Primo+VE+Tips+and+Tricks

No longer updated as of Apr 1, 2022 ; see Discovery homepage for latest updates

NOTE 1: MANY display issues reported during the evaluation were due to local CSS customization issues. If you run into any issues with record display, please confirm that local customizations are not at work. You can check this by appending &noCustomization=true to the URL

NOTE 2: If you run into issues loading new records from an external data source using an import profile, make sure to remove the “Harvest Start Date” from the profile and then run.

NOTE 3: When adding a new Resource Type, make sure to run the Recalculate Local Resource Types job.

NOTE 4: When troubleshooting what is showing in a given search scope, double check your configuration for filtering or for default contents of the scope. See https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Primo/Product_Documentation/020Primo_VE/Primo_VE_(English)/040Search_Configurations/010Configuring_Search_Profiles_for_Primo_VE

NOTE 5: There appear to be some issues viewing the PNX record in VE using the “&showPnx=true” URL trick. Nikki from SLO has come up with a workaround.

NOTE 6: The CTO (Context Object) record is useful information to have when troubleshooting issues in VE with CDI records. Jessica provided a writeup about it here.

 

Issue

Description of Issue

Solution

Adding local link fields to record display

Currently, we have local links recorded in MARC 956 fields. These links go to donor pages (from records for titles they have donated), or to our informational page on Public Performance rights from records for videos with PPR, for example.

Can you confirm whether we will be able to implement these local links in Primo VE and keep the display of the links local to our institution?

If you want to display these links only in local VE, you'll have to use General Electronic Services, which is a bit more tricky than the 8564u option.

Here is the list of available attributes than can be used in the GES: https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Primo/Product_Documentation/020Primo_VE/Primo_VE_(English)/080Configuring_Delivery_Services_for_Primo_VE/Configuring_Discovery_Interface_Display_Logic_for_Primo_VE#Configuring_General_Electronic_Services

The challenge is to get your 956 mapped to an OpenURL attribute which you can then use in the URL Template of the GES.

It's also possible to add 956 as a local Display field with a hypertext link - but this means that the link will be located in the Details section of the records' full display, and not in the Links section.

In relation to this additional option of displaying the 956 links in the Details section - here is an example of how it would be achieved using a local field: https://preview.3.basecamp.com/3765443/blobs/4f3e8812-874f-11eb-ac70-8e17cd0352bb/previews/full/image.png?dppx=1

I took this example from this tech blog.

Let me know if any assistance is needed.

Is there a way to NOT append the JWT token to the Pay Fine link?

Our pay fine link out of Library Card goes to a library page first and not directly to the credit card system. According to the documentation here:

https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Primo/Product_Documentation/020Primo_VE/Primo_VE_(English)/060Library_Card_Configuration/Configuring_the_Pay_Fine_Link_for_Primo_VE

The JWT token is automatically appended to the end of whatever URL I supply. I would like to NOT append this information, is that possible?

The URL I am trying to use is:

https://library.csun.edu/Services/LibraryFines

But the Pay Fine link as currently configured reads this as:

https://library.csun.edu/Services/LibraryFines&jwt=eyJraWQiOiJwcmltYVByaXZhdGVLZXktMDFDQUxTX1VOTyIsImFsZyI6IkVTMjU2In0.eyJpc3MiOiJQcmltYSIsImp0aSI6IkM1QzE3ODczNjVBMEY0N0NBRkFGRDI4MjJDQUY0NEI3LmFwZDAyLm5hMDMucHJvZC5hbG1hLmRjMDQuaG9zdGVkLmV4bGlicmlzZ3JvdXAuY29tOjE4MDEiLCJleHAiOjE2MTU5MTIzMDYsImlhdCI6MTYxNTgyNTkwNiwidXNlck5hbWUiOiI4Njc1MzA5IiwiZGlzcGxheU5hbWUiOiJIZW5uZXNzZXksIFRlc3QiLCJ1c2VyIjoiMjk3NzA5NjkyMDAwMjkxNCIsInVzZXJHcm91cCI6IkVtZXJpdHVzRmFjdWx0eSIsImluc3RpdHV0aW9uIjoiMDFDQUxTX1VOTyIsInVzZXJJcCI6IjEzMC4xNjYuMjAwLjY2IiwiYXV0aGVudGljYXRpb25Qcm9maWxlIjoiQWxtYSIsImF1dGhlbnRpY2F0aW9uU3lzdGVtIjoiIiwibGFuZ3VhZ2UiOiJlbiIsInNhbWxTZXNzaW9uSW5kZXgiOiIiLCJzYW1sTmFtZUlkIjoiIiwib25DYW1wdXMiOiJ0cnVlIiwic2lnbmVkSW4iOiJ0cnVlIiwidmlld0lkIjoiMDFDQUxTX1VOTzowMUNBTFNfVU5PIn0.F4HBeitMsBDQFdwMK8df2agcFrt6R7R2VaeUc_biPJeCLi9CqN68fd4ylOVqV0EJKuh8hBTzYKsTrM_b7YLX-g

which is a bad link. Thanks.

