CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en" dir="ltr" class="no-js"> <head> <meta charset="utf-8" /> <meta name="description" content="A flexible discovery tool used by libraries worldwide." /> <meta name="keywords" content="library, discovery, catalog, search, portal, opac, federated, villanova, university, college" /> <title>configuration:channels [VuFind Documentation]</title> <script>(function(H){H.className=H.className.replace(/\bno-js\b/,'js')})(document.documentElement)</script> <link href='https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Roboto:400,500,700' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'> <meta name="generator" content="DokuWiki"/> <meta name="theme-color" content="#008800"/> <meta name="robots" content="index,follow"/> <meta name="keywords" content="configuration,channels"/> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/wiki/lib/exe/opensearch.php" title="VuFind Documentation"/> <link rel="start" href="/wiki/"/> <link rel="contents" href="/wiki/configuration:channels?do=index" title="Sitemap"/> <link rel="manifest" href="/wiki/lib/exe/manifest.php"/> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Recent Changes" href="/wiki/feed.php"/> <link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="Current namespace" href="/wiki/feed.php?mode=list&ns=configuration"/> <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" title="Plain HTML" href="/wiki/_export/xhtml/configuration:channels"/> <link rel="alternate" type="text/plain" title="Wiki Markup" href="/wiki/_export/raw/configuration:channels"/> <link rel="canonical" href="https://vufind.org/wiki/configuration:channels"/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/wiki/lib/exe/css.php?t=vufind_wiki&tseed=253e14ebccfe88618e28ad9d292f38a4"/> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="/wiki/lib/plugins/datatables/assets/datatables.net-fixedheader-dt/css/fixedHeader.dataTables.min.css"/> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="/wiki/lib/plugins/datatables/assets/datatables.net-fixedcolumns-dt/css/fixedColumns.dataTables.min.css"/> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="/wiki/lib/plugins/datatables/assets/datatables.net/css/dataTables.jqueryui.min.css"/> <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="/wiki/lib/plugins/datatables/assets/datatables.net-buttons/css/buttons.jqueryui.min.css"/>  <script >/*<![CDATA[*/var NS='configuration';var JSINFO = {"plugin":{"datatables":{"config":{"dom":"lBfrtip","language":{"url":"\/wiki\/lib\/plugins\/datatables\/assets\/datatables.net-i18n\/en-GB.json"}},"enableForAllTables":0}},"move_renameokay":false,"plugins":{"struct":{"isPageEditor":false,"disableDeleteSerial":0}},"id":"configuration:channels","namespace":"configuration","ACT":"show","useHeadingNavigation":0,"useHeadingContent":0}; /*!]]>*/</script> <script src="/wiki/lib/exe/jquery.php?tseed=f0349b609f9b91a485af8fd8ecd4aea4" defer="defer">/*<![CDATA[*/ /*!]]>*/</script> <script src="/wiki/lib/exe/js.php?t=vufind_wiki&tseed=253e14ebccfe88618e28ad9d292f38a4" defer="defer">/*<![CDATA[*/ /*!]]>*/</script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/wiki/lib/plugins/datatables/assets/datatables.net/js/jquery.dataTables.min.js" defer="defer"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/wiki/lib/plugins/datatables/assets/datatables.net-fixedheader-dt/js/fixedHeader.dataTables.min.js" defer="defer"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/wiki/lib/plugins/datatables/assets/datatables.net-fixedcolumns-dt/js/fixedColumns.dataTables.min.js" defer="defer"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/wiki/lib/plugins/datatables/assets/datatables.net-buttons/js/dataTables.buttons.min.js" defer="defer"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/wiki/lib/plugins/datatables/assets/datatables.net-buttons/js/buttons.html5.min.js" defer="defer"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/wiki/lib/plugins/datatables/assets/datatables.net-buttons/js/buttons.print.min.js" defer="defer"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/wiki/lib/plugins/datatables/assets/jszip/jszip.min.js" defer="defer"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/wiki/lib/plugins/datatables/assets/pdfmake/pdfmake.min.js" defer="defer"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/wiki/lib/plugins/datatables/assets/pdfmake/vfs_fonts.js" defer="defer"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/wiki/lib/plugins/datatables/assets/datatables.net/js/dataTables.jqueryui.min.js" defer="defer"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="/wiki/lib/plugins/datatables/assets/datatables.net-buttons/js/buttons.jqueryui.min.js" defer="defer"></script>  