Item Aggregation Design Files

General Concept

The appearance of each item aggregation is controlled by the files which appear under its design folder. This includes everything from the banner and button images, to the text of the home page and any browse and information pages. In addition, an item aggregation configuration file defines which features of the digital library should be available for each item aggregation.

Directory

All of the item aggregation files appear under the AGGREGATIONS folder under the base DESIGN folder. The name of the aggregation folder must match the code for the item aggregation. So, the folder for an item aggregation with code abcdef will be http://sobekrepository.org/design/aggregations/abcdef.

Since the item aggregation configuration file points to most of the subelements for the item aggregation, it is less necessary to follow a strict structure under the item aggregation folder. However, following a set pattern may assist with administration of the many aggregation folders.

Because the button images are called from other item aggregations, this must always be found in a images/buttons subfolder and named according to the specifications below.

If an item aggregation configuration file exists, it must be at the top level, directly in the item aggregation's main folder. It must be named [Code].xml, such as abcdef.xml.

If no item aggregation configuration file exists, then the following directory structure must exist under the item aggregation's main folder:

	html
|-----	----------------		browse	Contains the browse source files
|-----	----------------		home	Contains the home page source files
|-----	----------------		info	Contains the information source files
	images
|-----	----------------		banners	Contains the banner images
|-----	----------------		buttons	Contains the button images

Design Files

The main files which should appear in the item aggregation design folders are:

• Banner Images

  The banner images should all be 754 pixels wide, although the height can be varied somewhat.
  
  If no aggregation configuration file exists, the banners must be named coll.jpg. If banners for multiple languages are included, the language code should appear in the name, such as coll_[Language_Code].jpg. ( i.e., coll_es.jpg or coll_fr.jpg )
  
  In the absence of the aggregation configuration file, the banners must appear in the images/banners subfolder under the item aggregation design folder.

• Button Images

  All item aggregations must include a 50 pixel by 50 pixel button named coll.gif which may appear on the main home page, or on the home page of the parent item aggregation.
  
  In addition, institutional item aggregations should include a larger button roughly 120 pixels wide for the larger partner browse from the main home page. Often, the same image used as a wordmark can be utilized here. This larger button must be named [Code].gif.
  
  Both these buttons must appear in the images/buttons subfolder under the item aggregation design folder.

• Home Page Source File     ( more help )

  The text (and html) included in the home page are read from a html source file which is found under the item aggregation design folder.
  
  If no aggregation configuration file exists, the files must be named text.html. If home page text for multiple languages are included, the language code should appear in the name, such as text_[Language_Code].html.
  ( i.e., text_es.html or text_fr.html )
  
  In the absence of the aggregation configuration file, these files must appear in the html/home subfolder under the item aggregation design folder.

• Static Browse and Info Files     ( more help )

  Static browse and information pages under an item aggregation allow static html to be displayed within the context of a single item aggregation. The html source files for these appear in the item aggregation design folder. Browse pages appear as a tab in the list of different collection views, while information pages are somewhat hidden, and must be linked to either from a browse page or the home page of the item aggregation.
  
  While the item aggregation configuration file is recommended for these, the source files can be found during a directory scan if they are placed in the appropriate folders under the item aggregation html subfolder.

• Item Aggregation Configuration File

  These XML files control many of the features which each item aggregation can include. Currently these must be hand-edited, but support should be added directly into SobekCM in the next six months to allow the data in the XML files to be changed by a system administrator or aggregation curator.
  
  For static info and browse files to be indexable by search engine robots, they must appear in the item configuraiton XML file.
  
  These files must conform to this XML Schema file.