Comments Off on LibGuides Difficulties

By Scott Pfitzinger, September 24, 2008 10:39 am

Lately several librarians have been having problems with LibGuides. Specifically, things not displaying (or not displaying correctly) in Internet Explorer. I think just about all of the problems have arisen from copying/pasting from MS Word into LibGuides. Word carries with it a LOT of extra unseen code that apparently Internet Explorer doesn’t know how to handle. Ironic, since they’re both made by Microsoft.

Anyway, the solution is to NOT paste directly from Word into LibGuides. Instead, there’s a button on the LibGuides toolbar (when you’re entering text) that says “Paste from MS Word.” Use that button and paste into the text box that pops up. This will strip the pasted text of all the MS Word coding and let all web browsers display it properly.

Comments Off on LibGuides Tips

By Scott Pfitzinger, September 4, 2008 10:45 am

Here are some updated tips for LibGuides, based on how the system is working now and what options we have.

First, many people have difficulties getting lines of text to space properly. Here’s a quick tip for working with them. Use <ENTER> to start a new paragraph and use <SHIFT-ENTER> to start a new line but still keep it part of the same “paragraph.” Paragraphs have a little space between them by default, so if you want lines to start new but not have that space, use the Shift-Enter.

If you link to a database and need to use the Proxy Server, please DO use the check box for “Add proxy URL to the front of this link.” Do NOT just manually enter the proxy info at the beginning of your link. This will allow us to maintain consistency and if anything ever changes with regard to our proxy address, we can easily change everything at one time.

For more interaction with students (and faculty), try a “User Link Submission” content box. People using the Guide can then submit their own links on the topic.

“Books from the Catalog” content boxes allow you to display recommended books complete with pictures of the covers. You’ll need the ISBN-10 number, then click the Amazon logo to add the picture. Call number will not automatically link to the catalog. If you want to link to the record follow the instructions below about creating a link to the catalog.

The simplest way to create a link to a record in the catalog is to use the following URL and replace the ######### with the System Number.
http://hickory.palni.edu:4505/F/?func=direct&doc_number=#########&local_base=plnbup 

For more details and options on linking to the catalog, visit http://libguides.butler.edu/content.php?pid=1686&sid=8243

You can remove your profile info from an individual page if you like. While you’re editing the page, just click the X in the corner of your profile box.

You can also have multiple editors of one LibGuide now. The pages should show the profile of the person who created that page and you can add up to three other people as editors of you LibGuide. This feature can be found under “Guide Options” in the top right corner of your Admin view.

If you have other tips, suggestions, comments, etc., please comment on this post and share your expertise!
Thanks.
Scott

Comments Off on LibGuides Link Check – June 2008

By Scott Pfitzinger, June 30, 2008 12:14 pm

Today I ran my semi-irregular link check of all our LibGuides. The result is a report which is basically a list of web pages and all the links on each page that don’t work for whatever reason. Please take some time to check your pages and see if any of your links are dead. Because of how LibGuides is organized, you will need to find your pages based on the “PID” (page ID) for each guide. To make a quick list of your PIDs, just open each of your Guides in turn and write down the PID that shows up in the URL for each one. Every tab within your Guide will have that same PID.

The report is in alphanumerical order, so you should be able to scroll down to each of your PIDs and check for dead links. If your PID is not listed, there are currently no broken links in that Guide.

Notes

• Links to IM programs that exist on your profile will show up as 404 File Not Found, but you may ignore them.
• Links that are 503 temporarily overloaded may also be ignored–what you’re interested in is links that are broken.
• “Forbidden request” links are probably okay as well.
• You may find an occasional image listed in your link report. If your images are displaying fine, you may ignore these.
• The page listed with just a PID and no SID is the main page of your Guide. The SIDs refer to the different tabs on your Guide.
• You may also choose to go through your LibGuide pages and manually check each link, if you find that easier. 🙂

The report is in html format and can be found on BUFiles under the Web & Multimedia folder.

Thanks.
Scott

Comments Off on LibGuides Statistics

By Scott Pfitzinger, April 23, 2008 5:34 pm

LibGuide Statistics
Guide Hits 2008 (Jan. 1 – Apr. 23)