You could append "?" at the end of your link:

https://library.csun.edu/Services/LibraryFines?

Then when the jwt token is appended to the link, it is a valid link.

We found that the jwt token makes our lives easier to get the user id so that we could get the user's fee from Alma.

NZ/IZ MMSID & OCLC Number displaying in unexpected ways

We've turned on OCLC and NZ MMSID NZ local fields and removed rule 035 from our identifier field.

However, the following is an NZ record (non OCLC record). The display shows IZ MMS ID label (it should show NZ MMSID label). The OCLC number is in the identifier field (we removed rule 035 from our identifier field). There is no separate OCLC field(it should show OCLC field separately).

Turetzky, Philip. Time.

In this SJSU example, a MMS ID IZ appears even though we have no holdings and the MMS ID is repeating the NZ number.

https://csu-sjsu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01CALS_SJO/c7i32t/alma991064592389702901

In this example, again we have no holdings, the MMS is actually the NZ MMS but displays under MMS IZ

https://csu-sjsu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01CALS_SJO/c7i32t/alma991021966219702901

When an institution owns holdings linked to the record - MMS ID display field (which you currently have labeled as IZ MMS ID) will display its IZ identifier. This is also the case for records with electronic services that are not managed in the Network Zone (such as 991013586421502919 in SJO).

When the institution doesn't own relevant holdings - the MMS ID display field will display the NZ identifier.

lds52 (which you currently have labeled as NZ MMSID) will always display the value in MARC field 001. This can be an IZ identifier when the record isn't managed in the Network Zone, or an NZ identifier when the institution doesn't possess relevant holding, but will always reflect the origin of the bib record

Discovery Import Profile: linking parameter problems

importing some data from Springshare and have followed the directions here: Configuring Import Profiles for Primo VE - Ex Libris Knowledge Center (exlibrisgroup.com) to use the dc:identifier value as $$LinkingParameter1.

However, in the imported records, the links fail. Instead of the correct label they say "inkingParameter1" and open to a blank page. Here's an example: https://csu-lb.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01CALS_ULB/bv9gir/alma991016150141202910

See https://slcny.libanswers.com/faq/261303

Locations in full record display not loading as desired

records with items in multiple locations, the location area in the full record renders in the collapsed view. For records where the items are in a single location, the full record renders with the location area in the expanded view.This may not be the desired result - in this case, Chico would prefer all locations to render in collapsed view

This is controllable by the Central package. Out of the box, VE is designed to work in this manner.

Report a Problem form not working

Is there a known issue with using the Report a Problem function in Primo VE? It looks like the reportproblem code came over correctly but I can't get it to do anything when I click "Report" - I've tried different combinations of our own package, using the central package, inherit/not inherit, etc. I get this far (picture) but Report does nothing. Thanks!Some campuses get error messages, while others see nothing occurring when submitting the request.

Classic Primo has a Access-Control-Allow-Origin header. Primo VE doesn't have this, so the request is being blocked by CORS policy.

I've notified our VE Development Manager, as this may require a code fix.

Primo VE Development have found this to be a server side issue. You'll need to add CORS support to your server (https://library.calstate.edu/) for: https://csu-un.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/. It looks like it was added for https://csun-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com, and this is why it works for Classic Primo.

CSU+ and GES

A couple weeks ago we noticed that CSU+ links at many libraries were not appearing in Primo VE, even when they did appear in regular Primo. After some back and forth with Ex Libris Support we found the issue was with certain kinds of GES.

Prior to Primo VE many GES rules that governed when CSU+ links would appear were marked "No" when asked "Is this a Document Delivery/ILL service?"

In Primo VE it appears that GES that affects the CSU+ link needs to be marked "Yes" and in many cases given a location of "None". This makes the link/form appear where it did previously.

There are many different configurations of rules that currently block the CSU+ link in Primo VE and many of these rules do very different things. The only thing they have in common is that they affect the CSU+ link and they are marked as "No". A few libraries don't have GES with these settings and their links are appearing in Primo VE with no changes.

During testing of Primo VE I have been duplicating the problem GES rules and associated Display Logic rules and making the necessary changes in the copied rules. This way the rules can be turned on and off during testing to maintain the original rules in Primo as much as possible to ensure our patrons can continue to use CSU+. If you would like me to do this at your campus please let me know at cwlee@calstate.edu.

