Flex Editor

Step plugin for the dynamic customisation of data entry masks for metadata

Overview

Name	Wert
Identifier	intranda_step_flex_editor
Repository	https://github.com/intranda/goobi-plugin-step-flex-editor
Licence	GPL 2.0 or newer
Last change	04.09.2024 09:22:13

Introduction

This plugin enables dynamic customization of the user interface, allowing specific metadata management requirements to be efficiently implemented.

Installation

This plugin is delivered as a tar archive. To install it, the archive plugin_intranda_step_flex-editor.tar must be extracted into the Goobi directory:

tar -C /opt/digiverso/goobi/ -xf plugin_intranda_step_flex-editor.tar --exclude="pom.xml"

This plugin also comes with a configuration file named plugin_intranda_step_flex-editor.xml. It must be placed in the following path:

/opt/digiverso/goobi/config/plugin_intranda_step_flex-editor.xml

To use the plugin, it must be selected in a workflow step:

Configuration of the workflow step for using the plugin

Overview and Functionality

The Flex Editor for Goobi Workflow allows flexible customization of the metadata input interface. Through an XML configuration file, you can define how metadata fields are organized and displayed in columns and boxes. Various field types, such as text fields, checkboxes, and dropdowns, provide different input options.

Example appearance of a customized metadata input interface

Example appearance of a customized metadata input interface

Example appearance of a customized metadata input interface

Configuration

The plugin is configured using the file plugin_intranda_step_flex-editor.xml as shown here:

<config>
    <column>
        <box name="bla 1">
            <field type="MULTISELECT" defaultDisplay="true">
                <metadatatype>unknown</metadatatype>
                <name>My multi select field</name>
                <sourceVocabulary>testVocabforDropdown</sourceVocabulary>
            </field>
            <field type="INPUT">
                <metadatatype>unknown</metadatatype>
                <name>My input field</name>
            </field>
        </box>
    </column>
    <column>
        <box name="bla 2">
            <field type="TEXTAREA">
                <metadatatype>unknown</metadatatype>
                <name>My textarea</name>
            </field>
        </box>
    </column>
    <column>
        <box name="bla 3">
            <field type="BOOLEAN">
                <metadatatype>unknown</metadatatype>
                <name>My checkbox</name>
            </field>
            <field type="TEXTAREA">
                <metadatatype>unknown</metadatatype>
                <name>My textarea</name>
            </field>
            <field type="DROPDOWN">
                <metadatatype>unknown</metadatatype>
                <name>My dropdown</name>
                <sourceVocabulary>testVocabforDropdown</sourceVocabulary>
            </field>
        </box>
        <box name="bla 5">
            <field type="TEXTAREA">
                <metadatatype>unknown</metadatatype>
                <name>My textarea</name>
            </field>
        </box>
    </column>
</config>

General parameters

The <config> block can occur repeatedly for different projects or work steps in order to be able to perform different actions within different workflows. The other parameters within this configuration file have the following meanings:

Parameter	Explanation
project	This parameter defines which project the current block <config> should apply to. The name of the project is used here. This parameter can occur several times per <config> block.
step	This parameter controls which work steps the <config> block should apply to. The name of the work step is used here. This parameter can occur several times per <config> block.

Further parameters

In addition to these general parameters, the following parameters are available for further configuration:

The configuration file describes the structure of the user interface as seen in Goobi. The configuration consists of multiple <column> elements, each representing a column in the interface. Within the <column> elements, there are <box> elements that group multiple metadata fields into a box within the interface. Inside the <box> elements are <field> elements, representing a metadata field in the process. The <field> elements can have different types, giving them specific functionality in the user interface:

Parameter	Explanation
INPUT	A single-line input field used for capturing simple text inputs. A metadata type must also be specified.
TEXTAREA	A multi-line input field. Specifying a metadata type is also required.
BOOLEAN	A checkbox used for yes/no decisions or binary options. A metadata type must also be specified.
DROPDOWN	A dropdown menu with values sourced from the predefined vocabulary. In addition to the metadata type, the name of the vocabulary to be used must be specified.
MODAL_PROVENANCE	Creates a metadata group that includes multiple fields. These fields can also be sourced from vocabularies. The field is repeatable and can use multiple vocabularies.