Aleph Mobile OPAC

Tags: aleph , opac , mobile
Last Updated: Oct 30, 2009 00:38

• Description
  There are different ways of creating a OPAC adapted for mobile use. This method is basicly just a matter of stripping the standard OPAC down creating a version that is more suitable for display on a smaller screen (like a mobile phone or PDA). We have been running our mobile version of the OPAC since May as a open beta. So far no one has complained. The biggest benefit of working with a scaled down interface and not CSS media=handheld is that all devices will work in a similar way. We have a css for handheld devices in our ordinary OPAC already, but most modern phones or PDA:s seem to offer functionality for scaling or zooming websites instead. I will try to make this into a how to set it up guide, but the initial post is more or just a "this is how you could solve it information post".

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• Author: Daniel Forsman
• Institution: Högskolan i Jönköping
• Year: 2009

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• License: BSD style
• Short description: Use, modification and distribution of the code are permitted provided the copyright notice, list of conditions and disclaimer appear in all related material.
• Link to terms: [Detailed license terms]

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• Skill required for using this code:
  basic

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State

'In Development' but it is stable...

Programming language

There are some javascripts involved to solve navigation issues from different views.

Screen captures

Author(s) homepage

http://julia.hj.se

Download

1. Instructions on how to set up a new language

2. The sample www_f_mob tar

Both are attached to this page.

Working example

http://julia.hj.se/F/?func=find-b-0&CON_LNG=mob or just http://julia.hj.se/mobile

Using the following Ex Libris open interfaces

None, just standard Aleph OPAC configs.

Installation instructions

The biggest thing with this set up is the creation of a new language for the ALEPH OPAC. This means adding a new www_f_X directory and adding som tables.

Add a new language to the ALEPH OPAC. I have included some instructions on how to set this up in a attached file. These may not be all of the files you need, but these are the ones we have edited to make it work. The documentation was written by Eva Törnblom (toev@bibl.hj.se)! Thank you Eva!

Download, gunzip and untar the sample www_f_mob directory to get a flying start. This will give you a copy of our mobile OPAC. Then edit the files as you seem fit to edit look and feel.

TO DO list

Known issues

Since there are some javascripts in play the browswer of the device needs to support it. This is true for all modern devices and mobile browsers like Safari for iPhone, Opera mini and the newer Sony Ericsson / Nokia phones. However older phones may have problems reading the scripts.

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