When the old GES and Display Logic Rules are turned off, and the new versions are turned on, the Resource Sharing form link should appear in Primo VE. The form currently displays nearly all possible fields, but can be configured in Alma.

Ex Libris also added information to the Knowledge Center on Delivery-Related GES that may also help with the creation of new rules.

Limit display of subject headings

Hi,

I might have missed a discussion, but can you advise on how best to limit display of subject headings, e.g. to eliminate FAST and foreign language headings?

Example record:

"regular" Primo (how we want it to look):

https://cpslo-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/39e239/01CALS_ALMA71424064590002901

Primo VE (very much not how we want it to look):

https://csu-calpoly.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01CALS_PSU/1oc9gog/alma991007782259702901

From the BO norm rules, it looks like you're displaying 650 headings when 2nd indicator is 0 or 1, or when 2nd indicator is 7 and additional conditions are met.

In VE, you can modify the normalization of Subject display.

Sonoma provided an example of how this may be done: https://storage.3.basecamp.com/3765443/blobs/d812214a-97b1-11eb-a087-a0369f6beadf/download/subject_display_norm_rules.txt?attachment=true under “LC Only”

Configure EBSCO scope

what I should put in for the Username and Password boxes for the EBSCO Scope? I couldn't find any information about this in the documentation.

Go to Advanced Configuration > All Mapping Tables > Deep Search Plugin Parameters. EBSCO provides you with a username and password. Maybe the CARLI page can also help? https://www.carli.illinois.edu/products-services/i-share/alma/EBSCO-API

details are available in your EBSCO admin portal.

Incorrect item display information

I was looking at item information in the Primo VE display and realized that the labels for the fields are incorrect and don't match the data in Alma or the Primo Classic display. In Primo VE, the item call number displays as location and the item public note displays as the call number. It appears correctly in Primo Classic.

all sites should probably check this area as it looks like it needs to be configured locally and the default item display labels don't make sense.

Configuration Menu > Discovery > GetIt Configuration > Items Display ConfigurationSee CSUN ex:Before

After

Multiple campuses reporting fewer results returned in VE than in PBO

many campuses reported much fewer results returned from the same search in VE than in PBO. This seemed consistent enough through enough campuses to feel that there must be some difference in what holdings or formats are returned by the default scopes in both products.

This issue seems to be related to how PBO search was configured locally. Some examples:SJSU: The San Jose State Collections scope in PBO is set to include results with no full-text, and includes Ebsco DB records, while the scope in VE is filtering out records with no full-text, and the search profile is missing an Ebsco index scope. The Ebsco difference affects record count gaps only when authenticated or 'on-campus'. The availability filtering difference affects guest users as well.

In addition to these two factors, there can be slight differences in result numbers as Dedup and FRBR calculations in VE are not always identical to those in PBO.Maritime: In PBO, your Maritime Academy Collections scope holds local records with physical inventory, DSPACE, CDI and Ebsco.

In VE, your Maritime Academy Collections search profile holds local records (physical, electronic, digital), CDI and Ebsco.There may also be an issue with your PBO not returning all relevant results although they are indexed and searchable.

Course instructor names appear without comma

Has anyone figured out how to add a comma to the Course Instructor facet yet in Course Reserves? I don't see where this field can be configured for facets like the other facets.

https://csu-un.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,computer%20science&tab=CourseReserves&search_scope=CourseReserves&vid=01CALS_UNO:01CALS_UNO&offset=0Regular Primo looks like this: https://csun-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/primo-explore/search?query=any,contains,computer%20science&tab=course_reserves&search_scope=01CALS_UNO_CR&vid=01CALS_UNO&offset=0

The default setting in Primo VE is that facet values are normalized.

Ex Libris can disable this setting by request - it is not customer accessible.

We have requested this setting to be disabled for all campuses who responded to Brandon’s survey.

Is a Services view needed in VE?

A question: under normal Primo it was my understanding that a separate view for the Services Page was required. Or if it wasn't required, at least a Long Beach we have been using a separate View for the Services Page (code =  01CALS_ULB_SP). 
Is a separate Services Page view required in VE? 

A related question: when moving through the enablement step, I copied over our 01CALS_ULB_SP view. However, none of the HTML/CSS/JS customization in our package carried over as part of the automated Go VE process, when I go to the  01CALS_ULB_SP view it looks like OOTB VE. https://csu-lb.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?vid=01CALS_ULB:01CALS_ULB_SP Is that expected behavior?

 

There is no need for a separate view in Primo VE for your Services Page (unless you are interested in using a different customization package for it).

 

Unidentified Search Profile slot for Production View

SJSU has a search profile slot that we are unable to identify.  This is for 01CALS_SJO:01CALS_SJO.  Code is Research.  Description is Research Resources.  Search profile is Research.  There is no profile called Research in the Search Profiles menu.  How do we figure out what "Research"is?

