Overview of the NDE Interface and Configuration
Introduction
The Primo VE Next Discovery Experience (NDE) is mainly an interface upgrade and represents a shift in the user interface design. All discovery-related data managed in Alma (such as local fields, local resource types, external data sources, labels, and other configurations) remain unchanged and utilize your existing set-up. This approach limits the learning curve and provides a strong starting point for migrating to the new UI.
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Many labels have been reused. New labels for the NDE UI are easily identified since they start with the prefix nde.
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You can use the existing Primo VE documentation in most cases. Configurations specific to NDE will be marked as such.
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The placement of system messages (such as login prompts) in the NDE UI is responsive and may vary depending on screen size, resolution, zoom level, and layout context. Messages can appear in different locations (e.g., top-right or bottom-right) to ensure visibility and usability across devices.
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As we shift from AngularJS to Angular 18, the new NDE customization Framework will support the same customization options and introduce new ones. In addition, we plan to add configuration options for common customization activities to simplify the customization process. More information will be provided when available.
This document summarizes the NDE interface by its various components, provides an overview of its new configuration options and highlights its new capabilities and differences.
Main Menu Links
An indicator is now provided to inform users that the link is taking them out of the UI.
The number of links to display in the main menu is based on the length of the labels and the browser width.
Configuration Changes for the Main Menu Links
The following changes were added to support its use in the NDE UI.
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
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View Configuration page (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Configure Views) |
The Links Menu tab defines the links on the Main menu. |
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Search Tile Labels code table (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Labels) |
The following label has been added to support the customization and translation of the Landing Page's heading:
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Aria labels code table (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Labels) |
The following label has been added to support the Main Menu for mobile devices:
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Language Menu
The Language menu is now dedicated to language selection in the NDE UI instead of being grouped with other User Area options as it was in Primo VE's original UI. Users can easily find and change the UI's display language from the Main Menu Bar if your environment supports multiple languages. Once changed, it is retained for the current session only and will revert to the user's default setting in the User Area for subsequent sessions.
Configuration Changes for the Language Menu
The following labels have been added to the User Tile Labels code table (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Labels) to support this functionality for mobile devices:
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nde.languages.mobile.apply—Apply
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nde.languages.mobile.cancel—Cancel
User Area Menu
The User Area Menu lets users access their library card, search history, saved records, and personal settings. For information regarding the User Area, see Enhanced User Area. In the Original UI, this functionality was split between My Library Card and My Favorites.
After sign-in, the icon for the User Area Menu displays the user’s initials (for example, JS for John Smith). Hovering over the initials reveals the full username as a tooltip.
By default, the following options are active and appear in the following order:
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The Sign in/Sign out option is enabled by default and appears at the top of the menu.
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My library activity - Opens the Overview section (which highlights the user's Loans, Requests, Fines and Fees, Saved Records, and Search History). Requires user sign-in.
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Saved Records - Opens a list of records that were saved by the user. If the user is signed in, the list includes records saved in previous sessions. If the user is not signed in, only records saved during the current session are included.
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Search History - Opens a list of previous searches that were performed by the user. Both simple and advanced searches are included in the list. If the user is signed in, the list includes searches from previous sessions. If the user is not signed in, only searches from the current session are included. Searches in the list can be run again by selecting them, or deleted from the list. If the user is signed in, they can also be saved.
The history data shown about advanced searches does not include information about filters that were selected when the searches were run. Nonetheless, the filters are applied when the searches are run again. -
Settings - Requires user sign-in.
Configuration Changes for the User Area Menu
A new configuration page, User Area Links, has been added to the system, as well as a new label that has been added to the Library card Labels code table to support this functionality:
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
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User Area Links page (Configuration > Discovery > Library Card Configurations > User Area Links) |
This new page configures which links appear in the User Area menu and in what order: Saved searches, My Loans, My Requests, My Fines and Fees, Settings, Search History, My Library Activity, and My favorites. For more information, see Configuring the User Area Menu. |
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Library card Labels code table (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Labels) |
nde.overview.myLibraryActivity—My Library Activity |
Search Area
The Search Area contains the search box, filters, top-level facets, sort type selector, and a toggle between simple and advanced searches. NDE includes the following improvements:
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The search profiles have been relocated to appear prominently on the left of the search bar.
Prominent Location to Access Scopes -
If you are using two levels of scopes (such as for multi-campus/library configurations), a separate drop-down is provided for each level:
Support for Two-Level Scopes -
When switching to another scope after previously performing a search, a new search is invoked automatically for users.
