Skip to main content
ExLibris
  • Subscribe by RSS
    • Back
    Esploro
    Ex Libris Knowledge Center

    Configuring the Research Portal

    1. Last updated
    2. Save as PDF

    This page describes configuration of the research portal. For general settings on the research portal (such as branding and colors, labels, dates, etc.) see here.

    For configuring researcher profiles see here.

    You can control various aspects of the Asset page and Headers and Footers with the Research Portal Configuration page (Configuration Menu > Portal & Profiles > Research Portal > Research Resources Configuration).

    Updates to the settings in this page will only be implemented after selecting Save at the top of the page.

    The tabs on the researcher portal configuration page.
    Research Portal Configuration

    For a video showing how to customize the research portal see here.

    Header Footer Tab

    To configure the header and footer of the Esploro page, navigate to Configuration > Portal and Profiles > Research Portal Configuration and select the Header/Footer tab. 

    Header Settings

    You can do the following in this tab:

    Option: Description:
    Include sign-in in the header Displays the Sign In link in the header.
    Include Discover Funding link for signed in users Displays the Discover Funding link when signed in to Researcher Profiles. Clicking this link displays funding opportunities from Pivot. For more information, see Pivot-PR Integration.
    Include dropdown menu Displays the dropdown menu in the header.
    Include add assets When checking this, the Output option displays in the drop down list under the ADD CONTENT button (see Add Content to Profile).
    Include add projects When checking this, the Project option displays in the drop down list under the ADD CONTENT button (see Add Content to Profile).
    Include add activities When checking this, the Activity option displays in the drop down list under the ADD CONTENT button (see Add Content to Profile).

    Header

    In the Header section you can define various parts of the header as described below.

    Header Configuration for Portal.Header Configuration
    • ENTITIES: This section defines the entities that display in the header drop down menu, as well as on the homepage of the portal. Examples of entities are Works, Researcher Profiles, Research Collections, Projects, etc. To display an entity in the portal, enable the Active button. You can change the order of entities by dragging and dropping.
     
    Entities will only display if they contain data.

    • CUSTOM LINKS: Here you can configure up to five custom menu links to display in the Portal header, as well as on the drop down menu on the right of the page. You can include links in the header by selecting Configure from the row actions menu and then selecting the Include in header checkbox.

    Custom links in header.
    Custom Links

    Footer Settings

    In this section you can control logos and copyright for the footer.

    Copyright and Logo checkboxes in the Footer Settings section.

    Footer Settings

    Footer

    The Footer section includes two types of records: Titles and Entries. Titles are static text intended as a header for a column of links. Entries include a URL and are clickable links.

    Social Media

    The Social Media Links section enables you to add a link to your organization's various social media pages. The link is not intended for sharing the page being viewed.

    Header settings section in the researcher portal configuration page.

    Header/Footer Tab
    Special characters in asset titles are converted into plain text.

    Homepage Tab

    In the Homepage tab you can configure the sections that display on the portal homepage . You can can activate/deactivate and reorder all the sections except for home page essentials. To access this page, navigate to Configuration > Portal and Profiles > Research Portal Configuration and select the Homepage tab.

    Home page section of the Researcher Portal Configuration page.

    The sections are described below.

    Section Description Image
    Homepage Essentials

    Configure the main items that display on the homepage.

    Homepage Essentials by default is at the top of the page and is the only homepage section that cannot be reordered.

    Select Configure in the row actions menu for home.page.actions. The options are listed below.

     

    Homepage Essentials - Search

    Enable the homepage search (1 in the image). If this is disabled, the search bar will not display on the homepage.

    There is an additional search bar in the header (2 in the image) that cannot be disabled.