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width,initial-scale=1" /> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/wiki/lib/tpl/vufind_wiki/images/favicon.ico" /> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="/wiki/lib/tpl/vufind_wiki/images/apple-touch-icon.png" /> </head> <body> <div class="header"> <a href="/vufind/" class="logo"><img src="https://vufind.org/vufind/assets/images/vf-beta.png"/></a> <br class="header-break"/>  <a href="/vufind/about.html">About</a> <a href="/vufind/features.html">Features</a> <a href="/vufind/downloads.html">Downloads</a> <a href="/wiki/installation">Getting Started</a> <a href="/wiki">Documentation</a> <a href="/vufind/schedule.html">Events</a> <a href="/vufind/support.html">Support</a> <a href="https://github.com/vufind-org/vufind" class="github-link">GitHub</a> </div> <div class="header-announcement"> <p> Love VuFind®? Consider becoming a <a href="https://vufind.org/donate">financial supporter</a>. Your support helps build a better VuFind®! </p> </div>  <div class="content"> <div id="dokuwiki__site"><div id="dokuwiki__top" class="site dokuwiki mode_show tpl_vufind_wiki ">  <header id="dokuwiki__header"><div class="pad group"> <div class="headings group"> <ul class="a11y skip"> <li><a href="#dokuwiki__content">skip to content</a></li> </ul> <h1 class="logo"><a href="/wiki/start" accesskey="h" title=" [h]"><img src="/wiki/lib/tpl/vufind_wiki/images/logo.png" width="64" height="64" alt="" /><span>VuFind Documentation</span></a></h1> </div> <div class="tools group">   <div id="dokuwiki__sitetools"> <h3 class="a11y">Site Tools</h3> <form action="/wiki/start" method="get" role="search" class="search doku_form" id="dw__search" accept-charset="utf-8"><input type="hidden" name="do" value="search" /><input type="hidden" name="id" value="configuration:channels" /><div class="no"><input name="q" type="text" class="edit" title="[F]" accesskey="f" placeholder="Search" autocomplete="on" id="qsearch__in" value="" /><button value="1" type="submit" title="Search">Search</button><div id="qsearch__out" class="ajax_qsearch JSpopup"></div></div></form> <div class="mobileTools"> <form action="/wiki/doku.php" method="get" accept-charset="utf-8"><div class="no"><input type="hidden" name="id" value="configuration:channels" /><select name="do" class="edit quickselect" title="Tools"><option value="">Tools</option><optgroup label="Page Tools"><option value="edit">Show pagesource</option><option value="revisions">Old revisions</option><option value="backlink">Backlinks</option></optgroup><optgroup label="Site Tools"><option value="recent">Recent Changes</option><option value="media">Media Manager</option><option value="index">Sitemap</option></optgroup><optgroup label="User Tools"><option value="login">Log In</option></optgroup></select><button type="submit">></button></div></form> </div> <ul> <li class="action recent"><a href="/wiki/configuration:channels?do=recent" title="Recent Changes [r]" rel="nofollow" accesskey="r">Recent Changes</a></li><li class="action media"><a href="/wiki/configuration:channels?do=media&ns=configuration" title="Media Manager" rel="nofollow">Media Manager</a></li><li class="action index"><a href="/wiki/configuration:channels?do=index" title="Sitemap [x]" rel="nofollow" accesskey="x">Sitemap</a></li> </ul> </div> </div>  <div class="breadcrumbs"> <div class="youarehere"><span class="bchead">You are here: </span><span class="home"><bdi><a href="/wiki/start" class="wikilink1" title="start" data-wiki-id="start">start</a></bdi></span> » <bdi><a href="/wiki/configuration" class="wikilink1" title="configuration" data-wiki-id="configuration">configuration</a></bdi> » <bdi><a