Receipts

If you print receipts for patrons at your site, these preferences allow you to customize the information printed on your receipts; this information applies whether you print an 8½" x 11" receipt from local or network printer or a 3" receipt from COMPanion's Network Receipt Printer. The settings that configure when receipts are printed can be located in Browser Settings.

Receipt printing is best done with COMPanion's Network Receipt Printer; it provides a convenient and economical means of printing receipts for common circulation transactions such as check outs, placed holds, fines, fees, payments, and refunds.

Receipt Content

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• Show patron barcode. If you uncheck this, check in/out receipts will show asterisks (e.g. “ **** ” ) instead of the patron’s barcode.
  
  
• Show patron phone number on hold receipts. Check this option to show the patron's phone number on printed in-stock hold slips. You can print these slips using the dialog box that appears when a currently checked out item with an in-stock hold is bookdropped or by using the Holds subtab in the Circulation window. The item with the in-stock hold can then be set aside—slip attached—and the requesting patron contacted (via telephone) at your leisure.

• Show site information. When checked, your site's name, address and contact information is included on all receipt type.

• Optional Text for Receipts. If you would like to, add text that will appear on receipts.

• Add Logo for Receipt Printer. Add a logo that will appear on receipts. The slip printer uses thermal paper that can reproduce simple images clearly. For best results, please select a very basic bi-color image for display on receipts; a black and white image with a simple, line-oriented design is preferred. The logo must be an image format (e.g. JPEG, GIF, PNG, or BMP) supported by your browser and by the Network Receipt Printer. For optimal quality, the image should have a dimension no larger than 200 pixels wide by 250 pixels high and 72 ppi.

Print Settings 

These preferences activate the COMPanion Network Receipt Printer, which provide convenient and economical means of printing receipts for common circulation transactions such as check outs, placed holds, fines, fees, payments, and refunds.

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Printer

When setting up this printer, see our Network Printer Installation Guide. 

• Use Alexandria Network Printer. Receipts for Check Outs, Check Ins, In-Stock Holds, etc., will be formatted to fit this receipt printer.

• Printer IP Address. Specify the IP address of the receipt printer.

Receipts

Choose to always print receipts for the following types of receipts. For some receipts, you can also specify the number of receipts that will print (e.g. some people like 2 copies of in-stock hold receipts, one to put inside the book, and one for other processing). 

When you don't print receipts automatically, you can still print the receipts manually using the “D” or “QP” command in the Circulation window at the end of a transaction.

• Check out. Prints when an item is checked out. This is for each individual item; to print a summary receipt, use the “D” or “QP” commands.

• Check in. Prints when an item is bookdropped. 

• Renewals. Prints when an item is renewed.

• In-stock holds. Prints when an item is bookdropped and becomes an in-stock hold. Usually this is put with the item that goes in the in-stock hold area of your library. You can also print these from the Holds tab.

• Monetary transactions. Prints for monetary transactions such as refunds and payments. You can also print these from the Charges > Payments subtab.

User Interaction

These preferences control the level of interaction that operators have with the program and what additional content is displayed.

Behavior

You can prevent unexpected check ins while in check out mode and ignore payment prompts when nobody is there to pay.

• Check Out. Customize the behavior of the Check Out mode. This can be useful when your site uses separate Workstations—some that only allow bookdrop and others that only allow check out—although the Self-Service module is better for that. You have three options:
  • Allow check in during check out. The default selection; this option allows items belonging to the current patron to be bookdropped when the Circulation window is in Check Out mode.

• • Allow check in with confirmation during check out. If selected, the program will not allow an item (or items) belonging to the current patron to be bookdropped or renewed during Check Out mode without operator confirmation.

• • Don't allow check in during check out. If selected, the program will not allow items belonging to the current patron to be bookdropped or renewed when the Circulation window is in Check Out mode. For example, if you attempt to bookdrop an item that a patron currently has checked out, or you mistakenly scan the item barcode twice during the original transaction, you will be informed that bookdrops aren't allowed during checkout.

• Hide overdue payment windows in Bookdrop mode. Normally when you are in Bookdrop (B) mode and return an overdue book, you'll get the chance to handle the fine in a payment window. Turn on this option to prevent that window from showing, and process the fines automatically—this is useful when patrons aren't present when you process bookdrops.

Alerts

Turn these on to be alerted to specific situations while working in Circulation.

• Alert for Copies from Different Sites. Set this dropdown to get special alerts when working with copies that don't belong to the site you are working at. (Centralized catalogs only.)
  • Never
  • During Check In and Inventory
  • During Check In, Renewal, and Inventory
  • Always

• Show patron alerts on overdue items. When checked, an alert message and sound will occur when a patron with overdue items is made current.

• Show patron alerts on in-stock holds. When checked, an alert message and sound will occur when a patron with available in-stock holds is made current.

• Show patron alerts for upcoming reservations. When checked, an alert message and sound will occur when a patron with upcoming reservations is made current.

Display

Do you use reading programs and copy conditions? This information shows in the Current Item and Current Patron panes.

• Display patron Lexile. This is part of the Expanded Lexile Services add-on. When checked, a patron's Lexile measurement is displayed—if provided in the patron Lexile tab. Read Patron Lexiles for more information.

• Display patron Reading Level. When checked, a patron's reading level is displayed (if provided in the patron Personal Info tab). These levels are added in Patrons Management > Programs tab. If you have privacy issues concerning a patron's reading level information being displayed on the Circulation window, leave this box unchecked.

• Display Item Reading Level. When checked, the copy’s reading level will be displayed, if available. The level used will be determined by your library's reading system.

• Display Copy Condition. When checked, the copy’s condition is displayed. Condition codes are created and maintained in Preferences > Codes > Condition Codes, and can be added to individual copies in Items Management.

• Display Textbook checkouts/charges in Patron Details. When checked, information on checkouts and charges from the Textbook Tracker add-on will show on the Patron Details window in Circulation.

• Preferred Study Program. This dropdown contains a list of Reading Study Programs your library uses.