I have technical questions about this website

If you click on the link to the Access the Collection Help in the menu bar, the help menu will open in a new window. If you cannot view all the text, drag the window to the left until you can see the maximise button in the top right corner of the page, which looks like this: Click on the maximise button. You will now be able to scroll to view all the text.

JavaScript

The Access the Collection web pages use JavaScript to enhance the functionality provided. It is strongly recommended that you enable JavaScript in your browser:

Internet Explorer: Select the ‘Internet Options’ option from the Tools menu on your browser. Click on the Security tab. Click on the ‘Custom Level’ button. Scroll down to the ‘Scripting’ section. Under the ‘Active Scripting’ heading, click on the radio button next to ‘Enable’.

Netscape: Select the ‘Preferences’ option from the Edit menu on your browser. Click on the arrow next to ‘Advanced’. Click on ‘Scripts & Plug-ins’. Tick the check box next to ‘Navigator’ under the ‘Enable JavaScript for’ section, and click on the ‘OK’ button. Click on the ‘Reload’ button to beginning using JavaScript.

Cookies

The Access the Collection web pages use cookies to record usage statistics, such as the number of visits, documents viewed, browser type, and the way the site is navigated. We do not retrieve or record any personal information such as names or email addresses. The anonymous statistical data collected may be aggregated and used in broader statistical analysis.

You can set your browser to block cookies or notify you when a web page is trying to use them. You will be able to use the online catalogue without accepting cookies.

For information about PROV’s privacy policy and procedures read the Privacy Statement.

Pop-ups

Some of the Access the Collection web pages use pop-ups to display information. For example, clicking on the icon on Simple Search, Advanced Search, Find by Number and Browse the Collection pages will display information in a pop-up window. Some browsers, such as Netscape and the latest version of Internet Explorer, may prevent pop-ups from displaying. If this is the case, you won’t be able to view the pop-up.

To allow pop-ups to be displayed:

Internet Explorer (from version 6; service pack 2 onwards): Select the ‘’Pop-up Blocker’ > ‘Pop-up Blocker Settings’ option from the Tools menu on your browser. Enter the PROV website address in the ‘Address of Web site to allow:’ box and click on the ‘Add’ button. The PROV website will be added to the list of sites that are allowed to display pop-ups. Click on the ‘Close’ button.

Netscape: Select the ‘Popup Manager’ > ‘Allow Popups From This Site’ option from the Tools menu on your browser. The PROV website address will appear in the text box. Click on the ‘Add’ button, and it will be added to the list of sites. Click on the ‘OK’ button.

You will now be able to view pop-ups from the Access the Collection web pages.

Security

Any Access the Collection web pages that are viewed while you are logged in will use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), which means that any data sent between your computer and the PROV’s server will be encrypted.

Accessibility

The Access the Collection web pages have been designed for a screen resolution of 800 x 600 or greater. If you find the text difficult to view, you can change the text size.

Public Record Office Victoria (PROV) is committed to ensuring accessibility for people with disabilities and special needs. For more information, read PROV’s Accessibility Statement.

Other websites that provide information to users on text (screen) readers and assistive technologies are:

Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind and Disability Online.

Session Timeouts

Session timeouts happen when a logged in user is automatically logged out by of the website due to inactivity. This can occur when a user has not navigated around or downloaded from the Access the Collection web pages for a certain period of time.

If your session does timeout, the Access the Collection homepage will be displayed. If required, you can log in again and continue using the online catalogue.

Bookmarking

Web browsers can remember frequently used Web pages. Internet Explorer uses the term favorites and Netscape calls this feature bookmarking. Once you have created a bookmark, you can navigate straight to that web page by:

Internet Explorer: Selecting the bookmark from the list in the Favorites menu on your browser.

Netscape: Selecting the bookmark from the list in the Bookmark menu on your browser.

If the bookmark failed, a message will be displayed indicating that the attempt to bookmark the page didn’t work.

What web pages can be bookmarked?

The following Access the Collection web pages can be bookmarked:

· Details pages for Groups, Functions, Agencies, Series, Consignments, Units, Items and Sub-Items

· Search Results

· Browse Results

N.B. If you re-sort one of the tables on these pages – for example, the list of search results – any attempts to bookmark the page will be unsuccessful. Be sure to bookmark the above pages before re-sorting.

Bookmarking a web page

To bookmark an Access the Collection page:

Internet Explorer: Navigate to the page, select the ‘Add to Favorites’ option from the Favorites menu on your browser. Edit the name of the bookmark if you wish, click on the ‘OK’ button.

Netscape: Navigate to the page, select the ‘Add Bookmark’ option from the Bookmark menu on your browser.

