FAQs

• CSS Tips and Tricks
• Managing Thumbnails

Ex Libris Documentation: Configuring the Display of Collections

CSS Tips and Tricks:

The Collection Discovery area of Primo VE does not automatically inherit the CSS color scheme that you've set up for your views. 

Background:

To adjust the background color for the Collections header, use: 

prm-collection-gallery-header .collection-header-inner {
    background-color: yourcolorcode; 
} 

Thumbnails

General info:

• Image files must be in .jpg, .jpeg, or .png format with a maximum size of 500 KB.
• If you do not define any thumbnails, the system displays a maximum of four images, which includes the logo plus the first 3 images found from the collection's sub-collections and items.
• If you don't load any images, Ex Libris will provide you with a default image, which you may not like. You can design and add your own thumbnails, even just solid color blocks.
• Keep accessibility in mind as you're designing your images

Katie Utschig from the Wisconsin SWITCH Consortium shared some excellent best practices on the Alma-L (10/26/20), including:

• The horizontal middle-third of an image is what will be used if it's the page banner OR the tile banner if you're using multiple images
• Remember that the name of your collection will show up on top of the image. According to Katie's findings, "If the image is the only image in the tile, the text overlays the middle. If the image is the tile banner, it will overlay the bottom. If the image is a secondary image, it will overlay the top of the image."

Adding images:

There are multiple places to add images in a collection and they work in different ways.

General Tab: a thumbnail loaded on the General tab will be used if no images have been added to the Discovery tab:

Discovery Tab:

If you choose to add images to the Discovery tab, those will take precedence over what's in the General tab. 

• The system uses the first image in the Manage Discovery Thumbnails list for the banner on the collection's page.
• You can define up to 20 images, but the system will display a maximum of four images in the collection's tile, starting from the top of the Manage Discovery Thumbnails list. Katie notes, "It is easy to move images around to keep the tiles looking fresh and different."

• Sub-collections: Sometimes the top level collection will just be a holder for several sub-collections. If that's the case, according to Katie, "A single image in the Discovery Tab will fill the entire tile and the middle horizontal third will be the page banner. Two or more images in the Discovery Tab will split the tile. The top half will be the horizontal middle-third of the first image in the Discovery Tab."
• Contents: if your collection or sub-collection has items, the tile will be automatically be split. According to Katie, "If there are no images in the Discovery Tab, Primo will use the horizontal middle-third of the image in the General Tab for the top-half of the tile and the default image icon for three images in the bottom half of the tile. THEREFORE: If the Collection/Sub-Collection has items, be sure to upload an image(s) in the Discovery Tab to control the visual."
• Banner: 
  • The first image in your Discovery list becomes the background for the Banner
  • Katie notes that you need to focus on the middle third of the image, and, "You can use PowerPoint (or other software) to create your own basic images and they can be quite effective and used to tie a "theme" together."

Banner example from Upstate's collections

COR Primo Customizations:

Here are CSS modifications that COR is using in their collections portal: