Application configuration options

A user specifies the number of records to create and enters data to be included in each bulk created record:

Option	Details
Start	The Bulk record creation tool can be used to update fields that are indexed and configured to be unique (such as Object number). When records are bulk created the value for each record in such a field will be made unique automatically by including a sequential number that starts with the value added to the Start field. For example, the user enters: ABCD-001 in the Object number field 17 in theStart field 3 in the Number of records to create field Three records will be created with the following object numbers: ABCD-00117 ABCD-00118 ABCD-00119 Automatic numbering of an indexed field and bulk creation of records A field can be indexed and configured to be unique, object_number (IN) in this example: Automatic numbering can be set up for the field: and a format and starting value can be specified for the automatic number on the Automatic numbering tab: How automatic numbering is managed by the Bulk record creation tool depends on the Assignment settings (highlighted above). The automatic number can be specified to be: Option Details Automatic assignment The field is uneditable in the Bulk create record window. A unique number is generated for each record created using the configuration specified on the Automatic numbering tab for the field. Allow manual input The field is editable in the Bulk create record window: If no value is entered in the field, a unique number is generated for each record using the configuration specified on the Automatic numbering tab for the field. If the user specifies a format for the number in the Bulk create record window, a unique number is generated for each record using the format specified in the Bulk create record window.
Number of records to create	The number of records that will be created.

The data in records created in this way will be identical (except for automatic numbering as noted above).

This requires no extra setup and is expressed in the Collections settings.xml file by the following default section:

<ImageServerConfiguration>
    <Viewer>Browser</Viewer>
      <!-- IIIF viewer options: -->
      <!-- <ImageServerUrl>http://{localhost}/imageserver/
            iipsrv.fcgi</ImageServerUrl> the URL to the
            IIIF image server -->
      <!-- <FolderMappingList>  optional, useful for
            enterprise environments -->
        <!-- <FolderMapping> repeat for each branch -->
           <!-- <LowerLimit>1</LowerLimit> priref of lower
               limit of branch dataset -->
           <!-- <UpperLimit>10000000</UpperLimit> priref
               of upper limit of branch dataset -->
           <!-- <Folder>museum-01</Folder> name of the
                 branch sub-folder containing the branch
                 specific Adlib/Axiell application -->
        <!-- </FolderMapping>-->
      <!-- <FolderMappingList> -->
</ImageServerConfiguration>

To set up the IIIF functionality:

1. Place the IIIF image server files on the web server that stores the (converted or normal) images:

   

2. In the Collections settings.xml file replace the default Browser viewer by IIIF and uncomment (or add) an <ImageServerUrl> node in which {localhost} is replaced by the server name containing the Axiell IIIF image server files,e.g.:

   <ImageServerConfiguration>
  <Viewer>IIIF</Viewer>
  <ImageServerUrl>http://ourserver/imageserver/
   iipsrv.fcgi</ImageServerUrl>
</ImageServerConfiguration>

3. In IIS, select Default Web Site (left hand pane) and click Basic Settings (right hand pane):

   

   Take note of the Application pool and close the Edit Site box.

4. Select Application Pools (left hand pane), select the Application pool used for the Default Web Site and click Advanced Settings (right hand pane). Look up the Process model: Identity. This identity should have access to the server containing the \images folder. The image server will use this identity, so specify an appropriate user and Application pool for the Default Web Site.
5. With the Default Web Site selected, double-click the Authentication icon:

   

6. Select Anonymous Authentication and click Edit (right hand pane).

   By default the Anonymous user identity is set to a Specific user (IUSR): set the Anonymous user identity to Application pool identity and click OK:

   

7. Underneath Default Web Site, add a virtual directory called imageserver (previously set in the <ImageServerconfiguration> at Step 2) for the IIIF image server \virtual-directory sub folder:

   

8. In IIS, add another virtual directory for your main images folder, with for example Alias: ModelApplication; as Physical path specify the actual path to the \images sub folder of your Axiell system.
9. In IIS, select the main Connections node on the left and double-click the FastCGI Settings icon:

   

   Note: If the icon is not present, you will have to turn the CGI Windows feature on via the Windows Control Panel: select Programs>Turn Windows features on or off – Internet Information Services>World Wide Web Services>Application Development Features and mark the CGI checkbox. This may vary per Windows version.

10. Click Add application in the right hand pane in IIS.
11. For the Full Path option in the Add FastCGI Application window click ... and look up the path to iipsrv.exe, one of the IIIF image server files that you placed on your web server in Step 1:

    

12. With the cursor in the Environment Variables field, click ...:

    

13. Add the following members:

    

    with the following values:

    Member	Values
    FILESYSTEM_PREFIX	the path to your images sub folder, e.g.: C:\Collections\Model application 4.5\images/
    Verbosity	a number between 0 and 10 that determines how much the server should log.
    VIRTUALPATH	the URL to the virtual directory for your images folder, e.g.: http://ourwebserver/ModelApplication/
    LOGFILE	(optional) a path to a log file, e.g.: C:\Ourweb\ImageServer\virtual-directory\Logs\log.txt

14. Click OK twice to close both windows.

15. Select the Default Web Site in IIS and double-click the Handler Mappings icon:

    

16. Click Add Module Mapping (right hand pane).
17. Fill in the Add Module Mapping box as follows, but select your own path to the iipsrv.exe file in your IIIF image server folder:

    

18. Click OK to close the window: you will have to confirm your action.

19. Select your new imageserver module mapping in the list of Handler Mappings (probably all the way at the bottom) and click Edit Feature Permissions (right hand pane).
20. Mark the Execute checkbox so that all checkboxes are marked and click OK:

    

This should conclude the installation of the IIIF server and you may close IIS. To test if the server is working, open a browser and enter a URL similar to the following (replace localhost by the name of your web server and 103.jpg by the file name of an existing image in your \images sub folder):

http://localhost/imageserver/iipsrv.fcgi?IIIF=103.jpg/info.json

If the browser displays a valid JSON response, the IIIF server has been installed correctly. For example:

If you get a message stating that <file path> is not a regular file and no glob support enabled, you should check the Application pool identity and its access rights to the server containing the \images folder.

If the JSON data displays correctly, but clicking the link gives an HTTP Error 401.3 – Unauthorized, it might be that IIS users have no access to the server on which your \images folder is located. In this case Axiell Collections will not show any images in the Media viewer.

Support for third-party IIIF image servers is also available in Collections1 Collections version 1.17 onwards..

One such (open source) third-party image server, Cantaloupe, is capable of on-demand creation and conversion of derivatives of different image formats to IIIF-compliant image formats that can be displayed in Media viewer.

The following settings are required in settings.xml:

• Whitelist the third-party IIIF image server address in the <Security><Csp> section as:

  <WhitelistImages>http://localhost:8184</WhitelistImages>

• Add the appropriate setting in the <ImageServerConfiguration>section, for example:

  <Viewer>IIIF</Viewer>

  <ImageServerUrl>http://localhost:8184/iiif/2/</ImageServerUrl>

Users can select the Settings button in the Related records pane to display the Relationships settings box and select which data sources to view and in what order:

Related records View is only visible in a data source if at least one linked field from or to the underlying database has been configured.

While numerous relationships can be configured, it is a good idea to limit how many fields this functionality is applied to as it can become difficult for users to select the relation(s) they would like to see if there are too many to choose from.

Consider what relations users would like to see. For example:

• To provide users with an overview of objects in the Object catalogue (collect.inf) created by an artist in Persons and institutions (people.inf), you would apply this functionality to the creator field in collect.
• If users would like an overview of objects in a location recorded in Locations and containers (location.inf), you would apply this functionality to the current_location.name field in collect.

