May 24, 2018
This release consists of various enhancements and bug fixes across the
application.
Features include:
-
Two new fields,
Data Set Creation Date
and Data Set Revision Date,
have been added to the Data Set Information section
in support of EDM requirements and best practices.
-
A new web service has been implemented
to support the load of InPort XML files via a REST API.
The API is currently in beta status,
but is open to any InPort XML loaders interested in using it.
Please contact the InPort Team
for more information.
-
A preview of the new NOAA Data Set Completion Rubric
has been implemented and is available as a link with the current Rubric Score.
See the notice below for additional details.
-
Downloadable XSLT and supporting files have been added to the
Tools page,
courtesy of the Office for Coastal Management.
These files are provided to help
convert FGDC files to InPort XML via XSLT.
For the complete list of changes, please see the release notes.
Notice on Rubric Update
In the next quarterly release,
InPort will be aligning its Data Set Rubric
with the NOAA Data Set Completion Rubric,
which represents the latest NOAA EDM requirements
and best practices for documenting Data Set metadata.
All current Rubric scores will be replaced with the new scores.
Since the new NOAA Rubric
has a larger number of requirements than the current rubric,
all scores should be expected to drop
once the new rubric is in place.
A preview link to the new rubric is available in this release, next to the current
Rubric score display. This rubric report is not a final version,
and we welcome any feedback and suggestions
on how it can be improved to help metadata authors and managers
meet NOAA EDM requirements.
Notice on InPort XML Date/Time Format Changes
InPort previously used ISO 8601 basic format to represent date and time in the InPort
XML format. In this release, dates and times have been changed to use ISO 8601
extended format for better readability. (The ISO 19115 export already uses
Extended format).
Basic format uses very few separators (such as YYYYMMDD and YYYYMMDDThhmmss) compared
to Extended format (YYYY-MM-DD and YYYY-MM-DDTHH:mm:ss).
Note: Although InPort XML exports will only use ISO 8601 Extended format,
the InPort XML Loader will continue to accept either Basic or Extended format.
Notice on Oracle Forms Removal
The Library Manager on Oracle Forms has been taken offline
with this release.
All core/critical functions have been migrated
into the regular web application
and are ready for InPort Librarians to use.
If training or assistance is desired,
please contact InPort Support
to schedule a training demo.
FGDC Deprecation Schedule
NOAA is in the process of transitioning to ISO 19115
as its official metadata standard.
Accordingly, InPort has been slowly removing support
for FGDC-related functions and features this year.
The planned deprecation will be completed with the next quarterly InPort release.
If removal of the following FGDC features presents any issues for your organization,
please contact the InPort Team.
Release 4.1.0 - September 2018
- View Catalog Item as FGDC
- FGDC WAF Files
- Preserved FGDC Sections in ISO 19115 export
- FGDC Content Type field in Data Set Information section
Additional Notes
The field, Source Media Type (in the Data Set Information section)
has been deprecated, and will be removed in a future InPort Release.
This field represents a legacy concept of how data is delivered,
and should be documented instead with the File Type field
in the Distribution Information section.
March 8, 2018
This patch consists of various minor enhancements and bug fixes across the
application.
For the complete list of changes, please see the release notes.
Notice on Changes to Instrument, Platform, and Physical Collection/Gear
In the previous InPort Release (3.9.4),
a new section, Acquisition Information, was added.
This section allows users to provide more detailed information on
Instruments, Platforms,
and Physical Collection / Gear than the free-text fields
previously available in the Data Set Information section.
The new format is also necessary in order to meet new EDM requirements
for metadata completeness.
Users are encouraged to start using the new Acquisition Information section
in new records, as well as in updates to existing metadata.
However, the old fields (which are now deprecated) will continue to be
accessible and editable during a transitional period,
and the Data Set Completeness rubric will continue to score
based on the contents of the old fields.
A new rubric which reflects updated NOAA EDM requirements
is currently in development,
and will be part of an upcoming InPort release.
This rubric will score instrument/platform/gear requirements
solely based on the contents of the new Acquisition Information section.
The deprecated fields will remain available as read-only fields
once the new rubric is released,
to help users transition their metadata at that point.
January 23, 2018
This release consists of various enhancements and bug fixes across the
application.
Features include:
-
A new section, Acquisition Information,
has been added for Data Sets.