    		 Search bar on home page.
    Homepage Essentials - About From the row actions menu for home.page.about, select Configure. You can provide a title and a short description of what visitors can expect to find in this portal. The title and description display on the homepage. About on the home page.
    Homepage Essentials - Scopes and links

    From the row actions menu select Configure. Here you can enable/disable scopes and change the order for the Output search. The following scopes are available:

    • All - Search the entire repository. You cannot disable the All scope.
    • Open Access
    • ETDs - Electronic Thesis and Dissertation  
    • Faculty Output - Enables searching within works created by affiliated researchers only. This scope excludes ETDs from the results without the need to apply a "Resource type" facet.

    The selected scopes also display as links under the About section on the homepage. You can determine the order for both the drop down menu and the links by dragging and dropping.

    You can add more links that will display to the right of the existing scope links. Select Add new link and enter the information, including the URL that the user will go to when clicking the link. The added links display to the right of the selected scope links.

    You can add up to four new links. Links can be enabled/disabled, but you cannot change their scope, which is defined by the URL that was entered for the link.

    Search bar scopes.

     

    Added link for home page.
    Homepage Essentials - Entities

    At the bottom of the homepage essentials are direct links to general search pages for example Output, Researcher Profiles, etc.

    These links are inherited from the Header Footer tab (Entities section), and appear in both the Entities section in the Homepage as well as in the drop down menu in the header.

    ​​​​​Entity links on homepage essentials.

    Homepage Essentials

    Entities in drop down menu.

    Header Drop Down Menu
    Homepage Essentials - Pictures Add up to five images in the image carousel that displays to the right of the About text. If no images were uploaded, the carousel will not appear in the portal. Images must be stored locally (cannot be linked to another site). An image size can be up to 1MB. The image format must be .jpg or .gif. Homepage pictures.
    Statistics

    Displays the various statistics of the site. 

    		 Homepage Statistics.
    Top Ten

    Enables to showcase sets of up to 10 assets. There are three pre-configured sets and you can add up to three itemized sets.

    To enable display of a set on the homepage, select Configure from the row actions menu and then select the checkbox next to the relevant set/s. You can update the label if needed, for each set.

    The three predefined sets are:

    • Most recently added assets - the ten most recently deposited assets (including manual deposits only).
       
    • Most viewed/downloaded files - the ten assets with the highest count of file views/download. 
       
    • Most viewed assets (metadata view) - the ten assets with the highest count of views

    The above predefined sets do not include assets suppressed from the portal.

    If you encounter issues with the display of these predefined sets, please contact Esploro Support.

    In addition, you can display assets from itemized sets that you created (up to three asset sets displayed on the Homepage in total). Provide a title for the set and select the assets to display. If a set is empty, it is not displayed on the Homepage. 

    The label size is limited to 20 characters (to avoid issues with text wrapping).

    		 Top ten for homepage of portal.
    Works Added

    Displays the number of works published by year. 

    In order for this Works Added section to display correctly, you need to activate the Regular update of asset counts for use by the system job. This job will then run automatically on a weekly basis and will update the chart.

    		 Works Added on Homepage of Portal
    Download Map

    Displays the locations from where assets where downloaded.

    		 Download map on homepage of portal.
    Custom Link Sections

    You can add up to 5 custom link sections. Each section is displayed separately on the homepage. Each link must contain a title and URL. In addition, you can add an image to the link. 

    Add customized menu link for the home page.

    Custom Link
    • Each section contain up to 2 links. When adding the first link, you have an option to select the
      Add second custom link checkbox. 

    For a video on this topic see How to Add Custom Links to your Homepage.

    		 Custom links.

    Featured Researchers

    Add featured researchers to the homepage. You can only feature researchers with an active public profile (Researchers > Manage Researchers > Researcher > Edit > Researcher Settings). See Working with Researchers for more information.

    		 Featured Researchers.png
    Featured Collections Add featured collections to the homepage. See Working with Collections for more information. Featured collections on homepage of portal.

    Search Tab

    This section describes the various options in the Search tab. Note that in order to enable the homepage search you need to activate it from the Homepage Essentials - see Homepage Tab.

