Model UI

Model UI customization lets you tailor the user interface for specific record types in your repository. Each record model (datasets, publications, documents, etc.) can have its own customized search results, deposit forms, and detail views.

What is Model UI?

In NRP repositories, Model UI refers to the front-end components and views that are specific to a record model. While the Repository UI provides shared components used across all pages, Model UI components are scoped to individual record types.

For example, a publication repository might need:

• Search result items that display journal names, DOI, and citation counts
• Deposit forms with fields for authors, affiliations, and publication venues
• Detail pages that show full citation data and download links

Each record model defines its own UI resources that handle these page views, and Model UI customization lets you override the defaults to match your specific needs.

Page Customization Approaches

There are three ways to customize model pages, from simplest to most complex:

1. Default page components (default) — The system uses pre-defined JinjaX page components (oarepo_ui.pages.*) that extend the appropriate base template. No configuration required.
2. Model-specific partials — Create partial templates using predictable naming patterns (e.g., {model_name}/record_detail/main.html, {model_name}/record_search/main.html) to override specific sections while keeping the base layout.
3. Custom page components — Configure the templates dictionary in your RecordsUIResourceConfig to specify full JinjaX components for complete control over the page structure.

Default Page Components

When a page template is not explicitly configured, the system uses a pre-defined JinjaX page component. These components eliminate the need for boilerplate configuration while still allowing full customization when needed.

How It Works

The default page component:

• Declares all context variables in a {# def #} block
• Extends the appropriate base template for the page type
• Is provided by oarepo-ui and maintained as part of the framework

Page Types and Base Templates

Each page type has a default base template that the page component extends:

The base templates follow predictable naming patterns, making it easy to create model-specific overrides by placing templates at the appropriate path in your repository’s template folder.

When to Customize

• Use default page components when the default layout and behavior meet your needs
• Create model-specific partials when you need to customize specific sections (main content, sidebars, etc.) while keeping the overall structure
• Configure custom components when you need complete control over the page structure or props

Related Concepts

Customization Topics

Related Resources