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What's New in ArchivesSpace 4.2.0

Important for Updaters

If you're updating from version 3.5.1 or earlier, please read our article on v4.0.0 first.

If you are coming from v3.5.1 or earlier, please note that any plugins authored before 4.0 may be broken by any version after 4.0, including 4.2.0. Please see the webinar Proactive Change Management for Plugins for critical advice for anticipating such changes, and our article Preparing to move into 4.0.0 or later for immediate next steps.

ArchivesSpace v4.2.0 was released on April 7, 2026. The official release notes are available here. Atlas highly recommends that users always read the official release notes in their entirety, as this article will only highlight specific changes. See the v4.2.0 Jira tickets (requires a free Jira account) and v4.2.0 GitHub pull requests for additional details.

Are you skipping over versions?​

Changes to ASpace are cumulative so remember to read the official release notes for any versions you are skipping over. Staff at ArchivesSpace Member Institutions are encouraged to reference the ArchivesSpace Help Center for additional documentation corresponding to new and previous releases. See Atlas articles on previous versions for convenient links.

Improvement Highlights for v4.2.0​

"Include URIs" option in staff PDF export​

A new checkbox in the staff PDF export dialog allows users to exclude archival object URIs in the generated PDF by default, and only include them if that option is clicked. This mirrors the existing "Include URIs" option already available for EAD exports. This directly addresses a high volume of user feedback that found these URIs unhelpful in generated PDFs.

warning

Plugins that override the resource export toolbar may suppress this option until they are updated for 4.2.0 compatibility. Known plugins affected: archivesspace-duke-export-option-defaults.

New resource tree (InfiniteTree)​

The resource tree (the long list of archival objects in a resource) has been rewritten in both the staff and public interfaces. The new tree loads faster, especially for large collections, and supports keyboard navigation for the resizer. In the public interface, you can now link directly to a specific component using a URL fragment (e.g. #tree::archival_object_123), making it possible to bookmark or share links to specific components.

warning

Plugins that interact with the resource tree on the staff read-only view may lose functionality until they are updated for 4.2.0 compatibility. Known plugins affected include digitization_work_order.

When adding Related Accessions on a Resource form, staff can now create a new accession directly from a pop-up dialog without navigating away from the page. This follows the same "Create and Link" pattern already available for Subjects, Agents, and Top Containers.

Default Top Container values​

Staff can now set default values for container profiles, similar to how defaults work for other record types. An "Edit Default Values" button appears on the Container Profiles Browse page. Like other default values, this feature requires "Pre-populate Records?" to be enabled in Repository Preferences.

Exclude fields from Resource Duplication​

A new configuration option allows specific fields to be excluded when spawning new resource records using "Duplicate Resource." See the Configurations section below for details, and Resource Record Field Names for a full list of available field names.

Smaller Changes​

Improved configuration documentation​

The config.rb file received substantial documentation improvements. Many existing settings that previously had little or no explanation now have detailed comments. Notably, the comments for AppConfig[:abstract_note_length] and AppConfig[:pui_readmore_max_characters] now clearly explain the difference between the two: abstract_note_length controls note truncation on the collection browse/search pages, while pui_readmore_max_characters controls truncation on the collection overview page.

Usage dates on agent name forms​

The public interface now displays usage dates for authorized name forms on agent pages, showing when particular name forms were in use.

MARC export includes additional extent information​

The MARC exporter now includes "dimensions" and "physical details" extent subfields in the MARC 300 field. Previously only extent number, type, and container summary were exported.

Dangerous HTML tags blocked in mixed content fields​

When mixed content title fields are enabled, the application now blocks dangerous HTML tags (such as <script> and <iframe>) from being saved. Users will see a validation message (on the staff side) if those tags are detected.

New translations (locales)​

Nederlands (Dutch) and Χ’Χ‘Χ¨Χ™Χͺ (Hebrew) translation files have been added for both the staff and public interfaces. Polski (Polish) and Π£ΠΊΡ€Π°Ρ—Π½ΡΡŒΠΊΠ° (Ukrainian) translations were also updated.

Bug Fixes​

  • PDF exports: Fixed several issues with PDF exports, including corrupted downloads on mobile devices, top container indicators being truncated, and the "include unpublished" repository preference being ignored on initial page load.

  • Search and sorting: Fixed multiple issues with sorting in staff search results tables, including column headers not cycling correctly between ascending/descending, broken title sorting for Container Profiles/Location Profiles/Repositories, and the secondary sort column disappearing from the menu after selection. Also fixed non-functional column sorting when browsing records in pop-up selection dialogs.

  • OAI-PMH: Published items belonging to unpublished collections were being returned in OAI-PMH responses. They are now correctly excluded.

  • CSV export: Fixed incorrect field mappings, mismatched headers, and backtick characters appearing in the top container CSV export.

  • Mixed content titles: Malformed EAD/XML markup in title fields (e.g. unclosed tags) could make records unclickable in the resource tree. Title fields are now validated before saving.

  • Custom reports: Fixed filters on controlled-value fields showing internal database IDs instead of human-readable values. Also fixed enumeration-type user-defined fields being unavailable in the report field selection dropdown.

  • Agent records: Fixed empty gaps appearing on agent pages when sections are collapsed, and the "is primary" checkbox incorrectly appearing (and causing data issues) on Events and Rights Statements.