This section allows more detailed information on Instruments,
Gear, and Platforms to be specified,
and replaces the free text fields under Data Set Information,
which are now deprecated.
-
New fields in support of updated EDM priorities and metrics,
have been added:
-
Under Item Identification:
- DOI (Digital Object Identifier)
- DOI Registration Authority
- DOI Issue Date
-
Under Data Set Information:
-
Under URLs:
-
Under Lineage Sources:
- Citation URL Name
- Citation URL Description
-
Under Data Quality:
- Horizontal Positional Accuracy
- Vertical Positional Accuracy
-
Under Related Items:
-
The following sections can now be edited,
regardless of the Catalog Item's workflow state:
Support Roles, Related Items, Activity Log, Issues, FAQs, and Acronyms.
-
A new capability for curating components which are shared across InPort
(such as Instruments and Platforms) has been added.
This feature is available for Librarians and Admins.
-
Added support for users to create bookmarks to frequently accessed catalog items,
which are easily accessible across the site.
For the complete list of changes, please see the release notes.
November 14, 2017
This patch consists of various minor enhancements and bug fixes across the
application.
For the complete list of changes, please see the release notes.
October 19, 2017
This release consists of various enhancements and bug fixes across the
application.
Features include:
- Added support for user role management within the web application.
- Added a new field, Lineage Source Contribution to the Lineage section.
- Added dropdown navigation under Organizations, categorized by organizational group, and improved the usability of the Organizations page.
- Added recommended citation, WAF links, and hierarchy path to Catalog Items and streamlined the UI.
- Various improvements and modifications to the ISO 19115 and InPort XML export.
For the complete list of changes, please see the release notes.
August 8, 2017
This patch consists of various minor enhancements and bug fixes across the
application.
For the complete list of changes, please see the release notes.
July 6, 2017
This release consists of various enhancements and bug fixes across the
application.
Features include:
-
A new section, Spatial Information, has been added for Data Sets. This is the first
of
two phases in implementing support for spatial metadata in InPort. In this phase,
support for
providing spatial resolution information, as well as spatial representation
information
(such as grid representations and vectors representations) is included. This
metadata is
also fully uploadable via InPort XML.
-
Entity information is now included in the ISO 19115-2 export of Data Sets.
Information
for Entities that are direct children of a Data Set are included.
-
A new field, Maintenance Note, has been added to the Data Set Information section.
-
Librarians and System Administrators now have the ability to create InPort user
accounts
and link them to the CAM system for NOAA LDAP support and non-NOAA account
management.
Accounts that have been deactivated can also be reactivated by Librarians without
needing
to contact InPort Support.
For the complete list of changes, please see the release notes.
April 4, 2017
This patch consists of various minor enhancements and bug fixes across the
application.
For the complete list of changes, please see the release notes.
March 14, 2017
This release consists of various enhancements and bug fixes across the
application.
Features include:
-
The Downloads section has been renamed to Distribution Info. New start and end date
fields
can be set for each Distribution. In addition, each Distribution can be associated
with
a Distributor (from the Support Roles section). Due to the change in terminology,
the syntax
for InPort XML has changed. However, the InPort XML Loader will continue to support
the
old syntax for a temporary period of time to allow for transition. See the XML Loader
Documentation for more details.
-
Keyword thesauri can now have a null/empty value, rather than being specified by the
special
term, "None."
-
The maximum length of a variety of fields has been extended. See the release notes
for
more details.
For the complete list of changes, please see the release notes.
January 26, 2017
This release consists of various enhancements and bug fixes across the
application.
Features include:
-
Implementation of the InPort XML Loader has been completed, with support expanded to
Procedure Information, Acronyms, Glossary, and Related Items.
-
A new parameter option,
publish-on-load, is supported in the InPort XML
Loader.
This allows uploaders to have the corresponding Catalog Item published (or
re-published)
on load. See more information in the InPort XML Loader
documentation.
-
Catalog Items can now be edited, even when out of workflow, for users with a
Publisher
or higher role on the item. This is called Workflow Override Mode.
See more information below.
-
A new Oracle extract script has been created, which can extract entity information
from
Oracle databases and export them to InPort XML files, which can then be uploaded
into
InPort. The old, legacy Oracle LIS extract script is still available, but will
eventually
be discontinued in a future release. We strongly recommend users of the old
entity extract script to switch over to the new script, and to report any issues
encountered
when using the script.
