Pre-ALA LibGuides Updates: HTML Validation, Remotes Scripts, LTI, & E-Reserves

Over the last few weeks, we’ve released a bunch of small updates and features that will make your (work)life much easier and fun to boot.

HTML Validation

It’s happened to all of us; you’ve got some widget code, and you paste it into your LibGuide’s Media/Widget asset type and blammo! It blows up your LibGuide. Turns out that your widget code was missing a closing HTML tag. Or, you’re working on some custom CSS code in your Admin Look & Feel area, and you used a single quote instead of a double quote, and now your system’s customization looks cray-cray. You frantically email our support team, and we fix it as quick as humanly possible, but it takes awhile to smooth out your panicked edges. Small HTML/CSS mistakes can have big consequences. So, to keep your stress level down, we’ve added in HTML validation everywhere we could!

How does it work?

Well, if you’re working with HTML code that is missing tags or is not formatted properly, we’ll inform you right then and there! You won’t be able to save it without fixing it; you won’t have to worry about crashing your LibGuide or breaking your customizations anymore. If we alert you to a problem, read the onscreen language and fix it. If you still can’t figure it out, follow the link to the W3C Validation Service and follow the prompts.

Remote Scripts Asset

Drum roll, please! The Remote Scripts asset type has come to LibGuides v2! This content type allows the techies amongst you to embed external content right inside a LibGuides box. You can write scripts (on your own server, in any programming language) to display any type of data from any system without having to use iframes or other tricks. The content you display using your script will display inside a LibGuides box like any other piece of content.

New E-Reserves Features & Bug Fixes

We’ve added some nifty UI features to the E-Reserves module and squashed a few pesky bugs along the way.

• Course-wide Password Requirement: Worry no more, admins! Turn on a system-wide setting to require password protection for all courses.
• Easy Course Information Editing: When you’re adding or reviewing E-Reserve items inside a course, you can easily update course info at the same time.
• E-Reserves Homepage Search: The E-Reserves search box on the LibGuides homepage is now working properly, where it previously returned all courses. Bug smashed!
• Opening in New/Same Window: Decide whether links should open in a new/same window.
• E-Reserve Stats Added to Statistical Content Summary: Easily view your total number of courses, items, and total item storage from Statistics > Content Summary.

LTI Improvements

If you haven’t checked it out already, our LibApps LTI is really the bee’s knees (if bees had knees, of course ;). And it just keeps getting better and better! Our latest round of improvements include:

• Faster Metadata Deletion: Delete metadata from within the LTI tool directly rather than having to navigate to specific guides, E-Reserve courses, subject categories, etc.
• Bypass E-Reserve Passwords: Students already inside their courseware tool accessing E-Reserves via LTI (whew!) shouldn’t have to enter another password, and now they won’t have to. Password-protected E-Reserve items bypass password protection since the student is already authenticated into their courseware tool.
• E-Reserve Items Open in a New Window: When accessing an E-Reserve link or document, it will automatically open in a new tab.
• Private Guides in the Manual LTI selector : When using the Manual LTI Selector, only private guides for the logged-in user are displayed in the list. If we cannot determine who is logged into LibGuides at the moment of selection, no private guides are shown.

Small Improvements & Fixes

• mSite Builder & Mobile Safari: When Safari on a mobile device to access an mSite, tapping the ‘Full Site’ link works as it should.
• Option to Skip Sending ‘Welcome’ Emails: When creating a new account, you can choose whether or not to send either a ‘Welcome’ email to the new account holder. This applies to the ‘Welcome to LibGuides’ email as well as the ‘Welcome to LibApps’ email, if you’re adding a user that does not already have a LibApps account.