Directions for Installing Modified DOM Controller
Purpose: Apply modified Digital Object Manager plugin for ArchivesSpace so it can update or create digital objects, depending on the number of fields in the input CSV
Modifications to the Plugin:
Tufts University modified the backend controller for this plugin, digital_object_manager_controller.rb, as well as changing some language in the frontend view index.html.rb
The features we added were the ability to either create or update a digital object, depending on how many input fields in the uploaded CSV had data in them.
The directions on how to upload have more information on this, but if you use this modification, the input CSV must have 9 fields per line. If you intend to update existing digital objects on the archival object represented by the PID in field 2, you should leave one or more of the input fields in the CSV blank. Still include the fields, but don't put anything in them. For instance if you were doing an update, your input line might look like this:
,MS001.001,updated.handle.url.123.org,A New Location,,,,,
For creating a digital object, you have to make sure every one of the 9 fields has data in it.
You can mix lines for updates and lines to create digital objects. For instance, the following updates digital objects for line 1, and creates an object for line 2. (Line 2 appears as two lines in this document.)
,MS001.001,updated.handle.url.123.org,A New Location,,,,,
Archival Object Title,MS102.001,updated.handle.url.123.org, A New Location,True,Open for research,True,1234FHFDHASH,Bagger
The log file that the plugin generates has more information on whether the digital object was updated or created, how many fields were updated, whether each operation was successful, and error messages if there were issues.
Steps:
-
Replace the digital_object_manager plugin in your plugins directory with the supplied version for these modifications. Provide this plugin to whoever manages your application on the backend if you don't handle this yourself.
-
Note that you need to change the controller code to input the digital object prefix used by your institution. The controller code has comment blocks explaining where this needs to changed
-
Restart ASpace.
Troubleshooting:
-
If you're getting errors either in the log file, or you come to a red error screen in ArchivesSpace, there's likely an issue with your input data.
-
Common causes might be the wrong number of fields in the plugin or an unexpected value in fixed value fields such as something other than True/False for a Boolean field, or something other than "Open for research" or blank for restrictions.
-
Or you could be referencing a non-existent archival object PID.