I used to think that content on the internet was permanent and would always be accessible. This is of course not really the case. LTSV-RD is a personal website, which I pay to have hosted. If something happens to me, the payments will stop and the site will probably be deleted. As such, I wanted to allow users to download content from my sites.

The addition of downloadable content is still ongoing, and the normal method will be to offer PDF files. These will be 'dynamic', in that they will show the same data as the user sees on the screen. For example, if a user looks at the All Numbers list, filters it to show only numbers ending in 3 and then sorts it backwards, the PDF should show exactly that.

This means that the links to download the PDFs have to be on the same page as where you set the filters etc, rather than all gathered together on one Downloads page.


At present, most PDF links are in the heading information of the page they relate to. Shown here is the link on the Designs List page. Left-click on the PDF icon to view the PDF in your browser. Depending on the number of records, this may take a few seconds.


This is the PDF of the Designs List, without any filtering or sorting applied. Where appropriate, PDFs will include information on the first page (such as to explain the meaning of certain columns). The time and date of generation will be shown in the footer. You can download (or print) the PDF from here using normal browser controls.


The PDFs are dynamic and should show the same as the web version of the page. For example, here I have filtered the Designs List to show only BR TOPS Wagon Design Codes, then sorted the list by Description (descending).


If I now click on the PDF link, the PDF shows the same results.


Where there are likely to be a very large quantity of results, the PDF files will be split up, such that none contains more than 25,000 items. This will make them faster to generate and to download. The current arrangement for multi-part PDF files is as shown here on the Listings List page, but I am not entirely happy with this and it will be reviewed.


To download a PDF (without first viewing it), right-click the PDF icon and select Save link as. The example shown here is the Sightings List page.

Options have been added that enable you to change aspects of the appearance of the LTSV-RD website. To view the options, click on the Site Settings link in the Home sub-menu.


The first section allows you to change the font size and/or the background/foreground colours. There are 9 options, each shown by a button which you can click to apply the particular style. Here I have clicked on the button for grey backgrounds and smaller fonts.


Here is the result of clicking the button for larger fonts and black background.


My own preference is for medium fonts on a white background.


Sections 2 and 3 allow you to add colour highlighting to stock numbers and TOPS codes (respectively). The highlighting only applies to text pages, such as those with news stories or profiles. Click any box to apply the shown highlighting. Current selections are shown by a tick.


If I now go to a Profile page, all stock numbers in the text will appear in green, while all TOPS codes will appear in red. I find that this can make it easier to pick out information from long text blocks. These settings are session-persistent, meaning they will remain in place until you manually change them, or you close your browser.


Section 4 of the Site Settings page allows you to associate chosen settings with your account. This only applies to registered users and is covered in part 2 of this User Guide.

There are several ways to get help with aspects of using the LTSV-RD website. The first is to make use of tool-tips, help-tips and explain-tips. Most clickable items (such as links and buttons) will have a tool-tip that will appear when you hover over it. This will usually tell you what clicking the item will do.


Help-tips are usually shown by a question mark underlined with blue dashes. Hovering over one of these will open a box giving more information.


Explain-tips are similar but are usually used to show the meaning of acronyms or abbreviations. Here it is showing me that the LT number series code alongside 66726 means that the number is in the BR TOPS loco series.


Another way to get help is to refer to the FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions), a link to which can be found in the Home sub-menu. Hovering over any question will reveal the answer.


Other pages in the About section may also be of use. Shown here is the page on Conventions.


There is a Help section on LTSV-RD, accessed using the link in the Home sub-menu, or by using the link in the footer menu. This gives general guidance and also contains links to view and download the User Guides.


If you still need help, or you have any problems or suggestions, you can use the Contact Us form, accessed using the link in the Home sub-menu or the link in the footer menu.


Type your message in the box, enter your e-mail address in the second box (optional, but required if you want a reply) then click on the Submit button. Alternatively, you can use your own e-mail program to send a message to me at tom(at)ltsv.com.

LTSV-RD has been designed to be collaborative, meaning that users can register for an account and then start adding their own information (sightings, notes, listings, photolinks etc). A Register link will appear in the top right corner of every page.


The registration process is fairly straight-forward and is covered in more detail in part 2 of this User Guide.