It does not matter if the linked fields are single-sided linked fields (from collect to people for example) or reverse linked fields (between collect and loans for example). In principle, this functionality only requires a single-sided set up to display both a forward relation in the current data source (links from the current record to linked records) for the database containing the linked field, and to display a reverse relation in the data source(s) on the other end (links from the database containing the linked field to the current record).

However, for reverse linked fields you typically only specify a forward relation for both reverse linked fields.

Note: Details about linked fields can be found in the Axiell Designer Help.

Here we configure a relation for the creator field in the collect database; this is a single-sided linked field from a record in collect (for a painting, for instance) to people (which holds a record of the artist, the creator):

1. In the Application browser, select the field for which a relation is to be set up (in this example select data>collect>Fields>creator).
2. Select the User interface texts tab and scroll down to the Relation texts box.

   Here we specify a label for the forward relation, indicating what records will be listed, e.g.:

   This record > creator (from Persons and institutions)

   

   Provide a translation for any available interface languages.

   When users perform a search of records in the Internal object catalogue and view Related records, they will see something like this:

   

3. Scroll down to the Reverse relation texts box.

   Here we specify a text label for the reverse relation, e.g.:

   creator (from Internal Object Catalogue)

   In this example, this label will display when a user views a record in the Persons and institutions record if the record is for a creator of an object recorded in the Internal object catalogue

   It can be useful to include the system variable {0} to identify the target data source name in brackets, e.g.:

   Objects {0} (creators) > this record

   Depending on the target data source name, this might display as:

   Objects (Full object catalogue) (creators) > this record or Objects (Internal object catalogue) (creators) > this record.

   If we specify the following:

   

   when users view a record in the Persons and institutions record for the creator of an object, they will see something like the following:

   

4. In the Application browser, select the Relation fields tab.

   Here we specify what details are included when a record is listed in a forward relation (in this case when a record is viewed in the Internal object catalogue and there is a link from the creator field to a record in Persons and institutions), e.g.:

   

5. In the Relation format string property we enter text and any fields from the linked records (Persons and institutions in this example).

   The example above is specified as:

   

   As we see here, the name field is specified using its tag, BA. Tags are enclosed in %. For example,

   

   In this example, the fields included, with formatting (spaces and brackets) and text (to) are:

   name, name.type, birth.date.start (birth.place) to death.date.start

   which, as we see above, gives us:

   Dyck, Anthonie van, creator, 1599 (Antwerpen) to 1641

6. Which leaves the format of records listed in the reverse relation:

   

   This is specified in the Format string property of a Feedback database:

   

   If a database (collect in this example) has been specified as a Feedback database in the linked database (people in this example), the Format string specified in the Feedback database is used when listing records linked from collect to people (i.e. when viewing records in Persons and institutions - the reverse relation).

   Note: If a Format string has not been specified, Axiell Collections will construct one automatically.

   The fields in the Format string are fields from the Feedback database (collect in this example).

7. Save your changes in the Application browser and be sure to recycle the Collections application pool in IIS.

Note: Details about Reverse linked fields (also called Backward references) can be found in the Axiell Designer Online Help.

Here we configure a relation for two Reverse linked fields, loan.in.number in collect and object-in.object_number in loans:

1. In the Application browser, select the first linked field, loan.in.number in collect in this example.
2. Select the User interface texts tab and scroll down to the Relation texts box.

   Here we specify a label for the forward relation, indicating what records will be listed (in this case links from the current object record to incoming loans records), e.g.:

   This record > Incoming loans

   Provide a translation for any available interface languages.

   Do not enter anything in the Reverse relation text box (as this would be redundant):

   

   When users perform a search of records in the Internal object catalogue and view Related records, they will see something like this:

   

3. Select the Relation fields tab.

   Just as with a single-sided linked field, we can specify what details are included when a record is listed in a forward relation.

   In the Relation format string property we enter text and any fields from the linked records (records in loans in this example):

   

   Note: See Configure a single-sided linked field above for more details about specifying fields in the format string.

   In this example, the fields included with formatting are:

   loan number / contract.period.start - contract.period.end / lender

   A linked record will display similarly to:

   

4. Select the second linked field, object-in.object_number in loans in this example.
5. Select the User interface texts tab and scroll down to the Relation texts box.

   Here we specify a label for the forward relation, indicating what records will be listed (in this case links from the current loans record to object records), e.g.:

   This record > objects

   Provide a translation for any available interface languages.

   Do not enter anything in the Reverse relation text box (as this would be redundant)

6. Select the Relation fields tab and in the Relation format string property specify what details to include when a record is listed in a forward relation when a record is listed in a forward relation.
7. In the Relation format string property enter text and any fields from the linked records (records in loans in this example):

   

   In this example, the fields included with formatting are:

   object-out.object_number / object-out.title / object-out.creator / object-out.object_name

   A linked record will display similarly to:

   

8. Save your changes in the Application browser and be sure to recycle the Collections application pool in IIS.

Following a search, users select one or more records for items that have been relocated and then select the Change locations procedure from the Features button in the Result set View toolbar. The Change locations dialogue will display:

Users enter details about the relocation (the new location, date and time, who executed the move, etc.) and click OK to perform the record update, which is processed by an adapl program. To get data from the Task dialogue to the adapl parameters have been defined as field tags in the Change locations dialogue and as source field tags in a PARAMETERS FACS declaration in the adapl. Although these parameters look like normal fields, they are set up in the application definition, per Task, instead of in the database definition and they therefore have no relation nor interference with normal database fields.

The Collections Change locations screen is called changelocationtask.fmt:

A parameter of P1 was assigned as a field tag for the To normal location checkbox, and existing collect field tags were used for the other fields (although any two-character parameters could have been assigned).

Note: The Location field has a field suppress condition P1=$true and is hidden when the user ticks the To normal location checkbox.

The ChangeLocation.ada/bin adapl processes data from the parameters assigned in the Form and updates fields in the selected record(s).

The adapl is structured like an output adapl: it is run for each record separately and therefore has direct read access to all field tags from the processed record. To be able to write data to these tags, we write to the _LOCAL FACS buffer. The only FACS definition required is the one for PARAMETERS (always use this name):

fdstart PARAMETERS ''
  P1 is PARAMETERS_tonormal
  2A is PARAMETERS_location
  2a is PARAMETERS_locationlref
  2C is PARAMETERS_date
  2G is PARAMETERS_time
  2R is PARAMETERS_executor
  2E is PARAMETERS_suitability
  2F is PARAMETERS_authoriser
  2f is PARAMETERS_authoriserlref
  2D is PARAMETERS_locnotes
  mT is PARAMETERS_method
  mt is PARAMETERS_methodlref
  mR is PARAMETERS_reference
  mC is PARAMETERS_contact
  mc is PARAMETERS_contactlref
  mN is PARAMETERS_movnotes
  X1 is PARAMETERS_temperrors
fdend

The FACS declaration treats the seventeen parameters as if they are regular field tags and assigns aliases to them. There is no need to OPEN this FACS declaration since it is not a real database: after this declaration we use the FACS parameter aliases as if they were normal FACS field tag aliases.

• Not all errors will be reported, so a manual check of the processed records afterwards may be required.
• In the adapl it is not enough to fill the link reference tags of the target record: the linked field itself must be filled with the resolved value too.

Note: Even though tasks are not supported in Adlib for Windows, setting up a task in a .pbk breaks backward compatibility with Adlib 7.4 or older.

A field is designated as a Geolocation field in the Axiell Designer Application browser by selecting the Geolocation Data type on the Field properties tab of a field definition. No other setting is required. In this example the production.place field in the collect.inf database is designated as a Geolocation field:

Note that we are not creating new fields but changing the data type of an existing field that contains geographical names (mostly from a Data type of Text) to Geolocation.

