Layout Improvements
The new layout increases your working area, improves navigation, gives you more options to customize your menus, and facilitates improved user workflows. For a full list of changes, see Changes to the User Interface below.
Starting from the July 2020 release, the new layout will be available for Alma users. Alma Administrators can turn the new functionality on for a specific user (Opt-in). Ex Libris will introduce the new layout gradually over several Alma releases (See Rollout Plan), giving users enough time to understand, experience, and get used to the changes. As part of the rollout plan, we encourage as many users as possible to get themselves familiarized with the new layout. For instructions for the Alma Administrator, see Turning On the New Layout for Users.
Ex Libris recommends that all users gain experience with the new Alma layout prior to the new layout Go-Live, which is planned to take place with the deployment of the September 2020 release.
Changes to the User Interface
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The Navigation bar (the Main Menu Navigation bar on Alma Menu pages, or the Alma Configuration bar on the Alma Configuration pages) changed location from the header to the left side. It is now a left-side panel, and it can be collapsed to provide more room on the page while still remaining visible. See Collapsing the Main Menu Navigation Panel.
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The Persistent search box was moved to the header and combined with the Main Menu Icons bar. It is now always available on all Alma Menu pages. The Advanced Search option is now designated by the icon and is located before the Persistent search box.
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The Alma Configurations navigation was improved by integrating it to the Main Menu. The icon that opens the Alma Configurations page was moved from the Main Menu icons bar to the Main Menu Navigation panel. See Alma Configurations Improvements.
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The improved Quick Links control now enables you to customize your Quick Links and to view your Quick Links alongside the Main Alma Menu (whereas previously, you could see either the Main menu or your customized Quick Links at any one time). The improvements to the Quick Links include a faster way of creating Quick Links, the ability to pin your Quick Links to the page to display like another menu, and hotkeys that enable you to open your Quick Links by using the keyboard. For details, see Quick Links Improvements.
You configure separate links for Alma Menu pages and Alma Configuration pages. Links configured for Alma Menu pages do not appear on Alma Configuration pages, and the other way around.
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You can now determine the order in which the Main Menu links and Main Menu icons appear on your screen, and you can hide the links and icons that you do not need, in order to reduce the amount of visual information on the screen. See Customizing Main Menu Links and Icons.
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On all pages that have a summary section containing read-only information about the displayed entity, this section was moved to the right-hand panel. Now you can see more dynamic information for the entity you are working with, along with the static information for this entity.
Under certain circumstances, when the window size is not large enough, the summary panel might still appear in its original position (on top) to provide more room on the page.
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The Task list was changed to a panel that can be collapsed to provide more room on the page.
Main Menu Navigation Panel Changes
The Main Menu Navigation bar changed location from the header to the left side. It is now a left-side panel that can be collapsed to provide more room on the page while still remaining visible. It can be expanded again at any moment.
Expanded State | Collapsed State | How to |
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To collapse the Main Menu Navigation panel:
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Alma Configurations Improvements
Access to Alma Configurations was changed significantly to allow you to switch easily and quickly between your ongoing main-workflow tasks and any peripheral tasks that you might want to perform in Alma Configurations.
The icon that opens the Alma Configurations was moved from the Main Menu to the bottom of the Main Menu Navigation bar (step 3 above).
- Select the icon. The following changes take place:
- The Alma Main Menu changes to the Alma Configuration Menu. To distinguish it from the Alma menu, the bar color changes to the default primary color in the user interface, and its icons feature a cog wheel to distinguish them from the regular Alma icons.
- The persistent search bar disappears, and the dropdown of units to configure appears instead.
- Instead of the main Alma window, a dedicated screen opens.
- In the top dropdown, select the unit to configure.
- Select the functional area to configure, such as Acquisitions, and find the specific configuration tool you need.
- To close Alma Configuration and to return to the task you left in Alma, select the icon.
Quick Links Improvements
Alma tools that you use frequently can be set as Quick Links, so that the Alma interface is personalized to your workflow and you don't have to go through the sub-menus every time.
- In addition to the existing method of creating Quick Links (which you can still use), you now have an additional faster method to create them:
New Method | Existing Method |
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Once created, you can do the following with the Quick Links:
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To view your Quick Links, click to open the Quick Links panel, and select your link.
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Use the hotkey automatically designated to each Link to open the tools more quickly.
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Select Pin Quick Links menu to pin all the Quick Links to your page, as an additional menu below the Persistent search box, always available on all pages. To remove this menu, click Unpin Quick Links menu.
Customizing Main Menu Links and Icons
You can now determine the order in which the Main Menu links and Main Menu icons appear on your screen, and you can hide the links and icons that you do not need, to reduce the amount of visual information on the screen and clear the room for more important information.
Main Menu Links | Main Menu Icons |
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If the window is not wide enough to accommodate all the icons, the top-right toolbar icons move to the ellipsis menu. |
Turning On the New Layout for Users
You can select one of the below two methods to activate the new layout for your Alma users:
- Opt-in - All institutional users continue working in the old layout, and the Alma Administrator turns on the new layout only for specific users.
- Opt-out- All institutional users are switched to the new layout, and can switch between the original and the new layouts as they please.
In parallel, the Alma Administrator can turn the new layout off for specific users, so that they continue working in the old layout.Opt-in option becomes the default at July 2020 Alma release.
- Open the New Alma Layout and Menu Settings page, available at Configuration Menu > General > User Interface Settings > New Alma Layout and Menu Settings.
The New Alma layout and menu is disabled option is enabled by default and indicates the state where only the old layout exists.
Select one of the other options on the page:- New Alma layout is enabled - this is the opt-in option.
- New Alma layout is enabled and turned on for all users - this is the opt-out option.
Once you have selected one of these two options, you cannot go back and re-select the previous options on this page. You can only move forward to the next option.
- Click Confirm in the confirmation message that opens.
The new layout has been activated for your institution. - For each user for whom you want to turn the new layout on/off, open the User Details page (Admin > User Management > Manage Users), and select/clear the Enable New Layout checkbox in the User Management Information section.
The next time this user enters Alma, they will see the new layout.
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If you are an Alma administrator, you can view the list of users that opted out of the new layout. This allows you to encourage users to switch back or help them adjust. To view the list, select "Display Optout Users" on the New Alma Layout and Menu Settings page (Configuration Menu > General > User Interface Settings > New Alma Layout and Menu Settings).
- Once the new layout is enabled in the system, users can disable it for themselves and switch back to the original layout by selecting Disable new layout in the User menu.
After selecting this option, the user needs click Confirm in the below message:
Alma opens in the new layout. - To switch back to the new layout, the user can click Enable new layout in the same location.