Get Started with Artstor

Welcome to Artstor!

This tutorial will guide you through basic image searching, creating folders and managing image groups.

Use the arrows below to navigate through the tutorial.

Register for an Artstor Account

Before you start searching for and saving images, you will need to register for an Artstor account, which will allow you to create folders and save images.

At the top right of the screen, underneath Access provided by Simmons University, click Register.

Enter your personal information on the form (and be sure to use your Simmons email address). Then click the Register button.

Searching for Works in Artstor

Once you're logged in, you can search and browse for images in a variety of ways.  If you know exactly what you want (for example, works by a particular artist or an individual work of art), enter it in the Search box in the middle of the page. Click on the magnifying glass icon to search for it.

For example, type Mona Lisa into the search box and click the magnifying glass icon. On the next page you'll see over 200 results that match your search terms.

Searching for Works in Artstor Cont.

Now let's figure out what your search results mean.  Notice that an image of the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci is the first image in your results list.  That's because Artstor first sorts results by their relevance.

To filter your results, you can select from the categories on the left-hand side of the page. Clicking on Advanced Search underneath the search bar will also let you find works that match your criteria (such as Title, Creator, and Date).

Click on one of the images from your search on Mona Lisa.

Work Content and Tools

On the Artstor page about the work, you'll see more details about it on the right-hand side. This includes its repository (where the original work is located), creator, copyright information of the image, and much more.

On the left side of the page, you’ll notice you can interact with the image of the work in a variety of ways. The buttons at the top left of the image allow you to zoom in/zoom out and expand the image. You can also compare another image from your search side-by-side with the one you just selected.

Downloading Images

To download the image, click on the Download button.

If you'd still like to download the image after reviewing the Terms and Conditions, click I Accept to download the high-resolution image.

Now, let's return to the results page. Click on the Back to results link at the top left of the page.

Creating a Group Folder

You can organize and share images from your results in a variety of ways. To create a New Group folder, you will need to select some images to get started.

To select an image, hover over it and click on the empty box that appears in the top right corner of the image.

Select the first three images in the results page.

Creating a Group Folder Cont.

In the Organize drop down menu at the top of the page, select Save selections to new group.

Creating a Group Folder Cont.

A Create New Group pop up window will appear on your screen, allowing you to give the folder a title and description. In this case, let's title the folder Mona Lisa.

In the Sharing Permissions, you can choose how public or private your folder will be.

If you want to share your New Group folder with everyone at Simmons, click the button next to "This institution." If you want to be the only one to see the contents of the folder in this new group, click the button next to "Only Me." For both public and private groups, you can generate a sharing link to the folder at any time.

In this case, click the button next to "Only me" and click Create.

You have now created a new group folder with your selected images!

Tip: After you create a group, you can continue adding images to it from subsequent searches you do!

Editing a Group Folder

Once you've created a folder and saved an image group, you can get back to it any time by clicking Browse in the toolbar at the top of the screen and then clicking Groups.

Inside your My Groups dashboard, you’ll see the Mona Lisa group you just created. Click on the group name (in this case Mona Lisa) to open it.

Downloading Group Folder Contents

Once you've opened an image group, you can work with it in a number of ways. First, you can enter a Description and add Tags (keywords) about the group on the right side of the page. These features allow you to save notes on the images or provide more information for images in a shared folder.

Near the top of the page, you'll also notice an Export button. With this tool, you can export images in your group to a zip file.

A pop-out window will tell you how many images you've exported in the last 120 days (the maximum is 2,000). To continue exporting your image group, click I Agree. Clicking I Agree accepts Artstor's Terms and Conditions.

Alternatively, you can create a PowerPoint by selecting this option in the Export button menu. One image will be put on each slide (only the first 150 images are exported as slides). Again, clicking I Agree to export your image group accepts Artstor's Terms and Conditions.

 

Note: Depending on your browser, you may have to enable pop-ups from Artstor to successfully download Zip files and PowerPoint presentations.

Wrap Up

Hooray! You've reviewed the main functions of Artstor.

Still have questions? Ask a librarian.

We're always happy to help! Also, please leave us some feedback on the next page and let us know if you found this tutorial helpful.

Have fun exploring Artstor :)

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