Get started
You should have a workshop participant data sheet where you’ve been provided with your login details and other information for getting started with READ and READ Workbench. Make sure you have that handy!
Log in
To start working with READ and READ Workbench:
- Go to https://readworkbench.org/.
- Click Log In in the top left corner.
You’ll be taken to the log in screen. - Enter your Username and Password.
- Choose a Project from the drop-down menu.
Each project contains different TextBases. You’ll only see projects which you own TextBases in or which you’ve been shared TextBases from by the owner.
Each research project is identified with a particular READ installation that is configured for the demands of that language/script and research objectives.
- Click Login.
You’ll be taken to the homepage of READ Workbench.
Get around READ Workbench
Home

Welcome to the homepage of READ Workbench. From here you can access features that you can use to create, develop, and manage TextBases in your research project. To use each feature, click the orange Start button below it. The features you can use are determined by your level of user access, so you might not be able to see all the ones we talk about here.
At the top right of the homepage you can see the project you’re in, your username, a link to the official READ Workbench information site (that’s this one!), and buttons to change your account details and log out.
If you ever need to get back home just click the READ Workbench logo at the top of the page.
My TextBases

In My TextBases you’ll find all the TextBases that you own.
If you’re looking for a TextBase that has been shared with you by another user, go to Shared TextBases instead.
Here you can Edit editions of the TextBase, View the TextBase in different modes, create a Rendition, and change other Options.
If this is your first time here, you probably won’t see any TextBases yet. To generate your first TextBase, follow our instructions here.
Shared TextBases

In Shared TextBases you’ll find all the TextBases that have been shared with you. Here you can View or Edit them depending on the permissions that you’ve been given.
Get around READ
When you open a TextBase from READ Workbench, the READ interface will appear. On the right is the main pane, and on the left is the utilities panel. You can read more about the utilities panel further down.
The image viewer/editor (image VE) and the edition viewer/editor (edition VE) will likely automatically open in the main pane:

If they don’t open automatically, you might see something like this:

This is the list of texts in the TextBase.
Open a text to view or edit it
To open a text:
- Click the checkbox next to the text you want to open.
- In the utilities panel, click the scroll icon below the search bar.
The image viewer/editor (image VE) and the edition viewer/editor (edition VE) will open in the main pane.

The utilities panel
The utilities panel takes up the left side of READ. Any change you want to make to an edition substrate or stratum is done using this panel.

The user settings, editing tools, viewing tools, and layout tools are pretty straightforward, but you might need a few tips about the resources section.
Resources section
The resources section of the utilities panel lets you access to all editions of the text, images uploaded to the text, and bibliographic references to the text.
There are five tools you can use to browse resources:

– See a list of editions
– See a list or research editions
– See baseline images that have been segmented and linked with the transliteration
– See other images that have been uploaded using the Import Image feature in READ Workbench
– See other data that has been identified with the text, e.g. bibliographic references
Each edition in the Resources section has an individual book icon next to it that opens a list of viewer/editors and reports for that edition.

- Word List: An alphabetic list of the words and compounds that appear in the transliteration
- Glossary: The glossary that’s been constructed or is under construction for the edition. This only appears when a glossary has been initiated by the researcher.
- Structures: Structural sequences and hierarchies that have been created for the edition
- Paleography: A paleographic report that is automatically generated on the basis of segmentation and linkage to individual syllables
- Translation: The translation that has been added to the structural sequences
- Chāyā: Chāyā that has been added to the structural sequences
To open any of these viewer/editors or reports, click the blue box to the right of it and drag it into the main pane.
Now you’ve got a handle on READ and Workbench you can begin the text alignment process by editing a transliteration.