    You can configure the search entities that appear in the portal search bar. To do this, navigate to the page at Configuration > Portal and Profiles > Research Portal Configuration  > Search and enable the relevant option.

    Search Tab for Portal.

    Search for Portal and Profiles

    Search drop down on the portal.

    Configure Entities in Search Bar

    The Outputs option is enabled by default and cannot be disabled. The Researchers option will appear if profiles were enabled, and there are active researcher profiles. For more information see Profile Search Results. The Projects option can be enabled/disabled. For information on configuring searching for projects, see here. The labels that appear can be changed in the Research Portal Search table (Configuration > Portal & Profiles > Labels > Research Portal Search).

    You can reorder the search fields by dragging them up or down.

    Reorder the search fields in the portal and profiles.
    Reorder Search Fields

    Reordered search fields on the portal.

    Reordered Fields on the Portal

    The changes will only be implemented after selecting Save.

    You can control the labels (placeholder text) that display in the search bar - see Labels for more information.

    When searching from the drop down menu, you can control the scope of the search (see Homepage Tab).

    Asset Advanced Search Tab

    To configure the advanced search, navigate to Configuration > Portal and Profiles > Research Portal Configuration and select the Asset Advanced Search tab. The following sections appear:

    Asset advanced search section of the researcher portal configuration page.

    Asset Advanced Search Tab
    Updates to the settings in this tab are only implemented after selecting Save at the top of the page. 
    You can configure the following sections:

    General Settings

    To activate the advanced search, in General Settings select the Activate advanced search? checkbox.
    Activate advanced search box is checked.
    Activate advanced search? checkbox

    Search Fields

    You configure which fields to search on from the Search Fields section.
    The Search Fields section of the Researcher Portal Configuration window.
    Search Fields
    To delete any of the search fields, select Delete from the row actions menu.
    To add a new field, select Add Index.
    Add new index section of the Researcher Portal Configuration window.
    Add Index
    To enable local fields searching, you need to set them at Configuration > Repository > Local Field Names.
    Edit local variable name window with name entered as "Scale" and "Enable field for search in portal"checked.
    Enable Local Field
    The local field name that appears in the portal is the one configured from Portal and Profiles > Labels > Research Portal Search Index Names.

    Search Filters

    You can customize the Resource type and Start/End date filters for the portal.
    Resource type drop down list and Start and End date selectors.
    Resource type and Start/End date
    To have the Resource Type and Start and End Date search filters appear on the portal, you must enable them at Portal & Profiles > Research Portal Configuration > Asset Advanced Search > Search Filters. 
    Search Filters section of the Researcher Portal Configuration window.
    Search Filters
    To configure the options that are available for the Resource type search filter in the portal, select Configure from the row actions menu.

    Asset Types

    To add a new Resource type select Add Asset Type.
    Add asset type button.
    Add Asset Type

    Asset Search Page Tab

    You can configure the display of the facets, sort, and general search settings for the Assets page. To do so, navigate to Configuration > Portal and Profiles > Research Portal Configuration and select the Asset Search Page tab. 

    Brief Results tab in the Researcher Portal window.

    Asset Search Page Tab

    Facets

    Use the facets to filter and refine search results. Below is a list of the available facets.

    Code in Configuration Label in Portal Description
    facet_tlevel Availability
    • Peer reviewed
    • Open Access 
    creator Author/Creator Lists all the authors that appear on all the assets (regardless of the affiliation), sorted by the number of relevant results for the current search.
    affiliated_researcher Our Researchers Lists only the affiliated authors that appear on all the assets, sorted by the number of relevant results for the current search.
    non_affiliated_researcher Other Researchers Lists only the non-affiliated authors that appear on all the assets, sorted by the number of relevant results for the current search.
    rtype Resource Type Lists the relevant asset types within the current search, for example journal article, book, thesis, etc.
    esploro_asset_org Research Unit Lists the relevant organizational units (within the institution) for the current search.
    facet_creationdate Date Select a year range to limit the results in the current search.
    topic Subject Relevant keywords and topics for the output in the current search.
    lang Language Filter output in the current search by content language.