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If more than 10 scopes are defined, there will be an option to search within the list of scopes:
Search for Scopes in List -
The search bar and facets line remain fixed at the top of the search results during scrolling, ensuring prominent access to search and filtering options.
Persistent Search Area above Results
Configuration Changes for the Search Area
The following labels have been added to the Search Tile Labels code table (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Labels) to support this functionality:
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nde.search.tooltip—Search
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nde.search.clear.tooltip—Clear
Advanced Search
The Advanced Search is opened as slide panel on the side of the current page in the UI, providing increased visibility of search results after searching in Advanced Search.
Configuration Changes for Advanced Search
The following labels have been added to support the above changes to the Advanced Search page. For additional configuration options, see Advanced Search Configuration Tab.
| Code Table | Description |
|---|---|
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Search Tile Labels (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Labels) |
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Aria Labels (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Labels) |
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Journal Search
Journal Search provides an enhanced user experience with auto-complete functionality generated from the library's journals, as per the activation of the journals in Alma.
With the NDE UI, you can enable hypertext links in a record's full details when coming from a Journal Search. Clicking these hypertext links performs a regular search in the default search scope.
For more information, see Configuring Journal Search for the NDE UI.
Configuration Changes for Journal Search
The following changes have been made to support Journal Search in the NDE UI:
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You can set the new display_hypertext_linking_journalAndDB_search parameter to true on the Discovery Customer Settings page (Configuration > Discovery > Other > Discovery Customer Settings) to enable hypertext links in a record's full details.
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The following labels have been added to the Journal Search Labels code table (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Labels):
Code Description nde.journalsearch.categorySearch
Search by Category
nde.journalsearch.AZSearch
Search by Alphabet
nde.journalsearch.az.mobile
Alphabet
nde.journalsearch.categoriesAZ.mobile
Alphabet and Categories
nde.journalsearch.category.option2
Search by Letter
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The following labels have been added to the Aria labels code table (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Labels):
Code Description nde.aria.journal.categoriesExpand
Expand category
nde.aria.journal.categoriesCollapse
Collapse category
nde.aria.journal.azLanguages
Choose a language for the alphabet search
Newspaper Search
The Newspaper Search page is a dedicated interface that enables users to search only for newspaper articles from an index containing a wide variety of newspaper collections. For more information, see Configuring Newspaper Search for the NDE UI.
Configuration Changes for Newspaper Search
The following changes were added to support its use in the NDE UI.
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
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Newspapers Search code table (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Labels) |
The following label has been added to support the customization and translation of Newspaper Search:
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Aria labels code table (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Labels) |
The following label has been added to support accessibility in Newspaper Search:
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Resource Types Filter Bar
The Resource Type Filter Bar appears in Simple Search to allow users to filter their results by resource types. (This feature is not available in Advanced Search.)
This functionality is not supported on mobile devices.
Facets
The facets are closed by default and appear below the Resource Types Filter Bar/Pre-filter selectors and are closed by default. Users can open the Facet pane by selecting All Filters. The top-level facets (such as Available online) appear on the same line as the All Filters button and are configurable.
The summary for a selected facet now includes the Boolean operation between selected values, providing a clear summary of the facet's scope:
Configuration Changes for Facets
The following labels have been added to support the above changes to the Facets. For additional configuration options, see Brief Results Tab.
| Code Table | Description |
|---|---|
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Aria Labels (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Labels) |
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Results Tile Labels (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Labels) |
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Brief Record Display
The Brief Record Display refers to the information displayed for each record in the results list and at the top of the record's Full Display page. The following changes have been made to this information (which is configurable):
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Descriptive labels (such as By and Published on) were added to the display lines.
Descriptive Labels for Display Lines -
Record indicators (such as Open Access and Peer Reviewed) are now grouped prominently at the top next to the record's resource type.
Record Indicators on Top -
Record actions are grouped by the following categories and displayed at the top:
Grouped Record Actions-
Share — This category consists of the following actions: Email, Permalink, Whatsapp, Facebook, X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and QR.
Regarding the Email action:
- Emailing uses the system's external email client rather than Primo's email client (regardless of the setting of the enable_email_client parameter – see Discovery Customer Settings).
- If the allow_emails_for_signed_in_users_only parameter (Configuration > Discovery > Other > Customer Settings) is set to true, guest users cannot send emails. For more information, see Discovery Customer Settings.
