FAQs

Step by Step Instructions:

• Log into Alma
• Make sure that you have the Discovery Administrator role
• Click on the gear in the bottom left corner to go to Alma Config, or click on Discovery in the left menu options
• Go to Discovery>Display Configuration>Configure Views
• Choose the view that you want to edit, click the three dots on the right, and click on Edit
• Go to the Manage Customization Package tab
• Download your current view customization package (don't do template - this will wipe out any of your current customizations)
• Save the package wherever you want to work on it. It's a good idea to save a backup copy of this original download
• Unzip the files. Note that there are two levels with the same folder name. When you're done with your changes, make sure to zip the lower level, not the upper level because if you zip the file with two levels, the upload won't work. See example below.
• Review the folders:
  • css: contains custom.css where you'll put any custom css that you want to use, usually at the end of the file
  • html: contains homepage_en.html file, where you can change Primo landing page content
  • img: you can add custom images to this folder and then reference them in your code
  • js: contains custom.js file where you'll put any custom JavaScript that you want to use, usually at the end of the file
• Use an editor like Notepad++ or even Notepad to make changes to the files. Don't use something like Word because it will add hidden code that can break your code
• Once you're done with your edits, zip the file and upload it in the Manage Customization Package tab
• Make sure to click save in the tab after you upload
• Firefox is notorious for not showing changes right away, probably because of caching. Chrome works better for testing changes.
• It's a good idea to not make many changes at once because if something breaks your code, you won't know which change did it. Make as many back-ups as you need. There's no limit to the number of times that you can upload a new file.

Troubleshooting:

When you download your current customization package and unzip it, you will end up with an extra level of file folders like this:

When you zip it back up to load into Alma, make sure to zip the second level, not the top level. You only want one layer of your view name, not two.

When you upload your new package, make sure to save the configuration page after uploading.

Another tip about uploading error messages: if you add a new image to the img folder, and if your computer automatically creates a thumbs.db file so that you can view thumbnails of your images, you need to delete that thumbs.db file before zipping the package. Alma won't accept a package that includes a .db file.

See attached screen capture of download/upload process.