DSpace 7.2: missing sidebar facets in browse

[darryl....@usask.ca]

We're upgrading from 6.3 (XMLUI) to 7.x and I've noticed that none of the sidebar facets we had before are appearing while browsing communities/collections.  Search filters appear on the left hand side, but facets don't seem to display anywhere.

Did I just miss some configuration somewhere?  I've checked our local.cfg and discovery.xml and everything looks in order there.  I've noticed that the DSpace 7 demo site also lacks any sidebar facets.  Is this a feature that's not available in 7.x yet (we're running 7.2.1 on our test server)?

Thanks,

- Darryl

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Darryl Friesen, BSc

Programmer/Analyst

University of Saskatchewan

ICT / University Library

[al...@vt.edu]

Darryl,

This relates to the DSpace thread, https://groups.google.com/g/dspace-tech/c/Dlyuxgd2Ci0/m/P5sN4WcCAwAJ.

[darryl....@usask.ca]

Thanks for the pointer.  I did try and search the group but it seems I missed that tread somehow.

Very disappointing though.  Our users are really going to miss facets.  And if they only ever appear for search results, I think it renders quite a bit of the Discovery documentation -- https://wiki.lyrasis.org/display/DSDOC7x/Discovery -- incorrect, as there is no way to actually display facets on the community/collection pages nor tailor them to specific communities or collections.

- Darryl

[al...@vt.edu]

We also want the facets to appear in collection pages. Since there is no longer browse links, it's the only way to browse a collection. We want the interface to be like other discovery interfaces that offer facets. We have not tried it, but it seems like it might be possible to force the facets to appear by making the links to collections be search queries.

For example clicking on a collection link in dspace demo leads to a collection page without facets, https://demo7.dspace.org/communities/6465ceac-442e-4bc8-8e07-1f28f7b320eb.

Clicking on a collection link in the Iowa State repository leads to https://dr.lib.iastate.edu/collections/71537944-3990-4d99-9351-64b7a4f83125?scope=71537944-3990-4d99-9351-64b7a4f83125, which does have facets. I believe this is a search query.

Thanks, Anne

[darryl....@usask.ca]

I noticed that behavior with Iowa as well.  I'm curious how they made that work.  If I add a "scope" argument to our test and dev server URLs (or to the demo site), DSpace is not treating that as a search; the display remains as if I was browsing and no facets appear.

I think for us though, the biggest loss would be the inability to have facets customized per collection. We have a custom set for our ETD collection that makes use of the additional metadata fields available in ETD-ms (department, program, degree level etc). I assume that since facets now only display on search results, they must all fall within the default set.

- Darryl

[al...@vt.edu]

Darryl,

Thank you for testing that scope behavior. I agree about the value of customized facets per collection. We have customized facets and search filters for our ETD, https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/handle/10919/5534, and patent, https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/handle/10919/72294, collections.

Anne

[Tim Donohue]

Hi all,

I wanted to chime in here and note that we'd welcome contributions to enhance DSpace 7's views / interface if facets on Community/Collection pages are of high interest to you.

At this time, the core team is concentrated still on migrating/rebuilding old 5.x/6.x features into DSpace 7 from this listing: https://wiki.lyrasis.org/display/DSPACE/DSpace+Release+7.0+Status#DSpaceRelease7.0Status-Whatfeaturesarecominginalater7.xrelease?7.x  

That said, as an open source product, DSpace always accepts community contributions. So, if someone is interested in designing/building this, or hiring a service provider to do so on their behalf, then please send it my way. I'd ensure it is reviewed/considered for a future release of 7.x.  Until then, I expect this will become a feature eventually if enough people desire it...but it's not currently on our prioritized list (see above).

Tim

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From: dspac...@googlegroups.com <dspac...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of al...@vt.edu <al...@vt.edu>
Sent: Thursday, April 28, 2022 12:00 PM
To: DSpace Technical Support <dspac...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [dspace-tech] Re: DSpace 7.2: missing sidebar facets in browse

 

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[al...@vt.edu]

Tim, thank you for your comment.

It occurred to me that it might be useful to have a page in the wiki where users can compare features in DSpace 6.3 XMLUI vs DSpace 7. That could help other repositories with their decisions to move to DSpace 7.

[Tim Donohue]

Hi Anne,

While I understand the desire to have an easy guide comparing 6.3 XMLUI to 7.x, I think it'd be very complex to build & maintain (and it'd also require a comparison with 6.3 JSPUI too).  

With our new DSpace Development Fund, we are moving quickly with 7.x, and the feature set changes with each 7.x release.  There are also a number of features in 7.x which were impossible in 6.x (e.g. the ability to run command line tools from the Admin UI, Configurable Entities, etc).. and many more coming soonish to 7.x (e.g. full ORCID integration, importing tools from 10+ external systems like Scopus, CrossRef, Web of Science, etc).  

While not every feature in 6.x is yet in 7.x, we're making quick progress as shown at  https://wiki.lyrasis.org/display/DSPACE/DSpace+Release+7.0+Status#DSpaceRelease7.0Status-Whatfeaturesarecominginalater7.xrelease?7.x  (and this page is the closest we have to a feature comparison, as it lists the major gaps between 6.x and 7.x)

Honestly, I'd highly recommend all new users start on 7.x at this point.  Anyone on an earlier release should also start to look seriously at an upgrade... and if features you require (to upgrade) are missing, help us get them built!  6.x is only in maintenance mode, so the future is all in 7.x.

Tim

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From: dspac...@googlegroups.com <dspac...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of al...@vt.edu <al...@vt.edu>

Sent: Friday, April 29, 2022 11:12 AM

To: DSpace Technical Support <dspac...@googlegroups.com>

Subject: Re: [dspace-tech] Re: DSpace 7.2: missing sidebar facets in browse

 

To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/dspace-tech/bdff464d-dd61-4ae5-9fae-9f71863de7f6n%40googlegroups.com.

[Marie-Hélène Vézina - UdeM]

" I think for us though, the biggest loss would be the inability to have facets customized per collection. We have a custom set for our ETD collection that makes use of the additional metadata fields available in ETD-ms (department, program, degree level etc). I assume that since facets now only display on search results, they must all fall within the default set."

Oh I didn't realize that we lost this feature (facets per collection). I'm not there yet in my Dspace 7.2 instance configuration.... Too bad indeed, we also have metadata specific to our thesis collections (discipline, thesis advisor, etc.) that we offer only for these collections in our DSpace 5 XMLUI.

-mh