- Bulk exports can be emailed by logged-in users from the Save and Export All Results menu at the top of the results list.
- When exporting all results, if the export_all_for_user_email_only (Configuration > Discovery > Other > Customer Settings) parameter is set to true, the Send To field is auto-populated with the signed-in user's email address and is not editable.
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Citations — The citation options are configured on the Citations Styles List page (Configuration > Discovery > Other > Citations Styles). For more information, see Managing Citation Styles for Primo VE.
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Export — This category consists of the following actions: Print, RefWorks, EndNote, EasyBib, RISPushTo, BibTeXPushTo, Mendeley, Excel, and Leganto.
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Favorites — A new confirmation message is provided to remove an item from the favorite's list.
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Availability – Quicklink with drop-down to other online options.
Online Availability Options
Configuration Changes for the Brief Record Display
The following labels have been added to support the above changes to the Brief Record Display. For additional configuration options, see Brief Record Display Tab, below.
| Code Table | Description |
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Results Tile Labels (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Labels) To hide a label, specify NOT_DEFINED in the Description column. |
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Aria Labels (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Labels) |
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Favorites Labels (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Labels) |
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FRBR
The visualization of FRBR versions for generic record is now aligned with the fields configured in the brief results. Previously, the generic record was aligned only with the title and creator fields.
The following labels have been added to the Results Tile Labels code table to support this functionality:
| Code | Description |
|---|---|
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nde.frbrversion.indication |
Other versions available ({0}) - Full versions list |
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nde.frbr.fullVersionsList |
Full versions list |
Resource Recommender
The Resource Recommender service enables you to recommend the following resources based on searchable tags you configure in Alma: database, website, person, library information, and library guide. The following changes have been made to support the NDE UI:
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NDE offers the option to display the banner vertically on the side of the page.
Vertical Banner on the Side -
You can display the following information for the Suggested Librarian recommendation: Link, Link Text, and Phone Number.
New Fields for Suggested Librarian Recommendation
Configuration Changes for Resource Recommender
The following changes have been made to the Resource Recommender Configuration page (Configuration > Discovery > Other > Resource Recommender Configuration):
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The Use Vertical Banner checkbox has been added to indicate whether a Banner recommendation appears vertically on the side of the page instead of at the top.
Resource Recommender - Banner -
The following fields have been added to the configuration page for Suggested Librarian recommendations: Link, Link Text, and Phone Number.
New Fields for Person Recommendations -
The following labels were added to the Resource Recommender Codes table (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Labels):
Code Description nde.resRecomm.title
Recommendations
nde.resRecomm.close
Close Recommendations
Full Record Display
The Full Display page displays all information regarding a record: brief display lines, record details, request sections (View Online and Locations), and so forth. NDE includes the changes described below.
In the NDE UI, there is no side-panel navigation in the Full Display page.
Search Bar and Main Menu
The search bar and main menu links are available at the top of the page.
Expanding and Collapsing Sections
Users can now expand/collapse sections by selecting the Plus (+) and Minus (-) icons.
Requests Section
The dedicated Requests section is provided to manage requests and other request services. Item-level requests are provided in the Locations section.
Locations Section
The Locations section shows the availability of the items grouped by locations or library/locations. This section differs slightly from the parallel section in the original UI, in that request services are no longer part of this section unless item-level requests are available.
Digital Versions Section
The Digital Versions section is a dedicated section for digital services. In the original UI, this was included under the View Online section. Note that when several types of viewers are configured in Alma, only the first one in the list is used in the NDE UI.
Embedded Viewer
The Alma-D Viewer is now embedded in the Full Display of resources that include supported image files: JPEG, PNG, TIFF, and PDF. The first supported service under Digital Resources is automatically displayed in the viewer. When a user selects a different digital service, if it is supported, it opens in the viewer. If not, it opens in the external viewer that is configured for this purpose, as it does in the original UI. In order to support the use of the external viewer, the view_for_digital_viewer customer setting (Discovery > Other > Discovery Customer Settings) should be set with the non-NDE viewer to be used for digital viewing (in the format INST_NAME:VIEW_NAME).
Planned future enhancements include support for more formats, multiple representations of a service, and enhanced viewer controls. For additional information, see Primo NDE Viewer.
