Metadata Editor (MDE)

This page refers to the Metadata Editor introduced in 2021. 

Opening the MDE

• Throughout your Alma work, you will see the option to go to, or leave, the new MDE at any time via an icon in the lower left of your screen. 
• You can also use keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+M
• You can also use the normal menu item to go to the MDE.
• To return to the screen you were before going to the MDE, use the Hide MDE in the lower left

Navigation

• To switch between Records, Templates, and Rules, use the tabs in the upper left: 

• To switch between open Bib records, Holdings, and Authorities, use the sub- tabs at the top: 

• The Alt Key can be used to access all menus in the new MDE. 
  • Watch the Alt Key Shortcuts for Metadata Editor Menus video (58 seconds). 
  • Pressing Alt will assign a number to each menu, then you can press that number to open the menu. Use the up/down arrow keys to navigate the open menu. 

Shortcuts to frequently used actions

You can customize Quick Links in the MDE to show the actions you perform most frequently. See the ExL instructions for more information. 

• Watch the Metadata Editor Quick Links video (1:17 minutes).

Push to MDE

• From search results in Alma, you can push records to the MDE for use later
• When you use the push function, you will stay where you are in Alma. The records will be open in your MDE the next time you go there. 
• You can select multiple records from search results and push them to the MDE. A note at the top of the list will indicate how many records you have selected:

• You can also use the Select All option to push a list of records. This will push the first page of search results. A note at the top of the list will tell you how many records are selected:

• Records can also be pushed one at a time:

• You will see the records when you go back to the MDE, and they will have an indicator that they were pushed to the MDE. The indicator will remain until the record is saved. 

Record List

• The left pane contains your list of open records. 
• Each record has an icon: 
  • Blue house - record has been saved in the database
  • Grey icon - record has not been saved
  • Eye with red line - record is suppressed from public display
• When you hover over a line in your list, you will see the full title, as well as Creation Date, Modification Date, and Last Modifier: 

• You can Scope and Sort your record list. This feature allows you to limit to Institution / CZ records, and Sort alphabetically (by title) or by "Entry Date" (Modification Date): 

• You can also search and filter your list of records by words from the record title. Once you start typing in the input box at the top of the record list, the list begins to filter immediately. Click the X in the box to remove the filter. 

• The Release All Records option is in the upper right of the Record List. The button will release all records in the list. You can filter the list and then release, and only the filtered records will be released. 

Locked records

When you open a record in the repository for editing, it is "checked out" to you. This prevents other users from modifying the same record at the same time and overriding your changes.

Other users will be able to view the record, but will not be able to edit it. They will see a notice that the record is locked by you.

If another user has the record locked, you will not be able to see the record's Version History (Tools > View Versions).

All your locked records will appear in a list in the Left Pane, and will continue to be there until you release them. They will remain listed in the Left Pane even after you exit the MDE or sign out of Alma.

• If 4 hours (a Harvard-defined setting) have elapsed and you have not released the record, the system will automatically release it, and it will continue to appear in your Left Pane until another user edits it or you release it.

• Clicking on the record again and loading it into your MDE re-locks it.

Reloading a record / "External process has changed the original record"

When you view a record in the MDE you may receive a message that the record has changed. "An external process has changed the original record."  Screenshot:

This means that the record in the database was updated and that the version you are seeing in your MDE is outdated. A more recent version exists and you have to reload the record to see it. If you don't reload you are still seeing the old version of the record. If you save that old version you will wipe out the new version. 

To reload, go to the Record Actions menu > Reload Original Record. (The labeling is not ideal -- the use of the work "original" is quite confusing.)

When you choose this option you will receive the confirmation message and you should choose Yes.

The text " your changes will be lost" sounds scary but is only true if you did not save it the last time you were working on it. In case of doubt you can choose No, use the View Versions to see if there are things in your record that you would lose, make note of them, then Reload Original Record and apply your changes.

What types of External Processes may be run on a record that would cause this alert? 

• Automated addition of OCLC numbers as part of ongoing OCLC Data Sync
• Authorities and Authority Control Task List
• Automated addition of local fields to support /wiki/spaces/LibraryStaffDoc/pages/43287450
• Normalization rules run on batches of records. Applying normalization rules to batches of bibs or holdings

MDE Menu

• The menu specific to the MDE is located above the main pane. When expanded, the menus list keyboard equivalents where available. 

• In a field, Control+F opens the form editor. This function works for fixed fields, as well as the holding 852. 
• A full description of all menu options are available on the Ex Libris documentation center. 
• Some functions are detailed in other pages: 
  • Search External Resources - Creating & Updating Bib Records and Using Search Resources (Z39.50). This page also includes information on linking to bib headings. 
  • Browsing Bib Headings
  • Browse Shelf Listing
  • Duplicating Bib Records
  • Suppressing and Deleting Bibliographic Records
  • Merging Bib Records, and Alma Merging Algorithms and Protected Fields
  • Working with Templates
  • Non-Latin Scripts in the Metadata Editor

Split Editor mode

• The icon to activate the Split Editor is now at the top of the left pane: 

• When you click the Split Editor icon, the right pane opens and has focus. That is when you can choose another record from your list. The record with focus will have a blue header (in greyscale, it will be the darker header):  

• Both the left and right panes now have the same available actions, such as View Inventory, F3 heading control, etc. 
• If you use certain functions on the right record, the record will move to the left and the function will open in the right. For example: View Inventory, View Versions, etc. 

Record history / View Versions

• Alma automatically backs up versions of records saved to the repository and makes them available for future reference.
• Previous versions continue to be available even after a record has been saved and released in the repository. They are accessed via View Related Data > View versions.
• Restoring a previous version overwrites the current version in the repository.
• Changes made by staff will show their name. Changes made by "System" refer to jobs such as a Preferred Term Correction (authority control), and "API" refers to some scripted processes such as OCLC Data Sync. "Import" refers to the migration from Aleph. 
• When a record is edited and saved, the previous version is added to the list of versions, showing the date that the version was created, i.e. the date the record was modified. The "Created by" is the person who made the edit/save that caused the version to be created. For example:

Auto-save

• The auto-save occurs every 30 seconds after a change is made. These records are available for editing only to the user working on them. You must still Save your changes when you have completed working on the record. Other users will not see changes until you Save. 

Catalog Set

After choosing "Catalog Set" from the Manage Sets page, the set will be displayed in the MDE in its own tab. All sets will be in a single tab, and each set will have its own folder. When editing a record from a set, a new "badge" in the header will show which set the record is from. If you have multiple sets open, you can also use the filter to find sets. You can filter for records within a set as well. 

When right-clicking on a set, you have the option to release all records from set, release displayed records (results of a filter), or reload the entire set. 

Responsiveness and Full screen

• The record list in the left pane of the MDE can be collapsed by clicking on the << icon near the bottom of the left pane: 

• Once collapsed, the main screen expands in width: 

• Click on the >> icon to expand the list again and keep it open
• Alternatively, you can expand the list temporarily by clicking the vertical Records button. With this method, the expanded list will hover over part of your MDE until you select another record in the list, and then it will collapse again. 

• If you decide not to switch records, click within the main pain to collapse the list.