-
Migration of Oracle Forms Library Manager features has begun. For this release,
this includes support for viewing and editing Organization information, as well as
viewing,
creating, and editing person information (these management privileges are restricted
to Librarians and Sys Admins).
A "Quick Add" convenience form has also been implemented to support the creation of
multiple persons.
Additional Library Manager features will be implemented in future releases.
For the complete list of changes, please see the release notes.
More Information on Workflow Override Mode
Catalog Items were previously only editable when in Draft state (or Review / Revise
state for Publishers) state. This
remains the default, normal restriction in InPort, in order to preserve the metadata
review
process.
However, there are situations where only very minor editing is needed, such as a
correction of
a misspelling. It can trigger a very large effort in order to withdraw such items for
editing,
especially if they sit towards the top of the Catalog Item Hierarchy.
To alleviate these types of situations, a new "Workflow Override Mode" has been
created, which allows
any user with a Publisher (or higher) role on a Catalog Item to make edits, without
having to
change the item's workflow status.
To edit a Catalog Item in Workflow Override Mode, simply go to the Catalog Item page
as
before. Any sections that would have otherwise been disabled for editing will now have
a
red Edit button (instead of the usual orange Edit button). Click on Edit to modify the
section as before. When you are editing a section that is in Workflow Override Mode, a
banner
will appear in the page as a reminder that you are editing in this mode.
Please note that this mode is not intended to subvert the normal
metadata review
process, and therefore should only be used in appropriate circumstances. In general,
when
metadata is being altered, it should be withdrawn for editing, and then approved and
re-published
by the proper authority. Adhering to the workflow process will ensure that the Catalog
Item record will most accurately reflect its state, modification, and publication
history.
November 8, 2016
This patch contains various fixes for issues identified following the 3.7
Release.
For the complete list of changes, please see the release notes.
October 4, 2016
This release consists of various enhancements and bug fixes across the
application.
Features include:
-
The InPort XML Loader has been expanded to include support for Data Set Information,
Project Information, Document Information, and FAQs.
- Additional catalog item types, Project and Document, are now supported by the
InPort XML Loader, in addition to Data Sets and Entities.
- Two new Support Role types have been added: Co-Author and Principal
Investigator.
For the complete list of changes, please see the release notes.
July 28, 2016
This patch provides several enhancements in support of new EDM metadata requirements
for Entities and Attributes.
It also contains various fixes for bugs identified following the 3.6 Release.
Features include:
- A new rubric at the Entity level has been added, in accordance with current EDM
requirements for Entity and Attribute metadata.
- A new "Quick Edit" Data Attributes form has been added, to facilitate addition and
modification of Data Attributes fields affected by the new EDM metadata
requirements.
- A new hierarchy details page has been added (linked from the current View in
Hierarchy page), which displays additional item information such
as items' publish status and rubric score.
- Rubric scores for Data Sets and Entities have also been added to the Child Items
section of their parent.
For the complete list of changes, please see the release notes.
July 11, 2016
This patch prevented an issue in the Table / Column Loader with operations that made
use of ROWID. The issue was introduced by a bug in the new version of Oracle DB.
The patch was installed prior to the database upgrade, to ensure no users would
encounter the issue.
June 30, 2016
This release consists of various enhancements and bug fixes across the
application.
Features include:
- The rubric has been updated to display an Overall Score (consisting of the Wave 1
and Wave 2 scores) and a separate Entity and Attributes score for Data Sets.
-
The InPort XML Loader has been expanded to include support for URLs, Activity Logs,
Issues, Technical Environment, Catalog Details, and remaining fields in the Extents
section.
- RELAX NG and XSD schema files have been provided for validation of InPort XML
files for uploaders.
- The Max Length field under Data Attributes for Entity items has been made
optional.
For the complete list of changes, please see the release notes.
April 28, 2016
This patch largely consists of fixes for bugs identified following the 3.5 release.
This includes:
- A separate page of NOAA DMPs in the Statistics section for use by NOAA EDM.
- Added catalog item type to the display of Related Items on the catalog item
page.
- Several modifications were made to InPort XML to be more consistent with the order
of sections and fields across the application.
For the complete list of changes, please see the release notes.
March 29, 2016
This release provides several enhancements in supporting EDM metadata requirements
and metadata creation.