Similar Image Browse Section
For digital images, this section presents a selection of images in the institution/network holdings that are deemed similar to the current image. This feature employs the Alma Specto API to find similar images, and is only available for customers who have purchased Alma Specto. The images found are displayed in a carousel, in order of the degree of similarity between them and the current image. Selecting one of the images in the carousel opens the Full Display of that image.
Exploration Services
Virtual Browse has its own dedicated section, and bX Recommendations/Syndetics are displayed in the right panel.
Due to technical limitations, in the Virtual Browse section, records that do not have their own thumbnail images display the "other" resource type icon (icon_other.png), regardless of their resource type.
Map Widget
A new Places Map widget appears in the record's full display when geographical coordinates are included in the subfields of the KORMARC/MARC21 field 034 or the UNIMARC field 123:
Markers appear on the map for the location of the resource itself and for its related entities, if location coordinates are provided in their metadata. The following markers are used:
- Locations given as two coordinates:
- Resource location –
- Related-location entity –
- Related-organization entity –
- Resource location –
- Locations given as four coordinates:
Placing the mouse cursor on a marker opens a tooltip indicating which entity the marker represents.
Selecting 
opens an enlarged version of the map in a pop-up window.
For additional information, see Maps in the Full Display (NDE UI).
Contextual Relationships Sections
The lists of related resources in CDI – Chapters of this Book, Other Chapters of this Book, and Book Reviews – have been moved into the Full Display page, in dedicated sections for each type of relationship, as appropriate to the type of resource (Chapters of this Book and Book Reviews for books; Other Chapters of this Book and Book Reviews for book chapters). Selecting a related-reading link in the summary section at the top of the Full Display page moves the display to this section and expands the section if it was previously collapsed.
From the dedicated section, users can select an item to view it. The Full Display of the selected item then opens in a new tab.
For additional information, see Configuring Contextual Relationships for Primo VE.
Configuration Changes for the Full Record Display Page
To support this functionality in the NDE UI, the following configuration changes have been made:
| Element | Description |
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General tab on View Configuration page (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Configure Views) |
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Full Record Services tab on View Configuration page (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Configure Views > [Edit a view]) |
The following services have been added to support the NDE UI:
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| Customer Settings (Configuration > Discovery > Other > Customer Settings) |
The new nde_number_of_services_to_display_view_it customer setting allows you to set the number of services to display upfront in the View Online section of the full record. The default value is 3, and the institution can define a number between 1-10. If more services are available than the specified number, a Show more option appears below the ones that are displayed. When the user selects Show more, all of the available services are displayed.
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Enhanced Request Forms
Request forms enable the user to place a hold on an item, request a purchase, or request a digital version. With NDE, the various forms open as pop-up windows, closing on submission or after selecting the X button.
Improved user feedback, adding a navigation link to User Area > Requests upon submission:
Configuration Changes for the Request Forms
To support this functionality in the NDE UI, the following configuration changes have been made:
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
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Request (Hold and Booking) Optional Parameters page (Configuration > Discovery > GetIt Configuration > Hold and Booking Request) |
This page configures the fields that appear on the Requests form. No new configuration is necessary to support the NDE UI. |
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Discovery Customer Settings page (Configuration > Discovery > Other > Customer Settings) |
The following parameters have been added to support booking requests in the NDE UI:
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Request Labels code table (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Labels) |
The following code was added to support booking requests in the NDE UI:
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aria Labels code table (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Labels) |
The following codes were added to support accessibility for booking requests in the NDE UI:
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Enhanced Collection Discovery
The Collection Discovery interface enables users to browse collections defined in Alma. For more information about Alma collections, see Managing Collections. This functionality is still under development and will include the following in NDE:
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Searches within collections/sub-collections will include all matching items and a reference to the parent collection/sub-collection from which they were found.
Search from the Collection Lobby -
Quick Filters will be displayed on the collection and sub-collection pages, but not on the Collection Lobby page. Users can select the All Filters button to display the "Tweak your results" panel, where all filters can be applied to results. These filters apply only to items, not the collections and sub-collections.
Collection Lobby - Filters -
Two display options: Gallery View and List View.
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A unified sorting method, consistent with brief results sorting.
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Sub-collections will be displayed before items on collection/sub-collection pages.
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Up to 50 items per page, with a Load More button for pagination.
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Improved navigation within collections, with previous/next record browsing for items.
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After clicking an item and returning to the previous level, the focus will remain on the item previously accessed.
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Default images will be used when no custom images are configured.