 

This is a slot for Esploro data. You can disable or delete it.

 

Discovery Network

I assume the DiscoveryNetwork in Search Profiles and Search Profile Slots->Everything in View Configuration includes all CSU collections?  I just want to make sure for my search scope selection.  

 

The Discovery Network (DN) is analogous to the Network Zone (NZ) with the exception that you don’t need to include your institution scope in any scope that includes the DN. Institution records are a subset of Discovery Network records.

 

Brief Results and Facets

My desired facets are showing up only in the "Books & Media (all CSU)" scope (DiscoveryNetwork - search type: Local Network). However those facets are not displaying in my Maritime Academy Collections scope (MyInst_and_CI - search type blended). 
What is the setting to correct this?

 

I see that the Maritime Academy Collections slot is set to return only CDI records

 


The facets you're not seeing are relevant only for local data (IZ/NZ Alma records):
Location
Creator
Library + Other Libraries
Classification NDC

(The author facet is not enabled in CDI due to performance concerns. This is noted in the CDI Known Gaps document).

 

Availability facet customization

We customized the names in the Availability facet in our Primo NUI.  Is my understanding that if we want to change the names in the Availability facet, we should do so in the Discovery > Labels > Code Tables > Top Level Facet Labels?  Is that correct?


Yes, that's correct.  Top Level Facet Labels code table is where these name changes can be made.


 

Add a new resource type for external data

HI, I am trying to add a new resource type - Libguides for our libguides data. It seems that the only way to add the new resource type is to add a local resource type. Do I miss anything here? Is there any other ways to add a new resource type?

Does the local resource type become one of the resource types that loading external data process will go through in order to map the resource type?

 

Here is the relevant documentation.

You use normalization rules to map records to Primo VE resource types. You'll find a list of OTB resource types. If you're interested in a type that isn't offered in VE, you'll have to first create a local resource type.

For DC source format there's a Dublin Core Type to Discovery Type Mapping mapping table which you can use.

 

Location Filter on Advanced Search

Is there a way to add Location to the search filter on the advanced search? I was able to add other fields such as Collection Name, but that data came from the bib record and  Location is not found there. In Primo we use a norm rule to add local search data using the AVA fields (which contain Location). We use this for deep linking to specific library items from outside of Primo. Is there a way to accomplish the same functionality in Primo VE? 


 

There isn't an OTB search index for Location. You can add a new search index based on bib metadata, but not Holdings level data.

For deep linking to specific locations, it may be possible to use a location facet value parameter in the deeplink.


Why local resource type and imported external data will show up in other Institution's Primo VE

Hi, We imported Libguides into our VE and created a local resource type "Libguides". The data show up in our VE correctly. However, our libguides records also show up in other institutions' VE instances. For example:
https://csu-sb.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,art%20AND%20gareth%20scott&tab=Everything&search_scope=DN_and_CI&vid=01CALS_USB:01CALS_USB&lang=en&offset=0

 

https://csu-sb.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,history%20AND%20nyle%20monday&tab=Everything&search_scope=DN_and_CI&vid=01CALS_USB:01CALS_USB&lang=en&offset=0

 

https://csu-csus.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,libguides%20AND%20nyle%20monday&tab=Everything&search_scope=DN_and_CI&vid=01CALS_USL:01CALS_USL&lang=en&offset=0

Why is the local resource type not "local"? What do we need to do to limit our libguides only to our institution? Thanks.

 

Ask ExL to enable the option “Exclude External Data Source from Entire Network Search" as mentioned at https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Primo/Product_Documentation/020Primo_VE/Primo_VE_(English)/100Loading_Records_from_External_Sources_into_Primo_VE/Configuring_Import_Profiles_for_Primo_VE

 

Import profile error “Invalid XML character was found in the element content of the document”

One of the Digital Commons profiles always produces this error message when I try to load it:
"An invalid XML character (Unicode: 0xb) was found in the element content of the document."

What does this mean, and how could I fix it? The other DC import works just fine, and so far as I can tell they are the same, except for the set name. The test connection to the server works fine as well. I've tried deleting the profile and recreating it, but I still get the error. 

 

That error usually happens when the XML contains unsupported characters. Alma is more strict than Primo BO was, rejecting XML files containing non-XML characters.
The generator of the source XML files will have to be configured to generate files that are clean of non-XML characters.

 

 

Hypertext Linking definitions "grantURL"

 Can you explain what "grantURL (not listed)" is and why it's enabled?

 

This looks like a local display field that was created, and deleted after a row for it was added to the Hypertext linking table. This row can be deleted as the display field no longer exists.

