OPUS Updates for November 2019 - Recycle Bin and Multiple Search Fields

This month we are pleased to present two major improvements to OPUS: a new recycle bin concept and the ability to do multiple searches on the same search field.

The Recycle Bin

The cart acts as a convenient repository for observations you want to download or explore further. However, once you've added many observations to the cart, you may find that you have extraneous ones that you don't really need. Until now, the only way to remove these was to return to the Browse Results tab, find the observations, and remove them from the cart. Now you have another option: you can remove them from the cart directly on the Cart tab.

Removing an observation from the cart while viewing the Cart tab is performed in the same way as it is while viewing the Browse Results tab, but in this case the observation is not just removed - it is moved into a special recycle bin. Observations in the recycle bin are indicated by a large "recycle" icon:

or, in the Table View, by a green line drawn through the row:

You toggle whether an observation is in the cart or the recycle bin by using Ctrl+Click on a thumbnail or table row, the icon in the mini-toolbar inside the thumbnail (which now looks like a recycle or return glyph instead of a cart), the checkbox in the table view, or selecting an appropriate option from the "hamburger" menu. You can also add or remove an entire range of observations by using Shift+Click or one of the options in the "hamburger" menu.

Observations in the recycle bin are not included in any downloads (CSV or archive) and are not included in the statistics in the Download Data panel (Total Size, Total Files, or any of the Product Type counts). This allows you to transfer observations to and from the recycle bin while monitoring the size of the resulting download.

There are also now three options to manage the cart:

You can empty the cart, which empties both the main cart and the recycle bin. You can empty just the recycle bin, which will leave the main contents of your cart alone. And you can restore all of the observations in the recycle bin back to the cart. Note the number after the latter option, which indicates the total number of observations currently in the recycle bin. The number next to the Cart tab at the top indicates only the number of observations in the main cart, ignoring the recycle bin.

Finally, the download links, which were previously above the main cart gallery, have been moved to the Download Data panel.

Multiple Search Fields

It is now possible to perform multiple searches on the same numeric, string, or date/time search field. The searches are "OR"ed together. To add a new search, click on the "+(OR)" button to the right of an existing search. To remove a search, click on the trashcan icon.

For example, you could search for observations in volumes COISS_2001, COISS_2002, or COISS_2003:

You could also search for ring images that were not taken within 30 degrees of the ring plane, on either the lit or unlit side:

As always, we appreciate your use of OPUS and actively solicit feedback with comments, complaints, suggestions, or kudos!