href="/wiki/configuration:channels" class="wikilink1" title="configuration:channels" data-wiki-id="configuration:channels">channels</a></bdi></div> <div class="trace"><span class="bchead">Trace:</span> <span class="bcsep">•</span> <span class="curid"><bdi><a href="/wiki/configuration:channels" class="breadcrumbs" title="configuration:channels">channels</a></bdi></span></div> </div> <hr class="a11y" /> </div></header> <div class="wrapper group">  <main id="dokuwiki__content"><div class="pad group"> <div class="alert--outdated"> <b>Warning:</b> This page has not been updated in over <span id="outdated-diff">over a year</span> and may be outdated or deprecated. </div> <div class="pageId"><span>configuration:channels</span></div> <div class="page group prose prose-invert">   <div id="dw__toc" class="dw__toc"> <h3 class="toggle">Table of Contents</h3> <div> <ul class="toc"> <li class="level1"><div class="li"><a href="#channels">Channels</a></div> <ul class="toc"> <li class="level2"><div class="li"><a href="#basic_concept">Basic Concept</a></div></li> <li class="level2"><div class="li"><a href="#configuration">Configuration</a></div></li> </ul></li> </ul> </div> </div>  <h1 class="sectionedit1" id="channels">Channels</h1> <div class="level1"> <p> VuFind®'s “channels” interface allows users to explore your collection in a non-linear, multi-dimensional way. It is designed to encourage browsing and serendipity. You have a high degree of control over how channels of content are populated. </p> </div> <h2 class="sectionedit2" id="basic_concept">Basic Concept</h2> <div class="level2"> <p> The “channels” interface provides multiple lists of records organized into categories. </p> <p> There is a channels home page which can be configured to provide interesting content to start an exploration of the collection. Additionally, any user search and any record within VuFind® can be used as the seed for a custom page of related channels. </p> <p> The mechanism that makes this possible is a collection of <a href="/wiki/development:plugins:channel_providers" class="wikilink1" title="development:plugins:channel_providers" data-wiki-id="development:plugins:channel_providers">channel provider</a> classes which take a search or record as input and produce a list of related records as output. </p> </div> <h2 class="sectionedit3" id="configuration">Configuration</h2> <div class="level2"> <p> See the <a href="https://github.com/vufind-org/vufind/blob/dev/config/vufind/channels.ini" class="urlextern" title="https://github.com/vufind-org/vufind/blob/dev/config/vufind/channels.ini" rel="ugc nofollow">channels.ini</a> file for a complete list of channel providers and their configuration options, as well as for comments on how to select which channels are displayed in each possible context. </p> <p> If you want to display links to related channels, you can turn on the Channels <a href="/wiki/development:plugins:recommendation_modules" class="wikilink1" title="development:plugins:recommendation_modules" data-wiki-id="development:plugins:recommendation_modules">recommendation module</a> in <a href="/wiki/configuration:files:searches.ini" class="wikilink1" title="configuration:files:searches.ini" data-wiki-id="configuration:files:searches.ini">searches.ini</a> (or other backend-specific config files) and/or the Channels <a href="/wiki/development:plugins:related_records_modules" class="wikilink1" title="development:plugins:related_records_modules" data-wiki-id="development:plugins:related_records_modules">related record module</a> in the [Record] section of <a href="/wiki/configuration:files:config.ini" class="wikilink1" title="configuration:files:config.ini" data-wiki-id="configuration:files:config.ini">config.ini</a>. </p> <p> If you want to make the channels interface the default homepage for your VuFind® instance, simply set defaultModule to “Channels” in <a href="/wiki/configuration:files:config.ini" class="wikilink1" title="configuration:files:config.ini" data-wiki-id="configuration:files:config.ini">config.ini</a>. </p> <p> If you want to add channels to a different homepage, rather than using a channels-only homepage, you can add “content[] = Channels” to the [HomePage] section of the appropriate configuration file (e.g. searches.ini). </p> <p> To build a custom channel provider, see <a href="/wiki/development:plugins:channel_providers" class="wikilink1" title="development:plugins:channel_providers" data-wiki-id="development:plugins:channel_providers">this page</a> for details. </p> </div>  </div> <div class="docInfo"><bdi>configuration/channels.txt</bdi> · Last modified: 2024/09/11 11:25 by <bdi>demiankatz</bdi></div> <hr class="a11y" /> </div></main>  <nav id="dokuwiki__pagetools" aria-labelledby="dokuwiki__pagetools__heading"> <h3 class="a11y" id="dokuwiki__pagetools__heading">Page Tools</h3> <div class="tools"> <ul> <li class="source"><a href="/wiki/configuration:channels?do=edit" title="Show pagesource [v]" rel="nofollow" accesskey="v"><span>Show pagesource</span><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M13 9h5.5L13 3.5V9M6 2h8l6 6v12a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H6a2 2 0 0 1-2-2V4c0-1.11.89-2 2-2m.12 13.5l3.74 3.74 1.42-1.41-2.33-2.33 2.33-2.33-1.42-1.41-3.74 3.74m11.16 0l-3.74-3.74-1.42 1.41 2.33 2.33-2.33 2.33 1.42 1.41 3.74-3.74z"/></svg></a></li><li class="revs"><a href="/wiki/configuration:channels?do=revisions" title="Old revisions [o]" rel="nofollow" accesskey="o"><span>Old revisions</span><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M11 7v5.11l4.71 2.79.79-1.28-4-2.37V7m0-5C8.97 2 5.91 3.92 4.27 6.77L2 4.5V11h6.5L5.75 8.25C6.96 5.73 9.5 4 12.5 4a7.5 7.5 0 0 1 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 0 0 1-7.5 7.5c-3.27 0-6.03-2.09-7.06-5h-2.1c1.1 4.03 4.77 7 9.16 7 5.24 0 9.5-4.25 9.5-9.5A9.5 9.5 0 0 0 12.5 2z"/></svg></a></li><li class="backlink"><a href="/wiki/configuration:channels?do=backlink" title="Backlinks" rel="nofollow"><span>Backlinks</span><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M10.59 13.41c.41.39.41 1.03 0 1.42-.39.39-1.03.39-1.42 0a5.003 5.003 0 0 1 0-7.07l3.54-3.54a5.003 5.003 0 0 1 7.07 0 5.003 5.003 0 0 1 0 7.07l-1.49 1.49c.01-.82-.12-1.64-.4-2.42l.47-.48a2.982 2.982 0 0 0 0-4.24 2.982 2.982 0 0 0-4.24 0l-3.53 3.53a2.982 2.982 0 0 0 0 4.24m2.82-4.24c.39-.39 1.03-.39 1.42 0a5.003 5.003 0 0 1 0 7.07l-3.54 3.54a5.003 5.003 0 0 1-7.07 0 5.003 5.003 0 0 1 0-7.07l1.49-1.49c-.01.82.12 1.64.4 2.43l-.47.47a2.982 2.982 0 0 0 0 4.24 2.982 2.982 0 0 0 4.24 0l3.53-3.53a2.982 2.982 0 0 0 0-4.24.973.973 0 0 1 0-1.42z"/></svg></a></li><li class="top"><a href="#dokuwiki__top" title="Back to top [t]" rel="nofollow" accesskey="t"><span>Back to top</span><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M13 20h-2V8l-5.5 5.5-1.42-1.42L12 4.16l7.92 7.92-1.42 1.42L13 8v12z"/></svg></a></li> </ul> </div> </nav> </div> </div></div></div> <div class="no"><img src="/wiki/lib/exe/taskrunner.php?id=configuration%3Achannels&1732380117" width="2" height="1" alt="" /></div> <div id="screen__mode" class="no"></div> <footer> <div class="content">  <div id="dokuwiki__footer"><div class="pad"> <div class="bar" id="bar__bottom"> <div class="bar-left" id="bar__bottomleft"> <form class="button btn_source" method="post" action="/wiki/configuration:channels"><div class="no"><input type="hidden" name="do" value="edit" /><button type="submit" accesskey="v" title="Show pagesource [V]"><span>Show pagesource</span><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M13 9h5.5L13 3.5V9M6 2h8l6 6v12a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H6a2 2 0 0 1-2-2V4c0-1.11.89-2 2-2m.12 13.5l3.74 3.74 1.42-1.41-2.33-2.33 2.33-2.33-1.42-1.41-3.74 3.74m11.16 0l-3.74-3.74-1.42 1.41 2.33 2.33-2.33 2.33 1.42 1.41 3.74-3.74z"/></svg></button></div></form> <form class="button btn_revs" method="get" action="/wiki/configuration:channels"><div class="no"><input type="hidden" name="do" value="revisions" /><button type="submit" accesskey="o" title="Old revisions [O]"><span>Old revisions</span><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M11 7v5.11l4.71 2.79.79-1.28-4-2.37V7m0-5C8.97 2 5.91 3.92 4.27 6.77L2 4.5V11h6.5L5.75 8.25C6.96 5.73 9.5 4 12.5 4a7.5 7.5 0 0 1 7.5 7.5 7.5 7.5 0 0 1-7.5 7.5c-3.27 0-6.03-2.09-7.06-5h-2.1c1.1 4.03 4.77 7 9.16 7 5.24 0 9.5-4.25 9.5-9.5A9.5 9.5 0 0 0 12.5 