 

What’s an example of a resource recommender used for library hours?

 

How to remove Course icon in Brief Results

SJSU would like to remove the Course icon from displaying in the brief results. 

We found this documentation for Primo VE release notes (Improve Glanceability of Course Material in Search Results).  However, it was not clear how to not display the icon.

How do we remove the Course icon?

Example:

Women’s Voices, Feminist Visions : Classic and Contemporary Readings

 

Use CSS: .prm-course {
     display: none !important;
}

 

How will permalinks migrate from PBO to VE?

We currently have permalinks at various research guides, websites, etc., so I want to be sure the old Primo permalinks will be redirected correctly or at all.  Thank you!

 

The current BaseURL in PBO will continue to work after the switch, redirecting traffic to the Primo VE resolver. We do, however, recommend that you eventually update the database providers with the new BaseURL.

Related records not showing up

Any suggestions on making Related Records work in Primo VE? They are not showing up for me.
Primo link has related records on right side: https://csun-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1ta483o/TN_cdi_pubmedcentral_primary_oai_pubmedcentral_nih_gov_3435945
Primo VE link has nothing: https://csu-un.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01CALS_UNO/lj2n3v/cdi_proquest_miscellaneous_1736411618
Maybe these are not even the same records but I can't find any example in Primo VE where the related records show up. 

We haven't made any changes from the settings we already had in the system for Primo in this section: 
Configuration Menu > Fulfillment > Discovery Interface Display Logic > Related Records

 

Make sure that you have moved the Bx token from PBO Institution Wizard to the Alma Integration Profile.

Can I add ISSN in adv search but not full record display?

Is there a way to add ISSN to your advanced search drop-down (via Advanced Search Configuration) without also adding a "Search inside" the journal section in your full records for a journal? I haven't figured out a way to decouple them. I would like the option to search for ISSN at advanced search without making a somewhat unrelated change in the full record. 

I did some tests and cannot add it at advanced search without that large "Search inside" box showing up in the full record as well. As soon as I remove it from Advanced Search Configuration, it disappears from the full record as well. 

 

You can create a local Search field based on 022a and 776x. This local field can then be added in Advanced Search Configuration.

 

CSU+ Form Configuration

The settings to configure the resource sharing form in Alma has changed locations in Primo VE. The settings are no longer under the Fulfillment tab, but are instead under the Discovery tab. 

 

To edit the resource sharing request form go to:

Alma Configuration > Discovery > GetIt Configuration > Resource Sharing Request.

Editing the form is fairly straightforward. Select the boxes that need to be mandatory and/or visible in the form. The Resource Sharing Functional Committee recommends the following settings:

Mandatory

Book Request

Title

Visible

Book Request

Title

Volume

Delivery Fields

Not Need After


These settings should create a form very similar to the form used in regular Primo.

 

Configuring the CSU+ Form Label

If you are also wondering where to configure the form label, it is in a different place than it is for traditional Primo. 

 

To change the label of the CSU+ form in Primo VE go to:

Alma Configuration → Discovery → Display Configuration → Labels → Request Options Labels (select Edit)

After selecting the “Edit” option for Request Options Labels you can edit all the labels in this grouping. The label that configures the CSU+ form label is “AlmaResourceSharing”. Change the description for this label to change what text appears in Primo VE. In the below example the text was changed from “Resource Sharing” to “Request from other CSU libraries: CSU+”.

 

Full record display location table

Where can I configure this table to make it look the same as the classic Primo table? 

 

that is located under:

Configuration -> Discovery -> Get it configuration -> Item display configuration

 

Where does the Source field value originator?

The value that shows for the Source field in Primo VE is different than in Primo. Do we care or do we want to map it to some other text? Do we want to centrally limit the number of items in the Source field for some of our e-resources that have many sources?

 

 

There are two types of Source field;
1. The first field is added in Full Record Services tab of View Configuration. This field can be relocated in the Details section using the up and down arrows on the configuration page. This field is not mapped from a MARC field, as described in the documentation.
2. The second field is at the bottom of the Details section and cannot be relocated or removed via Primo VE configuration. It is added by the customization package (most likely, the central package). Adding &noCustomization=true to the end of a deeplink will hide this field.

 

According to https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Primo/Product_Documentation/020Primo_VE/Primo_VE_(English)/120Other_Configurations/Mapping_to_the_Display%2C_Facets%2C_and_Search_Sections_in_the_Primo_VE_Record, the Source field value is taken from Alma: "If the source is from Alma, the library catalog is used. If the source is external, the source's name is used."

