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Frequently Asked Questions


You've got questions? We've got answers!

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Trending FAQs

Here are the most common questions recently answered by Customer Support!

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titleThe school year is underway and I’d like to start cleaning up aspects of my patrons and item records. Is there an easy way to clean up homerooms and grades? Also, where do I view my title mediums and genres?

You can do this in Authority Control, which is the part of the program that helps a user manage terms and edit, modify, or even remove them when no longer in use. To access Authority Control go to Tools and select the button with that name and a sheriff’s star symbol. You will find terms listed under both patron and item field headings.

By using the gear at the top you can select “Remove unused terms” to clean up some of these fields. This will only remove a term if none are entered into an item or patron record under the corresponding field. If you have any questions about best practices for managing Authority Control terms we recommend you call Customer Support for guidance and advice. 

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titleWhat is Clever and/or GG4L integration and how does it work?

Clever is a third-party service used by school districts to facilitate the secure transfer of student rosters between their school information system (SIS) and digital learning applications. Global Grid for Learning (GG4L) is a K-12 industry collaborative that provides schools with various EdTech tools, including the secure exchange of school roster data between applications.

These programs access information from a district’s SIS such as Powerschool, Infinite Campus or Skyward and then work when set up with Alexandria to import and update patron information. Usually these services are managed at the district level and synced in Alexandria sites with IT personnel and our Customer Support assistance. Depending on the needs of each school, the decision to use one or the other is decided by the school administration before adding the services to the Alexandria license.

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titleHow do I import patrons or items through FTP?

You'll need to create a saved import. Go to the import you want and click Create Saved Import at the bottom of the window. Then you'll need to enter a name and fill out the Settings tab with your preferences. Lastly, go to the File Source tab and select FTP or FTPS from the Protocol dropdown. Enter your FTP/FTPS server's information. (If you don't have your own server, COMPanion offers secure and private folders on our FTP server!) Want to check if it works? Click Test FTP Connection. From there, you can run the import whenever necessary.

Tip

We recommend using FTP imports for larger files like patron pictures and BestMARC imports.

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titleI love the new look and navigation, and have been using the new version for awhile. How can I turn off all the pop-up messages?

Yes, if you are comfortable with the program and don’t want to see so many of the guides and messages this feature can be turned off in  User Settings. In the upper right corner where you see “Hi, Username” click on the icon to open the user menu and select User Settings. Set the Tutorials to off and click Save.



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Administration
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titleWhat are the Integrated Email Services in my email preferences?

Introducing Integrated Email Services for Alexandria and Textbook Tracker. Leave behind the headache of managing your own server, or trusting some external source—we can handle and send all of your Alexandria emails for you. Call us today at 1.800.347.6439 to discuss if this is the best option for your library. 

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titleI have forgotten or lost my password over the summer. Help! How do I log in?

Don’t worry, we have your back, but we take security very seriously, even for your library catalog. The first step to take when you cannot log into an Alexandria website is to try using the password reset option. Alexandria can send a link to the user email so long as an email has been entered for the login account. The second alternative is to ask if anyone else has credentials or access. This may even be someone at the district level. There is usually a person in charge that has access to your school site(s) and can help you get started by creating an administrative account!

If neither of the above are options then we can provide access, but we will need to make sure that the person requesting access should have access to the site. We will require that any applicant include a notarized identity verification which we will keep on file. This process may take up to 48 hours so patience is a must. See Password Management Best Practices.

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titleHow does our school or district go about protecting user access while also providing more than one way of logging into sites?

We have written up a best practices support page that outlines the steps that should be taken to ensure that all users of our programs have access from trusted sources and also access to backup methods in case passwords are forgotten or staff changes are necessary. See Password Management Best Practices.

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titleWe have a new librarian replacing one who left. How do they get a login for Alexandria?

According to new security protocols to protect privacy, a password for access can only be sent to the contact listed as the Primary. Anyone who is not listed as the primary can be edited to become the primary if the former staff in that position is no longer associated with the institution. This can take some time, so any customer who does not have access to Alexandria and needs to be issued a temporary password should expect a brief wait while their contact status is updated. 

We have taken these new policy steps to ensure that only those who should have access to a site can be granted access. 

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V7 FAQs

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Recently switched to 7? Get your questions answered.

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Inventory FAQs

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Make your inventory quick, easy, and extremely efficient.

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Reports FAQs

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Learn how to make the most of report templates.

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Items FAQs

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Maintain a clean and searchable catalog.

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Switch to 7 FAQs

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Makeover FAQs

We are thrilled to announce our Alexandria and Textbook Tracker Dream Makeover! Yep, that's right. We're giving the programs a new look while adding various improvements, such as responsive design and exciting features. Learn more about it!

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Beginning-of-Year FAQs

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End-of-Year FAQs

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Patrons FAQs

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Items FAQs

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Researcher FAQs

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Inventory FAQs


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Reports FAQs

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title I need to import a MARC file from a vendor. How should I set the default settings?

When importing files from a vendor, the correct default settings will already be set, and you can simply select “Run.” If you have a custom import or specific needs when updating your titles or copies, we recommend calling Customer Support for assistance.


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titleWhere do I find the results of a utility or import after it’s finished?

Go to Operations Management by clicking on the tool icon at the top, and click on the blue “i” icon.

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titleHow do I import patrons or items through FTP?

You'll need to create a saved import. Go to the import you want and click Create Saved Import at the bottom of the window. Then you'll need to enter a name and fill out the Settings tab with your preferences. Lastly, go to the File Source tab and select FTP or FTPS from the Protocol dropdown. Enter your FTP/FTPS server's information. (If you don't have your own server, COMPanion offers secure and private folders on our FTP server!) Want to check if it works? Click Test FTP Connection. From there, you can run the import whenever necessary.

Tip

We recommend using FTP imports for larger files like patron pictures and BestMARC imports.

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titleHow do I get a file to import my patrons?

Start by exporting the necessary data from your student information system (SIS) in a tab-delimited text format. This file can be imported into Alexandria Librarian to add new patron records and update any existing patron records simultaneously.