    All the asset local fields (1-15) are also available as facets.

    Facet Options

    The facet options are:

    • Order – You can drag and drop the facet lines to change the order where the facet displays on the page.
    • Active – Activate or deactivate by using the Active toggle switch. You cannot add new facets.
      You can configure local fields as facets. A local field will not display as a facet in the portal, unless the "Enable field for search in portal" checkbox is selected for it in the Configuring Local Asset Fields page.
    • Code – The facet code cannot be edited.
    • Default State – This is the default state of the facet:
      • Expand – This will show up to the number of values selected in the Values to Display column. Additional values will be available by selecting more.
      • Collapsed – show the facet name but no values
    • Values to display – When the Default State is set to Expand, this shows how many value appear before the more link. Selecting more will show all values.
    • Sort type – Select what to sort by the facet by for example By size, Alphanumeric, etc.

    Facet Display Settings

    Display settings options are:

    • Display group authors – Enable to include group authors in the list of authors.
    • Filter out Creators with the following roles – Select one or more roles to that will not be listed.
    • Display creator's role – Enable to display the role next to the author's name.
    • Display Altmetrics – Clear the checkbox to remove the Altmetrics badge from the search results display. It remains active for the Full view, if configured. (For information on configuring Altmetrics to display in the Full view, see the Asset Page tab below, metrics section.)
    • Display Identifiers – Clear the checkboxes to remove the following identifiers from the search results:
      • Display DOI
      • Display PMID
      • Display PMCID
      • Display ISBN

    Sort types can be activated or deactivated. You can reorder the sort types in the list. The first item in the Sort list will be the default sort for search results in the portal, including searching for Outputs from the homepage. The user can manuall change the sort using the Sort by drop down list on the portal.

    Asset Page Tab

    To configure the display of the Asset page on the Esploro portal, navigate to Configuration > Portal and Profiles > Research Portal Configuration and select the Asset Page tab.
    Asset Page tab on the Research Portal Configuration page.
    Asset Page Configuration
    From here you can control the display of the Asset page as follows: 
    • To enable/disable fields for the Asset page, toggle the buttons in the Active column.
    • To reorder fields use the drag and drop function to the left of the field.
    • To configure the Metadata section, see the Asset Essentials Tab.

    Selecting the default state and the preview height will be active in an upcoming release.

    To configure the Details section of the Asset Page:
    1. Click the Action button for the Details field.

      Action row button for the details field, with the Configure available for selection.

    2. Select Configure. The Details screen appears. 

    Details page for asset configuration that appears after selecting Configure.

    Asset Page Configuration - Details Section
    From here you can configure the details that appear on the Asset page.
    To configure the Metrics section of the Asset Page:
    1. Click the Action button to right of the Metrics field.
    2. Select Configure. The Metrics configuration page appears.

    Metrics section of Asset Page configuration.

    Asset Page Configuration - Metrics Section
    From here you can activate or deactivate the items that appear in the Metrics section of the Asset page.

    Asset Essentials Tab

    In addition to the sections configured from the Asset Page Tab, you can configure the metadata from the Asset Essentials tab. The fields can be enabled, disabled, or reordered. To access this page,  navigate to Configuration > Portal and Profiles > Research Portal Configuration and select the Asset Essentials tab.

    Asset Essentials Configuration section of the Researcher Portal Configuration page.

    Asset Essentials Tab

    Within this list, you can also select the Configure row action for more information about Authors (esploroCreators) and Identifiers.

    The Creators row has additional information regarding the Show author details section of the Asset page. 

    Creators Configuration section of the Asset Essentials page.

    Asset Essentials - Creators

    For Identifiers, you can add, delete, or reorder the Identifiers shown on the Asset page.