Configuration Changes for Collection Discovery
To support this functionality in the NDE UI, the following configuration changes have been made:
| Element | Description |
|---|---|
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Links tab on the View Configuration page (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Labels) |
The CollectionDiscovery code activates the link for the Collection Lobby page. |
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Brief Results tab on the View Configuration page (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Labels) |
The display of facets is disabled by default for searches in Collection Discovery. It is enabled by activating the CollectionDiscovery row for one or more facets in the Edit Facet Slots dialog box. |
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Collection Discovery Labels code table (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Labels) |
The following codes have been added to support the customization and translation of labels for this functionality:
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Enhanced User Area
The User Area in the NDE UI includes library activities (Loans, Requests, Fines & Fees, saved records, searches and settings, providing a centralized, user-friendly space for personal management. Configuration is available to define the options to display in the new User Area. As with other pages in the NDE UI, the search bar and the header always appear at the top of the page.
The links on the left side of the User Area provide access to the following tabs in the User Area (see Using the Enhanced User Area):
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Loans
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Requests
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Fines and Fees
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Blocks and Messages
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Saved Records
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Saved Searches
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Search History
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Settings
Configuration Changes for the User Area
The User Area menu always appears at the top of the NDE UI. The following table lists the configuration options for the User Area.
| Element | Description |
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User Dashboard Configuration page (Configuration > Discovery > Library Card Configurations > User Dashboard Configuration) |
This new page configures which options to include in the User Area and whether to include them on the Overview page.
User Area Dashboard Configuration Page
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Search Tile Labels code table (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Labels) |
The following labels have been added to support the above changes to the User Area:
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Aria Labels code table (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Labels) |
The following labels have been added to support the above changes to the User Area:
Loans Tab:
Requests Tab:
Fines and Fees Tab:
Settings Tab:
Search History Tab:
Saved Records Tab:
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Favorites Labels code table (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Labels) |
The following labels have been added to support the new Search History tab in the User Area:
The following labels have been added to support the new Saved Records tab in the User Area:
The following label has been added to support the new Saved Searches tab in the User Area:
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Library card Labels code table (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Labels) |
The following labels have been added to support the new Requests tab in the User Area:
The following labels have been added to support the new Fines and Fees tab in the User Area:
The following labels have been added to support the new Settings tab in the User Area:
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Loans List Labels code table (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Labels) |
The following labels have been added to support the new Loans tab in the User Area:
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Personal Settings Labels code table (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Labels) |
The following labels have been added to support the new Settings tab in the User Area:
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Landing Page
The landing page is the entry point for library discovery in the NDE UI. The path for the landing page is /nde/home. For example:
Configuration Changes for the Landing Page
Customizations to the landing page can either be applied from the Landing Page tab (Discovery > Display Configuration > Configure Views > [select a view to edit]) or from the customization package. For information on customizing the landing page using the customization package, see NDE UI Customization - Best Practices.
- Configuration-based approach: easy, dynamic, no HTML code required, handling, multi-language support
- This feature can be used dynamically. For example, institutions can choose to enable the “Announcement” section during their semester break, announce holidays with a specific message, and then disable it when it's no longer relevant.
- HTML customization: use the existing customization package to maintain full control, including complete layout replacement
- From the Landing Page tab, select Enable configuration (disabled by default).
The landing page colors are still derived from the customization package Color Theme.
To apply changes to the landing page from the customization package, uncheck Enable configuration.
From the Images section, you can upload a Home Page Background or About the Library Image.
Supported image formats are svg, gif, jpg, and png. The maximum file size that can be uploaded is 5 MB.
The recommended width for the top images and About the library image should be based on the out-of-the-box images. The top image should be approximately 1200 px wide, and the About the library image should be approximately 550 px wide. Other widths could impact the About the library text dimensions.
- Select Customize.
- Activate/Inactivate the number of links to display. Out-of-the-box, five links are set to Active.
- Use the drag
icon to reorder the links. - From the More actions
menu, select Edit. You can change the:
- Label
- URL — must include http:// or https://
- Icon
| Icon Name | Icon |
|---|---|
| icon1 |  |
| icon2 |  |
| icon3 |  |
| icon4 |  |
| icon5 |  |
| icon6 |  |
| icon7 |  |
| icon8 |  |
| icon9 |  |
| icon10 |  |
| icon11 |  |
| icon12 |  |
| icon13 |  |
| icon14 |  |
| icon15 |  |
| icon16 |  |
- Select Customize.
