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Jun 25, 2026

Heratio Help Center article. Category: Discovery & Browse.

Explore by Theme User Guide

Overview

Explore by Theme groups the collection by what its records are about. It surfaces the collection's strongest subjects - the topics under which the most published records sit - as "ways into the collection", so you can start from a theme rather than from a search box. Each theme is a card showing how many published records carry that subject and a few example records, and links straight to the records filed under it. Open it at /themes.

What it does

Explore by Theme reads the subjects already attached to your published records and ranks them by how many records carry each one:

  • The busiest subjects become the headline themes - the collection's de-facto "ways in".
  • Each theme shows its published-record count and a few example records.
  • Opening a theme lists the published records under it, with links to each record and a one-click route into the full browse for that subject.

Only published records are counted and shown. Themes update automatically as records are described with subjects and made public - there is nothing to configure or generate.

How to use it

  1. Go to /themes.
  2. Browse the theme cards. Each card names a subject, shows how many published records carry it, and lists a few example records.
  3. Click Explore theme (or the theme name) to open one theme.
  4. On a theme page you will see:
    • The subject's label and, where the catalogue holds one, a short scope note.
    • The total number of published records under the theme.
    • A paginated list of those records, each linking to the record in full.
    • A Browse all in this theme button that opens the main browse page pre-filtered to this subject, where you can apply further filters (creator, place, media, level, and so on).
  5. Use the page links at the bottom of a theme to move through long lists.

Machine-readable theme list

A read-only JSON list of the themes is available at /themes.json for reuse in other tools and integrations. It is CORS-open and cacheable, and returns each theme's id, label, published-record count, and links. No record content or unpublished material is exposed.

Good to know

  • Published only. Themes are built from published records, so the counts match what the public can actually open.
  • It stays current. Theme rankings and record lists are computed on the fly from the live catalogue, so they reflect the collection as it is right now.
  • It complements connections. Where Discoveries and Research Leads show AI-found links between records, Explore by Theme groups records by subject - the two are different ways to find related material.