Features include:
- The rubric has been updated to include an Entity and Attributes score, based on
new metadata requirements for NMFS.
-
The InPort XML Loader has been expanded to include support for Entity catalog items,
the Data Attributes section, and the Keywords section.
- Catalog items can now be cloned, to speed up creation of similar items.
For the complete list of changes, please see the release notes.
More Information on Cloning Items
Catalog items can now be cloned. This feature can be accessed in two different ways:
1) When
creating a new child item, a Cat ID can be specified to copy from, or 2) An existing
item can be cloned
by going into the Item Actions menu and selecting Clone Item, in which case the new
item will be
created under the same parent (it can be moved to a different place in the hierarchy
after creation, if desired).
Items can be cloned as a different type of catalog item, however only the sections
which apply to
the new catalog item will be copied over.
A clone operation copies only the metadata fields of the item being cloned; it will
not copy over
any child items.
February 2, 2016
This release provides several enhancements for importing metadata.
Features include:
-
Support for batch upload of multiple InPort XML files in a single zip file.
- The InPort XML Loader has been expanded to include support of all Item
Identification and Data Quality section fields.
Additionally, the InPort Stats page has been made available in the navigation options.
Although this feature has been available previously, it is being opened up
to a wider audience for additional feedback. The Data Sets report has been modified to
include
links to each Data Set's Data Management Plan in the interest of providing an
up-to-date, online
repository of NOAA DMPs for NMFS. Links have also been included for the ISO19115 and
InPort XML exports of the data set.
For the complete list of changes, please see the release notes.
More Information on the Batch InPort XML Loader
A new batch loading capability has been added, to allow multiple InPort XML files to
be loaded
into InPort to create/update items in one zip file. All normal restrictions apply --
you must have
the appropriate role to modify the affected catalog items, and the catalog items must
be in an
editable workflow state (e.g. Draft for Authors and Publishers, Review/Revise for
Publishers).
A link to the Batch InPort XML Loader is available in the right sidebar of the My InPort page.
To batch load a set of InPort XML files, zip all desired files into a single .zip file
and upload
them. The zip file will be queued up and loaded into InPort, and a validation report
with the results
will be provided. To check on the status of your loaded file, visit the My InPort
page.
InPort XML Load field support is an ongoing effort and currently limited to
PARR-related fields for
Data Sets. It is continuously being expanded until full field support across all
catalog item
types is supported. Please see the full
documentation on the InPort XML Loader for more
information.
December 17, 2015
This release provides several enhancements in supporting EDM metadata
requirements.
Features include:
- A new InPort XML format has been created, with the ability to export full InPort
records as XML. Please see the notes below for more information.
- All fields which do not have an FGDC equivalent, and are required for PARR, are
now preserved on an FGDC update.
- Several UI improvements have been made to ease the copying of data between
items.
- The InPort XML Loader has been expanded to include support of the Access
Information section. This completes load support for all fields required for PARR.
For the complete list of changes, please see the release notes.
Enhanced Copying Features
Sections that previously supported "Copy from Parent" now also support "Copy from Cat
ID", where
fields can be copied from an arbitrary catalog item, specified by its Cat ID, provided
you are able to
view that catalog item.
The Data Management section now supports the Copy from Cat ID feature as well.
In addition, multiple sections from an arbitrary catalog item can be copied in one
step. This bulk "Copy from Cat ID" capability
is available for all users with an Author or higher role on the catalog item, under
the Item Actions menu.
More Information on the New InPort XML Format
A new custom XML format is under development, which will allow both export, import,
and update of a full
catalog item of any type via XML.
Import and update capabilities are being implemented piecemeal through multiple
releases. As
of this release, fields that are required for PARR and DMP generation (for Data Sets
only) are fully
supported. Full Data Set imports will be supported later this year, followed by
support of
other catalog item types.
A preliminary implementation of the full export of any catalog item is included in
this release.
This export format replaces the existing XML export, which is now considered an
obsolete, legacy
format. While there are many similarities between the two, the newer format has
greater internal
consistency, and is based on how the sections and fields for catalog items are
currently
organized and represented in InPort. More importantly, the new format is intended to
be the
same for both importing and exporting.
This preliminary implementation is designated as version "0.9", since it is still in
provisional
status and may change as the import/update capability is completed. However, it can
still be
useful as a reference on existing items, for users who plan to upload InPort XML
files. It also
represents all the information InPort has on a particular catalog item in its
entirety, which
may be useful for archival or integration purposes.
