Dataverse Software 5.10 Release

This release brings new features, enhancements, and bug fixes to the Dataverse Software. Thank you to all of the community members who contributed code, suggestions, bug reports, and other assistance across the project.

https://github.com/IQSS/dataverse/releases/tag/v5.10

Release Highlights

Multiple License Support

Users can now select from a set of configured licenses in addition to or instead of the previous Creative Commons CC0 choice or provide custom terms of use (if configured) for their datasets. Administrators can configure their Dataverse instance via API to allow any desired license as a choice and can enable or disable the option to allow custom terms. Administrators can also mark licenses as "inactive" to disallow future use while keeping that license for existing datasets. For upgrades, only the CC0 license will be preinstalled. New installations will have both CC0 and CC BY preinstalled. The Configuring Licenses section of the Installation Guide shows how to add or remove licenses.

Note: Datasets in existing installations will automatically be updated to conform to new requirements that custom terms cannot be used with a standard license and that custom terms cannot be empty. Administrators may wish to manually update datasets with these conditions if they do not like the automated migration choices. See the "Notes for Dataverse Installation Administrators" section of the release notes for details.

This release also makes the license selection and/or custom terms more prominent when publishing and viewing a dataset and when downloading files.

Ingest and File Upload Messaging Improvements

Messaging around ingest failure has been softened to prevent support tickets. In addition, messaging during file upload has been improved, especially with regard to showing size limits and providing links to the guides about tabular ingest. For screenshots and additional details see PR #8271.

Downloading of Guestbook Responses with Fewer Clicks

A download button has been added to the page that lists guestbooks. This saves a click but you can still download responses from the "View Responses" page, as before.

Also, links to the guides about guestbooks have been added in additional places.

Dynamically Request Arbitrary Metadata Fields from Search API

The Search API now allows arbitrary metadata fields to be requested when displaying results from datasets. You can request all fields from metadata blocks or pick and choose certain fields.

The new parameter is called metadata_fields and the Search API documentation contains details and examples: https://guides.dataverse.org/en/5.10/api/search.html

Solr 8 Upgrade

The Dataverse Software now runs on Solr 8.11.1, the latest available stable release in the Solr 8.x series.

PostgreSQL Upgrade

A PostgreSQL upgrade is not required for this release but is planned for the next release. See below for details.

Major Use Cases and Infrastructure Enhancements

Changes and fixes in this release include:

  • When creating or updating datasets, users can select from a set of licenses configured by the administrator (CC, CC BY, custom licenses, etc.) or provide custom terms (if the installation is configured to allow them). (Issue #7440, PR #7920)
  • Users can get better feedback on tabular ingest errors and more information about size limits when uploading files. (Issue #8205, PR #8271)
  • Users can more easily download guestbook responses and learn how guestbooks work. (Issue #8244, PR #8402)
  • Search API users can specify additional metadata fields to be returned in the search results. (Issue #7863, PR #7942)
  • The "Preview" tab on the file page can now show restricted files. (Issue #8258, PR #8265)
  • Users wanting to upload files from GitHub to Dataverse can learn about a new GitHub Action called "Dataverse Uploader". (PR #8416)
  • Users requesting access to files now get feedback that it was successful. (Issue #7469, PR #8341)
  • Users may notice various accessibility improvements. (Issue #8321, PR #8322)
  • Users of the Social Science metadata block can now add multiples of the "Collection Mode" field. (Issue #8452, PR #8473)
  • Guestbooks now support multi-line text area fields. (Issue #8288, PR #8291)
  • Guestbooks can better handle commas in responses. (Issue #8193, PR #8343)
  • Dataset editors can now deselect a guestbook. (Issue #2257, PR #8403)
  • Administrators with a large actionlogrecord table can read docs on archiving and then trimming it. (Issue #5916, PR #8292)
  • Administrators can list locks across all datasets. (PR #8445)
  • Administrators can run a version of Solr that doesn't include a version of log4j2 with serious known vulnerabilities. We trust that you have patched the version of Solr you are running now following the instructions that were sent out. An upgrade to the latest version is recommended for extra peace of mind. (PR #8415)
  • Administrators can run a version of Dataverse that doesn't include a version of log4j with known vulnerabilities. (PR #8377)