D. H. Ramsey Library Special Collections and University Archives

Change how Dublin Core field names are displayed on finding aids

  1. In the Microsoft Access Collections database, Dublin Core field names are stored without spaces between words—a format that is database- and XML-friendly but viewer-unfriendly. For example, the "Subject LCSH" field is stored as "SubjectLCSH". To make these field names viewer-friendly on web page displays, a lookup table is used. This lookup table can be edited to change the display names.
  2. In Frontpage, open "lookup.xml" in the "stylesheets" folder.

  3. Each line beginning with "element" controls a distinct Dublin Core field. The blue text shows how the Dublin Core field name is stored within Microsoft Access (and in the XML files exported from Microsoft Access). The black text beside it controls how this field will be displayed on XML finding aids.
  4. To change the display name for a field already listed in the lookp table, simply edit the black text.
  5. If the Dublin Core field is not in the table, add it to the table by copying an existing line, pasting it into the table, and modifying the blue and black text. If you do not know how the Dublin Core field is stored in Microsoft Access (for use in the blue text), open the Collections database, then open the Collections table in design view.
  6. Warning: Unlike HTML pages which will usually display in spite of coding errors, XML files are unforgiving. A single coding error will cause the web pages using this XML file not to display in the browser. Recommended practice is to save a temporary backup of lookup.xml until you have verified that the changes are displaying properly in the browser.