Article de blogue en français ici
Borealis upgraded to version 6.4 on January 27, 2025. This blogpost outlines several new features, including:
Other new features include:
- Improvements to shapefile/zip handling
- Expanded metadata standards including Croissant support
- Improvements to Search API
- Incomplete metadata tag no longer publicly viewable
- Indexing and performance enhancements
- Bug fixes and more!
Full details about the new features and changes can be found in the IQSS GitHub Release pages (English only). Please note that not all of the features available will be enabled in Borealis.
Please reach out if you have any questions or feedback.
Fully redesigned Data Explorer
We are pleased to announce the official release of the new and improved Data Explorer as part of this upgrade. The Data Explorer is a comprehensive web application designed to support data exploration, analysis, and curation at the variable level for tabular datasets in Borealis and Odesi . Some features include:
- Updated and Accessible Web Interface
- Enhanced Variable Exploration
- Cross-Tabulations Calculator
- Data Subsetting and Download
- Import DDI XML for curation workflows
Please see our detailed Data Explorer blog post to learn more about the new and improved features, updated documentation, guides, and video tutorials.
New “Relation Type” field for Related Publication Metadata to comply with DataCite Metadata 4.5 schema
What is it?
Within the “Related Publication” field, a new subfield has been added called “Relation Type,” which is used to describe the relationship of the dataset and the related resource.
What is the use-case?
With this change, the Dataverse software now supports the DataCite v4.5 schema and the metadata fields are included in the DataCite XML output. The drop-down menu includes available relation types based on the most common values recommended by DataCite:
- isCitedBy
- Cites
- IsSupplementTo
- IsSupplementedBy
- IsReferencedBy
- References
For new or existing datasets where “Relation Type” has not been specified, “IsSupplementTo” is assumed in the DataCite XML export.
How do I access this feature?
The “Related Publication” field is available in the citation metadata block upon dataset creation or when editing Metadata.
Users must enter a DOI or other persistent identifier in order for the information to be included in the DataCite XML export.
Although the values are provided in French in the drop-down menu if the UI toggle is set to French, only the English values are exported in the DataCite XML.
The following screenshot shows the DataCite XML output with the new “relation-type” field included.
Computational Workflow Metadata block now has clickable URLs
What is it?
The computational workflow metadata block allows users to link to an external code repository where related code and workflow steps are stored. This upgrade brings an improvement to the metadata display by including a clickable link to the external code repository URL.
What is the use case?
Including computational workflows as part of dataset documentation is increasingly becoming part of best practices to support transparent data management and reproducibility.
How do I access this feature?
Once the dataset is saved, go to the “Metadata” tab and select “Add + Edit Metadata,” then navigate to the Computational Workflow Metadata block. Next, fill out the appropriate fields, including inputting a URL in the “External Code Repository URL” field that you wish to link to your dataset. Next, save and view the metadata. There will now be a clickable link. For more information, feel free to review our previous blog post.
Improved email notifications when a Guestbook is Used for File Access Requests
What is it?
Guestbooks are designed to capture information about users at the point of file preview/download or at the point of file access request (depending on the collection configuration). When users complete a Guestbook, dataset admins and curators receive a notification email. This upgrade brings improvements to the notification emails when users complete a Guestbook at the point of file access request. The improvements include:
- Email subject now includes the name and user identifier or the requestor
- Body of the email now includes the user identifier of the requestor
- The formatting of the text of the Guestbook responses has been improved to increase readability.
What is the use-case?
Guestbooks assist collection administrators and dataset owners in tracking the users who are downloading their files and in the ability to review information before granting or denying access to restricted files. These improvements make it easier to organize and process these workflows.
How do I access this feature?
Collection administrators and dataset curators who have a Guestbook configured on a dataset will automatically receive these emails when users enter Guestbook responses.
For more information about Guestbooks, please see the Borealis User Guide and Admin Guide.
Unlink Dataset Button
What is it?
A new “Unlink Dataset” button has been added to the dataset page to allow users to unlink a dataset from a collection.
What is the use-case?
Previously, users were unable to unlink datasets from collections without support from the Borealis support team.
How do I access these features?
Once a dataset has been linked to another collection using the “Link dataset” feature, the option to “unlink” the dataset will appear in the dataset menu.
Note: Due to a system permissioning issue, users may see an error message when trying to unlink the dataset. Improvements to this functionality are anticipated in the next version release. Please reach out to the Borealis team for support.