- Activate/Inactivate the number of elements to display.
- Use the drag icon to reorder the elements.
The following changes were added to support its use in the NDE UI.
| Element | Description | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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View Configuration page (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Configure Views) |
The Links Menu tab defines the links on the Main menu. Specifically, the LibrarySearch code configures the Library Search link, which opens to the Landing Page when selected. |
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Search Tile Labels code table (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Labels)
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The following label has been added to support the customization and translation of the page's heading:
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Landing page Labels (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Labels)
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The following labels have been added to support the customization and translation of the page's labels:
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Aria Labels code table (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Labels)
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The following label has been added to support the changes to the Quick Access links:
nde.aria.landing.quickLinks—Quick Access Links
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Research Assistant
The Research Assistant is a generative AI-powered tool designed to help users query academic content in natural language. It utilizes the breadth of your library to pinpoint five articles that can help answer the user's question in a response, which includes descriptions/abstracts of each article and in-line references to the sources within your library. For more information, see Getting Started with Primo Research Assistant.
Users can access the Research Assistant from the link in the Main Menu or the widget on the side of the Brief Results page:
Research Assistant is enabled at the view level by setting one or both of the following fields in the General tab of the View Configuration page (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Configure Views):
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Enable Research Assistant Using Icon – Displays the Research Assistant icon in the Main Menu links, enabling users to access the Research Assistant page from any UI page.
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Enable Research Assistant Using Widget – Displays the Research Assistant widget on the right edge of the Brief Results page, enabling users to ask a question without leaving the results page. After entering the question, users are taken to the Research Assistant page to view the answer.
You can allow users to decide whether to save their research history in the User Area > Settings tab. To enable this functionality, set the save_users_RA_search_history parameter to true (default) on the Discovery Customer Settings page (Configuration > Discovery > Other > Customer Settings). For more information, see Discovery Customer Settings and Configuring the Personal Details and Settings Tab.
By default, users must be signed in to access the Research Assistant. Contact Support if you want to give access to all users or on-campus users without having to sign in.
View Configuration Page
This section highlights new features available with the NDE UI and provides recommendations for setting up your NDE view on the View Configuration page (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Configure Views). For more information, see Configuring Discovery Views for Primo VE.
Views List Page
From the Views List page (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Configure Views), you can use the following options to create NDE views:
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Add View – Select this option to create a new NDE view. For more information, see General tab.
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Duplicate for NDE – Select this row action to copy a non-NDE view and its settings to a new NDE view.
This option does not copy the view settings in the Brief Record Display tab, under Display Fields, to the NDE view (under NDE Display Fields). Rather, it resets these settings to the following OTB settings (which can then be customized):
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Vernacular Title ; Title
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Creator ; Contributor
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Creation date
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Is Part Of
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Duplicate – Select this row action to create a duplicate view of another NDE view.
When you have finished testing your NDE view, and are ready to go live, select the Switch to Live row action. You can then choose whether to redirect traffic from a non-NDE view to this view, and, if so, whether to copy search history from the old view to the new one. A check mark is placed in the new NDE Live column for NDE views that have gone live. (Note that once this option has been selected, it is not possible to revert and switch it back.)
General Tab
While editing a view, the General tab configures general features for your view. NDE views have the NDE checkbox selected. This checkbox cannot be changed once the view is created.
The NDE UI uses the same general attributes as the original Primo VE. Some functionality may not be ready and may become available in later releases.
The following attributes have been added to the General Attributes section on the View Configuration - General Tab (Configuration > Discovery > Display Configuration > Configure Views) to enable/disable various features in the NDE UI:
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Enable Did You Mean — This checkbox indicates whether the Did You Mean feature is enabled for the NDE UI.
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Enable Places Map Widget — This checkbox indicates whether maps of places appear in a record's Full Display. For more information, see Map Widget, above.
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Logo Clickable URL — This field configures the link for the logo in the NDE UI. If no URL is defined, the Discovery home page will be displayed when the logo is clicked.
With the original UI, this functionality was configured on the Customization Package Manager page.
- Enable Natural Search—This checkbox indicates whether the Natural Language Search ("Ask Anything") feature is enabled for the view.
- Enable Similar Image Browse—This checkbox indicates whether the Similar Image Browse feature is enabled for the view. This option is only available for customers who have purchased Alma Specto.