  • Linkers: Fixed non-functional agent and record linkers on the Classification Term Defaults form, and restored the broken "View" popover on the Assessment edit form's records linker.

  • Tooltips: Fixed tooltips with long content flickering continuously when hovering.

  • Boolean values: Fixed boolean fields (e.g. "Review Required") displaying as blank cells in Agent and Assessment search results when the value was false. These fields now correctly display "false" instead of appearing empty.

  • Translations: Fixed multiple missing or incorrect translation strings, including in top container management, event types, Batch Find & Replace options, and agent name form labels (corrected "authoritive" to "authorized").

  • PUI subject links behind a proxy prefix: Subject links on the public interface now correctly include the application path prefix, so they work for sites served from a non-root URL path. (Fixed between v4.2.0-RC1 and v4.2.0 final.)

Plugin Information​

Note to Plugin Users and Maintainers

Due to the rewrite of the resource tree component (see New resource tree above), any plugins that modify the resource tree on the staff read-only (show) view will likely need to be updated.

Additionally, several core dependencies were updated in this release, including Rails (6.1.6 β†’ 6.1.7.10), JDBC-MySQL (8.0.30 β†’ 9.1.0.1), Bundler (2.5.15 β†’ 2.6.9), and rubyzip (1.3.0 β†’ 3.2.2). If your plugins depend on any of these libraries, make sure they are tested with v4.2.0 before upgrading your production installation.

For general advice on managing plugins during updates, see Preparing to move into 4.0.0 or later. That article is primarily aimed at customers upgrading from before v4.0.0, but the plugin management advice applies to all updates.

Specific plugin notes for v4.2.0​

aspace-oauth: The aspace-oauth plugin currently prevents ArchivesSpace 4.2.0 from starting. A pull request that addresses this is open in the aspace-oauth repository and Atlas is waiting for it to be merged into the main branch before updating OAuth sites to 4.2.0. If your institution uses aspace-oauth, your update will be held until the fix is merged.

timewalk: The original timewalk repository is no longer maintained, but a community fork exists that is compatible with v4.2.0. An option exists on the Update Request Form to have Atlas install this fork on request during your update, which may be especially good news to customers who previously had timewalk removed because it was incompatible with v4.x. Atlas does not maintain the fork itself and cannot guarantee its future compatibility.

container_management_labels: A compatible version of this plugin (v4.1.1) is available for 4.2.0. Atlas will update it during the update if present.

Aeon ArchivesSpace Client Addon: The Aeon ArchivesSpace Client Addon v3.0.3 is not fully functional in ArchivesSpace 4.2.0. A fix is being developed. Users who have installed this addon should check and watch the Aeon ArchivesSpace Client Addon repository for a new release addressing this issue. The issue to be addressed: the addon can no longer detect when users navigate between components within a resource on the read-only view, due to a change in how ArchivesSpace renders the resource tree. The addon can still detect which resource is open, and all other functionality is unaffected.

Accessibility Improvements​

  • Skip to main content (Staff UI): A "Skip to main content" link has been added to the staff interface, allowing keyboard and screen reader users to bypass the navigation headers and jump directly to page content.
  • Keyboard shortcuts (Staff UI): Several broken keyboard shortcuts have been restored (including Shift+?, ESC, Shift+B, Shift+C, Ctrl+X, Ctrl+S), and a visible "Keyboard Shortcuts" button has been added to the staff footer for discoverability.
  • PUI heading hierarchy: Fixed pages across the public interface that were missing H1 headings or skipping heading levels (e.g. jumping from H2 to H4), improving navigation for screen reader users.
  • PUI skip links on digital material pages: Fixed broken skip navigation links on the public interface's "View Digital Material" resource page.
  • PUI language selector: The language selector dropdown on the public interface homepage is now properly associated with its label for screen readers.
  • PUI search icon: Removed a redundant label on the public interface search icon that caused screen readers to announce it twice.
  • Import job hint text contrast: Improved the color contrast of hint text on the staff import job drag-and-drop area to meet WCAG standards.
  • External document links (PUI): External document links in the public interface now open in a new browser tab and display a visual external link icon, instead of navigating away from the finding aid.

FAQs for v4.2.0​

Are there new requirements?​

There are no new required fields or actions for the 4.2.0 release.

Do I have to do anything upon updating?​

There are no required actions for the 4.2.0 release, though Atlas always recommends users test the functionality of any installed plugins after any update, especially branding and theming plugins. Atlas Systems does not support third party plugins.

Configurations for v4.2.0​

Configuration SettingExplanation
AppConfig[:resource_fields_not_to_duplicate] = []Specifies which resource fields to exclude when using "Duplicate Resource." Field names correspond to the resource JSON model (e.g. the fields returned by the API). Example: ['finding_aid_status', 'finding_aid_author']. Required fields added here will be ignored. See Resource Record Field Names for a full list of available fields.
AppConfig[:pui_png_favicon] / AppConfig[:pui_svg_favicon]Custom favicon for the Public UI. Place image files in plugins/local/public/assets/images/ and set the path accordingly.
AppConfig[:frontend_png_favicon] / AppConfig[:frontend_svg_favicon]Custom favicon for the Staff UI. Place image files in plugins/local/frontend/assets/images/ and set the path accordingly.
info

Please let Atlas know if you would like to modify any of the above configurations as part of your update. All values listed above are the defaults.