Common panels

In Record details View a record is a collection of fields organized as a series of groups on panels (also known as tabs and screens).

Many panels and the fields they contain are unique to a 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. as the data they are intended for is only managed in one location (although it can be linked to as often as necessary).

Some panels are found in many data sources, notably those used for managing media and digital documentation, as well as procedural, administrative and financial data. Here we examine how some of these common panels are used:

Actions

The Actions panel is available in Axiell Collections system running the Standard Model application.

The Actions panel is a basic workflow tool designed for managing tasks (actions) relating to the current record. The type of action tracked depends on the data source you are working in (actions in the Catalogue will not necessarily be the same as actions in Loans for instance); actions might include anything from scheduling meetings, reviews, to photography sessions, etc. Managing tasks might entail scheduling an action (a meeting for instance), tracking an action's progress (the crate has been ordered) or documenting that an action has been performed (the object was moved). This functionality is not meant to replace dedicated project management software, but it can be used to prescribe standard procedural tasks (setting default actions) and to track and log tasks relating to the current record.

Default and conditional actions

Application Administrators can define default actions for any new record in the System admin – occurrence defaults data source.

If an action is required when certain conditions are met, occurrence defaults can be set up to facilitate this; for example, in Acquisitions and acquisition proposals a Send Deed of Gift action can be added when a record has an Acquisition method (method (sm)) of gift and a Status (current_status (sS)) of approved.

An example Actions panel

Here we see the Actions panel in the Acquisition items data source, where we manage various actions (selected from the Type field) which affect this item throughout its acquisition:

Most fields are self-explanatory and simple to use:

Field / System name	Details
Type / action.type (U0)	A Linked field A type of field used to link one record to another. A Linked field is a drop list of values (records that the field can link to). When a link is made, the field stores a reference to the linked record (a linkref). to the Thesaurus. Start typing the term for an action and select it from the drop list, or click the Link icon to display the Find data for the field box; search for the relevant term or create a record in the Thesaurus and link to it (if authorized to do so). Actions might include: acquisitions meeting, conservation review, meet with donor, etc. Tip: Application Administrators can add additional action types in the System lists data source. Details about working with the Find data for the field box can be found here.
Responsible / action.person_responsible (UA)	A Linked field A type of field used to link one record to another. A Linked field is a drop list of values (records that the field can link to). When a link is made, the field stores a reference to the linked record (a linkref). to Persons and institutions. Start typing the name of the person responsible for the action and select it from the drop list, or click the Link icon to display the Find data for the field box; search for the relevant person or create a record in Persons and institutions and link to it (if authorized to do so). Details about working with the Find data for the field box can be found here.
Requested by / action.requested_by (U6)	A Linked field A type of field used to link one record to another. A Linked field is a drop list of values (records that the field can link to). When a link is made, the field stores a reference to the linked record (a linkref). to Persons and institutions. Specify the person who requested the action.
Request date / action.request_date (uA)	The date on which the request was made. Type a date or click the Calendar icon to select a date (details about date fields and how to use the Calendar can be found here).
Priority / action.priority_level (Uc)	Drop list of values. Indicate the priority of the action: non-priority low medium high
Date due / action.date_due (u2)	The date the action should be completed.
Start date / action.date_start (U1)	The date the action commenced.
Date completed / action.date_complete (U4)	The date the action completed.
Confidential? / action.confidential (U9)	Checkbox indicating the sensitivity of the action. Tip: Although selecting the checkbox does not trigger any action in the software, it could be used by a script to exclude confidential actions when running a report, for instance.
Status / action.status (U8)	Drop list of values. Select the current status of the action: pending pending approval approved open suspended completed rejected cancelled
Status date / action.status_date (u8)	The date the status was set.
Rec. Ref. / action.record_reference (u9)	Short for Record reference: if an action is part of a larger project, enter the reference number for that project. Although there is currently no functionality built around this or the following field, Job no., it is anticipated that an Action Request tool will become available in a future release that will connect individual actions back to an original request or project.
Job no. / action.job_number (uB)	Used for internal numbering of individual actions. This is useful if actions are generated (or referenced) by an originating Action Request.
Description / action.action_text (u1)	Provide detail about the action. As Type is a Linked field, Description can be useful for providing nuance for what is expected from an action.
Notes / action.notes (u7)	Document any outcomes, problems, or information that might be helpful for completing the action.

Digital references

On the Digital references panel we link to relevant digital documentation (Word docs, PDFs, URLs etc.):

Word docs and URLs (and other digital references) are linked to a record using a field with an Application data type such as File (File (RF)) on the Digital references panel. A field with an Application data type is associated with an application, such as a PDF reader; depending on your browser's configuration, clicking the underlined file name for a .pdf file will open the document in a browser tab:

Alternatively, click the Download icon to download and view the document.

