NB: This page describes undeployed alpha software.
Introduction
Importing directory entries into a Campus CMS site requires configuring two sites: The source site that directory entries are coming from (www.ucmerced.edu), and the destination site that directory entries are going to.
University Communications maintains a master list of destination sites. Each directory entry on www.ucmerced.edu is tagged with a list of destination sites that can import it. Site owners should contact University Communications if they want to configure their site for directory import.
Background information: How Directory Import works
Directory entries are instances of the People content type. They can be created on any site by visiting http://[site-name]/add/node/people .
The destination site will import any directory entry from www.ucmerced.edu that has been appropriately tagged. If a corresponding entry already exists on the destination site, it will be updated; if it doesn't already exist, it will be created.
If destination entries already exist, they are matched to source entries based on Node Title. The Node Title is the concatenation of the First Name and Last Name fields. For example, the entry titled "Anne S. Warlaumont" has a First Name value of "Anne S." and a Last Name value of "Warlaumont". The Node Title (and therefore the First Name and Last Name) must match exactly in order for the destination entry to be updated. If the Node Titles do not match, either the source entry or the destination entry has to be changed so that they do.
When the import process updates a preexisting entry, it replaces the contents of each field with the contents of the corresponding field from the source entry. This includes cases where the source field is blank; if the source field is empty, the destination field will be overwritten so that it is also empty. If the destination entry contains correct information that does not appear in the source entry, the source entry should be updated prior to running the initial import.
On some destination sites, the People content type has been altered so that it includes additional custom fields. Since these fields do not appear in the source entry, they will remain untouched by the import process. In addition, directory entries that only exist on the destination site (e.g. graduate students) will be unaffected by the import process.
Tasks for University Communications
Changes to www.ucmerced.edu
On www.ucmerced.edu, you will need to edit each directory entry that you want to export to the destination site.
At minimum, you will need add the tag that identifies the destination site to the "Directory Export" field. For example, if you want to export an entry to psychology.ucmerced.edu, select "Psychology". Entries can have multiple Directory Export tags, which will allow you to export them to multiple destination sites.
The destination site owner will review the entries on their site (if any) to determine if any information needs to be added to the entries on www.ucmerced.edu. You will need to update those entries to fix any discrepancies.
Changes to destination site
The web team will configure the destination site to use the new tag.
Customizations
Some destination sites have non-standard tags added in their People Type taxonomy. These tags need to be broken out into a new field so that they are not lost. Add a new taxonomy term field to the People content type on the destination site called "Additional Filters". Create a corresponding taxonomy that includes the non-standard tags.
Here are some examples of non-standard tags that are currently in the "Type" field: Director Advisor Advisory Board Core Faculty Affiliated Faculty Commissions Committees Executive External Office Inter Club Council Judicial Legislative Office of the president Operations Research Accounting Services Sponsored Projects Research Compliance Integrity Business Development
Running the import
To import directory entries for the first time, go to http://site-name/import/directory and enter the feed source in the URL field (http://www.ucmerced.edu/rest/views/directory). Then click "Import". Subsequent imports will happen automatically.
Tasks for Site Owners
- Review preexisting directory entries on their site, compare them to the corresponding directory entries on www.ucmerced.edu, and compile a list of changes that need to be made to the www.ucmerced.edu entries.
- Provide a list of the directory entries that need to be imported.
- In collaboration with Communications, make any changes to the destination site that are necessary to handle special cases.
