In release 3, Avalon introduced hooks to allow institutions to define permalinks (e.g., using a Handle server, DOI, or other durable link generating system) to resources. These links show up on the item/preview page in the Share this resource tab.
Permalinks are generated only for published Media Objects. When a Media Object is published, or a published Media Object is modified, Avalon makes sure that a permalink exists for the Media Object (Item) and for each of its component files (Sections).
To define how permalinks are generated, create a file in config/initializers (e.g., config/initializers/generate_permalink.rb) following this template:
Permalink.on_generate do |obj,url_for_obj|
# Create a permanent link resource that will resolve/redirect to
# url_for_obj and return that resource as a URL string. e.g.,
return "http://permalinkresolver.example.edu/media/#{obj.pid}"
end
To create permalinks for Media Objects (Items) only, and not direct links to sections:
Permalink.on_generate do |obj,url_for_obj|
if obj.is_a? MediaObject
return "http://permalinkresolver.example.edu/media/#{obj.pid}"
else
return nil
end
end
It's also possible to use a generic route for permalinks. The pid for an object can be substituted into the object controller route (i.e. /object/avalon:1). The controller will redirect the browser to the resource.
Permalink.on_generate do |obj,url_for_obj|
if obj.is_a? MediaObject
return "http://permalinkresolver.example.edu/object/#{obj.pid}"
else
return nil
end
end