The legacy XML format is no longer listed in the Export options on an item, however it
will
still be available for a limited time by typing in the address manually (append "/xml"
to the
URL for a catalog item, e.g. https://inport.nmfs.noaa.gov/inport/item/123456/xml).
December 1, 2015
This patch largely consists of fixes for bugs identified following the 3.3 release.
This includes:
- A critical bug in the DMP preview and PDF export, which indicated an invalid
Physical Location even when valid, has been fixed.
- A new Help page, Importing
Metadata into InPort, was added to assist users interested in the new InPort XML
load capability.
- A new Help page, Tools, Scripts &
Downloads has been added to consolidate the various scripts and downloads used
across InPort to a single page.
For the complete list of changes, please see the release notes.
November 3, 2015
This release provides several enhancements in supporting EDM metadata requirements
and DMP generation.
Features include:
- The metadata rubric has been updated with the finalized measures for meeting NMFS
metadata requirements.
Completion guidance has also been added to assist users entering metadata.
- The InPort XML loader has been expanded to include all DMP-related fields. Please
see the
loader documentation (in the sidebar when loading an XML file) for more details.
Note that
catalog items must be in an editable workflow state to be updated.
See the help section on Importing
Metadata into InPort for more information and documentation on this feature.
- The structure of geographic areas and time frames has been modified to better
support
the range of scenarios in which
data is being collected. A new section, "Extents" has been added, which now houses
both
Time Frames and Geographic Areas. Geographic areas have been made repeatable so that
one
or more bounding boxes or geographic area descriptions can be entered. In addition,
a
new, repeatable vertical extent component has been added. Existing time frames and
geographic areas have been automatically converted to the new structure.
- DMP PDF files can now be batch exported at the Project level, for all externally
published Data Sets under the Project.
For the complete list of changes, please see the release notes.
August 27, 2015
This patch largely consists of fixes for bugs identified following the 3.2 release.
In addition, the metadata rubric has been updated for the NMFS EDM Wave 1 and Wave 2
fields for assessing metadata completeness.
For the complete list of changes, please see the release notes.
July 28, 2015
This release provides the first set of features necessary to generate Data Management
Plans based on metadata in InPort. Fields required for the Data Management Plan that
did not already exist in InPort have been added for Data Sets. A new metadata section,
Data Management, contains most of these fields, with a few additional fields in the
Data Set Information and Data Quality sections.
Supporting features include:
- A dynamic preview of the Data Management Plan based on existing information.
- A PDF export of the Data Management Plan document.
- An XML upload capability for new fields added to InPort in support of the Data
Management Plan.
See the help section on Importing
Metadata into InPort for more information and documentation on this feature.
For the complete list of changes, please see the release notes.
Important Notice on Common Core Exports
Please note that as of this release, support for Common Core has been removed from
InPort, as well as the WAF.
June 18, 2015
This patch largely consists of fixes for bugs identified following the 3.1 release,
as well as some ISO 19115 export enhancements.
This includes:
- A fix for an issue where only the first URL specified as an Online Resource was
appearing in the ISO 19115 export.
- Addition of Originators into the ISO 19115 export.
- Addition of Data Stewards into the ISO 19115 export.
- A fix for detection of expired passwords for external non-NOAA users.
For the complete list of changes, please see the release notes.
Important Notice on Common Core Exports
The Common Core export functionality will no longer be supported, and will be removed
from InPort as of next release. All externally
published data sets are harvested and incorporated into data.noaa.gov and data.gov,
and
are available in the latest version of Common Core at those locations.
April 23, 2015
This release consists of several enhancements to the FGDC uploader, continued work on
the migration of Forms
functionality into the web application, usability improvements, and bug fixes.
- The Lineage section in FGDC is now supported for FGDC uploads. In
addition, the lineage source citation URL was also added as a new field. Please see
the important notice below for users who have been
uploading FGDC files with lineage information.
- Several critical problems with the upload of entities and attributes have been
fixed. The maximum file upload size has also been increased to 1 MB.
- A new Statistics area in InPort has been created and is in the
conceptual and development phase. This area is not linked directly from any page or
navigation menu, but can
be accessed here. Please understand that the two
initial reports are only a tiny sliver of what we hope to implement in this area. We
welcome your feedback and suggestions for statistics and reports that would be
useful for you or your organization.
