Page History

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Important warnings - read before enabling

Enabling Item Level Versioning

By default, Item Level Versioning is disabled in DSpace 3, 4, 5 and 6.

Steps for XML UI

If you wish to enable this feature, you just have to uncomment the "Versioning" aspect in your [dspace]/config/xmlui.xconf file (and restart your servlet container):

<!-- =====================
     Item Level Versioning
     ===================== -->
<!-- To enable Item Level Versioning features, uncomment this aspect. -->
<aspect name="Versioning Aspect" path="resource://aspects/Versioning/" />

Steps for JSP UI

If you wish to enable this feature, you just have to edit the versioning.enabled  settings in your [dspace]/config/modules/versioning.cfg file. Alternatively, you may override it in your local.cfg config (see Configuration Reference).

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Enabling Item Level Versioning

By default, Item Level Versioning is disabled in DSpace.

As Item Level versioning is not yet supported in DSpace 7.0, documentation will be coming soon.

Initial Requirements

The Item Level Versioning implementation in DSpace 3.0 builds on following requirements identified by the stakeholders who supported this contribution:   Initial Requirements Analysis

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In DSpace 4 and 5 only the strategy using canonical handles (one handle that always points to the newest version) were implemented. In DSpace 6 the strategy of creating a new handle for each version was implemented. With DSpace 6 this new strategy become the default. The strategy using canonical handle still exists in DSpace but you have to enable the VersionedHandleIdentifierWithCanonicalHandles in the file [dspace]/config/spring/api/identifier-serice.xmlfor each version was implemented. With DSpace 6 versioned DOIs were introduced using the strategy that every new version gets a new DOI (extended by a dot and the version numbers for versions >= 2). To use versioned Handle you have to enable DOIs, you have to use DataCite as registration agency and this new strategy become the default. The strategy using canonical handle still exists in DSpace but you have to enable the VersionedDOIIdentifierProvider VersionedHandleIdentifierWithCanonicalHandles in the named configuration file .

You can configure which persistent identifiers should be used by editing following XML configuration file, deployed under your dspace installation directory:

[dspace_installation_dir]/config/spring/api/identifier-service.xml

No changes to this file are required to enable Versioning. This file is currently only relevant if you want to keep the identifier strategy from DSpace 4 and 5 or if you want to enable DOIs or even versioned DOIs.

Version History Visibility

Image Removed

By default, all users will be able to see the version history. To ensure that only administrators can see the Version History, enable versioning.item.history.view.admin in the [dspace]/config/modules/versioning.cfg OR in your local.cfg file.

versioning.item.history.view.admin=false

Allowing submitters to version their items (JSPUI only)

-serice.xml. With DSpace 6 versioned DOIs were introduced using the strategy that every new version gets a new DOI (extended by a dot and the version numbers for versions >= 2). To use versioned Handle you have to enable DOIs, you have to use DataCite as registration agency and you have to enable the VersionedDOIIdentifierProvider in the named configuration file.

You can configure which persistent identifiers should be used by editing following XML configuration file, deployed under your dspace installation directory:

[dspace_installation_dir]/config/spring/api/identifier-service.xml

No changes to this file are required to enable Versioning. This file is currently only relevant if you want to keep the identifier strategy from DSpace 4 and 5 or if you want to enable DOIs or even versioned DOIs.

Version History Visibility

Image Added

By default, all users will be able to see the version history. To ensure that only administrators can see the Version History, enable versioning.item.history.view.admin in the With DSpace 6.0 it became possible to allow submitters to create new versions of their own items. This currently works in JSPUI only and is switched off by default to keep the same behavior as XMLUI. The new versions are going through the normal workflow process if the collection is configured this way. To allow submitters to create new versions of Item they originally submitted, you have to change the configuration property versioning.submitterCanCreateNewVersion and set it to true.It is part of the configuration file [dspace]/config/modules/versioning.cfg but can be overridden OR in your local.cfg too.

Identified Challenges & Known Issues in DSpace 4.0

Item Level Versioning has a substantial conceptual impact on many DSpace features. Therefore it has been accepted into DSpace 3.0 as an optional feature and it is still an option feature in DSpace 4.0. Following challenges have been identified in the current implementation. As an early adopter of the Item Level Versioning feature, your input is greatly appreciated on any of these.

Only Administrators and Collection/Community Administrators can add new versions

There is currently no configuration option to allow submitters to create new versions of an item. This functionality is restricted to Administrators and Collection/Community Administrators. In a context where original submission of DSpace items is done by non-administrator users, it might also make sense to allow them to create new versions. Especially given the fact that new versions have to pass through the workflow anyway.

