What's new in Vernon CMS?

Vernon CMS 12.5.1 (Eager Egret) has several new features and improvements. Eager Egret includes the 12.1-12.4 releases.

Upgrade to the latest version

It's free to upgrade. To access the latest version of Vernon CMS, log in to the Upgrades and Updates section of the Customer Support Portal.

Person file improvements

There are several improvements to the Person file.

Pronouns and Sexuality fields added

You can add pronoun and sexuality information to Person records.

  • The Pronouns field is a text field. You can add multiple pronouns.

  • The Sexuality field is an authority field. You can add multiple sexualities with associated notes.

Both fields are optional. You may want to create a policy around how you use them.

Gender field is multi-valued

You can now record multiple terms in the Gender field, along with associated notes.

Work/Relations data moved to Identification window

You can see and edit information about a person’s work and relationships from the Identification window. The Work/Relations window has moved to the third tab. It is no longer listed in the Navigator.

Use Instead and Used For fields added

You can link two or more duplicate records with one preferred Use Instead term. The Use Instead field and Used For field are on the Work/Relations tab.

Maker information can be reported from the Object file

You can report on Primary Maker information from the Object file, including:

  • Name and Role

  • Date of Birth and Date of Death

  • Gender, Nationality, Ethnicity, and Language

  • Place of Birth and Place of Death

Data entry improvements

Y for yesterday

You can enter the letter ‘y' into any date field and it will automatically fill in yesterday's date. This is similar to ‘t' which fills in today’s date.

Open your last record

You can easily re-open your last record by going to the File menu > Last Accessed Record. Or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+S.

Use “By” and “From” keywords for inclusive date ranges

You can use the words By and From in date fields to include the specified date.

For example:

  • The date By 1960 includes the year 1960.

  • The date From 1972 includes the year 1972.

XML Import improvements

We've added a new preview panel to the XML Import tool. If the import pauses due to data issues, it’s now much easier to see all of the fields that are being imported for the current record.

When running an XML Import, you can skip importing a value for all occurrences of that value in a field.

And if a mandatory field is missing from your XML Import, you’ll be asked to provide it. Otherwise, Vernon CMS will prevent the whole record from being updated.

For example:

  • If you’re updating the Valuation Type, Valuation Method, Valuation Date, or Valuation fields, then all fields must have values.

  • If you’re updating the Measurement Type or Measurement Reading fields, then both must have values.

  • If you’re creating a new record, then all required fields must have values.

You may need to modify your XML Imports to include mandatory fields.

We recommend that you check your configuration for other mandatory fields.

Other improvements

Search indexes updated

You can now search and report on more fields:

Current Condition

You can set Vernon to assume the first row of the Condition Details table is current if no entries are flagged as current. To change this setting, go to the Tools menu > System Maintenance > Customised Configuration and go to the Object tab.

Language field is multi-valued

You can record terms which are the same in more than one language.

Transporting objects with multiple parts

In the Transport/Movement file, you can add multiple parts in one step. The object is duplicated for each selected part.

Bug fixes

Reporting fields issue: “No more results” message

We fixed a bug in the Reporting window. When you were looking up a display field, and clicked the Find button, Vernon would find the field but tell you “No more results”. This is no longer an issue.

Copy from Previous Record issue

The Copy from Previous Record function didn’t work the first time in a session, if the previous record was saved. It only worked the second time, or if you selected New instead of saving the previous record. We’ve fixed this issue.