Skip to Main Content

Discovery and E-Resources Guide

This Libguide contains documentation, training, and configuration information on FLVC's PrimoVE Discovery tool.

Look and Feel

Customizing Look and Feel

You can customize Primo VE using the options in Customize Views in Config, with CSS and JavaScript, and by editing Labels.

Ex Libris Documentation:

Editing Customization Package

The customization package is where you make changes that can't be done using configuration tabs in the Edit View or by changing labels.

This is where you can edit the css, change the colors on your view, and edit the html of the home page.

Before editing your files, make a backup of the most recent customization package in case something goes awry and  need reload what you had before making the edits.  

Do not delete the original baseline backup. Ex Libris created this during our implementation and it's useful to be able to reproduce an error in a view that doesn't have customization.

IMPORTANT! FLVC specific instructions

The video below is good, but additionally, make sure when you are making changes, start by downloading the “Current View” from the Primo Discovery Config menu.  If you use an old file, or start from scratch, you will miss the custom js scripts that FLVC programmers have added or updated.

Overriding these js scripts affects these services:

  • proper routing for UBorrow requests
  • Hathi links
  • collapsed list of institutions in the full record view
  • Primo banners – including those we add when Primo is having technical issues
  • Ask A Librarian widget
  • Browzine

 

Update process:

1. Start by downloading the "Current View Customization Package"

2. Copy the downloaded Zip file.  You will work from the copy. Re-name the original and save it in case you need it.

3. Using the copied Zip file, Extract your files using 7-zip or whatever tool you prefer. In 7-zip, you choose "Extract Here," and you will see a new unzipped folder.

4. Open the extracted files and navigate to the folder you need for edits - usually HTML or CSS.  

5. Make your edits and save.

6. Add your edited file back to the zipped file - if you use 7-zip the menu will look like this:

NOTE: It is important to keep the name of the original file.  It should follow this format, replacing CCF with your instittuion code:         01FALSC_CCF-CCF

7. Go back to Alma and navigate to the Upload Package section (marked '2' above). Choose your edited file and hit the Upload button. You will see a message that it saved successfully.

8. Hit the blue "save" button at the top right of the Alma screen.  You must do this for the edits to be saved.

9. View your Primo page to check your work. You will likely need to either clear your cache/browser history, or view in a different browser.

 

 

Header Links

You can add, edit, and disable Main Menu links in the Primo VE header. Please note that tags do not work in a consortial environment.

Ex Libris Documentation:

Labels and Tables

This is the way to change any content/wording that is NOT WITHIN THE RECORD itself. Labels are the most powerful part of customizing the language and terminology of Primo VE. Pretty much everything that doesn’t exist/come from a bib record is handled by a label.

The methodology for changing labels in Alma is pretty simple (most of the time):

  1. Look for the text of the label you want to change (may need to use "inspect" browser tools)
  2. Go to Discovery->Configuration->Display Configuration->Labels and then search for that label’s text in the code table, which should bring you to the right place to edit the label.
  3. The code table allows you to search by the text in the label, so you don’t have to remember or find the right table name or specific label.
  4. All you need to do is then customize the text that displays.

Ex Libris Documentation:

 

Widgets

You can create search widgets for general and specific (journals, collections, etc.) Primo VE searches and add them to your library webpages. You can also add widgets like your library chat widget to Primo VE. FLVC also created a search box builder you can use to create your search boxes.