Thumbnail images can be assigned to a dataset manually or automatically. The thumbnail for a dataset appears on the search result card for that dataset and on the dataset page itself. If a dataset contains one or more data files that Dataverse installation recognizes as an image, then one of those images is automatically selected as the dataset thumbnail.
If you would like to manually select your dataset’s thumbnail, you can do so by clicking the “Edit Dataset” button on your dataset, and selecting “Thumbnails + Widgets” from the dropdown menu.
On this page, under the Thumbnail tab you will see three possible actions.
Select Available File: Click the “Select Thumbnail” button to choose an image from your dataset to use as the dataset thumbnail.
Upload New File: Upload an image file from your computer to use as the dataset thumbnail. While by default your thumbnail image is drawn from a file in your dataset, this will allow you to upload a separate image file to use as your dataset thumbnail. This uploaded image file will only be used as the dataset thumbnail; it will not be stored as a data file in your dataset.
Remove Thumbnail: If you click the “Remove” button under the thumbnail image, you will remove the dataset’s current thumbnail. The Dataset will then revert to displaying a basic default icon as the dataset thumbnail.
When you’re finished on this page, be sure to click “Save Changes” to save what you’ve done.
Note: If you prefer, it is also possible to set an image file in your dataset as your thumbnail by selecting the file, going to Edit File -> Metadata, and using the “Set Thumbnail” button.
The Widgets feature provides you with code for your personal website so your dataset can be displayed. There are two types of Widgets for a dataset: the Dataset Widget and the Dataset Citation Widget. The Widgets are found by going to your dataset page, clicking the Edit Dataset button and selecting Thumbnails and Widgets from the dropdown menu.
In the Widgets tab, you can copy and paste the code snippets for the widget you would like to add to your website. If you need to adjust the height of the widget on your website, you may do so by editing the heightPx=500 parameter in the code snippet.
The Dataset Widget allows the citation, metadata, files and terms of your dataset to be displayed on your website. When someone downloads a data file in the widget, it will download directly from the datasets on your website. If a file is restricted, they will be directed to your dataverse collection to log in, instead of logging in through the widget on your site.
To edit your dataset, you will need to return to the Dataverse repository where the dataset is stored. You can easily do this by clicking on the link that says “Data Stored in (Name) Dataverse” found in the bottom of the widget.
The Dataset Citation Widget will provide a citation for your dataset on your personal or project website. Users can download the citation in various formats by using the Cite Data button. The persistent URL in the citation will send users directly to the dataset.