Conceptual compatibility with Embargo

Lifting an embargo currently does not interact with Item Level Versioning. Additional implementation would be required to ensure that lifting an embargo actually creates a new version of the item. 

Conceptual compatibility with Item Level Statistics

Both on the level of pageviews and downloads, different versions of an item are treated as different items. As a result, an end user will have the impression that the stats are being "reset" once a new version is installed, because the previous downloads and pageviews are allocated to the previous version.

One possible solution would be to present an end user with aggregated statistics across all viewers, and give administrators the possibility to view statistics per version.

Exposing version history

The version history is added on the bottom of a versioned item page. A repository administrator can either decide to show this to all users, or restrict it to admins only. If it is shown to admins only, an end user will have no way to find the way to an older version. Since DSpace 6 you can also configure if the submitter's name and email address should be part of the version history or if they should be hidden. To show the submitter might actually be useful if the editor account is always a generic institutional email address, but may conflict with local privacy laws if any personal details are included.

Image Removed

Hide Submitter details in version table

In either the [dspace]/config/modules/versioning.cfg configuration file or your local.cfg, you can customize the configuration option versioning.item.history.include.submitter. By default this is set to false, which means that information about the submitter is only viewable by administrators. If you want to expose the submitters information to everyone (which be useful if all submitters uses generic institutional email addresses, but may conflict with local privacy laws if personal details are included) you can set this configuration property to true.

# The property item.history.include.submitter controls whether the name of
# the submitter of a version should be included in the version history of
# an item.
versioning.item.history.include.submitter=false

Credits

The initial contribution of Item Level Versioning to DSpace 3.0 was implemented by @mire with kind support from:

• MBLWHOI Library
• Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
• Marine Biology Laboratory, Center for Library and Informatics, History and Philosophy of Science program
• Arizona State University, Center for Biology and Society
• Dryad

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file.

versioning.item.history.view.admin=false

Allowing submitters to version their items (JSPUI only)

With DSpace 6.0 it became possible to allow submitters to create new versions of their own items. This currently works in JSPUI only and is switched off by default to keep the same behavior as XMLUI. The new versions are going through the normal workflow process if the collection is configured this way. To allow submitters to create new versions of Item they originally submitted, you have to change the configuration property versioning.submitterCanCreateNewVersion and set it to true.It is part of the configuration file [dspace]/config/modules/versioning.cfg but can be overridden in your local.cfg too.

Identified Challenges & Known Issues

Item Level Versioning has a substantial conceptual impact on many DSpace features. Therefore it has been accepted into DSpace as an optional feature. Following challenges have been identified in the current implementation. As an early adopter of the Item Level Versioning feature, your input is greatly appreciated on any of these.

Only Administrators and Collection/Community Administrators can add new versions

There is currently no configuration option to allow submitters to create new versions of an item. This functionality is restricted to Administrators and Collection/Community Administrators. In a context where original submission of DSpace items is done by non-administrator users, it might also make sense to allow them to create new versions. Especially given the fact that new versions have to pass through the workflow anyway.

Conceptual compatibility with Embargo

Lifting an embargo currently does not interact with Item Level Versioning. Additional implementation would be required to ensure that lifting an embargo actually creates a new version of the item. 

Conceptual compatibility with Item Level Statistics

Both on the level of pageviews and downloads, different versions of an item are treated as different items. As a result, an end user will have the impression that the stats are being "reset" once a new version is installed, because the previous downloads and pageviews are allocated to the previous version.

One possible solution would be to present an end user with aggregated statistics across all viewers, and give administrators the possibility to view statistics per version.

Exposing version history

The version history is added on the bottom of a versioned item page. A repository administrator can either decide to show this to all users, or restrict it to admins only. If it is shown to admins only, an end user will have no way to find the way to an older version. Since DSpace 6 you can also configure if the submitter's name and email address should be part of the version history or if they should be hidden. To show the submitter might actually be useful if the editor account is always a generic institutional email address, but may conflict with local privacy laws if any personal details are included.

Image Added

Hide Submitter details in version table

In either the [dspace]/config/modules/versioning.cfg configuration file or your local.cfg, you can customize the configuration option versioning.item.history.include.submitter. By default this is set to false, which means that information about the submitter is only viewable by administrators. If you want to expose the submitters information to everyone (which be useful if all submitters uses generic institutional email addresses, but may conflict with local privacy laws if personal details are included) you can set this configuration property to true.

# The property item.history.include.submitter controls whether the name of
# the submitter of a version should be included in the version history of
# an item.
versioning.item.history.include.submitter=false