CSV Search And Blog Features

Introduction

For some years I've used Google Sheets to create data tables. I've created quite a few specifically for my blog posts. It's really easy: any tab can be published as a web page and it comes with a unique URL for use in HTML hyperlinks.

I like using them because Sheets can both organise and maintain the data and, once linked to a blog post, everything else is automatic. They are particularly useful displaying tables that are too wide for a standard blog post (600 pixels in my case).

They have one drawback: searching is a bit clumsy. Readers need to know that Ctrl+F will find what they are looking for on most browsers. Even so it's not ideal not least because you can't filter the table.

Enter AI

Last week I did a lot of work indexing the illustrations in the WRG books resulting in a spreadsheet containing 1,322 rows. This was far to long to use without a search or filtering mechanism.

After a bit of research, I found that it's possible to display CSV (comma-separated values) files on web pages without a background database: an ideal solution for Blogger which doesn't offer (or allow) this functionality. All I needed was a code widget I could paste into Blogger as Google Sheets can export any tab as a CSV file..

WRG Illustration Index

One of my best wargaming "investments" was a collection of hardback reference books released by the Wargames Research Group (WRG) in the early 1980s: the famous "Armies & Enemies" series.

In the intervening decades they have been used again and again; not least because so many 15 mm figure manufacturers use them as sculpting guides. I'm glad I bought the hard back editions as they have stood the test of time with few signs of wear and tear.

Birth of a project

The books' greatest strength is the sheer volume of illustrations. The books' greatest weakness is the sheer volume of illustrations. Thus a project was born.

My Fifth Bisley!

Today I collected & refurbished a 15 drawer Bisley cabinet. I have four already. They house my 15 mm wargames figures. Here are the main three:

The 10 & 15 drawer cabinets are ideal for everything except certain pike models and elephants hence the six-drawer cabinet on the left. They are very space efficient.

They currently hold a collection that has taken decades to acquire and I still have three empty drawers and one just started. I am not going to need another for years. Which is precisely why I bought another!