Configuring an SQL database to cache location names and coordinates (that were automatically marked on the map for selected fields) is an optional but recommended configuration that will improve map performance and avoid overloading the map provider with too many requests.

The database does not need to be on the same server as Axiell Collections and it can be shared by multiple applications run by Axiell Collections.

Simply create a new database in SQL Server. There is no need to create any tables as Axiell Collections will automatically do so when the map functionality is used.

It is necessary to modify settings.xml by adding the following settings customized for your installation:

• Add these settings between the opening and closing <Settings> tags.

  Note: If your settings.xml already includes an <AlmSettings> node, just add the <Gis> node below to it.

• In the <DatabaseSettings> node:
  • Replace MySQLSERVER with the name of the SQL Server you created to cache the geographical data.
  • Replace geolocations with the name of the database you created for storing the geographical data.
  • Note that <ConnectionType> must be set to SqlServer.
  • User name and password only need to be specified if you use SQL Server authentication rather than Active Directory authentication to access the database.

    Note: See the PDF Installation Guide here for details about SQL Server authentication.

• Different GIS providers offer their own map layer. If you do not want certain map layers to be available in the User Interface, you can switch them off here by setting <Enabled> to false for the relevant GIS provider, e.g.:

  <GisProvider>

  	<Provider>MapQuest</Provider>

  	<Enabled>false</Enabled>

  GIS services are not always free to use and it may be necessary to organize licences for some GIS services, both for an Axiell hosted Collections application as well as for an Axiell Collections installation on your own web server.

<AlmSettings>

	<Gis DefaultMapProvider="OpenStreetMap" DefaultGeocodingProvider="Google">

		<DatabaseSettings>

			<ConnectionType>SqlServer</ConnectionType>

			<Server>MySQLSERVER</Server>

			<Database>geolocations</Database>

			<User />

			<Password />

		</DatabaseSettings>

		<GisProvider>

			<Provider>Google</Provider>

			<Enabled>true</Enabled>

			<ApiKey />

			<ApiSignature />

			<CacheType>Memory</CacheType>

		</GisProvider>

		<GisProvider>

			<Provider>MapQuest</Provider>

			<Enabled>true</Enabled>

			<ApiKey />

			<ApiSignature />

			<CacheType>Memory</CacheType>

		</GisProvider>

		<GisProvider>

			<Provider>Microsoft</Provider>

			<Enabled>true</Enabled>

			<ApiKey />

			<ApiSignature />

			<CacheType>Memory</CacheType>

		</GisProvider>

		<GisProvider>

			<Provider>Yahoo</Provider>

			<Enabled>true</Enabled>

			<ApiKey />

			<ApiSignature />

			<CacheType>Memory</CacheType>

		</GisProvider>

		<GisProvider>

			<Provider>OpenStreetMap</Provider>

			<Enabled>true</Enabled>

			<ApiKey />

			<ApiSignature />

			<CacheType>Memory</CacheType>

		</GisProvider>

		<GisProvider>

			<Provider>Custom</Provider>

			<Enabled>true</Enabled>

			<ApiKey />

			<ApiSignature />

			<CacheType>Memory</CacheType>

		</GisProvider>

	</Gis>

	<Applications />

</AlmSettings>

If you do not require geolocation and it has previously been deployed or otherwise included in your settings.xml, it is important to disable it:

• Set both DefaultGeocodingProvider and <ConnectionType> to None.
• Remove any values from the other <DatabaseSettings> settings:

	<Gis DefaultMapProvider="OpenStreetMap" DefaultGeocodingProvider="None">

		<DatabaseSettings>

			<ConnectionType>None</ConnectionType>

			<Server></Server>

			<Database></Database>

			<User />

			<Password />

		</DatabaseSettings>

If all you require is to pinpoint locations or areas on a standard geographical map, for a production place field for example, OpenStreetMap is probably sufficient.

If you require more environmental details, for example, a topographical map may also be required. Your needs will determine which maps and overlays to make available.

Base geographical maps are made available online by third-party web services and some are free (for example, OpenStreetMap, the default base map for GIS functionality in Collections), others have fees.

When considering map web services, keep in mind that Axiell Collections uses the OpenLayers library to retrieve map tiles, but the only currently supported map source types are OpenStreetMap and WMTS (Web Map Tile Service).

Overlays are map types that add an extra layer to a base map, and they show graphical data that a base map typically does not show, such as municipality borders, historical sites, demographic data, etc. As with base maps, overlays are made available online (often as downloads too) by third-party map providers. These web services or downloads can also be free or paid. For Axiell Collections these overlays need to be available as locally stored (on the customer web server) GeoJSON files (with the .json extension).

An entry field with a Search button beside it is available on the Map display. This allows the user to enter a place name and have the map zoom in on that location automatically:

Such geocoding functionality is usually not included in a map service and must be licensed separately by a third-party geocoding web service like Google.

Most Place fields in records link to a thesaurus, which allows users to select a place name. In some situations, archaeological finds or other historical sites for example, it may be necessary to register locations more precisely than a place name. The Field collection panel for object records for example, offers a Coordinates field group to register a find location more precisely. If there is currently no data in this field group anywhere in the data source, you could consider replacing it partially with a GIS field. If the Coordinates fields already contain data in multiple records, some custom conversion procedure would be required to convert that data to the GeoJSON format used by GIS fields before you could replace the Coordinates fields. In many cases, it is probably best to add extra fields for the GIS functionality and leave existing fields as they are.

The appearance of a GIS field

In the Collections User Interface, a GIS field (of data type Geo-json) may have a field label but it has no entry field, just a map icon. The icon is empty if the field contains no data:

and filled when the field has data:

Users will never see the actual data stored in the field, only the icon will display.

Clicking the empty icon when the record is in Edit mode allows the user to select a new location on a map (which opens in a separate window); clicking the filled icon in either Display or Edit mode will show the saved location on the map. Emptying a filled-in GeoJSON field can be done by clicking the Clear button in the map display:

It is necessary to decide where the GeoJSON field data should be stored: should locations and areas be stored in their own records in a separate data source with a unidirectional or reverse link to associated catalogue records or is it enough to store a location or area in the catalogue record directly?

In the collect data source you could add a GeoJSON field, add a text field to the Field collection panel for example and be done with it: then you would need to pick a location per object record and the GeoJSON data would be stored in that record as well.

However, that is not a very practical solution for a large number of objects that need to be associated with the same location. A better solution is a Linked field in object records linking to a separate geolocation or geothesaurus data source in which geolocations are stored along with a useful name and other metadata. This would allow for a location hierarchy, which can be handy for subdividing large archaeological sites, and for naming locations and finding all objects associated with the same location. In this case you would have to add a GeoJSON field to the collect data source, but also a Linked field linking to the separate geolocation or geothesaurus data source, allowing the user to pick a named location from a specified location collection or hierarchy:

Download a .zip package with sample files here. Amongst other files, you will find two database structure files in the package:

• geolocation.inf

  -AND-

• maps.inf

Only maps.inf is actually required for the GIS functionality. geolocation.inf is only required if you want to store geolocations in their own data source and you do not already have some geothesaurus that could be extended for this purpose.

