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The XML Forms Builder allows you to create and manipulate xml form templates and affiliate them with content models. This means you can create custom forms for users to ingest items into collection by affiliating the content model with a form. You may want to create a custom metadata form to address the needs of your particular collection, or to pre-populate repeating fields. For example, if a collection of PDFs was all written by the same author, you may wish to create a custom form for this collection that has the author's author’s name pre-populated, so that users ingesting into this collection will not need to re-enter this information. Using custom forms you can also specify which metadata elements you wish to use to describe your object, and create validation rules for particular fields, among other features.
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When developing an XML form in the XML Form Builder you'll you’ll need to reference the schema of the metadata format you are working with. Throughout this document we'll we’ll be using the OAI DC metadata schema as an example. The OAI DC XML format is the serialization of Simple Dublin Core metadata descriptions and we'll we’ll be using Dublin Core elements in this example . You can view/retrieve the schema from here
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In the Create Form dialogue enter a form name - for example we are creating a basic OAI DC form so a name like oai_dc_basic would be appropriate. If you have an existing XML Form Builder form you could upload the form definition. We'll We’ll be creating this OAI DC XML form from scratch, so we can click on Create.
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![](/download/attachments/31659915/Chapter7image5.png?version=1&modificationDate=1329264728652&api=v2)
When creating an XML form the first thing you need to set in the Form Editor is the Form Properties. This is where having an example of an OAI DC record would come in handy and would provide the information you need to fill in the Form Properties. Here is the part of the record that you'll you’ll use:
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<oai_dc:dc xmlns:oai_dc="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc/
http://www.openarchives.org/OAI/2.0/oai_dc.xsd"> |
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Some schema require elements appear in a certain order (an order based schema), that certain elements be required or not, that some elements are repeatable and others not, or that elements can be nested. Refer to your schema documentation and to the guidance in creation of records based on the schema. For the schema we are using in this tutorial, Simple Dublin Core, each of the fifteen elements is optional and may be repeated. We will create a simple form for this exercise that utilizes several Dublin Core elements. Let's Let’s create a table listing the elements, the element labels, the type of element, the content of the element, and whether they are repeatable. We'll We’ll use this information when adding elements to our form.
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where /oai_dc:dc is the parent element and dc:title is the child element. The Create dialogue is where we enter the information needed for creating an element in our form. We'll We’ll be entering information into the Path Context, Path, Type, and Value properties in our example. If you had an order based schema, you would also fill in the Schema field. Here are some definitions for each of those properties:
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parent - xpath query is run from the node created/read by its parent's parent’s form field
self - only applies Delete and Update actions and applies to the node selected by the Read action.
Path: An XPATH to this element's element’s parent object. This is used to determine whether this element is inserted.
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Note: you can Update or Delete nodes other than the node which is Read. (for example with mods:name ... … where sub-elements are created with a form field and additional nodes are automatically created with XML code. We may want to delete/update the entire mods:name and its sub-elements.)
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In many cases you will want to provide the user with a list of controlled terms and the select form field type is used. For the type element our controlled list of terms is based on the DCMI Type Vocabulary. The Vocabulary "provides “provides a general, cross-domain list of approved terms that may be used as values for the Resource Type element to identify the genre of a resource"resource”.#
DCMI Type Vocabulary
Term | Description |
Collection | An aggregation of resources. |
Dataset | Data encoded in a defined structure. Examples include lists, tables, and databases. A dataset may be useful for direct machine processing. |
Event | A non-persistent, time-based occurrence. Examples include an exhibition, webcast, conference, workshop, open day, performance, battle, trial, wedding, tea party, conflagration. |
Image | A visual representation other than text. Examples include images and photographs of physical objects, paintings, prints, drawings, other images and graphics, animations and moving pictures, film, diagrams, maps, musical notation. |
InteractiveResource | A resource requiring interaction from the user to be understood, executed, or experienced. Examples include forms on Web pages, applets, multimedia learning objects, chat services, or virtual reality environments. |
MovingImage | A series of visual representations imparting an impression of motion when shown in succession. Examples include animations, movies, television programs, videos, zoetropes, or visual output from a simulation. |
PhysicalObject | An inanimate, three-dimensional object or substance. Note that digital representations of, or surrogates for, these objects should use Image, Text or one of the other types. |
Service | A system that provides one or more functions. Examples include a photocopying service, a banking service, an authentication service, interlibrary loans, a Z39.50 or Web server. |
Software | A computer program in source or compiled form. |
Sound | A resource primarily intended to be heard. Examples include a music playback file format, an audio compact disc, and recorded speech or sounds. |
StillImage | A static visual representation. Examples include paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type Text to images of textual materials. |
Text | A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. |
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Connecting the Form to a Content Model
Once you've you’ve completed and tested the form you've you’ve created in the XML Form Builder module, you can connect that form to an existing content model using the Form Associations module. You can navigate to the module using this path:
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You will be presented with the form that we created during this tutorial. You'll You’ll need to fill it in. Once you've you’ve completed your data entry, submit the form.
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