    Identifiers section of the Asset Essentials tab.

    Asset Essentials - Identifiers

    Those items with the Linkable indicator will be displayed as a clickable link.

    Asset Actions Tab (Export and Social Media)

    You can configure which export actions appear in the Export Asset section of the Asset Page. Each option that is set to active is displayed. You can also define which options appear for social media sharing. To do this, navigate to Configuration > Portal and Profiles > Research Portal Configuration and select the Actions tab.

    Actions tab of the Research Portal Configuration page.

    Actions Tab

    From Address and Subject for Email

    When exporting an asset via email, you can select which address and subject to use.

    To update the address and subject:
    1. Navigate to Configuration > Portal & Profile > Research Portal > Homepage Configuration > Asset Actions.
    2. For eMail select Configure from the row actions menu.
    3. Update the From address and Subject as needed.

      Update Address and Subject for Exported Emails in Portal. 
    4. Ensure that the eMail action is Active, and select Save.

    Email Action for Portal.

    For information on configuring letters in Esploro see here.

    Citation Styles List

    When exporting an asset as a citation, you can select which citation style to use.

    Export citations option highlighted with APA (6th edition) selected in the drop down list.
    Export Citations

    You can add a new style to the Citation Styles list. 

    To add a new style:
    1. Navigate to Configuration > Portal & Profile > Research Portal > Research Resources Configuration.
    2. Select the Asset Actions tab.

      Asset actions.
       
    3. For the Citation option select Configure.

      Configure option highlighted for Citation in Asset Actions.

      The list of citation styles appears.
      List of citation styles with the Add option highlighted.
    4. Click Add to enter a new citation style. You can use citation styles that have been defined with the Citation Style Language (CSL) and stored in GitHub's CSL Style Repository. Note that the code is the name from the github list without the format extension. For more information on citation styles see Managing Citation Styles for Primo VE.
      New citation style window that appears after selecting Add.
      New Citation Style
      Input the citation style details. If the code you enter is not recognized, a message appears with a link to the site where you can view the list of valid codes.
      If the Enabled field is set to True, the new style appears in the citations styles list when exporting an asset.
      See also Configuring Citation Sources.

    BibTex Configuration

    You can now control the mapping of Esploro asset types to BibTex entry types. To access the configuration, navigate to Configuration > Repository > Esploro BibTex Mapping.

    Mapping Table for BibTex

    BibTex Mapping Table

    The value/s in the BibTeX entry type column are mandatory. The values in the BibTeX type column are not mandatory - they define a descriptive name for the type of work.

    Project Page Tab

    This section describes how to configure the Project page on the Research Portal. To configure the Project Search Page on the Research Portal see here. To configure projects on the Research Hub see here.

    To configure which sections will appear on the full Project page, and in which order they will appear, navigate to Configuration > Portal and Profiles > Research Portal Configuration and select the Project Page tab:

    • To hide a section from the Project page, deselect the Active toggle. 
    • To change the order in which the sections are listed, drag and drop them as needed. 

    Note that the first section of the Project page, which contains the project essentials (Project ID and acronym, Project URL, academic department, project start & end dates, and project status) cannot be hidden and always appears on top of the page. Since this section cannot be customized, it does not appear in the Projects Page tab. 

    Project tab in the Researcher Portal Configuration window.

    Project tab

    The project Members can be configured to display non-affiliated project members.

    The "Display Non-affiliated Project Members" checkbox is selected.

    You can configure whether a researcher can deposit and edit a project, by adding it to the Add content button in the portal header. See Header Settings for details.

    For general information on configuring the project management features see Configuring Project Management.

    Project Search Page Tab 

    The Projects feature is for Esploro Advanced Edition customers.

    Before configuring the search results for projects, you first need to enable searching for projects in the Research Portal (see here). Once the portal search is enabled, you can also enable the Research Projects link to display in the drop down menu and the homepage on the portal. (see here).