For this demonstration:

1. Copy both .inf files to the Axiell Collections application \data folder.
2. Copy the downloaded screens (.fmt files) to your \screens folder.
3. The .pbk in the downloaded zip file is a stripped application structure with Maps and Geolocation data sources. Create a (temporary) sub folder in your main Collections application folder and copy the .pbk to it.
4. Open your application in a Axiell Designer (version 7.7 onwards).
5. The Locale and Data storage properties in maps.inf and geolocation.inf must be changed to match those of your other data sources:
   1. Open the Database properties tab of one of your other database structure files (e.g. collect.inf) and check the Locale setting.
   2. Apply this setting to maps.inf.
   3. When you leave the drop list, Designer asks if you would like to apply the change to all databases. Click OK and the Locale setting in geolocation.inf will be matched.
   4. Similarly, check the Storage type, Data Source Name, Server and possibly User name and Password in an existing database structure file and copy them to maps.inf and geolocation.inf (click Cancel each time Designer asks if the new data storage settings should be applied to all database structures):

      

6. Now right-click the maps.inf in the Application browser tree view and select Clear database from the pop-up menu:

   

   You will have to confirm your choice.

   Note: The Clear database option (re)builds the associated SQL tables for the selected .inf, which is required for new .infs.

7. Do the same for geolocation.inf.
8. Open the temporary sub folder with the partial .pbk in tree view in the Application browser.
9. Open that .pbk, right-click the Maps data source and select Copy in the pop-up menu:

   

10. Right-click your own .pbk and click Paste in the pop-up menu to paste the copied data source:

    

11. Do the same for the Geolocation data source.

    By default, the pasted data sources are inserted at the bottom of the list but you can drag each data source to a different position in the list if desired.

12. In collect.inf you can now create a reverse Linked field to the object.object_number field in geolocation.inf, plus a merged-in GIS field.

    First create the GIS field with tag w3 and data type Geo-json:

    

13. Create a link reference field with tag w1, create an Integer index for it and re-index it to create the SQL table:

    

14. Create a Linked field to geolocation.inf with tag w2, link reference tag w1 and merged-in and write-back field w3:

    

    

    

15. Add w2 and w3 as non-repeatable, read-and-write text fields to fieldcol.fmt.

    w3 does not need to have a label:

    

16. Finally, you could add a GIS location access point to the Object catalogue so that users can search using this functionality:

    

    The Method type is Term search even though users will not get to see an entry field. Since w3 is a merged-in field, it must have an index in the linked geolocation.inf (which is already the case). Note that the Key type of that index is the new Geography type for Geo-json fields.

17. Save your changes to the .pbk, screens and .infs.
18. Remove the temporary folder containing the partial .pbk.
19. If you have obtained .json overlays, place them in a \json folder (do not change the name) next to the other Collections server software sub folders. For example:

    

    Note: Keep a backup of this \json folder somewhere else because each time you update your Collections server software to a new version, the \json sub folder will be removed. After an update you need to copy your backup of the \json folder back to your \Collections folder.

20. If your overlay files have the .geojson extension, change it to .json otherwise Collections will not recognize the files.
21. If you have obtained an API key for a geocoding service, be sure to enter it in the <ApiKey> node for the relevant <GisProvider> in your settings.xml.

    The DefaultMapProvider setting is not used by the GIS functionality (so you could leave it out), but it does still apply to the older geolocation functionality (described above).

22. Set the DefaultGeocodingProvider to your selected provider. If you do not have one, set DefaultGeocodingProvider and ConnectionType to None. This switches off the geocoder cache and all geocoding features in the User Interface. None is also the default, but it is best not to rely on defaults (as they may change), so specify the setting explicitly:

    

23. Recycle your Collections application pool in IIS and restart your Axiell Collections application.
24. Next, you need to create a Maps record for each base map and overlay you would like to make available to users.

    Note: Your base maps need to have been registered in your settings.xml file already and the overlay files need to be present in the \json folder in your Collections installation.

    The following table provides an explanation of all the fields you can find in a Maps record:

    Field tag	Field name in database and User Interface	Field details
    0%	priref	Used by Collections to associate a drawn shape or point with a base map and overlay. These details are stored with the Geojson data and are not visible to the user.
    bt	parent.map Associated base map	This field is only visible in a Maps record (all the way at the bottom) if the Type field has been set to overlay. The Associated base map field can be used to specify which base map the current overlay is associated with, if the overlay requires it.
    cl	layer.color Style	This field applies to overlays only and specifies the colour in which the overlay will be displayed.
    ft	layer.format Format	Specify the layer format for base maps of the WMTS type. For Open Street Map, enter default. For other maps, the map producer should have this information. Typical values are image/jpeg or image/png.
    gm	grid.matrixId Matrix ID	These values must be provided by the producer of the WMTS base map or overlay. They are used in conjunction with Grid resolution and specify the possible zoom levels and how much of the map is shown at each zoom level. They are not required for other types of maps or overlays. The following list is an example for a particular map producer:
    gr	grid.resolution Grid resolution	These values must be provided by the producer of the WMTS base map or overlay. They are used in conjunction with Matrix ID and specify the possible zoom levels and how much of the map is shown at each zoom level. They are not required for other types of maps or overlays.
    id	layer.identifier Source identifier	An internal identifier for the layer; not strictly necessary at the moment and currently not used in Collections.
    l3	parent.map.lref	Link between base map and overlay, if there is one. Not visible to the user.
    lb	layer.label Display name	The Display name for the layer as shown in the User Interface of the map menu in Collections.
    ms	openLayerMapSource Open layer map source	Used in Collections to build the layer to display in the User Interface. Currently the only supported sources are WMTS, Open Street Maps and (GeoJSON) Vector maps for overlays.
    nm	layer.name Name	An internal name for the overlay or base map; not displayed in the User Interface. Enter any descriptive name without spaces.
    op	layer.opacity Opacity	Set the default opacity percentage for an overlay: this can still be changed in the map User Interface though. A typical value is 50. Do not enter a percentage character.
    pe	projection.extent Extent	Required where the open layer map source is WMTS and is concerned with how much of the world will or can be shown in the User Interface. This information should be provided by the producer of the map. For non-WMTS layers that use longitude and latitude values, enter four occurrences of this field with the value 0: this works if the base map uses longitude and latitude values as well, like Open Street Map, so it can figure out the scope of what is visible itself. For non-WMTS layers that use UTM coordinates (values without decimals), enter four occurrences representing the extent (bounding box) expressed as UTM units, the coordinates your overlay fits within.  You need this in conjunction with the UTM zone (in the Attributes field) in order to overlay the map in the correct location.
    pi	projection.identifier Code	This code represents a projection coordinate system and is used in Collections in the User Interface: it should be provided by the producer of the map. The value for Open Street Map is ESPG:3857 (note the spelling error, but do not correct it to EPSG). If no code is available for a map or overlay, try EPSG:29999.
    px	projection.extension (Projection properties) Attributes	Required where the open layer map source is WMTS and is concerned with how much of the world will or can be shown in the User Interface. This information should be provided by the producer of the map. For non-WMTS layers that use longitude and latitude values, enter +proj=longlat +datum=WGS84 +no_defs in the field. For non-WMTS layers that use UTM coordinates (values without decimals), enter +proj=utm +zone=<the UTM zone> +ellps=GRS80 +unit=m +no_defs in the field and replace <the UTM zone> by the actual UTM zone covered by the map.
    sr	layer.source Attribution	This is used to identify and credit the creators of the map (this could be any text or html). In some cases this must be specific text; for example for Open Street Map you should always enter Copyright Open Street Map.
    su	layer.url Source url	Used in Collections in the case of WMTS or GeoJSON Vector layers to provide information on how to build the map, typically a URL (possibly including a licence key) provided by the producer of the map. For downloaded overlays, fill in a relative path to the \json folder in your Collections installation (relative to the main Collections folder). Typically, this is something like: ./json/townships.json
    tp	layer.type Type	Mandatory field that specifies whether the layer is a base map or an overlay.

At least create a record for Open Street Map with the following data:

Note: For this particular base map a Source URL is not required because the OpenLayers library used for the GIS functionality already knows where to find the relevant web service.