Advanced Search Configuration Tab
The Advanced Search Configuration tab configures Advanced Search. The Enable For Basic Search option, which enables pre-filters for Basic Search, is no longer relevant to the NDE UI. You can continue to use your existing configuration for all other options on this tab.
Brief Results Tab
The Brief Results tab configures the information displayed on the Brief Results page, which opens after performing a search in the NDE UI. The following configuration changes have been made for the NDE UI:
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The Quick Filters section has been added to define the quick filters that appear at the top of the results, enabling users to select commonly used availability filters: Available On Shelf, Full-Text Online, Held by library, Peer-reviewed journals, and Open Access.
Brief Results Tab - Quick Filters SectionIf the Availability facet is disabled in the Facets section, it will not appear as a quick filter even if activated in the Quick Filters section.
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You can activate the code CollectionDiscovery for facets under the Facet section to include the facets in search results for searches in Collection Discovery.
Facets Section - Support Facets in Collection Discovery
Brief Record Display Tab
The Brief Record Display tab configures the information displayed for each record on the Brief Results page. The following changes have been made to support the NDE UI. For end-user details, see Brief Record Display, above.
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NDE Display Fields – Configuration options were added enabling you to choose whether to display the Summary and Snippet fields.
If the NDE view was created by duplicating a non-NDE view (by selecting the Duplicate for NDE option from the row actions of the non-NDE view), the view settings of the non-NDE view under Display Fields are not reproduced in the NDE view under NDE Display Fields. Instead, these settings are reset to their default values. For additional information, see NDE UI Enablement.
Brief Record Display Tab - NDE Display Fields -
NDE Record Actions – Configuration options were added to group record actions into the following categories: Share Actions, Export Actions, Citation, and Save to Favorites. The Share Actions and Export Actions are configurable from this tab.
Brief Record Display Tab - NDE Record Actions
Full Record Services Tab
The Full Display page opens when a user selects an area within a record's brief display that does not contain hypertext links. Selecting the title or the availability link in the record's brief display may also take the user to the Full Display page. The following changes have been made to support the NDE UI:
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A configuration option was added to indicate whether a section is expanded by default.
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Sections can be reordered by dragging the drag handles up and down.
Full Record Services Tab - Expand by Default Option
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Added the requests code to configure the new Requests section on the Full Display page. It is recommended that this section be placed at the top to make it easier for users to submit requests from the library. You can configure this section to expand all requests by default, and if disabled, up to three requests are displayed with an option to view more.
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Locations section (getit_link1)—It is recommended that this section be renamed Locations since it only shows the items’ availability. This capability is currently under development. In addition, this section will support the following:
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We will support two levels of display: group by library or each location separately. This is configured with the new getit_group_by_library parameter on the Discovery Customer Settings page (Configuration > Discovery > Other > Customer Settings)
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We will now support only three display fields per item instead of four. This configuration is provided on the Items Display Configuration page (Configuration > Discovery > GetIt configuration > Items display configuration).
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Added two new section codes for the contextual-relationships sections:
- Related Items – Configuration options for the Chapters of this Book and Other Chapters of this Book sections
- Book Reviews – Configuration options for the Book Reviews section
Manage Customization Package Tab
The Customization Package Manager enables you to upload and manage customization packages, which enables you to brand and further customize the NDE UI. If no packages are loaded, the system uses the out-of-the-box configurations. For more information, see Creating and Deploying a Customization Package. The following changes have been made to support the NDE UI:
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Customization Package—Brand your NDE UI.
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Color Theme—Select a color theme from a closed list of colors.
Alma-D Deposit Page
The NDE UI does not yet support the the Alma-D deposit page as a standalone page. Until it is supported, customers who make use of this feature and are switching over to the NDE UI should continue using the Alma-D deposit page they were using before. To make this possible, a new customer parameter temp_discovery_view_for_nde was created. The value of this parameter should be set to the view ID of the original Primo VE view they were using, in the form <institution_code>:<view_code> – for example, MY_INST:MyView. This parameter can be set at Configuration Menu > Discovery > Other > Customer Settings.
Display Label Configuration
The process of display-label configuration remains the same as it is under the original UI. However, a new method for finding the label codes has been implemented in the NDE UI: label codes can be found by adding &debugLabels=true at the end of the URL of the Primo VE page and pressing Enter to reload the page. The page then opens with all the configurable labels replaced by their codes. For additional information, see Configuring Display Labels for Primo VE.
