Generate Identifier

This step plugin allows you to generate configurable identifiers and save them within a metadata in the METS file.

Introduction

The plugin allows the automatic generation of identifiers and the saving within a metadata in the METS file of the corresponding processes.

Overview

Details
Identifier	intranda_step_generateIdentifier
Source code	https://github.com/intranda/goobi-plugin-step-generateIdentifier
Licence	GPL 2.0 or newer
Compatibility	Goobi workflow 2020.09
Documentation date	04.10.2020

Installation

To install the plugin, the following file must be installed:

/opt/digiverso/goobi/plugins/step/plugin_intranda_step_generateIdentifier.jar

To configure how the plugin should behave, various values can be adjusted in the configuration file. The configuration file is usually located here:

/opt/digiverso/goobi/config/plugin_intranda_step_generateIdentifier.xml

Configuration of the plugin

The configuration of the plugin is structured as follows:

<config_plugin>

    <config>
        <!-- which projects to use for (can be more then one, otherwise use *) -->
        <project>*</project>
        <step>*</step>

        <!-- into which field shall the new identifier be written -->
        <field>CatalogIDDigital</field>
        <!-- which type of identifier shall be created? Possible values are random, timestamp, uuid -->
        <type>uuid</type>
        <!-- how long shall the new identifier be if it is a numeric one (just in case the type is set to 'random' -->
        <length>9</length>
        <!-- overwrite existing value if it exists already -->
        <overwrite>true</overwrite>
    </config>

</config_plugin>

The block <config> can occur repeatedly for different projects or workflow steps in order to be able to carry out different actions within different workflows. The other parameters within this configuration file have the following meanings:

Value	Description
project	This parameter determines the project for which the current block <config> is to apply. The name of the project is used here. This parameter can occur several times per <config> block.
step	This parameter controls for which workflow steps the block <config> is to apply. The name of the step is used here. This parameter can occur several times per <config> block.
field	This parameter can be used to specify in which metadata field the generated identifier is to be written.
type	This parameter allows you to choose between different types for generating the identifier. Available are random numbers (random), time stamps (timestamp) and UUIDs (uuid).
length	If a random number was selected as the type, the number of digits can be specified here.
overwrite	If this parameter is set to true, a new identifier will always be created when the plugin is run again, thus overwriting any existing identifier again. Otherwise (false) a new identifier would only be created if the configured field (field) is still empty or does not exist.

Integration of the plugin into the workflow

To use the plugin, it must be activated for one or more desired tasks in the workflow. This is done as shown in the following screenshot by selecting the plugin intranda_step_generateIdentifier from the list of installed plugins.

Assigning the plugin to a specific task

Since this plugin is usually to be executed automatically, the step in the workflow should be configured as automatic.

How the plugin works

Once the plugin is fully installed and set up, it is usually executed automatically within the workflow, so there is no manual interaction with the user. Instead, the workflow calls the plugin in the background and starts the generation of an identifier depending on the selected configuration.