS Help Desk for a copy of the file on disc.)

What username and password should I use?
Members of the Vassar community should log in to Insight using Vassar's shared username and password.

Can I access the Insight collections from off campus?
If you are using the Insight Java Client, you can access Vassar's collections from anywhere in the world, using the username and password mentioned above. If you are using a web browser to access Vassar's collections from off campus, you'll first need to log in to Vassar's proxy server, using your email username and password. Then you can go on to log in to Insight, using the username and password mentioned above.

Can I print images from Insight?
Insight offers several ways to print. In both the Browser and the Client, you can print from both the Group Workspace and from the Image Workspace.

From the Group Workspace in the Client:

Print Image Data - Prints the descriptive data and the corresponding thumbnail (reference image) for the last selected image.
Print Thumbnails - Prints all the thumbnail images and captions for the images currently displayed in the active group.
Export as HTML - Exports images, data, and HTML pages in one of the following formats:
1. Page of side-by-side thumbnails with no narrative,
2. Several thumbnails with narrative next to each thumbnail,
3. One thumbnail with detailed summary under the thumbnail,
4. Maximized image with minimum narrative above the image.

From the Image Workspace in the Client:

The print function allows you to print a version of the active image (the image that is currently selected).To use the Print function:

Click the print feature on the tool. The icon will turn yellow and is now active. Your printer setup information will now appear.
Enter the specific information required (number of copies, color/grayscale, print quality, etc.)
Click OK. An image with associated data will print.

From the Group Workspace page in the Browser:

Choose "Print" from the menu on the left side of the Collection page

Print Thumbnails - prints out the thumbnail images from the Insight group that you are presently viewing.
Print Image Data - prints out the entire data of the selected image as well as a thumbnail of that image.
Print Image - prints a large size of the selected image as well as the data located below the selected image from the group that you are viewing.

From the Image Workspace page in the Browser:

Choose the Print Tool icon in the toolbar

The print function enables you to print the active image currently in your Image Workspace.

To use the Print function:

Click the print icon on the Image Workspace Tool. The icon will turn yellow and will be active. Your individual printer information will display and allow you to define parameters such as number of copies, print quality, etc. Your image will print when you click Print. The image prints with the associated thumbnail data.

How do I report a problem?
If Insight does not seem to be acting properly, please notify the CIS Help Desk.

Where can I get more help?
For more detailed online instructions, see Luna Imaging's online help materials. For questions about how to use Insight at Vassar, contact Academic Computing Services or the Visual Resources Library.

Can I add my own images to Insight?
Many people will find that the collections of images already in Vassar's Insight system meet most of their needs. But there are also two ways in which faculty members can add collections to the system. If you are a member of Vassar's faculty, the Visual Resources Library and Academic Computing Services can work with you and your department to build a new Institutional Collection, focused on your discipline. An institutional collection is made available to everyone at Vassar. Alternatively, we can work with you to create a Personal Collection in Insight, which would be available only to you. Personal collections can be made into institutional collections later on, if desired. Please contact ACS for more information.