 

'Library Catalog' is a label that can be modified in the Data Source code table.
The code is fulldisplay.datasource.Alma

 

Sign in button label

Is there a way to change the text on the sign-in button on the full record display? I found the labels table to change the text that appears next to the button, but the actual button text does not seem to be there. It currently says, "Sign in for more options" in both Primo and Primo VE, but we would like to change the wording in Primo VE.

 

It seems that the wording for the Sign In button comes from the CENTRAL package: 
/discovery/custom/01CALS_NETWORK-CENTRAL_PACKAGE/css/custom1.css   line 434: 

.full-view-section span[translate="eshelf.signin.title"]::after {
    content: " for more options";
}

Might overwrite it in the local custom1.css

 

Holdings information not loading

I noticed when searching for articles in VE, including non full text items from CDI, the brief holdings display indicates "No Full Text" but the full record has online access. Furthermore, returning to the brief record display after viewing one of these items results in the availability indicator being updated for that item. Here is an example:

https://csu-csus.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,dinosaur%20parenting&tab=Everything&search_scope=DN_and_CI&sortby=date_a&vid=01CALS_USL:01CALS_USL&offset=0&pcAvailability=true

(try the first two records)

Why does this happen? Why is the availability not indicated on the brief results, even when we have both online and physical access to the items?

 

This document explains delivery services

On the full record page Primo VE will calculate the full availability for the record and indicate whether Alma can provide electronic, digital or physical services and will update the availability statement accordingly.

 

RTA is calculated differently in Brief Display and Full Record Display as described in this paragraph.
The RTA you're getting in Full Display cannot be calculated for each record in the brief result list without without major impact on performance.

 

Brief Display is calculated based on your electronic Holdings File (located at: https://na03.alma.exlibrisgroup.com/rep/getFile?institution_code=01CALS_USL&file=institutional_holding).

 

If you are missing the Check Holdings at other campuses button...

if you are missing the 'Check Holdings from other campuses' option on your Primo VE screens for physical items that you don't hold locally, here's how you set it up. Thanks so much to David Walker for showing me where to fix this!

Here's how it looked in Primo:

Collapsed

 

Expanded

 

Check the box “Display locations from member institutions” in the General tab of the Primo VE view you are changing

 


And now it shows like this in Primo VE
Collapsed

 


Expanded

 

Delivery label codes

This is relatively minor, but I was wondering about the difference between delivery.code.unavailable and delivery.code.not_available. For old Primo there was a Code Table Reference Page: Code Table Reference - Ex Libris Knowledge Center (exlibrisgroup.com) but there does not appear to be a similar reference page for VE. 

Can you explain the difference between these two codes in the Calculated Availability Text Labels table? Thanks.

delivery.code.not_available is not in use.

WorldCat link is not showing up

created a new worldcat GES, however it is not showing up under Links section. 

Here is an example in Primo that worldcat link shows in Links section (This item in Worldcat link):
https://sjsu-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1cue0e3/01CALS_ALMA71429701240002901

In Primo VE, this link is not showing up in Additional Service section:
https://csu-sjsu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01CALS_SJO/tu4ck5/alma991000722479702919

Do we need to do anything beside adding a new GES to turn on the worldcat link? Thanks.

You've got this service hidden from guest users

 


I see the link when I enable it without login.

GES showing up in undesired places

I'm wondering though why Worldcat GES is also appearing on articles.  Seems like I need to write a Service availability rule? I tried a couple of rules (genre doesn't equal articles) but they didn't do anything.  Any ideas?

Use a service availability rule such as "ISBN exists" since the search relies on ISBN anyway.  That should be enough to keep it out of your article results.

Language Display differences in VE

There is an option for language display in Classic Primo as shown below.  Clicking on the Display Language, one can select a different language.   I don't see that in Primo VE.  This documentation says we can configure it in Configuration Menu > Discovery > Display Configuration > Multi-Lingual Configuration.  I don't see an item for Multi-Lingual under Display Configuration either.  Am I missing something?

This is configured in Alma Configuration Menu > General > General Configuration > Institution Languages.
Here is the guide: https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Product_Documentation/010Alma_Online_Help_(English)/050Administration/050Configuring_General_Alma_Functions/090Configuring_Institution_Languages

Here's a guide on Label configuration.

Missing labels can be modified in the Interface Language Labels code table.

The Language drop-down is ordered alphabetically - this isn't adjustable.

Go to: configuration menu > Discovery > Other > Customer Settings >  ignore_ui_language_for_search_time_language_recognition.
This parameter allows you to disable language recognition during searches so that the same results are returned for every UI interface language. Set the parameter to 'true' if you want the same results in all language interfaces.

I found this information here.

Finally, VE's search algorithm takes language recognition into consideration. This can affect the list of returned records and their ranking. Here is some more information on language recognition.

Google Scholar publishing profile

The CSUs publish their holdings to Google Scholar.