- ISO 19115 exports now include the name of the Data Set's parent project, as a
Project Keyword. In addition,
the previously default reference system of EPSG:4326 has been
removed, as it does not apply to all InPort data sets. A future release
may support this as an option for metadata authors.
Important Notice on Lineage
As of this release, lineage is now processed for FGDC file uploads, and stored into
InPort's native
implementation of lineage. This has implications for InPort users who have
previously uploaded FGDC
files which contained lineage information.
Previously, lineage information found in FGDC files was unsupported and not
processed, but it was
stored internally and preserved so that it could be grafted into the FGDC export of
the resulting Data
Set. The preserved FGDC lineage information was also used to generate the
corresponding
lineage section in the ISO 19115 export. In other words, even though FGDC lineage
information was not viewable directly in the InPort Data Set, it was still preserved
and used for
exports.
Now that lineage information found in FGDC files is processed and stored in InPort's
native lineage
implementation, we will eventually
discontinue use of the preserved FGDC lineage information for FGDC and ISO 19115
exports. Only
the lineage information contained in InPort's native implementation will be used as a
basis for metadata
exports.
There will be a transitional period of approximately 3 months
(ending when
InPort Release v3.2 is released). During this time, any preserved lineage information
will
still be used as a fallback for FGDC and
ISO 19115 exports, if no InPort lineage information exists. After this transitional
period,
however,
only lineage information that appears in the native InPort lineage section will be
used for
metadata exports.
If no lineage information exists in the InPort lineage section, no lineage information
will
be exported.
If you have uploaded FGDC files prior to this release which contained lineage
information, you are
strongly recommended to update the corresponding Data Sets, preferably before the
transition period
has ended, to avoid missing lineage information in your exports. This can be
done in 2 different ways:
- If you only use FGDC uploads to create/update your Data Set, then
perform
an additional FGDC Update with the most recent version of your FGDC file.
- If you created your Data Set, but made manual changes to your Data Set on InPort,
then the
safest approach is to enter in the Lineage information directly in InPort's
interface. This is due
to the fact that an FGDC Update will completely overwrite the existing record, and
all information
entered manually in InPort after the upload will be lost.
Here is a summary of the changes before this release, during, and after the transition
period:
Prior to this Release
- FGDC Upload: Lineage information in uploaded FGDC files was not
processed or stored in InPort's native lineage section, but the XML was preserved.
- FGDC Export: If preserved FGDC lineage metadata existed, it was
grafted into the Data Set's FGDC export. If no preserved FGDC lineage metadata
existed, any metadata present in InPort's native lineage implementation was used as
the basis for the FGDC export.
- ISO 19115 Export: If preserved FGDC lineage metadata existed, it
was used as a basis for the Data Set's ISO 19115 export. If no preserved FGDC
lineage metadata existed, any metadata present in InPort's native lineage
implementation was used as the basis for the ISO 19115 export.
As of this Release, and During the Transition Period
- FGDC Upload: Lineage information in uploaded FGDC files is now
processed and stored in InPort's native lineage section. The XML is also preserved.
- FGDC Export: If InPort native lineage information exists, it is
used as the basis for the Data Set's FGDC export. If no InPort lineage information
exists, the preserved FGDC lineage XML is used as a fallback and grafted into the
Data Set's FGDC export.
- ISO 19115 Export: If InPort native lineage information exists, it
is used as the basis for the Data Set's ISO 19115 export. If no InPort lineage
information exists, the preserved FGDC lineage XML is used as a fallback, and is the
basis for the Data Set's ISO 19115 export.
After the Transition Period
- FGDC Upload: Lineage information in uploaded FGDC files will
continue to be processed and stored in InPort's native lineage section. The XML will
not be preserved.
- FGDC Export: Only InPort's native lineage information will be
used as the basis for the Data Set's FGDC export.
- ISO 19115 Export: Only InPort's native lineage information will
be used as the basis for the Data Set's ISO 19115 export.
For the complete list of release changes, please see the release notes.
February 24, 2015
This patch largely consists of fixes for bugs identified following the 3.0 major
release.
In addition, a few "quality of life" improvements were made:
- A "Jump To" button is included in the Catalog Hierarchy view to scroll to the
currently selected Catalog Item (useful if it is off-screen).