In our demonstration we have a Geolocation data source that you can start filling with records. A single point or shape is typically called a feature while a collection of points or shapes is called a feature collection. You could create a feature collection as the parent of a list of features, if you find it useful. The name you choose for the location can be abstract or descriptive, whatever makes sense. Click the empty map icon to select the location on the map (details about using the map interface can be found here). You could also link this location to one or more objects. Note that the possibility to link to objects from within this data source is no requirement in general. In a custom implementation of your own you may find it better to leave it out if thousands of objects will be linked to a single location: it might have a serious performance impact when such a record is opened.

This example implementation also has an access point in the Geolocation data source. You may have to select the GIS access point via the Settings button before you can use it. Clicking the map icon allows you to draw an area in which you would like to search for locations registered in Geolocation records:

In the Object catalogue you can also find a GIS location access point, so you can find objects within a certain area once you have linked object records to a Geolocation record.

In new or existing object records you could now link to a Geolocation record, or link a Geolocation record to multiple object records, because in the example implementation we created a reverse link between these data sources. Once you link to an existing Geolocation record, the map icon will turn black because the actual location is merged-in. And since we made the GeoJSON field a write-back field too, you could even change the location on the map here and save the object record to have the new location written back to the Geolocation record. Of course this would mean that all other object records linking to that record would also be associated with that new location. In a real-life implementation you may not want make the GIS field a write-back field at all (this example implementation is just to make you aware of the possibilities). From the object record here you could create a new linked Geolocation record with an appropriate map location by creating the new name in the Find data for the field box first and then adding the map location:

Proceed as follows to implement this option:

1. In the collect and media database structures, define a flat, text field of sufficient length to contain each conceivable file name. In collect the new field should be repeatable and part of the same field group as the linked image reference field (which usually has tag FN). The fields should be writable (do not make them read-only here).
2. If you want the new fields to be visible on screens as well, place them there (near the FN field for example) as repeatable, read-only fields (so that users cannot change the value themselves).
3. In collect, on the Linked field mapping properties tab of the linked image reference field (usually tag FN) add a field mapping from the new field in media to the new field in collect in the Copy fields from linked record mapping and create the reverse mapping in the Write fields to linked record mapping. This way, Collections can write the original file name to a newly created media record or retrieve it if you choose to display the field on the Reproductions screen of object records.
4. Since Collections does not know which tags you have used for your new original file name fields, you must add an appropriate configuration to your Axiell Collections settings.xml file, within the <AlmSettings> node.

   <Applications>

   <ApplicationName ="xplus">

      <DatabaseName ="collect">

        <FieldTag ="FN">

          <OriginalFileNameTag>SO</OriginalFileNameTag>

        </Field>

      </Database>

      <DatabaseName ="media">

        <FieldTag ="FN">

          <OriginalFileNameTag>SO</OriginalFileNameTag>

        </Field>

      </Database>

   </Application>

   </Applications>

   The <Application> Name attribute must contain the relevant Application ID as specified in the adlib.pbk file. In an enterprise multi-tenancy environment (multiple instances of Collections running under the same web application) this will always be the same ID.

   The <Database> and <Field> nodes can be repeated. The latter comes in handy if a database contains more than one image or application field: the functionality to retrieve original file names applies not only to linked images but to linked documents as well, so you could implement this functionality for digital reference fields too, for example.

Note: Remember to recycle your Collections application pool after you have saved the adjusted settings.xml file.

When installing a Model 4.5.2 Axiell Collections application, the settings.xml file needs to contain the following standard sub section of the <AlmSettings> node. Do change <Application Name="master"> to the actual name of your application, <Application Name="xplus"> for example.

<Applications>

	<Application Name="master">

		<Database Name="collect">

			<MapLayers />

         		<Field Tag="FN">

            			<OriginalFileNameTag>ob</OriginalFileNameTag>

        		</Field>

         		<Field Tag="RF">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>od</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag="Tr">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>oe</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag="HP">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>og</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag="D7">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>oh</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag="VC">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>oi</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

		</Database>

		<Database Name="conserva">

			<MapLayers />

			<Field Tag="FN">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>ob</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag="RJ">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>od</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

		</Database>

		<Database Name="document">

			<MapLayers />

			<Field Tag="FN">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>ob</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag="et">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>od</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

		</Database>

		<Database Name="exhibit">

			<MapLayers />

			<Field Tag="FN">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>ob</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag="RF">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>od</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

		</Database>

		<Database Name="loans">

			<MapLayers />

			<Field Tag="FN">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>ob</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag="A2">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>od</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag="BM">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>oe</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag="A0">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>og</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag="BW">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>oh</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag="B0">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>oi</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag="D7">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>oj</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag="M6">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>ok</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag="AQ">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>ol</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag="B2">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>om</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag="CE">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>oo</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag="D0">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>op</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag="AN">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>oq</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag="BQ">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>os</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag="cp">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>ot</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

		</Database>

		<Database Name="media">

			<MapLayers />

			<Field Tag="FN">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>ob</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

		</Database>

		<Database Name="packgtyp">

			<MapLayers />

			<Field Tag="t2">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>ob</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

		</Database>

		<Database Name="people">

			<MapLayers />

			<Field Tag="FN">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>ob</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag="RF">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>od</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

		</Database>

		<Database Name="research">

			<MapLayers />

			<Field Tag="FN">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>ob</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag="RF">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>od</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

		</Database>

		<Database Name="thesau">

		<MapLayers />

			<Field Tag="FN">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>ob</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

		</Database>

		<Database Name="transpor">

			<MapLayers />

			<Field Tag="EE">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>od</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag="DC">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>oe</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag="DE">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>og</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag="ES">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>oh</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

		</Database>

	</Application>

	<Application Name="library acquisitions">

		<Database Name="borrower">

			<MapLayers />

			<Field Tag="IM">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>ob</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

		</Database>

	</Application>

	<Application Name="library loans management">

		<Database Name="borrower">

			<MapLayers />

			<Field Tag="IM">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>ob</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

		</Database>

	</Application>

	<Application Name="library serials">

		<Database Name="borrower">

			<MapLayers />

			<Field Tag="IM">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>ob</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

		</Database>

		<Database Name="subscrip">

			<MapLayers />

			<Field Tag="ZE">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>od</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

		</Database>

	</Application>

	<Application Name="museum repro orders">

		<Database Name="reprlang">

			<MapLayers />

			<Field Tag="TE">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>od</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

		</Database>

	</Application>

</Applications>

When installing a Model 5.0 Axiell Collections application, the settings.xml file needs to contain the following standard sub section of the <AlmSettings> node. Do change <Application Name="master"> to the actual name of your application, <Application Name="xplus"> for example.