Documentation here

Resources > Publishing > Publishing Profiles > Publish electronic records to Google Scholar

In the publishing profile details, each campus needs to update the openURL base before the next scheduled harvesting, correct?

I think the documentation is incorrect.  It says to remove the "?" from the URL but the example doesn't do that. Please advise.

Primo VE: https://<Primo_domain>/openurl/<Institution_code>/<View_code>?

Is that all that needs to be done? Does Ex Libris need to contact Google Scholar?

Ex Libris recommend updating the openURL base only after the switch to VE.

For VE, the BaseURL should not include a question mark at the end. 

yours will look like this: https://csu-sjsu.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/openurl/01CALS_SJO/01CALS_SJO:01CALS_SJO

No further actions are required.

OCLC Logo missing

I seem to be missing a logo for OCLC (under my "External Search" filter). Where do I go to change it?

This is set in your local customization package.

See custom.js line 153.

Search by Voice

I enabled Search by Voice, but it only works with Edge and Chrome, not Firefox.  Is this feature browser specific? 

This feature is available for all browsers that support the Speech Recognition interface of the Web Speech API (such as Chrome for Desktop and Android browsers and Samsung browsers). It will be progressively available in other browsers as they support the Web Speech API.

https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Primo/Product_Documentation/020Primo_VE/Primo_VE_(English)/050Display_Configuration/Configuring_the_Voice_Search_Assistant

Resource recommender in Go Live

will the resource recommender information be carried over when we go live or do we need to upload it once we are live?

You need to recreate the Resource Recommender settings in VE. No need to wait until Live.
Here is the guide in Go VE documentation.

OOTB search/facet norm rule for Subject?

Is there a way Ex Libris can share the OOTB search/facet norm rule for Subject with us, so we can make an informed decision of whether we need to create a local field for our particular needs? 

Here is the mapping for search.

MARC21 fields that are indexed for search:

600  all subfields
610  all subfields
611  all subfields
630  all subfields
648  all subfields
650  all subfields
651  all subfields
653  all subfields 
654  all subfields
655  all subfields
656  all subfields
657  all subfields
658  all subfields
750 a, b, v, x, y, z
880-600 a-z
880-610 a-z
880-611 a-z
880-630 a-z
880-650 a-z
880-651 a-z
880-653 a-z

 

We assume all second indicators are included.

Notes on Facet to limit to "my institution"

On traditional Primo, we've always been able to do a search that included the physical inventory of all campuses, and then use a top level facet to limit to materials available only in our specific institution library.

It was my expectation that "Held by library" would have the same effect, faceting the results to items that were indeed "held by my library" but strangely enough, it has no apparent effect whatsoever other than removing CDI results.

Is this expected behavior?

The Availability facet values cannot be adjusted, but you can enable the Institution facet and push it up the page to just below the Availability facet.

Not directly related to your question, but here is some documentation on the different options of Library facet for NZ scopes.

here is some information about labels associated with this facet:

facets.facet.tlevel.available_on_shelf - not in use

facets.facet.tlevel.available_p - physical availability

facets.facet.tlevel.available - physical, digital or electronic availability of local records

facets.facet.tlevel.online_resources - electronic or digital availability - local and CDI

facets.facet.tlevel.online_resource - same as facets.facet.tlevel.available
The purple facets are offered in the Availability facet

If you want to limit to “physical inventory at your institution only”:

in your view settings, in the general tab, at the bottom, in the Discovery Network section.  Setting 'Include member institution physical inventory in facets' to 'Never' now lets 'Held by library' limit to just your local holdings when searching in a CSU scope.

 

GES question on Link in Record results

my ILLiad GES is showing up in CDI Link In Record results.  It's set to "disable service when resource is owned by the institution and available" but it seems like it's not recognizing the link in record as "available." 

Changing the GES from "Getit, viewit & How To Getit" to "Getit & How To Getit" did the trick.

Note for campuses who haven't gone live yet, you may want to leave your ILLiad GES set to Getit, viewit & How To Getit for now due to the impact on where the service appears in your Classic Primo search results and services pages.

MARC 505 $t is now indexed in the Title index

Records in a search result set that don’t appear to match your keyword are appearing in our VE instances.

Following Idea Exchange, 505t was added to VE's search.title in the June release.

Search Inside service--can it be disabled

We are not sure that we want to have the "Search Inside" service available due to the inconsistency of the results.

I can find documentation explaining how to enable it by defining ISSN, but I don't find anything telling me how to disable it.  We would like to keep ISSN as a search index.

To suppress the functionality, you can add the following CSS to your customization package:"

/**Hide "search inside" for journals **/
 prm-search-within-journal { display: none;} 
 .search-within-p-only { display:none; }

Alternatively, you can remove ISSN from the Advanced Search index list, and create a local search field as an ISSN search index.

