IIIF Manifest Viewer failed or looks wrong? Troubleshooting guide
Troubleshoot extensions, file structure, dependencies, encoding, memory, and output error in IIIF Manifest Viewer while preserving the source.
Preserve the source first
Do not rename and overwrite the original, and do not treat a browser preview as the only acceptance record. Use a small copy and record size, producer, version, browser, and exact error.
The easy-to-miss fact for this format
For a museum Manifest v3 with multiple canvases, inspect each painting annotation and ImageService, then follow its requiredStatement and rights metadata.
Recommended troubleshooting order
- Test the page example or a smaller known-good file to confirm the tool runs.
- Check extension, signature, companion files, remote URL, and CORS; exclude a downloaded HTML error page.
- Supply the input again according to the workflow:
- Paste a public Manifest URL or choose a JSON file.
- Inspect Presentation version, label, items/sequences, and canvases.
- Select a Canvas and load its accessible Image API service.
- Keep the source link and follow the institution's rights statement.
- Close memory-heavy tabs and retry in current Chrome or Edge.
- If it still fails, re-export from the producing application and validate in the receiving system.
Common questions and answers
Why will a URL not open?
The Manifest or tile host may block browser CORS or require authentication.
Are IIIF v2 and v3 supported?
Common Presentation 2/3 structures are handled; verify complex extensions in the institution viewer.
Is the remote URL saved?
It is not saved to run the tool, but the browser requests the public source directly.
Limits that must not be bypassed
- Remote CORS, authentication, and uptime apply
- Not every extension, annotation, and range structure is supported
- Visible content is not automatically licensed for download or reuse
Privacy handling
Local input is not uploaded to FreeTool for processing; remote IIIF/DZI URLs are requested by the browser from their source. Troubleshooting images, OCR text, model summaries, and converted files may contain sensitive or copyrighted content. De-identify and confirm rights before sharing.