2z"/></svg></button></div></form> </div> <div class="bar-right" id="bar__bottomright"> <form class="button btn_media" method="get" action="/wiki/configuration:channels"><div class="no"><input type="hidden" name="do" value="media" /><input type="hidden" name="ns" value="configuration" /><button type="submit" title="Media Manager"><span>Media Manager</span><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M7 15l4.5-6 3.5 4.5 2.5-3L21 15m1-11h-8l-2-2H6a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v12a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h16a2 2 0 0 0 2-2V6a2 2 0 0 0-2-2M2 6H0v14a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h18v-2H2V6z"/></svg></button></div></form> <form class="button btn_admin" method="get" action="/wiki/configuration:channels"><div class="no"><input type="hidden" name="do" value="admin" /><button type="submit" title="Admin"><span>Admin</span><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M12 15.5A3.5 3.5 0 0 1 8.5 12 3.5 3.5 0 0 1 12 8.5a3.5 3.5 0 0 1 3.5 3.5 3.5 3.5 0 0 1-3.5 3.5m7.43-2.53c.04-.32.07-.64.07-.97 0-.33-.03-.66-.07-1l2.11-1.63c.19-.15.24-.42.12-.64l-2-3.46c-.12-.22-.39-.31-.61-.22l-2.49 1c-.52-.39-1.06-.73-1.69-.98l-.37-2.65A.506.506 0 0 0 14 2h-4c-.25 0-.46.18-.5.42l-.37 2.65c-.63.25-1.17.59-1.69.98l-2.49-1c-.22-.09-.49 0-.61.22l-2 3.46c-.13.22-.07.49.12.64L4.57 11c-.04.34-.07.67-.07 1 0 .33.03.65.07.97l-2.11 1.66c-.19.15-.25.42-.12.64l2 3.46c.12.22.39.3.61.22l2.49-1.01c.52.4 1.06.74 1.69.99l.37 2.65c.04.24.25.42.5.42h4c.25 0 .46-.18.5-.42l.37-2.65c.63-.26 1.17-.59 1.69-.99l2.49 1.01c.22.08.49 0 .61-.22l2-3.46c.12-.22.07-.49-.12-.64l-2.11-1.66z"/></svg></button></div></form> <form class="button btn_login" method="get" action="/wiki/configuration:channels"><div class="no"><input type="hidden" name="do" value="login" /><input type="hidden" name="sectok" value="" /><button type="submit" title="Log In"><span>Log In</span><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M10 17.25V14H3v-4h7V6.75L15.25 12 10 17.25M8 2h9a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v16a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8a2 2 0 0 1-2-2v-4h2v4h9V4H8v4H6V4a2 2 0 0 1 2-2z"/></svg></button></div></form> <form class="button btn_index" method="get" action="/wiki/configuration:channels"><div class="no"><input type="hidden" name="do" value="index" /><button type="submit" accesskey="x" title="Sitemap [X]"><span>Sitemap</span><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="24" height="24" viewBox="0 0 24 24"><path d="M3 3h6v4H3V3m12 7h6v4h-6v-4m0 7h6v4h-6v-4m-2-4H7v5h6v2H5V9h2v2h6v2z"/></svg></button></div></form> <a class="nolink" href="#dokuwiki__top"><button class="button" onclick="window.scrollTo(0, 0)" title="Back to top">Back to top</button></a> </div> <div class="clearer"></div> </div> <footer id="dokuwiki__footer"><div class="pad"> <div class="license">Except where otherwise noted, content on this wiki is licensed under the following license: <bdi><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en" rel="license" class="urlextern">CC Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International</a></bdi></div> <div class="buttons"> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en" rel="license"><img src="/wiki/lib/images/license/button/cc-by-nc-sa.png" alt="CC Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International" /></a>  <a href="https://dokuwiki.org/" title="Driven by DokuWiki" ><img src="/wiki/lib/tpl/vufind_wiki/images/button-dw.png" width="80" height="15" alt="Driven by DokuWiki" /></a> </div>   <script type="text/javascript"> var _paq = window._paq = window._paq || []; /* tracker methods like "setCustomDimension" should be called before "trackPageView" */ _paq.push(['trackPageView']); _paq.push(['enableLinkTracking']); (function() { var u="https://morpheus.library.villanova.edu/piwik/"; _paq.push(['setTrackerUrl', u+'matomo.php']); _paq.push(['setSiteId', '12']); var d=document, g=d.createElement('script'), s=d.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; g.type='text/javascript'; g.async=true; g.src=u+'matomo.js'; s.parentNode.insertBefore(g,s); })(); </script>  </div></footer> </div> </footer> </body> </html>