- Most email addresses that appear in fields now are a clickable link to open the
user's mail client with the email address populated.
- Direct links have been added for each field within the Metadata Rubric report to
make changes. The links only appear if you have an appropriate role to modify the
record.
For the complete list of changes, please see the release notes.
January 28, 2015
Release 3.0 represents a major update of InPort -- a year-long effort where every
component of InPort was affected in some way. Some of these changes are drastic and
obvious, but others are more hidden and affect what's underneath the hood.
This information is intended to help introduce the InPort community to some of the
more notable changes, and help transition users to the new system.
Changes for All Users
User accounts are now tied to your NOAA account. Use your NOAA
email/username and password to
login to the InPort web application. Note that you must still be authorized to access
InPort in order to login, so if you
did not have an existing InPort account prior to this release, you must be authorized
for InPort by your organization's
Librarian. If you previously had an InPort account, but are not able to login with
your NOAA credentials, please
contact InPort Support.
Note: Librarians and Sys Admins must still use their previous InPort
accounts to login to
the Forms applications (Library Manager, Sys Admin Tools, etc.). Please see the Notes
for Librarians section for more details.
If your registered email address in InPort is not a NOAA email
address, you should have
received a notification with a password for you to login with. If you did not receive
any notification,
please contact InPort Support. This
only applies to users with
non-NOAA email addresses.
Users can now browse metadata libraries within the web application.
Visit the Organizations page to view
all
available libraries. Guest users are able to browse through all externally published
libraries,
while logged-in users can also browse internally-published libraries, as well as any
unpublished
libraries or portions of libraries that they have been granted access to.
The My InPort page (logged-in
users only)
displays all the libraries or catalog items that you have been given a special
authorization for.
Notes for Metadata Authors
The Catalog Editor module, previously an Oracle Forms application, has been
migrated and integrated directly
into the web application. This represents a major change to how metadata is
now edited in InPort, as
well as a new foundation for making InPort more user-friendly and up-to-date with
modern web technologies. We welcome
any and all feedback on the new interface, as this release represents a start, and not
an end, to usability improvements
in InPort.
There is no longer a separate application/module for editing
metadata. Instead, you can browse or search
for catalog items within the web application, and then edit them directly on the
View Catalog Item page.
Note that you must have been granted an Author or higher role to edit Catalog Items.
In addition, Catalog Items must be in
an appropriate workflow state to be edited (i.e. Draft, Review / Revise).
InPort now supports a Lineage section for Data Sets. This means that
lineage-related
metadata can be inputted directly in InPort, and this information will be reflected in
all metadata exports.
Note: the new lineage information in InPort is not yet integrated
with the lineage processing
for FGDC file uploads. If you create records in InPort with FGDC file uploads, it is
recommended for now that you do not
modify InPort's lineage fields, as it will interfere with the preservation of the FGDC
lineage data.
A future release will more tightly integrate FGDC lineage processing with InPort's
native lineage implementation, so that
this is no longer a concern.
Data Entities that are directly under Data Sets can now be bulk approved and
published
when the parent Data Set is approved/published. Previously, all items had to be
individually approved.
This is a convenience feature for metadata authors who need to make frequent changes
to data sets, but
don't need to modify child entities often.
Browser-based spell-check has been integrated. As metadata editing is
now integrated
in the web application, built-in web browser spell-checking features are now utilized,
if they are available.
Note that spell-checkers work somewhat differently across the various browsers
(Chrome, Firefox, IE, etc.), and are not available in
older versions of some browsers.
For users who upload Oracle table / column metadata with an extract (.lis)
file, the process
in release 3.0 is almost the same as before. Extract files must be uploaded to a
Project -- when viewing a Project
as a logged-in user, click on the More Actions menu to upload a file.
The uploaded file
must then be processed in the Table / Column Loader, which is still on Oracle Forms.
This module will eventually be
migrated into the web application, but users will need to continue to use Oracle Forms
for now.
If you need to use the Table / Column Loader and are an InPort Librarian or System
Administrator, you can use your
previous InPort account credentials (not your NOAA username and
password) to access the Table / Column Loader.
If you are not a Librarian
or System Administrator, your account must be specifically enabled to use this module
under the 3.0 system.
Please contact InPort Support to set your account
up for access.
