The Primo New UI Customization Workflow Development Environment

A lot of what's below is true, but I want to include some notes of my own.

Anyone who just needs the package.zip file to upload into the view customization (or Primo Studio, if you want to play with it), you can go to the packages directory to get Bowdoin's or CBB's.

If you want to see our custom HTML, CSS, and JS, you can browse those files under /primo-explore/custom.

Additional notes about installation/running on an M1 Mac in 2023:

• var PROXY_SERVER = 'https://bowdoin.primo.exlibrisgroup.com:443'; in config
• (uninstall node if you've mistakenly tried installing it for this, the version must be exact)
• install homebrew // may require sudo
• brew install python
• install python 2 from package // might be able to skip?
• brew install nodebrew
• mkdir ~/.nodebrew/
• mkdir ~/.nodebrew/src/
• nodebrew install-binary v16.17.0
• export path to .zshrc
• nodebrew use v16.17.0
• node -v // should return v16.17.0
• brew install pkg-config cairo pango libpng jpeg giflib librsvg // prevents canvas error

To view locally:

• gulp run --view 01CBB_BOWC-BOWDOIN // do not add the -ve tag
• open http://localhost:8003/discovery/search?vid=01CBB_BOWC:BOWDOIN in private browser

If gulp create-package won't work (say you haven't installed this whole monster on your machine), you can grab the appropriate named folder under /primo-explore/custom and zip it like so in Terminal (from its parent folder): zip -r -X "package.zip" 01CBB_BOWC-BOWDOIN

Structure

• gulp directory : holds the various build scripts for the environment and the config.js configuration file in which your target proxy-server must be defined.

• node_modules directory : holds the various third-party modules that are required to run the system. These modules are defined in the package.json file.

• packages directory : once your development package is ready you will be able to build it using the gulp create-package command that will create the zipped package file you define in this folder

• primo-explore directory : consists of 2 directories :

  1. custom : - where you will place your customization packages
  2. tmp : just a place to hold some of your temporary files

Overview

The development package allows you to configure the following page components (follow the links for details):

• CSS

• HTML

• Images

• JavaScript

For each configuration-type, or for every different Primo View, there should be a specified folder named after the View (which adheres to the established directory structure) in the primo-explore/custom package folder.

This custom View folder can be downloaded from your Primo Back Office, by following Primo Home > Primo Utilities > UI customization Package Manager, or started fresh from the primo-explore-package GitHub repository. (The benefit of using this repository is that in each folder you will find a specific README.md file containing recipes and examples.)

Installation

Note: If you are not the Administrator of your machine, you might get into problems in the flow below, we recommend using the "Node.js command prompt (search for cmd in your pc to locate it) whenever the instructions below refer to "command line".

1. Download the project from this repository and place it on your computer

2. Unzip the file you downloaded to a preferred development project folder location

3. Download and install the Node version 16.17.0

4. Restart your computer

5. From command line, run the command : npm install -g gulp

6. In a new command line window, navigate to the project base directory (cd \path\to\your\project\folder\primo-explore-devenv)

7. From command line, run the command : npm install (This should install all node modules needed for gulp.)

   

8. Edit Gulp configuration file's proxy server setting, found at gulp/config.js : var PROXY_SERVER = http://your-server:your-port (Make sure to use your real Sandbox or Production Primo Front-End URL.) Note that for SSL environments (HTTPS) define the server as: var PROXY_SERVER = https://your-server:443

9. Populate your custom View package folder in the custom package folder ("...primo-explore\custom"), by either downloading the view code files from your Primo Back Office or using the primo-explore-package GitHub repository) to start a new package folder. (if you have already defined a view package and loaded it to the BO - make sure you download it or else you will not see, and may overwrite, your previous changes.)

   • If your custom view package folder were to be called "Auto1" then your development environment directory tree should look similar to this:

   • IMPORTANT: The name of your custom view package folder must match an existing view on the proxy server being referenced or the Gulp server will not function properly. For development from scratch, be sure to first create (or copy) a view using the Primo Back Office View Wizard; then you can accomplish your customizations locally using this document.

10. Start your code customizations :

• From command line, run the command : gulp run --view <the VIEW_CODE folder> (This will start your local server.)

  (For example, running gulp run --view Auto1 will start the environment taking the customizations from the Auto1 folder.)

  

• For Primo VE customers, add the --ve flag : gulp run --view <the VIEW_CODE folder> --ve

• Open a browser and type in the following URL : localhost:8003/primo-explore/?vid=your-view-code (Example: http://localhost:8003/primo-explore/search?vid=Auto1)

• For Primo VE customers open the following URL : localhost:8003/discovery/?vid=your-institution-code:your-view-code

• Now you should be able to to your customizations with real searches and results, from your previously defined proxy-server. Note: once you start working with this environment, you will discover that the best results are achieved by working in your browser's incognito mode; or you can clear your browser cache before you start the Gulp server.

• You can get immediate feedback on your code changes by refreshing the browser.

• Perform your changes according to the documentation/examples in:

  • CSS

  • HTML

  • Images

  • JavaScript

Note: you have multiple options to edit the css file(custom1.css) and the js file(custom.js), some of them include methods of splitting your developments to seperate files. When using such methods - the custom1.css and custom.js files will be overriden by the different files when gulp is run. Place your custom css and js into files with different names such as custommodule.css or custom.module.js to have it concactinated into the custom css/js files.

Publishing packages

Once you finish customizing the package, you can zip up that directory and upload it using the Primo BackOffice.

1. In a command line window, navigate to the project base directory : cd \path\to\your\project\folder\primo-explore-devenv

2. From command line, run the command : gulp create-package You will be prompted with a menu specifying all of the possible packages you can build, such as :

   

   

3. Log into Primo Back Office and navigate to the UI customization Package manager section : Primo Home > Primo Utilities > UI customization Package Manager

4. Use the file browse button to find and upload the new zipped package file. (Located in the "\path\to\your\project\folder\primo-explore-devenv\package" directory.)

   

5. Don't forget to deploy your changes

Publishing Primo-Studio addons

Once you finish customizing the package, you can get it ready to be published to Primo-Studio.

1. In a command line window, navigate to the project base directory : cd \path\to\your\project\folder\primo-explore-devenv

2. From command line, run the command : gulp prepare-addon You will be prompted with a menu specifying all of the possible packages you can build.

3. Once you finished running the script a folder containing the add-on will be created in \path\to\your\project\folder\primo-explore-devenv\addons.

4. From the above folder you can publish your add-on to NPM and to Primo-Studio. For Instructions see: Primo-Studio add-on tutorial