Often, labels can be hidden by setting their description to: NOT_DEFINED

Can't uncheck Personalize Results in one view

'm configuring an additional Primo view that we imported at the beginning of the GoVE process.  It's customized for our Special Collections unit and is limited in several ways by design.  It's named 01CALS_PSU_SpecColl.

I've run across an odd error:  "Enable the "Personalize Your Results" service" is stuck as checked--I cannot get it to uncheck.  I successfully unchecked it for our other views. Even stranger, I don't actually see the personalization feature displayed when I test the view.

This checkbox is editable only if the view has a CDI scope - otherwise the setting is meaningless.

Resource type facets with external data sources

is it possible to merge the resource type from external data sources with existing res types from the catalog/CDI?

Ex: https://csu-lb.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,bubbles&tab=Everything&search_scope=DN_and_CI&vid=01CALS_ULB:01CALS_ULB&lang=en&offset=0

There is an existing res type for "Theses and Dissertations" that seems to cover DN records and a res type for "dissertation" from an external data source in the Resource Type facet for this search. Is there a way to "merge" resource types such that records from both sources are covered under a single resource type? The documentation did not seem to specify.

Yes. You'll have to use the exact same resource type code.

Currently;
the code of the Theses and Dissertations r.type is: dissertations
the code of the dissertation r.type is: dissertation

Excluded Process Types showing Services

We have Missing and Claimed Return items excluded from publishing to Primo. I noticed today that Requesting and Digitization services for these items still appear even though the inventory does not. These services should not appear in Primo because this inventory should be excluded from publishing to Primo at all. In Primo classic, this displays as it should, with a Resource Sharing Request link only.

This looks like a matter of Alma Terms of Use.
Using the Fulfillment Configuration Utility, it looks like the user should be offered a hold request option for this item

a request TOU that excludes these process types is the solution.

Resource Recommender import from PBO

 

It's my understanding that the best practice for loading database recommendations into Resource Recommender during migration from Classic Primo to Primo VE is to download the Excel file from PBO and upload it to Primo VE.  This is indeed the easiest way to do this process, but I've discovered a small glitch in the process and would like to make sure it is documented for others.

The glitch stems from two differences in how VE handles the creation of recommendations in the Resource Recommender.

  • In Classic Primo, the database key was created automatically by the system, based on the name.  In Primo VE, the user creates the key as a required field, so whatever key is in the export file from Classic Primo is used for the key in Primo VE.

  • In Primo VE, database keys cannot contain a '.' character.

This system works perfectly until it tries to import a Classic Primo database recommendation where the name contains a website.  Classic Primo included the '.' in websites as part of the key.  Primo VE will not accept these values.  As a result, any recommendation that has a key containing the problem punctuation will not be imported.  If the database list is long (ours was over 200 entries), the missing recommendations may not be noticed.

The solution is to note the problem database names at the time of export/import and change the '.' to '_' in the key (e.g. from to arxiv_org) in the file before importing it.  You do not need to change the name of the database, just the key.

At SLO, the databases that did not migrate initially due to this glitch were arXiv.org, Just-drinks.com, MarketResearch.com Academic, and Thomas Register of American Manufacturers (ThomasNet.com).

Label Configuration

We want to edit the content of the "Request this item" box (example record permalink: https://csu-chico.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01CALS_CHI/bbjidc/cdi_gale_healthsolutions_A606636759 ) to match the box in our Primo.   

Here is the box from VE:

This is the box in our current Primo:

Where is this box configured? 

It has been found that the record in Primo VE holds a 'How to get It' section (which was not developed for Classic Primo).
The labels displaying in Classic Primo belong to the 'Get It' section - which is why they're not displaying in VE.
'How to get It' doesn't have equivalent labels. The solution here would be to edit the Public Name of the Illiad GES, or create a separate GES (defined as ILL service) with the 'Please contact the staff' link as your URL Template.

JavaScript allowed in almaRequest.formDescription label?

Is anyone using JavaScript in the new label 'almaRequest.formDescription', that we use in the hold/booking form in Primo VE? I had JavaScript in the previous version of this field in Primo (c.uresolver.request.hold.generalUseLabel) and it worked great. I'm trying to recreate that same code in Primo VE and just want to know if JavaScript is supported in the label or not so I can figure out if something is wrong with my code vs. JavaScript not being supported in this label. Do you know? JavaScript works in many other labels so maybe not this one.

I do have the {include_HTML} at the front of my label but maybe I need some secret {include_JScript} tag or something. 

Relevant documentation: 

As stated by Primo Support, JS is not supported in VE labels.