Use these repeatable fields to link to one or more digital documents (Word docs, PDFs, URLs etc.) relevant to this acquisition item.

Field / System name	Details
Type / Type (Ro)	A Linked field A type of field used to link one record to another. A Linked field is a drop list of values (records that the field can link to). When a link is made, the field stores a reference to the linked record (a linkref). to the Thesaurus. Start typing the term for the type of document and select it from the drop list, or click the Link icon to display the Find data for the field box; search for the relevant term or create a record in the Thesaurus and link to it (if authorized to do so).
File / File (RF)	If you know the path to the digital reference, type it into this field; alternatively, for digital documents, select the Upload button to locate and upload a document accessible to your device.
Description / Description (RT)	Enter a brief description of the digital reference.

Expenses and income (also Expenses)

The Expenses and income panel is available in Axiell Collections system running the Standard Model application.

The Expenses and income panel is available in data sources where costs and / or income are incurred for activities relating to the current record, such as cleaning, insurance, crate construction, painting, shipping etc.

Note: In data sources where income is not generated but expenses are incurred, the panel is called Expenses and it does not include the Direction column.

For each activity, the cost can be registered, and totals calculated.

A line item can be for a specific item in your collection, in which case you would select an object number from the Item drop list, or it can be a general cost unrelated to a specific item, in which case you can ignore the Item drop list.

The purpose and use of many fields are clear and straightforward, and we only highlight those of particular importance below:

Field / System name	Details
Activity / cost.activity (Pa)	A Linked field A type of field used to link one record to another. A Linked field is a drop list of values (records that the field can link to). When a link is made, the field stores a reference to the linked record (a linkref). to the Thesaurus. Start typing the term for an action and select it from the drop list, or click the Link icon to display the Find data for the field box; search for the relevant term or create a record in the Thesaurus and link to it (if authorized to do so). Expense activities might include: cleaning, crate construction, shipping, etc. Income activities might include conservation (performed for external clients), licencing (fees for use of collection items by third parties), ticket revenue, etc. Tip: Application Administrators can add additional activity types in the System lists data source. Details about working with the Find data for the field box can be found here.
Name / cost.name (Pb)	A Linked field A type of field used to link one record to another. A Linked field is a drop list of values (records that the field can link to). When a link is made, the field stores a reference to the linked record (a linkref). to Persons and institutions. Start typing the name of the person responsible for the activity incurring the cost / generating income, or click the Link icon to display the Find data for the field box; search for the relevant person or create a record in Persons and institutions and link to it (if authorized to do so). Details about working with the Find data for the field box can be found here.
Direction / cost.direction (Pe)	Indicate whether the activity generates income or is an expense. Drop list of values: income expense
Item / cost.item.link (PI)	A drop list of object numbers for items in your Catalogue. If the line item relates to a specific item in your collection, select its object number from the drop list; otherwise ignore this drop list.

Free fields

Although not new to Axiell Collections, free fields and the Free fields panel have been improved and made available across more data sources in Axiell Collections system running the Standard Model application. The Free fields panel provides a location for any data that does not have a native field in Axiell Collections, and it is intended as an alternative, where appropriate, to customization of the application.

When we talk of types of field we typically refer to the field's data type (date and geolocation fields) or a particular quality (inherited fields). In the case of Free fields, it is their purpose that characterizes them.

Most fields in Collections are intended to hold a specific piece of information (an object number, a title, a birth date, and so on) often defined by an industry standard (SPECTRUM or ISAD(G), for instance). Free fields, which are found on a Free fields panel typically near the bottom of the list of tabs in Record details View, provide more flexibility; while not new to Collections, their use in the past was mostly limited to holding data migrated from fields in legacy systems that had no obvious equivalent in Collections.

Note: In systems running Model Applications prior to the Standard Model, there is a single text type of free field.

The release of the Standard Model saw a significant increase in the number of fields and data sources available in Collections so that there is almost certainly a suitable field to hold your data without the need for customization. This has allowed for a new approach to the use of free fields in systems running the Standard Model, and Free fields panels are now intended as an alternative, where appropriate, to customization of the application. To that end, Free fields panels are now available across more data sources; and it is no longer necessary to store all types of data in a generic text field as there are now free fields to hold text, dates and numbers, and there is also a checkbox variant:

Their use is straightforward. You specify the purpose of the field in Type (name the field) and enter the value in the Content field:

Note: As values in the Type field are managed in the System lists data source1, Application Administrators ($ADMIN users) are free to add new values as required.

As each group of fields on the Free fields panel (Texts, Dates, Checkboxes, Numbers) is a repeatable group of fields, you can use the Occurrences drop list in the Record details View toolbar to add / remove / move a group of fields.

If there is no native field for a piece of data, consider whether a free field can be used to hold it, avoiding the need to customize the application.