<Applications>

	<Application Name ="master">

		<Database Name ="collect">

			<Field Tag ="FN">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>ob</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag ="RF">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>od</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag ="Tr">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>oe</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag ="HP">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>og</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag ="D7">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>oh</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag ="VC">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>oi</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

		</Database>

		<Database Name ="conserva">

			<Field Tag ="FN">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>ob</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag ="RJ">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>od</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

		</Database>

		<Database Name ="exhibit">

			<Field Tag ="FN">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>ob</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag ="RF">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>od</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

		</Database>

		<Database Name ="fieldcollection">

			<Field Tag ="RF">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>od</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

		</Database>

		<Database Name ="loans">

			<Field Tag ="FN">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>ob</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag ="A2">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>od</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag ="BM">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>oe</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag ="A0">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>og</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag ="BW">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>oh</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag ="B0">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>oi</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag ="D7">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>oj</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag ="M6">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>ok</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag ="AQ">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>ol</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag ="B2">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>om</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag ="CE">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>oo</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag ="D0">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>op</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag ="AN">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>oq</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag ="BQ">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>os</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag ="cp">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>ot</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

		</Database>

		<Database Name ="media">

			<Field Tag ="FN">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>ob</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

		</Database>

		<Database Name ="packgtyp">

			<Field Tag ="t2">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>ob</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

		</Database>

		<Database Name ="people">

			<Field Tag ="FN">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>ob</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag ="RF">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>od</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

		</Database>

		<Database Name ="thesau">

			<Field Tag ="FN">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>ob</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

		</Database>

		<Database Name ="transpor">

			<Field Tag ="EE">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>od</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag ="DC">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>oe</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag ="DE">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>og</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

			<Field Tag ="ES">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>oh</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

		</Database>

	</Application>

	<Application Name="library acquisitions">

		<Database Name="borrower">

			<MapLayers />

			<Field Tag="IM">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>ob</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

		</Database>

	</Application>

	<Application Name="library loans management">

		<Database Name="borrower">

				<MapLayers />

		<Field Tag="IM">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>ob</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

		</Database>

	</Application>

	<Application Name="library serials">

		<Database Name="borrower">

			<MapLayers />

			<Field Tag="IM">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>ob</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

		</Database>

		<Database Name="subscrip">

			<MapLayers />

			<Field Tag="ZE">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>od</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

		</Database>

	</Application>

	<Application Name="museum repro orders">

		<Database Name="reprlang">

			<MapLayers />

			<Field Tag="TE">

				<OriginalFileNameTag>od</OriginalFileNameTag>

			</Field>

		</Database>

	</Application>

</Applications>

To build a Word template for Axiell Collections (that also works in Adlib for Windows):

1. Create a new document in Microsoft Word (2007 or higher) and save it to the Worddoc\templates sub folder in your Collections application installation folder.

   Use a descriptive name and be sure to save it with a .docx extension.

   For an English template, add the interface language number 0 at the end of the file name, e.g.:

   

   Language codes and naming templates

   Microsoft Word templates, which are available as predefined output formats from the Output formats box, are interface language dependent.

   Word templates are also data language dependent: this means that if a field is multilingual, only the value in the currently active data language will be printed, unless the field reference in the template contains a language code to instruct Collections to always print that particular language value.

   For the user, interface language dependency means that a selected template will usually contain fixed texts (like field labels) in the current interface language of Collections. For example, if you display the menus and screens in Dutch, you will automatically be working with Dutch templates (if available). When making a template, it is necessary to create a separate template for each interface language that you wish to make available to users (this does not apply to Word templates uploaded ad-hoc by users themselves).

   For example, if an application is being used by Dutch and English speaking users, there should be a Dutch template and an English template available. Axiell Collections recognizes the language of a template by the number at the end of the file name:

   0 = English

   1 = Dutch

   2 = French

   3 = German

   4 = Arabic

   5 = Italian

   6 = Greek

   7 = Portuguese

   8 = Russian

   9 = Swedish

   10 = Hebrew

   11 = Danish

   12 = Norwegian

   13 = Finnish

   14 = Chinese

   An English template for printing an accessions list should be named something like accessionslist0.docx.

   The same template, translated to Dutch, would be accessionslist1.docx.

   Note: Do not translate the file name.

   Tip: As you build your template, save your changes regularly.

2. Add, style and lay out text (e.g. a description, field names, etc.) to the template, just as you would in a normal Word document, and include a reference for the fields you wish to include in the output:
   1. To include data and/or images from your records in the output, you reference each field at the desired location in the template by typing the system field name or tag between double angle brackets:

      <<desired_field_name>> or <<desired_tag>>

      Note: Always use English system field names: if necessary, switch the Interface language to English before checking the system field name. Alternatively, use the field tag, which is the same in all languages.

      System field names and tags are case-sensitive and they must be typed exactly as they have been defined in the data dictionary of the current data source. Furthermore:

      • Only include fields from the current data source, plus merged-in fields.
      • Tags starting with % are allowed.
   2. Style the bracketed field names / tags as required and record data will display accordingly in the output.
   3. It is possible to print only a specific occurrence If a field in the current record can have more than one value, we add an occurrence of the field for each value (e.g. a book can have multiple authors so we add an occurrence of the author.name (au) field for each author). An occurrence can be a member of a group of fields, and adding an occurrence of the field adds all members of the group at once. or to print all occurrences of a field. A specific occurrence is indicated by the desired occurrence number between square brackets. For example:

      <<FN[1]>>

      will print the first occurrence of tag FN; if the specified occurrence does not have data, then nothing will be printed for that field reference.

      To print all occurrences of a field, do not specify an occurrence number. For example:

      Creator: <<VV>>

      will print all occurrences of tag VV. Each field occurrence will be printed in its own paragraph, and any field label in the same paragraph (Creator: in the example above) will be repeated.

   4. For a multilingual field, you can choose to specify the language in which the data should always be printed or to leave out a language specification to have the data printed in the data language (not the interface language) currently active in Collections. Details here.

See Create a basic Word template for a more detailed example.

Field references can be placed in between other text, or anywhere else on a page. Here we see a standard letter template for Persons and institutions:

To:     <<name>>
<<address[1]>>
<<address.postal_code[1]>> <<address.place[1]>>

Axiell ALM Netherlands BV
Safariweg 18-22
3605 MA Maarssen

Re: new service pack

Dear <<contact.name[1]>>,

We enclose information about the release of our new service pack, in which some major improvements have been made.

We trust this has provided you with sufficient information,

The Axiell Helpdesk

<<[PageBreak]>>

When this template is used, the text will be repeated for each selected records and the field references will be replaced with data from each record in turn. As we have included the <<[PageBreak]>> parameter, the letter generated for each record will be on a new page

Note that some field names include an occurrence If a field in the current record can have more than one value, we add an occurrence of the field for each value (e.g. a book can have multiple authors so we add an occurrence of the author.name (au) field for each author). An occurrence can be a member of a group of fields, and adding an occurrence of the field adds all members of the group at once. number, e.g.: [1]. A specific occurrence is indicated by the occurrence number between square brackets. For example, to print the first occurrence of tag VV:

Creator: <<VV[1]>>

Note: If you do not include the bracketed number, all occurrences of the field will be printed.

If a field is not repeatable (it can only hold a single occurrence), name in the example above, there is no need to specify which occurrence to print, although it does not matter if you do.

It is possible to layout your data in a table. This is handy for field groups that often have multiple occurrences, such as the Dimensions field group on the Physical characteristics panel for object records (e.g. Object catalogue). To include the Part, Dimension, Value and Unit fields, we could add the following table to our template:

Typically we want to print all occurrences of the repeated field group, so we do not add an occurrence number. When the template is printed, a table row will be added for each field group occurrence.

This is an alternative to the letter format described above. Records are listed in a table, one per row, and within each row, occurrences are listed one above the other.

When you add a record list table to a Word template, the table must be the only thing in the template.

All your field references are specified in a single row in the table, and the start / end list parameters (shown below) must be included in the rows above and beneath the field references row.

