Carousels need option to display/scope separate from initial search location

[Jennifer Bruch]

PaILS is using this feature on version 3.3

Currently, visible carousels are selected based on the physical_loc apache variable. Before carousels existed, this was also used to set the initial search location. Because there are some locations that would like to separate carousel selection from physical location, it would be useful to create a new, separate apache parameter for carousel scoping and fall back to physical_loc if that is not set.

[Mike Rylander (mrylander)]

There's a branch available at https://git.evergreen-ils.org/?p=working/Evergreen.git;a=shortlog;h=refs/heads/user/miker/lp-1879790-separate-carousel-scope which provides a separate carousel_loc apache environment peer to physical_loc. Still needs release notes...

[Terran McCanna (tmccanna)]

This still needs release notes with an example of creating the new setting.

[Terran McCanna (tmccanna)]

I tested this by adding this line to eg_vhost.conf and restarting apache:

SetEnv carousel_loc 6

It does indeed force the carousel I created for location 6 (BR3) to always be displayed, but it also prevents carousels that were set for any other location from being displayed. Is that the desired behavior?

(In PINES, we currently allow patrons to view our new item carousels for any location by switching the physical_loc in the URL. We wouldn't use a setting like this in our organization because it prevents that URL switch from working.)

[Jennifer Bruch (jbruchpails)]

This was created to address an issue that PaILS SPARK ran into because we have libraries with their own OPAC who scope it on a system level but want to display a carousel with content only from their own individual library. Usually new titles that cannot be resource shared.

It is hard to test this fix as a result because the situation is so unique.

But here are two live OPAC as examples:

Scoped to system/consortium (can't have carousels)
https://catasauqua.sparkpa.org/eg/opac/home

Scoped to library in that system (can have carousels)
https://parkland.sparkpa.org/eg/opac/home

[Mike Rylander (mrylander)]

Hi Terran,

Yes, that's the intended behavior.

A word of warning about the physical_loc CGI parameter -- that ends up getting put into a cookie and has side effects that you may not want, such as truncating the org dropdown for a "global" vhost in that specific browser until the cookie is manually removed if org hiding is in use by the physical_loc org.

I've pushed a rebased and updated branch that allows the user to override the carousel location with a cgi parameter to support the PINES use case without the risk of locking your browser into an unintended physical_loc:

https://git.evergreen-ils.org/?p=working/Evergreen.git;a=shortlog;h=refs/heads/user/miker/lp-1879790-separate-carousel-scope-with-cgi

Thanks!

[Terran McCanna (tmccanna)]

Thanks, Mike, the new cgi parameter works great for me! My sign off is at:

https://git.evergreen-ils.org/?p=working/Evergreen.git;a=shortlog;h=refs/heads/user/mccanna/lp1879790-separate-carousel-scope-with-cgi-signoff

[Chris Sharp (chrissharp123)]

Pushed to master. Thanks, Terran, Jennifer, and Mike!