Outside Tool

Last Updated: August 2, 2004

• Introduction
• Requirements for Implementing an Outside Tool
• Steps for Implementation
• Step 1: Evaluation
• Step 2: Registration
• Step 3: Activation

Introduction

Outside Tool allows an institution to register a tool with NCBI to provide a link from the Abstract display of all PubMed records. The link points back to a resource offered by the institution for their local users.

Institution that would like to implement OpenURL-based services in PubMed should follow the steps described in PubMed and OpenURL-based Services.

Requirements for Implementing Outside Tool

In order to best serve our user community, we try to avoid "blind" links that do not provide useful and directly relevant information for the specific PubMed record. To register for an Outside Tool, an institution must demonstrate that their tool can provide relevant web-accessible resources for all PubMed records.

Examples of relevant resources include:

• full-text articles
• biological databases
• consumer health information

See Sample links from Entrez databases for more examples.

Link should lead directly to the resource itself, not a general container, like a home page, table of contents, search form, etc.

All resources must be in place BEFORE a request to set up an Outside Tool can be processed.

Steps for Implementation

Step 1: Evaluation

(NOTE: To implement an OpenURL-based service, please see the document: PubMed and OpenURL-based Services.)

Evaluate the scope of your resource to see if it can supply specific relevant information for all PubMed records. Please write to lib-linkout@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov if you have any questions.  If your tool does not provide specific resources for all PubMed records, please use LinkOut to link to a subset of PubMed.

PubMed links to your tool by attaching the PubMed ID (PMID) of the current PubMed citation to the end of the URL of your tool. For example:

Your tool URL: http://goodmedical.edu/mytool.cgi?
PMID: 12345678

Resulting URL: http://goodmedical.edu/mytool.cgi?12345678

Please note that PubMed will only pass back the PMID. Your institution can then use the Entrez Utilities to obtain the citation information of the relevant record.

Step 2: Registration

If your institution can provide qualified resources for all PubMed records and is NOT implementing an OpenURL-based services, please proceed with the following registration process:

• Send an email with the Subject: "Request to set up an Outside Tool" to lib-linkout@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. In the message body, please include the following:
   
  1. Proof of providing qualified resources from all PubMed records.
     • Please describe the resource your institution can provide. You will need to provide access to your tool for NCBI so we can evaluate your tool.
  2. Name of the institution, postal address, email address, and phone number for a contact person.
  3. The URL to your tool.
  4. The URL of the icon that preferably identifies both your institution and your tool. It should:
     • be the recommended size of 100 by 25 pixels (maximum is 150 by 35 pixels)
     • look like a button
     • have an outline or borders
     • not have a white or transparent background
     • be in the image formats: GIF, JPEG or PNG
  5. The URL of an html help page that explains your tool, to be used in Cubby.
  6. A short label (less than 50 characters) that identifies your institution and your tool on the Cubby page. NCBI reserves the right to adjust this label.
  7. A note if you would like a period of testing where your tool is not listed in Cubby, but is available through the otool parameter.

NCBI staff will email the contact person within one week about your request.

Step 3: Activation

Users can active your outside tool and see the tool icon in PubMed in two ways. The first is by accessing PubMed with a special URL using the otool parameter.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?otool=yourOutsideTool
where "yourOutsideTool" is the name assigned by NCBI

When the "otool" parameter is included in the URL used to access PubMed, your outside tool icon will be displayed in every PubMed abstract and connect users to your resources.

The second way is to use Cubby. Cubby has a selection on the sidebar menu for Outside Tool. When a Cubby user selects your tool, the icon for that tool will display in every PubMed abstract. The Outside Tool preference will be in effect on a workstation until the user changes the Outside Tool option or is inactive for 8 hours.

Please send questions and comments to lib-linkout@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.