Slug generation from signum/identifiers

[th...@arkivsormland.se]

Hi! 

When I upload new content to AtoM 2.5.1 (we are doing this through Archivematica 1.8.1) I can't get AtoM to generate the slugs/permalinks from signum/identifiers. The settings I use in AtoM is Global | Generate description permalinks from | Signum and Identifiers | Identifier mask enabled | Yes. Instead of getting permalinks generated from autogenerated signum/identifiers I get permalinks generated from the titles of the objects. 

When uploading objects to AtoM through Archivematica I attach a metadata file (dublin core and CSV) containing various metadata (dc.subject, dc.title, dc.date, dc.format) but no info regarding identifiers (dc.identifier) as it would be more convenient if AtoM could auto-generate them. But when inspecting the uploaded object it becomes clear that it's not just that the permalinks is constructed from the objects titles instead of their signum/identifiers, it's also clear that none of them have an identifier at all. I thought the settings previously mentioned would direct AtoM to autogenerate signum/identifiers for all new objects, or is that a misunderstanding from my part?  

I don't know if it could be part of the problem, but we are using AtoM in Swedish (I did try to change the language to English but the result was the same). 

What am I doing wrong? 

Regards,

Theo

[Dan Gillean]

Hi Theo, 

I wanted to start by trying to clarify some of the existing functionality.

The Identifier mask is a fairly basic feature at present - it is essentially a Javascript widget that will take the next available identifier from the identifier mask and counter and insert it into the edit page in the browser. Because of this, I am pretty sure that it will not automatically assign identifiers during a DIP upload, since the web form used for a logged in user to create a description is bypassed during the DIP upload process. Similarly, if you import a CSV of descriptions with no identifiers currently, AtoM will not auto-populate the identifier field based on the mask, nor will it increment the counter - this needs to be done manually post-import. 

I'm also not sure that the slug generation settings will apply here - since DIP upload does not assign identifiers, there is nothing for the setting to use, so it defaults to using the description title (which itself is generated based on the associated DIP object. 

This sounds like a bit of a feature gap to me, but it would require some analysis and development to change. I suspect we would have to: 

• Investigate how feasible it is to have import routines check for empty identifier fields and auto-assign them based on the mask value if enabled
• We may want to have a separate setting to determine whether an identifier is auto-assigned for blank fields during import - there may be valid cases where users don't want this to happen
• Make sure this logic applies to both CSV, XML, and DIP object imports
• Review and update the code so that, during information object creation during DIP upload, if an identifier is being auto-assigned, it is used for the slug when the slug generation settings are set to identifier or one of the reference code options. 
• Determine graceful failure behaviors so imports and DIP uploads don't crash entirely if something unexpected happens

I would need to consult with my team to determine if such a workflow seems feasible, and if so, how much work they estimate would be involved. Please let me know off-list if I should pursue this further, and I can try to get some estimates for you. 

Unfortunately, I think your best solution with the current functionality is to do this manually after DIP upload. That is: 

• Enable the identifier mask
• Open a DIP upload's related information object (aka archival description)
• Click to auto-assign the next identifier and save
• Use the Rename module (available in the More button in the button block on a description view page) to manually edit the existing slug

I understand this could be a lot of manual work if you have many objects to upload, but I can't think of a better way at present.

Regards, 

Dan Gillean, MAS, MLIS
AtoM Program Manager
Artefactual Systems, Inc.
604-527-2056

@accesstomemory

he / him

On Wed, Jan 29, 2020 at 4:18 AM theo via AtoM Users <ica-ato...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

Hi! 

When I upload new content to AtoM (we are doing this through Archivematica) I can't get AtoM to generate the slugs/permalinks from signum/identifiers. The settings I use in AtoM is Global | Generate description permalinks from | Signum and Identifiers | Identifier mask enabled | Yes. Instead of getting permalinks generated from autogenerated signum/identifiers I get permalinks generated from the titles of the objects. 

When uploading objects to AtoM through Archivematica I attach a metadata file (dublin core and CSV) containing various metadata but no info regarding identifiers (dc.identifier) as it would be more convenient if AtoM could auto-generate them. But when inspecting the uploaded object it becomes clear that it's not just that the permalinks is constructed from the objects titles instead of their signum/identifiers, it's also clear that none of them have an identifier at all. I thought the settings previously mentioned would direct AtoM to autogenerate signum/identifiers for all new objects, or is that a misunderstanding from my part?  

I don't know if it could be part of the problem, but we are using AtoM in Swedish (I did try to change the language to English but the result was the same). 

What am I doing wrong? 

Regards,

Theo

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