Archive Repertory (plugin for Omeka)

Archive Repertory is a plugin for Omeka that allows Omeka to keep the original names of imported files and to put them into a simple and hierarchical structure consisting of: "collection / item / files", in order to get readable urls for files and to avoid an overloading of the file server. A protection against hotlinking and bandwidth theft can be set via htaccess.

See the example of the digitized heritage of the library of Mines ParisTech.

This plugin is upgradable to Omeka S via the plugin Upgrade to Omeka S, that installs the module Archive Repertory for Omeka S.

Notes

If a duplicate name is detected, an index is added to the filename as a suffix. Check is done on the basename, without extension, to avoid issues with derivative files.

Duplicate names of collections and items don’t create issues, because each file is managed individually. Nevertheless, to use identical names is not recommended, because files of different items or collections will be mixed in the same folder.

Currently, when a collection is moved, files are not moved until each item is updated. The files are still available. This avoids a long process. To update each folder, it’s possible to batch edit items without any operation, so a job will be launched and files will be moved automatically.

Note: this plugin does not use the storage system of Zend/Omeka and modifies only the archive file name, so this is kept compatible with any storage.

This plugin can be used with Clean Url for an improved user experience and for a better search engine optimization.

The anti-hotlinking feature is compatible with the logger Stats, that allows to get stats about viewed pages and downloaded files.

Installation

Uncompress files and rename plugin folder "ArchiveRepertory".

Then install it like any other Omeka plugin and follow the config instructions.

See below to configure the protection of files.

Tiles for big images created with the plugin OpenLayers Zoom are compatible with plugin. To enable it, just open and submit the config page of the plugin OpenLayers Zoom, the integration between the two plugins will be registered automatically.

Unicode filenames

As Omeka, the plugin works fine with filenames with Unicode characters, but all the system, database, filesystem and php web/cli environment on the server should be set according to this format.

An autocheck is done in the config page. You can check it too when you upload a file with a Unicode name.

If derivative files with non Ascii names are not created, check the behavior of the php function "escapeshellarg()", largely used in Omeka. The problem occurs only when Omeka uses command line interface, in particular to create derivative images or to get mime type from files. After, you have five possibilities:

• use only folder and file names with standard Ascii characters;
• set options to auto convert files and folders names to Ascii;
• change the configuration of the server if you have access to it To change an Apache server configuration, simply update config in the file "/etc/apache2/envvars", either:
  • uncomment the line . /etc/default/locale in order to use the system default locale, and add this just below to avoid numerical issues: export LC_NUMERIC=C.
  • or replace "export LANG=C" by "export LANG="C.UTF-8".
• add this in the beginning the "bootstrap.php" of Omeka (with your locale): setlocale(LC_CTYPE, 'fr_FR.UTF-8'); setlocale(LC_COLLATE, 'fr_FR.UTF-8'); Avoid setlocale(LC_ALL, 'fr_FR.UTF-8'), and keep numerical values as "C": setlocale(LC_NUMERIC, 'C'); Else, you can use a more generic solution: setlocale(LC_ALL, 'C.UTF-8');
• replace every escapeshellarg() (present in eight files in Omeka core) with escapeshellarg_special() and every basename() with basename_special().

For more explanation, try the test file.

Protecting your files

This plugin simplifies direct access to your files. That’s not a main issue if they are in public domain or you don’t care about hotlinking and bandwidth theft.

Anyway, if you want to protect them, you can adapt the following code to your needs in the root .htaccess file, or in a .htaccess file in the "files" folder or in the "files/original" folder:

Options +FollowSymlinks
RewriteEngine on

# In some cases, the flag [R] may be needed too.
RewriteRule ^files/original/(.*)$ http://www.example.com/archive-repertory/download/files/original/$1 [NC,L]

You can adapt routes.ini as you wish too.

In this example, all original files will be protected: a check will be done by the plugin before to deliver files. If the size of the file is bigger than a specified size set in the configuration page, a confirmation page will be displayed.

The file type is "original" by default, but other ones (fullsize...) can be used. Note that if a confirmation is needed for fullsize images, the site may be unusable.

The "mode" argument in routes.ini allows to set the download mode: "inline" (default if no confirmation), "attachment" (always when a confirmation is needed), "size", "image" or "image-size", according to your needs.

The plugin is compatible with the plugin AdminImages.

Warning

Use it at your own risk.

It’s always recommended to backup your files and your databases and to check your archives regularly so you can roll back if needed.

Troubleshooting

See online issues on the Archive Repertory issues page on GitHub.

License

This plugin is published under the CeCILL v2.1 licence, compatible with GNU/GPL and approved by FSF and OSI.

In consideration of access to the source code and the rights to copy, modify and redistribute granted by the license, users are provided only with a limited warranty and the software’s author, the holder of the economic rights, and the successive licensors only have limited liability.

In this respect, the risks associated with loading, using, modifying and/or developing or reproducing the software by the user are brought to the user’s attention, given its Free Software status, which may make it complicated to use, with the result that its use is reserved for developers and experienced professionals having in-depth computer knowledge. Users are therefore encouraged to load and test the suitability of the software as regards their requirements in conditions enabling the security of their systems and/or data to be ensured and, more generally, to use and operate it in the same conditions of security. This Agreement may be freely reproduced and published, provided it is not altered, and that no provisions are either added or removed herefrom.

Copyright

• Copyright Daniel Berthereau, 2012-2022 (see Daniel-KM on GitLab)

First version of this plugin has been built for École des Ponts ParisTech. The upgrade for Omeka 2.0 has been built for Mines ParisTech.

Copyright

• Copyright Daniel Berthereau, 2012-2022