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Tiki Toki .csv Plugin

This is a Python script for the Tiki Toki timeline software that allows you to convert a .csv file to a file that will work with the software.

  1. Getting set up
  2. How it works
  3. Assumptions
  4. Tools

Getting set up

Requirements

Python 3.0+

How to use

Most of the "heavy" work is going to be making sure your CSV file is in a format that the reader is expecting. You will also need to create a settings.txt file, you can look at the provided file for an example.

Once this has been done, simply run the file

python tiki-toki.py a.csv b.csv

Where a.csv & b.csv are the files you are trying to convert. You can include as many as you want.

How it works

The Python script is initially configured to work with a .csv file that has the following format:

Title Date Intro Text Full Description Category Media Tag Span

The names of the columns don't matter, but the order does. To change the order, or add in your own elements, simply go to get_events() and change/add another row element.

The script reads in the values for each of these cells per event, and modifies them to work under a set of specifications. The imported values are edited as following.

Title, Intro Text, and Full Description have their special characters escaped, and parses user-defined keys into a desired value. For example, since Tiki-Toki supports HTML, but there isn't an easy way to tab, when &tab is found, it formats to     . So put any repetitive text in the modifiers list in format_text_block and it will be parsed.

Date is first parsed according to the specified date format, which is found in DATE_FORMAT. By default it is mm/dd/yyyy. The script also formats dates in BC correctly; the script looks for " BC" (including space), but it can be found anywhere in the string. Then, the date is checked to see if an event already exists with that date; this can be removed if multiple events on the same day is desired.

Category creates a Category object. This checks the provided category against the pre-defined list of timeline_categories. If it doesn't match, it will return an error. Each category in the pre-defined list is assigned a category_int, which is then associated with the category to the event.

Media creates a Media object. Media objects are fairly complex, so it would be best to read the documentation for them. Essentially, all media objects are either an Audio mp3 file, or an Image jpg. All media files are assumed to be stored in subdirectory res. For an image, it is base64 encoded, and although audio files have the correct code generated, Chrome app sandbox limitations require you to reselect the audio file in Tiki-Toki's interface. In the csv, the different properties of a Media object are separated by :: . The properties used by the csv reader are media_name, media_caption, and thumb_pos. The other attributes are for other places where images are used.

Tag creates a Tag object. A Tag is very similar to a Category, in that there is a pre-defined list of timeline_tags, and that each is assigned a unique id. However, an element can have multiple tags, separated by :: .

Span creates a Span object. These are not linked to a specific event, but are used as a period of time, such as a stage of life, a prehistoric time period, etc. The different attributes are separated by ::

An Event takes all of the above information (besides span) and assembles it into a Tiki-Toki readable format. The Event isn't necessarily part of an event, but it allows the data from an event to be used in other places.

All of the objects have a fairly decent documentation for you to learn more about what their purpose is and how to use them.

Assumptions

  1. All images have .jpg extension, and all audio files have .mp3 extensions
  2. All audio files are stored in \res
  3. Multiple events on the same day are not desired
  4. Date format is mm/dd/yyyy, e.g. 09/30/2014
  5. Timelines are outputted to Timelines\Generated
  6. The attribute separator is ::

Tools

Sort_and_Export.bas - This is an Microsoft Excel VBA Bash script for use with an .xlsm file that does a couple different functions.

  • Sorts the entries based on the date
  • Autofits the cells
  • Allows the user to enter in the name of the .csv file
  • Checks if file already exists and verifies overwriting
  • Exports the .xlsm as a .csv file