Many features of VuFind® can be customized without changing any code. This page highlights many of the most useful features and includes guidance on how to take advantage of them.

The list of configuration files will provide an overview of available options.

Understanding VuFind®'s “local settings directory” and “configuration file inheritance” concepts will help you manage your configurations.

Most users should take a look at these configuration options, as they are the most commonly used.

• Alphabetical Heading Browse - How to activate traditional OPAC-style heading browsing.
• Authentication - Managing authentication options.
• Autocomplete - Provide real-time, context-sensitive suggestions.
• Book Previews - Linking to third-party pages that show the inside of books.
• Call Number Configuration - Dealing with Dewey vs. LC call numbers.
• Channels - Allow users to explore your collection in a non-linear way.
• Collecting Usage Statistics - Measuring user behavior.
• Combining Search Types - Offering results from multiple data sources (Solr, Summon, WorldCat, etc.)
• Connecting to Third-Party Content - Getting VuFind® talking to Summon, WorldCat, etc.
• Cookie Consent - Displaying a cookie consent dialog and settings.
• Course Reserves - Displaying course/instructor-specific reserves.
• Customizing the User Interface - Create your own themes and customize look and feel.
• Customizing and Tuning Search Options - Control how the user search input translates into back-end search operations.
• Customizing Facets - Control how search results are faceted.
• Dynamic Cover Images - Generate placeholder graphics when covers are not available.
• Email Alerts - Notify users of new search results; “selective dissemination of information.”
• Interlibrary Loan - Manage interlibrary borrowing through your ILS or an external system.
• OAI-PMH Server - How to enable and configure the built-in OAI-PMH server.
• OpenURLs - Learn more about OpenURL generation, linking and embedding.
• Real-Time ILS Integration - Take full advantage of your existing integrated library system.
• Record Versions - Link together records representing different versions of a work (i.e. FRBR).
• Search Result Highlighting - Help explain search results by highlighting matched terms.
• Soliciting User Feedback - Receive feedback/communication from your users.
• Static Pages - Create informational pages within your instance.
• Stop Words and Synonyms - Improve search results by giving certain words special treatment.
• Tracking Record Changes - Special features needed for optimal RSS and OAI-PMH server support.
• Use of External Content - Cover images, reviews, excerpts, biographies, etc.
• User Privacy - Right to be forgotten, cookie consent, and more.

This section covers more specialized customizations that are of interest to a smaller group of users but may still be useful.

• Blended Search - How to set up support for blended search results (a single results list for records from multiple diverse source indexes).
• Deduplication - How to set up support for deduplicated records.
• EZproxy Configuration - EZproxy settings for external links and EZproxy user authentication.
• Geographic Features - How to set up and configure the geographic search and display interface.
• Hierarchies and Collections - How to set up hierarchical document structures in your index.
• Indexing Websites - Using VuFind® to index a website.
• OAuth2 and OpenID Connect (OIDC) Authorization Server - Letting users authorize access to other services with OAuth2 / OpenID Connect.
• Record Caching - Storing copies of records in the local database for future reference.
• Using Solr Shards - How to combine results from multiple Solr servers.
• Using Permission options - Configuring the behavior of pages if a permission has been denied.
• Using VuFind® as the Site Root - Configuring VuFind® to reside at the domain level rather than in a directory.
• Using VuFind® without Solr - VuFind® is most commonly used with a local Solr index, but it can also serve as a front-end for other services.

A few VuFind® features are not available in the core distribution but can be merged in using custom Git branches. The Git Branches page provides more details.

See also the Third-party Add-ons page for notes on using external tools to enhance VuFind®.