    Research Project enabled for home page.

    Research Projects

    These links take you to the project search results with all projects appearing in the results by default. To configure the project search results, navigate by navigating to Configuration > Portal and Profiles > Project Search Page.

    Project Search Page Configuration.

    Project Search Page Configuration

    On this page you can configure the following:

    • Search Scopes — Which options display in the drop down list when searching for projects in the portal.
      Search scopes.
    • Facets — Which facets display when searching for projects in the portal.
      Search facets.

    Use the facets to filter and refine search results. Below is a list of the available facets.

    Code in Configuration Label in Portal Description
    attributes Attributes

    Taken from the configurable list at Configuration > Research Administration > Project Attributes.
    facet_member_researchers Project members Displays project members by number of projects in the search results.
    member_orgs_name Member organizations Displays organizations by number of projects in the search results. Includes both internal organization units and external institutions that are part of the project.
    status Project status Taken from the configurable list at Configuration > Research Administration > Project Statuses.
    type Project type Taken from the configurable list at Configuration > Research Administration > Research Project Types.
    keywords_and_subjects_facet Subject Topics and keywords that are available for the projects in the search results.
    • Display  — This controls the display for the brief results only, and does not impact the full project page.
      • Display non-affiliated project members: By default, non-affiliated members do display. To exclude them from the brief results, select this option.
      • Display project member roles: By default, the roles do not display. To add them to the brief results, select this option.
      • Display external organization members: By default, the external organizations do not display. To add them to the brief results, select this option.
    • Sort — Which sort options appear on the project search results page. You can drag the options up or down to change the sorting order.

    Activity Page Tab

    To configure activities on the portal, go to Configuration > Portal and Profiles > Research Portal Configuration and select the Activity Page tab.

    Activity Page tab on Research Portal Configuration.

    Activity Page

    In the Active column, enable/disable the field/s to display on the portal. 

    You can configure the Course Information and Associated Researchers by selecting Configure from the row actions menu.

    For Course Information, you can configure which details will appear on the portal.

    Configuration of course details that will appear on the portal.

    Course Details

    Course information on the portal.

    Course Information on the Portal

    For Associated Researchers you can configure whether or not to include non affiliated researchers on the portal.

    Affiliated researcher in Associated Researchers on the portal.

    Associated Researchers

    By default the checkbox is deselected meaning that non affiliated researchers will not appear in Associated Researchers on the portal.

    Checkbox to include non affiliated researchers.

    Include Non-affiliated Researchers

    Activity Display Categories

    You can filter out categories and/or types of activities for display on the public profile. To access this feature navigate to Configuration > Portal and Profiles > Activities Display Configuration > Activity Display Categories.

    Activities Display Categories.

    Activity Categories and Types Filter

    Selected categories do not display in the public profile.

     

    Resources Page Tab

    You can configure the look of the Resources page from Configuration > Portal and Profiles > Research Resources Configuration.

    Resources page tab.

    Resource Page Tab

    Sections that are enabled (Active) display in the full research resources page.

    Research resources full page.

    Research Resources Full Page

    The image in the resources browsing page on the portal is taken automatically from the first image of the Files and Links section for that resource.

    Research Resources on the Portal.

    Research Resources on the Portal

    In order to enable the resource menu links on the portal, you need to activate the Research Resources entity in the Header section (see Header).

     

    Research Resources Menu Links.

    Research Resources Menu Links

    See also Configuring Research Resources.

    Labels

    You can configure various labels and placeholder text  such as such as repository metrics, search bar, etc. This is done from the Labels menu at Configuration Menu > Portal & Profiles > General Settings > Labels. See Labels for more info.

    1. Back to top
    • Was this article helpful?

    Recommended articles

    1. Article type
      Topic
      Content Type
      Documentation
      Language
      English
      Product
      Esploro
    2. Tags
      This page has no tags.