As I was collecting photos, videos of interviews with older living relatives, and recordings of interviews and visits to historic sites with significant relevance to my family history, I put them in a big "shoebox" until I could curate them for others to use. It was difficult to share these items with others who wanted them along with my discoveries about them.
This project is my answer to the need to make this information available without paying a subscription fee. I started this during the 9/11 era when I was off work for a year. Initially, it was written for Windows 98 and Internet Explorer. However, Shoebox has evolved into a modern software application built with Electron and Node.js.
To install Shoebox, simply visit the GitHub repository and navigate to the "Latest release" section on the right side of the page. Choose the installer that matches your operating system:
- For Apple Mac: shoebox-x.x.x.dmg
- For Windows 10: shoebox-Setup-x.x.x.exe
- For Linux: shoebox-x.x.x.AppImage
Once the installer is downloaded, follow these steps to install Shoebox:
- Apple Mac: Run the .dmg file, drag Shoebox to the Applications folder, and then launch it.
- Windows 10: Double-click on the downloaded .exe file and follow the installation prompts.
- Linux: Double-click on the downloaded .AppImage file to install Shoebox.
After the installation is complete, a sample set of files will be installed. Now you can view the complete collection of media files in Shoebox. The application provides separate windows for photos and audio/video files. Resize and arrange these windows to suit your preferences.
If you want to create custom subsets of the media, Shoebox offers a feature called "Collections." To create a Collection, use the Edit menu. Once a Collection is created, you can toggle whether an item is included in the Collection by double-clicking on the left-hand column. Green text indicates that an item is part of the selected Collection. You can also export a Collection to a subdirectory using the ALT-F menu.
For more information on installing and using Shoebox, I have created a playlist of basic tutorial videos on YouTube. You can find the playlist here.
If you would like the media files for my family, please email me and tell me how you are related. Download the .zip file and extract its contents to a clean directory on your computer.
To run Shoebox and access the downloaded media, follow these steps:
- Launch Shoebox.
- Hold down the ALT key and press F (Windows/Linux) or CMD-F (Mac) to access the menu.
- Select "Choose Accessions.json file" from the File menu.
- Use the dialog to locate and double-click on the accessions.json file on your computer or DVD.
Here is the directory structure for the accessions.json file and the media that I provide in the .zip file.
accessions.json
./photo <-- jpg files here
./video <-- mp4 files here
./audio <-- mp3 files here
./collections <-- optional - key.json files for lists
./website/index.htm <-- Second Site
Marvin E Budd marvbudd@gmail.com