How do I customize my CONTENTdm URL?

Applies to
Answer

It is possible to create a customised URL for CONTENTdm with the help of OCLC Support.

These are the steps you will need to follow (Note: change the xxx to your own details as required):

  1. Make the request to OCLC Support that you would like a customised URL for your CONTENTdm site.
  2. You will need to send the following details:

Institution Name: xxxxxxxxxxx

OCLC Symbol: xxxx

Current Site URL: http://cdmxxxx.contentdm.oclc.org/

Site id: xxxxx

New preferred URL: xxxxxxxxx.xxxxx.gov.au  

  1. The new configurations are then completed by the team and is scheduled for the next maintenance install.
  2.  It is necessary to get your IT to configure your DNS to point to your chosen name to OCLC (new URL) xxxxxxxx.xxxxx.gov.au in cname cd,xxx.contentdm.oclc.org. You can do this after or before the install. If you do it before it will not actually work until the next maintenance install has run.
  3.  If you are on the Responsive interface or are thinking of going to Responsive interface soon, you will need to also submit an SSL Certificate for the (new URL)    xxxxxxxxxxxx.xxxxxxxx.gov.au.
  4. You can do this by emailing OCLC Support in your region.
  5. If you are going to use Responsive interface, we can also provide you with a.contentdm.oclc.org URL that is SSL at no extra cost to your subscription if you prefer. It would require no setup on your end. For example, you could have  xxxxxxxxxxxxx.contentdm.oclc.org as your new URL.


Once the new customised URL is implemented and activated

  1. You will need to make some changes to your Website Configuration to update links to this new URL.
  2. You will need to replace the original server name part of the prefix with the new xxxxxxx text.
  3. The collections will continue to display with the old URL, if the a click here to view this collection sentence links in your landing pages that are not updated.
  4. The first option for change, is the Home button, where you put the full URL prefix (www.xxxxxxxx.com.au/cdm). All subsequent menu items only need to be updated to their landing page ID. e.g Browse all = cdm/search etc.
  5. If you wish to change your menu options, or the URLs in the future, you can do so via the Website Configuration tool:  
     https://xxxxxxxxx.contentdm.oclc.org...fig/configtool.
  6. The options for the Menu bar is in Global Settings > Navigation > Global navigation.
  7. You can do this in Website Configuration by editing the link in the Collection settings > Page types > Landing pages area. Click on the hyperlinked work in the About this collection part of the html editor, then the add/edit link icon in the format options.
  8. Some caching can cause the pages to revert to older URL configurations.
  9. Please let OCLC Support know if these are not displaying correctly for you.

Remember to update to the new URL, wherever the old link was referenced.

Additional Information:

Custom domain names for your CONTENTdm site URL

Configure CONTENTdm domain with SSL to support HTTPS

Page ID
13573