In this example, we add column headers in the top row (this is optional); the title(s), author(s) and document type from records in the Library catalogue will be listed in a table:

When this template is used, all occurrences of the fields are output in a table, each in a separate paragraph, within a single cell. For example:

Notes:

• To only print a specific occurrence If a field in the current record can have more than one value, we add an occurrence of the field for each value (e.g. a book can have multiple authors so we add an occurrence of the author.name (au) field for each author). An occurrence can be a member of a group of fields, and adding an occurrence of the field adds all members of the group at once., add the required occurrence number after the field tag, e.g.: <<ya[1]>>.
• More than one field reference can be included in a cell, along with any fixed text.
• The header row is optional. Use Word's Repeat Header Rows option (on the Layout tab of the Ribbon) to repeat the header if the output table crosses two or more pages.
• Table borders can be styled or hidden; cells can be shaded and their alignment specified, etc.
• A nested table can be inserted into any of the cells in the row with field references (e.g. the table holding occurrences of the dimensions field group we built above could be included in a cell in a record list table.
• Rows can be numbered sequentially by inserting an automatic number in an empty cell of the field references row. Use Word's Numbering function for numbered lists:

  

  The output is now:

  

Limitations:

• Only one row of field references can be included in the table.
• Fixed text can only be used inside the table and it can only appear in the header row (column headers) and in the row with the field references. In other words, when you build a record list table, it must be the only thing in your Word template.
• Do not use <<[StartRecordList]>>  and <<[EndRecordList]>> in conjunction with <<[PageBreak]>>.

Images can be included in your printed output by placing the reference for an image field in your Word template. The field must have a data type of IMAGE (see Below you will find an explanation of many of the properties listed in the Field properties box. Field properties are defined in Axiell Designer and Application Administrators will find full details about all field properties in the Axiell Designer Help. for details about how to identify a field's data type).

A reference to an image field can be included in a Word template in several ways, with different results, although the aspect ratio of each image will always remain intact. The original size of the image often plays a role in the outcome as well: the physical dimensions of a printed image (in inches or centimetres) is determined by the combination of the resolution of the image and the DPI/PPI value stored in the image file.

Method 1: directly in a paragraph

If an image field reference is placed in a paragraph, the image will be printed in its original size (as far as the page size allows).

It is possible to restrict the printed image size with the thumbnail and width parameters in the field reference.

Note: This is the only way to customize image size in labels on label sheets.

Any height parameter is ignored in order to maintain the aspect ratio (and you cannot provide a height and no width).

The format of a field reference for a size-limited image is:

<<field_tag[occurrence].thumbnail|width=width_in_pixels>>

Example:

<<FN[1].thumbnail|width=270>>

Note: Using the thumbnail parameter does not improve performance as the image is retrieved in its original size and then resized.

Method 2: in a table cell

Alternatively, insert the image field reference in a table cell and specify a preferred column width (a fixed value, not a percentage); this will limit the maximum width of the image to the width of the column.

The height of the row can also be specified by setting an exact row height in the row properties or leave the row height unspecified to keep it flexible. The additional height restriction might scale images even further down. To make sure a fixed number of records is printed on a page, it is best to limit the row height so that tall images will not mess up your layout.

The following template with a two-cell table would generate a document like the one below:

Note: This method cannot be used to customize image size in labels for regular printers because a label (sheet) template consists of a large table that cannot contain nested tables.

IDs, such as object numbers, can be converted to a barcode during printing. There are two methods to achieve this: native barcode / QR code printing and third-party barcode font printing.

The following barcode and QR code types are supported:

Native barcode / QR code printing

When specifying an ID (or number) field reference in the Word template, indicate which type of barcode to print and the dimensions in which it will display. The barcode will fill the specified dimensions exactly: in other words, if the ID is short, the resulting barcode will have wider bars than if the ID is long. It may be necessary to experiment with the dimensions to determine if barcodes fit the label or page and if your barcode field data results in barcodes that can be read by your barcode scanner.

Note: There is a limit to how small a barcode can be: if you set the width too small, the barcode will print wider anyway.

The format of a field reference for a barcode is:

<<field_tag[occurrence].barcode_type|width=width_in_pixels|height=height_in_pixels>>

Note: The occurrence number is mandatory.

Examples:

<<ba[1].code39|width=270|height=77>>

<<Nn[1].code128|width=300|height=100>>

Dithering

Barcodes are generated as images and may therefore be affected by dithering, which can make it hard for scanners to scan the barcode. If this is the case, turn off dithering in your printer preferences. How you do so will depend on your printer.

For example: open Control panel >Devices and printers, right-click your printer and select Printing preferences. On the Dithering tab, set the Dithering type to None. This ensures the cleanest print of the black and white lines.

Third-party barcode font printing

This method requires a third-party barcode font to be installed on the computer from which the user will print2 font cannot be included in a template..

Note: Currently, code128 does not work with Collections in conjunction with a third-party font. code39 barcode fonts do work.

Enter the field reference, an object number for instance, in the Word template; a barcode can be printed in its own paragraph or inline:

<<IN>>

Some experimentation may be necessary to determine which part of the field reference the font is applied to. In our test, if the field reference was in its own paragraph, the whole paragraph had to be selected and the barcode font applied to it. For example:

If the field reference was placed inline, we selected the whole field reference and applied the barcode font. For example:

Enlarge the font size to obtain a properly sized barcode. The << and >> characters themselves will not be converted or printed when you use a code39 barcode font.

To print a human-readable version of the ID / number as well, simply insert <<IN>> in a normal font underneath the converted field reference.

In a multilingual system, it is possible to specify in which language the data in a multilingual field will be output by including a data language code in the field reference, e.g. nl-NL for Dutch or en-GB for British English:

<<title[nl-NL]>>

If no data language code is included, data is output in the data language currently set in Collections.

To also specify an occurrence If a field in the current record can have more than one value, we add an occurrence of the field for each value (e.g. a book can have multiple authors so we add an occurrence of the author.name (au) field for each author). An occurrence can be a member of a group of fields, and adding an occurrence of the field adds all members of the group at once., the occurrence number and language code are placed together between square brackets. For example:

<<OB[2,en-GB]>>

will output the English value of the second occurrence of field OB.

Example

To demonstrate, we have a multilingual system in which data can be entered in Dutch, English and French in the Object name and Title fields. Here we see data from a record containing two object names and a title in all three languages:

Language	Object name (OB)	Title (TI)
Dutch (nl-NL)	(occurrence 1): tekening (occurrence 2): topografische tekening	Tekening in pen en penseel, voorstellende de Grolsteeg te Harderwijk, door Joh. van Bijsterveld, 1965
English (en-GB)	(occurrence 1): drawing (occurrence 2): topographic drawing	Drawing in pen and pencil, representing the Grolsteeg in Harderwijk, by Joh. Van Bijsterveld, 1965
French (fr-FR)	(occurrence 1): dessin (occurrence 2): dessin topographique	Dessin a la plume et au pinceau, représentant la rue Grol-steeg à Harderwijk, par Joh. van Bijsterveld, 1965

The following template demonstrates the possibilities of explicit or implicit printing of a language value and occurrence. All field occurrences will be printed if a specific occurrence number is not provided:

Here we see the output if the current data language is Dutch:

Invariancy In a multilingual environment an invariant value is one that displays in any available language until a translation is provided: if an invariant value is English and it has not been translated into French, the English value will display when the Data language is French until a French translation of the value is provided. will play a role:

• You specify a data language in a field reference in the template: if a value in that language is present, it is printed; if not, and a value in the invariant language is present, the invariant value will be printed; otherwise no value is printed.
• You do not specify a data language in a field reference for a multilingual field: if a value in the current data language is present, it is printed; if not, and there is a value in the invariant language, that will be printed instead; otherwise no value is printed.

You can send specific commands to Word by placing extra parameters in the Word templates. The following commands are currently available:

• <<[PageBreak]>>  Every new record is printed on a new page. Do not use this command in labels or in a template containing a record list.
• <<[StartRecordList]>>  and <<[EndRecordList]>>: use these parameters to create a record list with a table. Cannot be used in conjunction with <<[PageBreak]>>.

