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OCLC Support

I cannot remove incorrectly formatted terms from a controlled vocabulary list

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Symptom
  • Terms appear in a controlled vocabulary list with what looks like spaces or tab characters preceding the value
Applies to
  • CONTENTdm (classic version)
Resolution

Locating the records that contain incorrectly formatted controlled vocabulary terms can be accomplished by following the workflow below:

  1. In CONTENTdm (classic version) Administration site, select collections
  2. Select export
  3. XML > Custom XML > Include all page-level metadata
  4. click next
  5. Enter XML tag names for only the metadata fields containing the controlled vocabulary and CONTENTdm (classic version) number
  6. keep Repeat fields selected
  7. click export

This will generate an XML file containing only the desired metadata values of your records and the associated item IDs. Then import the XML into another program that can isolate all lines containing the term that appears with extra characters preceding it. By doing this, you should be able to locate the record that has the incorrectly formatted value.
 
With the CONTENTdm (classic version) number, you can then locate the record in CONTENTdm (classic version) Admin by using this URL format and replacing the sections in bold with the correct values: https://server#####.contentdm.oclc.org/cgi-bin/admin/edittxt.exe?CISOROOT=/collectionAlias&CISOPTR=CONTENTdmNumber

Save the records and re-index the collection.

For individual collections, you will then delete the current controlled vocabulary for the field and create a new CV:

  1. In CONTENTdm (classic version) Admin select collections
  2. Select fields
  3. Select the correct collection from the dropdown menu
  4. Click edit next to the desired field
  5. Next to Controlled Vocabulary select "No" and click save changes
  6. Click edit next to the desired field
  7. Next to Controlled Vocabulary select "Yes" then
  8. Create a new controlled vocabulary for this field > Use the existing contents of the field
  9. Click save changes

If you are still unable to remove a term from your controlled vocabulary, please contact OCLC Support.

Page ID
44513