Notes for Librarians
The Library Manager module for library, organization, and user management, will
eventually be migrated
into the web application, similar to the Catalog Editor. In the meantime,
Librarians must still perform
library and user management within Oracle Forms. To access the Library
Manager, login to InPort
with your NOAA credentials. Then, under the Admin menu, click on Library Manager.
To use the Library Manager module, Librarians must use their previous
InPort account credentials to login to
Forms, NOT their NOAA account credentials. We realize it is inconvenient to have two
logins
for different areas of the application. However, this is a temporary, but necessary
measure until the Library Manager
has been migrated off of Oracle Forms. We apologize for the inconvenience in the
meantime.
In addition, the user creation process is slightly different in this
release. As before, new users
can and should be created in the Library Manager, and then granted whatever roles are
appropriate for their needs.
However, an InPort username can no longer be created for them at this point. Instead,
you must contact InPort Support
to have a new user's account enabled and hooked up to his/her NOAA credentials. The
InPort team is
currently working on a way to simplify this process, so that Librarians can eventually
enable these
accounts on their own without any intervention from InPort Support.
Note: If you only need to create a new person so that they can be
referenced in a Catalog Item
(e.g. Support Roles), but that person does not need to actually login to InPort, then
their NOAA
account does not need to be linked. You can simply create them in your Library, and
they will be
available immediately with no further action required.
As of InPort 3.0, Catalog Items that were at any time previously published can
now be deleted. This
action is only allowed for InPort users with a Librarian role. It is still highly
recommended to Withdraw, and not
delete obsolete items that were previously published. However, the new deletion
capability can be used to
remove items that were created in error, or truly should not be made available to
anyone.
Also as of this release, due to increased security measures, access to reports
will require
logging in again. On the first time accessing any report from Forms in a
single session,
there will be a login prompt. Your Oracle username and password should be used for
this (not your
NOAA account). This should only need to be done once for the session.
A new Support Roles Report has been added which displays all the
catalog items that
an InPort user has been assigned to as a Support Role (e.g. Point of Contact, Metadata
Contact, Distributor, etc.).
To access this report, click on a user in the Library Manager tree, and select the
Support Roles Report from the
Reports menu (or right-click on the user and select the report from the menu).
Where Did It Go?
Here is a quick rundown of InPort features that have moved in InPort 3.0, and where
to find them:
Change Workflow/Publish Status - On the Catalog Item View page, click
on the Change
button next to the workflow status display at the top of the page. Note that you must
be logged-in and
have the appropriate role to change the workflow status. You can also change workflow
status from the
View Catalog Hierarchy page.
Metadata Export Formats - Metadata export formats (FGDC, ISO 19115,
etc.) are still
available on the Catalog Item View page, but on the left side, under the View Item As
menu.
FGDC Upload / FGDC Update - For FGDC uploads, go directly to the
Project that the
new Data Set will be under. Under the More Actions menu, click on Upload FGDC. For
FGDC updates, go
directly to the Data Set that will be updated. Under the More Actions menu, click on
Update from FGDC.
Entity Extract Upload - Go directly to the Project that contains the
Data Set for which
the Entity Extract will apply to. Under the More Actions menu, click on Upload Entity
Extract.
Add / Delete / Move Catalog Items - These actions are available when
selecting items
in the View Catalog Hierarchy page. They are also available under the More Actions
menu when viewing
a Catalog Item.
Edit Catalog Items - Individual sections of a catalog item can be
edited by clicking
on the Edit button for each section when viewing a Catalog Item. Note that these
buttons are only
available when logged-in, for users with authorization to edit metadata records. The
Catalog Item must
also be in an editable workflow state to be edited.
Hierarchy with Details Report - This report has been removed from
InPort until further notice, as it
was causing critical performance and stability issues.
User History Report - For logged-in users, click on History in the
main navigation menu
under My InPort.
Catalog Item History Report - When viewing a Catalog Item, click on
Catalog Item History
in the page header. You must be logged-in to view this report.
User Roles Report - When viewing a Catalog Item, click on User Roles
in the page header. You must be logged-in to view this report.
Catalog Hierarchy Report - This report has been replaced by the
Catalog Hierarchy
functionality in the web application. In addition, when viewing any Catalog Item, you
can see its
location in the Catalog Hierarchy by clicking on View in Hierarchy in the page header.
For more information and details, please consult the InPort Release Notes page.
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