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

    Single Activation for CDI in Alma - Overview

    Introduction

    With single activation in Alma, activations for CDI work in the same way as other Alma activations. Alma publishes several sets of data (Institutional holding files) that include the following information to CDI:

    • Full text availability

    • Search availability (available only with the FullyFlexible setting described below)

    To manage activations for CDI, Alma provides two management settings: FullyFlexible (which is the default setting after the move) and EasyActive. For more details, see Settings.

    Settings

    Alma provides two different settings for managing collections in CDI:

    1. FullyFlexible – This setting allows the Alma electronic inventory operator to control the collections that are searchable in CDI, via the CDI search activation option. The following rules apply:

      • Alma collections that are active because you subscribe to their full text are automatically searchable in CDI. For those collections, no separate search activations are necessary.

      • CDI Search activations are necessary for collections or for portfolios that are not activated for full text, but you still want your users to discover them. They appear in the expanded search and are flagged as No full text available.

      For more information, see Collection Activation for CDI in Alma with the Fully Flexible Setting.

    2. EasyActive – This setting automatically enables searching for the majority of the collections in CDI. The exceptions include collections that require a subscription to search them (such as A&I databases), and a few others (such as reference collections). EasyActive is particularly useful if you filter your default search by items that are available in full text. Collections that do not have full text will be visible only if the user selects Expand beyond the library collection. For more information, see Single Activation with the EasyActive Setting.

    With Alma single activation, both FullyFlexible and EasyActive settings allow you to change the full text indication in CDI to Full text not available at the collection level for those collections that are not managed by the link resolver by setting the Do not show as Full Text available in CDI even if active in Alma option on the CDI tab in the Electronic Collection Editor.

    Institutions that moved from Primo Central to CDI can switch from the FullyFlexible to the EasyActive setting to simplify the activation process. To change the setting, please contact Ex Libris customer support.

     

     

    To view a training session about the differences between EasyActive and FullyFlexible settings, go to the Alma Insights page https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Training/Webinars/Alma_Insights and scroll down to the session called, "CDI Activation: EasyActive and FullyFlexible."

    User Roles

    To manage CDI activations in Alma, users must be assigned the new CDI Inventory Operator role, which allows them to activate and deactivate collections for searching in CDI and to update the editable fields on the CDI tab for a collection in the Electronic Collection Editor. Note that the activation for searching is only relevant for a) the FullyFlexible setting, and b) the EasyActive setting for collections that are not automatically set to searchable.

    By default, when the Electronic Inventory Operator activates a collection in Alma, the collection also becomes automatically active for searching in CDI. However, only a CDI Inventory Operator can perform actions that apply to CDI only, for example: change the full text settings that appear in CDI or deactivate a collection for searching.

    We recommend combining the new role of the CDI Inventory Operator role with the existing Electronic Inventory Operator role to allow both Alma activations and CDI activations to be managed together. However, you can keep these two roles separate, if you wish to do so.

    CDI Collections in the Alma User Interface

    Collections that are indexed in CDI and can be activated for search separately from the full text activation display the Available for CDI search activation indication in the Alma User Interface. In the search results, collections indicate whether they are indexed in CDI or not, which full text and search rights apply, and how the collection links to the full text. You can use various filters to filter the results list based on CDI-related characteristics (such as collections that are available in CDI or collections that you have activated in Alma but have not activated for search in CDI). 

    CDI_statuses_in_alma.png

    CDI Statuses in Alma UI

    Every collection that is searchable in CDI has a CDI tab in the Electronic Collection Editor, which provides more information about how the collection is represented in CDI.

    cdi_tab.png

    CDI Tab in Alma's Electronic Collection Editor

    Activations/Deactivations for CDI

    To activate and deactivate CDI collections, use the existing activation processes in Alma—for example, the Activation Wizard for new activations or the Electronic Collection Editor for collections already in your institution zone. From each collection's brief display, you can:

    • Activate or deactivate a collection for searching.

    • Determine whether a collection that uses the links in records to access full text has been flagged as full text available in CDI.

    • Determine whether a collection that is active in Alma should be published to CDI.

    The Active for full text in CDI only option has been added to indicate when a collection's full text is active in CDI but is not active for any other purpose (such as Alma's link resolver). For example, this setting is useful for collections that are set to full text available at the collection level, but you do not want them published to your local Primo index.

    fulltext_active_cdi_onl.png

    Active for Full Text in CDI Only Status

    Alternative Coverage Collections

    In CDI, all full text is automatically searchable unless you suppress it. This applies to both, the fully flexible and the EasyActive setting. If you activate a full text collection that is not directly indexed from the provider, CDI will automatically use the metadata from other collections in the index and the content will still be searchable. There is no need to in addition find and activate alternative coverage collections. If you want to have content searchable that you do not have full text for and we do not index that content directly from the provider, you will have to still activate alternative coverage collections.

    • Was this article helpful?