Here we describe how to build a Word template for printing to single or multi-column label sheets. Unlike other .docx templates, a label sheet template cannot be used ad-hoc (by selecting the ellipsis beside Find Word template in the Output formats box) as it must be configured by an Application Administrator in Axiell Designer A tool for designing, creating, customizing and managing Axiell Collections applications and databases, broadly speaking, the Axiell Collections Model Application. As well as managing databases, including user access and permissions, Designer is used for such tasks as translating field labels, tooltips, values in drop lists, etc. (details below)

To create a Word template for a label sheet output format:

1. In Microsoft Word (2007 or higher), create a new document.
2. Select Labels on the Mailings tab of the Word Ribbon.

   The Envelopes and Labels box will display.

3. On the Labels tab, leave the Full page of the same label option selected even if you only mean to print one or just a few records. Do not enter anything into the Address field.
4. Click the Options button and set the size of your labels and the number of labels that fit on a page by selecting a Label vendor and then the Product number of your label sheets:

   

   Tip: You can also define a custom label type via the New label button.

5. Click OK to close the Label options tab.

6. Select the New document button on the Labels tab of the Envelopes and labels box.

   A new Word document opens containing a single page of labels in the specified layout.

7. Enter any fixed text, field references and barcode and/or image references in the upper left cell of this document only:

   

   Notes:

   • You cannot use parameters (e.g. <<[PageBreak]>> or include tables in the template.
   • Images: the size of images cannot be controlled by placing the field reference in its own single cell table because a label (sheet) template consists of a large table that cannot contain nested tables.

     It is possible to restrict the printed image size with the thumbnail and width parameters in the field reference.

     Any height parameter is ignored in order to maintain the aspect ratio (and you cannot provide a height and no width).

     The format of a field reference for a size-limited image is:

     <<field_tag[occurrence].thumbnail|width=width_in_pixels>>

     Example:

     <<FN[1].thumbnail|width=270>>

     Note: Using the thumbnail parameter does not improve performance as the image is retrieved in its original size and then resized.

8. The document needs to be saved to the \Worddoc\templates folder on the server for your Collections application. If you have access to this folder, save the document with a descriptive name and a.docx extension, otherwise save it locally and give it to your Application Administrator

   Note: The Application Administrator must set up this template as an output format in your application before it can be used.

As usual when using a Word-based template, the resulting Word document will open in MS Word, where it can be edited if required. Note that when printing the document, you may have to select the printer that contains label sheets. Records will be printed on the labels from left to right, top to bottom.

Setting up the output format

The only difference with regular output formats is that the Template type option for a label sheet template must be set to Label page rather than Normal page.

It may be possible to print Word documents containing images (printed in black and white) and/or barcodes to your continuous-feed label printer3 tested okay on a Zebra TLP 2844-Z and Intermec PM43 printer.. This requires a label-sized Word template, which can be used ad-hoc (by clicking the ellipsis beside Find Word template in the Output formats box) or setup by your Application Administrator as a predefined output format (listed in the Output formats box).

The challenge: matching Word document properties and printing preferences

When printing in Word it is important that your template page size matches the label page size as set up in the printer's printing preferences, and the page's orientation is the same in both environments. If they do not match, Word will automatically change margins and will generate warnings about non-matching page sizes and margins when you try printing.

There is a long-standing issue that prevents printing from within Word in the printer's portrait mode (horizontally printed text) when the labels are wider than they are high, as here:

and likewise prevents printing in the printer's landscape mode (text printed sideways / vertically) when the labels are taller than they are wide.

When designing a continuous-feed label template you will find that when the page height is set to match the label's height and the page width to match the label's width, Word automatically adjusts the setting of the page's orientation to landscape if the label is wider than it is high or to portrait if the label is taller than it is wide: for Word this is an issue of the page's orientation.

Your printer however appears to interpret its orientation setting in terms of the text on the label (no matter the height and width of the label), where portrait means horizontally printed text and landscape sideways / vertically printed text. During the design phase and during printing this causes problems because Word expects the printer's orientation to mean the same thing as its own page orientation. And thus Word finds that the height, width and margins do not match and will not allow you to lay out your template as you would like and/or generates warnings and prints data and text in the wrong place on the label.

There is a workaround, but it is a little awkward:

Changing the printer's printing preferences

To print horizontally to labels that are wider than they are high, it is necessary to change the printer's printing preferences (Control panel>Devices and printers, right-click your label printer and select Printing preferences) by changing the height of the label to a value bigger than the width.

Thus, if the Width on the Options tab is 10.2 cm, you change the Height to something like 10.5 cm and leave the Width and portrait setting as they are:

This will allow us to create a Word template in portrait orientation as well, while still being able to print horizontally and have matching page dimensions.

Note: The page size you set in the Printing preferences does not appear to have any impact on other printing actions to this printer (as far as our testing showed), so there should be no harm in these adjustments; otherwise you can always temporarily restore the page height to its original setting.

Dithering

If the output includes barcodes, note that barcodes are generated as images and may therefore be affected by dithering, which can make it hard for scanners to scan the barcode. If this is the case, turn off dithering in your printer preferences. How you do so will depend on your printer.

For example: open the Control panel >Devices and printers, right-click your printer and select Printing preferences. On the Dithering tab, set the Dithering type to None. This ensures the cleanest print of the black and white lines.

Creating the Word template

If the issue described in the paragraphs above is an issue, first fix it by adjusting the label height in the Printing preferences as described.

Now we create a normal .docx template with a page size that matches the label size that your printer uses (as set up in the printer's Printing preferences) regardless of the actual size of the physical labels.

Match the page size of your .docx template to the size in the Printing preferences page Width and Height: in Word go to Size>More paper sizes in the Layout tab of the Ribbon, and on the Paper tab set the Page size to Custom size and change the Width and Height accordingly. On the Margins tab you will see that the Orientation is now Portrait, as we wanted it to be. You can change the margins to your liking:

You can fill your template normally with field references, fixed text, a logo maybe, a table cell with an image reference and/or a barcode field reference as described above. Use a <<[PageBreak]>> parameter to make sure that each record is printed on a separate label. Of course, remember that the physical labels are not as tall as your current template would suggest, so only fill the upper part of your template with field references and any other content: you do not want the contents to spill over to the next printed label. The vertical ruler on the left gives an indication of the vertical space your field references occupy.

Printing from within Collections and Word

As usual when using a Word-based template, the resulting Word document will open in MS Word, where it can be edited if required. Note that when printing the document, you may have to select the printer that contains label sheets.

When your Word template is created, we link it to the data source it was designed for. In Axiell Designer:

1. For the required data source The management of a collection can involve a vast amount of information about objects / items / books, people and organizations, events, administration and more. This information is stored as records in data sources. Each data source stores a specific type of information: details about collection items, people, events, loans, and so on. (Object catalogue in this example) right-click Output jobs and select New > Output job in the context menu:

   

2. In Job title, enter a descriptive title for the output format in as many languages as required:

   

3. Click the ellipsis beside Template path and locate your new template:

   Note: In the file browser dialogue that displays you will need to select All files (*.*) in the drop list in the bottom right corner in order to locate your .docx file.

   

4. Remove the language number from the file name:

   

   This way Collections can automatically pick the right language version of the template, depending on the current interface language.

5. Repeat this procedure for any other data sources you would like to add the output format to and then save your changes to the application definition.
6. Recycle the Axiell Collections application pool in IIS so that Collections can reload the application structure and you are ready to test your new output format.

   Note: When printing from a browser the browser may warn you about a pop-up being blocked: you will have to accept the pop-up but if you do not like these messages you can either try to include the Axiell Collections website in your browser list of trusted applications or switch off pop-up blocking via your browser’s settings.

7. If you make changes to your template after testing it in Collections, you do not need to recycle the application pool again: Collections automatically reloads the template each time you print to it. Just remember to close the template before you print to it.