Quick Help & FAQ

Previously, we produced two English language versions of our various Help sites, one for the US and the one for other English speakers (this was a broadly International English (IE) variant); this was achieved by marking up the source documentation with language variables and condition statements, and duplicating screen captures of the EMu client whenever labels were different for different regions (Catalogue / Catalog; colour / color, etc.).

Accommodating English language variants introduces a degree of complexity that affects maintenance of the English documentation, as well as its translation; translators work with the underlying xml and the more mark-up in the code to accommodate language variants, the more complex the code is to work with. To simplify the maintenance and translation of the Help, it has been decided to produce a single English version of the Help based on the Oxford English Dictionary. As a result, users familiar with either of the previous versions of the Help will notice changes to the spelling. While the IE version was broadly British English, it adopted ise verb endings (organise rather than organize, for example); as verb endings in British English can be either ize or ise, we have adopted the former as a concession to our users in the US, where ize is preferred.

Two English language variants are available in the EMu client: English and English US. There are minor differences in the spelling of some module names in the English and English US clients (notably, Catalogue / Catalog), and tab and field names (Organisation / Organization; Colour / Color, etc.); when the Help indicates that you should open the Catalogue module, it implies the Catalog module, and a request to select Organization from the Party Type drop list should be understood as a request to select Organisation if that is how it is spelt in your EMu client.

While this change means a loss of English language localization of content based on region, it will simplify the maintenance and enhance the accuracy of the content for users in all regions.

The management of a collection can involve a vast amount of information about collection objects / items, people and organizations, events, administration and more. In EMu this information is stored in modules that are specific to the type of information. There is, for example:

• A Catalogue module that records information about each object in the collection.
• An Insurance module that records details about insurers or indemnifying agencies, policy and cover details, renewal dates and details of any claims.
• A Parties module that records details about all people and organizations involved in some way with your institution's collection. These organizations or individuals may have donated objects to the institution, may be conservators, transporters, exhibition organizers, or any number of other roles.

At EMu's core is a configurable multi-discipline Catalogue and surrounding the Catalogue is a suite of modules that supports all museum management functions. These modules can be grouped into two main categories:

• Catalogue support modules
  These contain information that supplements a record in the Catalogue. The Parties module, which records details about the people and organizations with a connection to an institution's collection, and the Multimedia module, which holds images, video and audio resources, are examples of Catalogue support modules.
• Collection Management modules
  These hold information used in the management of objects in your collection. The Locations module, which records storage and display locations in your institution, and the Insurance module are examples of Collection Management modules.

A description of all of EMu's modules can be found in the EMu Help.