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Link checker

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Learn how to set up the checking of URLs linked as attached objects in OLIB.

►Alerting> Notices
►System Administration> Object Types

About link checker

This feature is used in Daystart to check that the urls linked as attached objects in OLIB are still valid. The link checking process is included in Daystart and can be configured to send you an alert if any links fail the check.

Set up the alert

An example link checker failure notice is supplied with OLIB. To configure your own notice:

  1. In Alerting> Notices run a wildcard search (%).
  2. Identify the Example Link Checker Failure Notice.
  3. In Other Actions select Create Close Copy to make a copy.
  4. Identify your copy by the notice number - the numbers of the example notices all start with the letters OP. Only the following fields are required.
  5. Alter the Brief Description and Full Description to identify this as your notice.
  6.  Set an email address as the From Address.
  7. The Transmit Type should be set to To To List.
  8. Add an email address as the To List. If you want to add further email addresses - separate them with a semi-colon.
  9.  Set Enabled to Yes.

In the Notices domain, the following default notice text is included:

<body><basefont size="3" color="blue" face="Arial"/>There was a failure in the link checker.<BR>
<BR>
For the latest advice regarding each type of error, please see the <I>Link Checker Advice</I> note on the OLIB For Customers site:<BR>
http://forcustomers.oclc.org/content/view/289/38/<BR>
<BR>
The following links have failed:<BR><BR>#OBJS#<URL+ERROR> - <TI><BR>
#/OBJS#<BR>
</body>

This can be amended to include other Titles tags from the OLSTF tag set, e.g. the Title number:

<BR><BR>#OBJS#<URL> - <TI> - <TN><BR>#/OBJS#<BR></body>

 Tip: you can configure the Link Checker notice so that the email recipient can deep link from the email directly to the relevant Object record. This makes it quicker to adjust the URL.

Set the frequency of checks

On the Object Type

The frequency of checks is set on the Object Type. The frequency can also be set on an individual object if a different frequency of checks is required. To set the frequency of links on an Object Type:

  1. Go to System Administration> Object Types.
  2. Search with a wildcard (%) for the list of Object Types.
  3. Modify any on which you wish to set checks - this should be those which are normally represented by a url, e.g. Web page.
  4. Set the Frequency to your preference.
  5. Link the Link Checker Failure Notice you configured above in the Check Failure Notice field.

On the Object

If you want to have checks at a different frequency on a specific object - then the System Administrator should use Layout Manager to add the following fields to the Objects Textual Locator Layout:

Link Checker Frequency Period · Link Checker Frequency Type · Link Checker Next Check Date · Link Checker Start Date · Link Checker Log · Link Checker Failure Notice.

To set the Link Checker on an individual object:

  1. Go to System Administration> Object Types.
  2. Complete the Frequency period and type e.g. 1 - days.
  3. Set a Next Check Date.
  4. Set the Check Start Date.
  5. Link your Link Checker Failure Notice in the Check Failure Notice field .

Link checker configuration

To make changes to the configuration go to the sheet in the OLIB Defaults domain.

If your organization accesses the Internet via a Proxy server then you need to set these fields.

 Caution: link checking on objects requiring a certificate (e.g. ebooks) will need the certificate to be placed in an Oracle wallet file. Please contact OCLC Support or your Oracle DBA for assistance. If not the error message that appears in the link checker is

ORA-02924: Certificate validation failure - Oracle Database administrator remedy required (OLIB root certificates update).

The example notice provided with OLIB reminds you where to find the latest advice regarding each type of error.

View results

  • The Link Checker process is included in the Daystart program – so will run overnight. The results are shown on the OLIB Defaults Link Checker Configuration layout
  • The results for individual objects are also shown on the Objects layout (using the fields shown above)