Removing a bookmark

To remove a web page from the list of bookmarks:

Internet Explorer: Click on the Favorites menu on your browser. Right click on the bookmark entry and select ‘Delete’ from the list of options. Click on the ‘Yes’ button. The deleted bookmark is removed from the list.

Netscape: Select ‘Edit Bookmarks’ from the Bookmarks menu on your browser. Click on the bookmark entry and select ‘Delete’ from the Edit menu. The deleted bookmark is removed from the list.

Bookmarks for pages requiring log in

Government Users: If you have bookmarked a closed Details page (not closed under Section 11 or Restricted Access) and you are not logged in, you will not be able to view the page. Log in before selecting bookmarks for Details pages of closed records.

If you have any further difficulties with managing bookmarks, consult the Help section of the browser you are using.

Printing Web Pages

To print a web page, select the ‘Print’ option from the ‘File’ menu on your browser. The default print dialogue for your browser will be displayed.

To see what the page will look like when you print it, select the ‘Print Preview’ option from the ‘File’ menu on your browser. Scroll through the pages to find the relevant pages to print. Most print dialogue boxes will have a ‘Pages’ text field where you can specify the page numbers that you want to print.

Download VEOs

What is a VEO?

A VEO (VERS Encapsulated Object) is a single electronic object that represents an Item or Sub-Item. It consists of four components:

· Documents (including possibly multiple representations of content in long-term preservation formats)

· Recordkeeping Metadata

· An XML wrapper

· Digital signatures

A digital record (digital Item or Sub-Item) is a VEO.

For more information on VEOs, visit the VERS website.

Do I need to download a VEO?

It is only necessary to download a VEO if you want to view the documents or view all of the recordkeeping metadata. It is possible to download individual documents as required, to avoid downloading the entire VEO.

To just view commonly used recordkeeping information about the VEO, navigate to the digital Item or Sub-Item Details page. This will display a subset of the recordkeeping metadata about the VEO.

How long will it take to download a VEO?

This will depend on the size of the VEO or document and on your Internet connection speed. The larger the VEO or document, the longer it will take to download. If possible, try downloading the individual documents that are required, as they will be smaller than the entire VEO.

How to download a digital Item or Sub-Item

Step 1: Navigate to a digital Item or Sub-Item Details page.

For example, on the Search Results page, digital Items will be indicated by a value of ‘Item’ in the Type display column and a value of ‘Online’ in the Location display column. Sub-Items will have a value of ‘Sub-Item’ in the Type display column.

Click on the hyperlink. The digital Item or Sub-Item Details page will be displayed.

Step 2: To view the entire digital Item or Sub-Item (the VEO), click on the ‘Recordkeeping Information’ tab.

Click on the ‘Download the VEO’ link. The File Download dialogue will be displayed.

To view the digital Item or Sub-Item without saving it, click on the ‘Open’ button.

To save the digital Item or Sub-Item for later use, click on the ‘Save’ button and select a location to save it.

To open and view a digital Item or Sub-Item, you will need a program to view VEOs. The VERS website provides details on available VEO viewers.

How to download a Sub-Item

You can also download Sub-Items from the Details page of the digital Item that they belong to.

Step 1: Navigate to a digital Item Details page. On the Item contents tab, there is a table listing all the Sub-Items belonging to the digital Item.

Step 2: Tick the check box next to each Sub-Item to be downloaded, as in the example above. The ‘Download selected entries’ button will become enabled as soon as a check box it ticked. Click on the button. The File Download dialogue will be displayed.

To view the Sub-Item without saving it, click on the ‘Open’ button.

To save the Sub-Item for later use, click on the ‘Save’ button and select a location to save it to.

To open and view a Sub-Item, you will need a program to view VEOs. The VERS website provides details on available VEO viewers.

How to download Documents in a Sub-Item

Each Sub-Item contains documents which are the actual content that is being preserved. Each document may be available in different formats.

Step 1: Navigate to a Sub-Item Details page. On the Sub-Item contents tab, there is a table listing all the Documents belonging to the Sub-Item. One entry will appear for each available format of each Document.

Step 2: To download a document, click on the icon next to the entry about the document. The icon indicates the format of each entry. If the document has multiple formats available to download, you can download each format separately.

If you have a default program to view the selected format, the Document will open in that program automatically. If you don’t have a default program to view the selected format, you will be prompted to select a program to open the Document in.

Once the Document has opened, you can select the ‘Save As’ option from the ‘File’ menu to save the Document for later use.

For information about PROV’s copyright policy and procedures, read PROVguide 25 Copyright for Researchers.

If you are logged in while downloading a digital Item or Sub-Item or its documents, the details of the Item or Sub-Item will be recorded and displayed in the My Orders: Viewed Online page. From there, you can click on the hyperlinked title and view the Item or Sub-Item Details page.