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| Most Circulation commands and operations are designed to modify individual pieces of data one entry at a time; utilities, however, can change large amounts of information in your database at once. The Utilities window allows you to create your own set of essential utilities; we provide the general templates that help you They allow you to modify, clear, or clean required information, such as records of interest, title/copy policies, patron histories, and all types of circulation transactions. Using our templates, you can build utilities that modify, transfer, remove, update, or verify the information you require. Once you've created custom utilities, there won't be a need to adjust the particulars very often Quick utilities are meant to be run once and then the settings are discarded. Create a saved utility if you intend to run that particular utility again, then you won't need to adjust the settings next time. Saved utilities can also be set to run on a schedule and a confirmation can be automatically emailed to the recipient(s) of your choice. Take some time to explore the categories and subcategories and set up some Saved utilities for which you'll be able to easily access and run in the future. | Notewarning |
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Utilities change large amounts of information in your database at once. Be absolutely positive that you want to perform the selected utility before clicking Run; once . Once these operations have been performed, they can not cannot be undone. If a utility was is run incorrectly run, your only recourse will be is to restore from a daily Archive. |
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| The Utilities interface may look complicated at first glance, but it was designed with simplicity in mind—placing everything in an easily navigable window that allows you to quickly find, modify, and run utilities. Additionally, the Utilities interface allows you to create utilities that only modify, clear, or clean required information: records of interest, title/copy policies, patron histories, and all types of circulation transactions. In order to become a utility wizard, there are only three essential things you need to understand: utility categories, utility templates, and creating custom utilities. The Utilities interface uses the familiar three-panel layout found in most Alexandria management interfaces. - The left-hand side of the window is home to the Categories pane, containing a list of all existing utility categories (e.g. Titles) and subcategories (e.g. General). Selections from this pane act as filters, allowing you to narrow your focus and display only relevant utilities.
- The upper-right section of the window contains the Quick and Saved tabs and the Utility Selection pane, which allow you to select the specific utility you would like to view, modify, or run. If you haven't yet selected a utility from this pane, you will be presented with a larger list; the Selected Utility pane for Quick/Saved utilities only appears after a utility is selected from this list.
The Selected Utility pane—the bottom-right area of the window—contains settings and options for the selected utility, housed in the following tabs: Overview, Selections, Options, Notification, and Schedule.
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| The control strip at the top of the Utilities interface contains the Save and Revert buttons[1], the Operation Management and the Support Center help icons, the Lock/Unlock icon and the Actions (“”) menu which performs functions related to the selected utility.  Image Removed
Quick / SavedThe Quick tab contains a complete list of available utility types; essentially, an exhaustive repository of existing utilities. These templates do not store custom selection settings and should not be confused with operator-created Saved utilities; they are mainly used for running “ad-hoc” utilities or as a foundation for your own Saved utilities. If you haven't been able to locate the exact templates you are looking for, chances are you will find them here. The Saved tab contains all operator-created utilities; custom templates that store the selection criteria used to run the utility. Unlock / LockThe Unlock / Lock icon only appears when the Saved tab is selected; the default state of the Saved tab is always “locked”. This prevents an operator from making unintentional changes to the currently selected utility. When the Saved tab is locked, utilities may still be viewed and run, but modification of any of the utility settings are disabled until the utility is unlocked. The Saved tab will remain unlocked until you click the lock icon again or the window is closed. The Actions drop-down menu (represented by a gear/cog icon) contains specialized utility-specific functions and other tools; the Actions menu only appears when the Saved tab is selected. Duplicate Utility—Should you want nearly identical settings for a custom-created utility, this allows you to make a copy of the selected Saved utility, give it a new name, and make whatever changes you require. Delete Utility—This selection completely removes the selected Saved utility from the Utility Selection tab. This can not be undone (i.e. Saved utilities can not be restored), so think twice before making this selection. Save / RevertOnce changes have been made to the currently selected Saved utility, the Revert and Save options appear. Clicking Revert will discard changes to the Saved utility; clicking Save will keep your changes. Operation ManagementAlexandria's Operations Management is a specialized repository where past and future operations (i.e. reports, utilities, exports, or imports) are sorted and stored. You can view operation summaries and open, email, or download saved operations that have previously completed. Clicking Run at the bottom of the Utilities interface will queue the selected utility in the Operation Management interface. Support CenterClick the Help button to access the utilities section of our online Support Center. Before running a utility, you should run a report with the same selection criteria to see which data would be changed with the utility. |
Image Added  Image Added Quick/Saved. Choose the Quick tab to run a one-time utility, or choose the Saved tab to run one of your customized utilities.
 Image Added Lock/Unlock. In a saved utility, click the padlock icon to unlock the it for editing.
 Image Added Actions. Options to duplicate or delete a saved report.
 Image Added Switch Site. In a Central Union, click this icon to change the site you're working in.
 Image Added Operations Management. Go to Operations Management to view the log of your completed utility.
 Image Added Support. Having trouble? This will open support documentation for this topic in another tab.
CategoriesUtilities are organized in categories and subcategories. Select a category or subcategory title to view the list of associated reports in the Utility Selection pane | | Content Block |
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| The first step in running a utility is picking the proper category. The Categories pane on the left-hand side of the window is a collection of categories that can reduce the number of results that appear in the Utility Selection pane (i.e. the Quick and Saved tabs) on the right. You are able to expand or contract associated subcategory sections by clicking the icon located to the left of the main category name. Selecting (highlighting) one of the main category—or subcategory—names (e.g. Titles) will reveal all of the utilities available for that category (or subcategory). For example, if you want to run an Advance Patron Level utility, you can’t do it with the Circulation category selected—they're Patrons (category) utilities. Selecting All Utilities at the top of the categories filter will populate the Quick and Saved tabs with all available utility options. - All Utilities. This category contains all the available utility types.
- Patrons. Patron utilities allow you to modify or remove packs groups of patrons. For example, you can change patron policies, renew expired cards, or advance patron grades.
- Titles. Title utilities allow you add, modify, and remove information for any number of titles in your collection. For example, you can change a group of title policies.
- Copies. Copies utilities utilities allow you to add, modify, and remove information for any number of copies in your collection. For example, you can remove lost copies, replace copy locations, or change call number prefixes on copious copies.
- Circulation. Circulation utilities are used to clear patron histories, correct batches of incorrect due dates, or verify and update your circulation records.
- Periodicals. Acquisition utilities are used to remove select route and subscription information.
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| - The Database utility is used to create a copy of your data.
Utility SelectionOnce you've selected a category or subcategory, the associated utilities will be listed in the Utility Selection pane on the right. You can filter the results further by entering a search term in the filter bar. Saved utilities can also be filtered by Favorites, Shared, and Operator (utilities saved by you). Read more about filters in Saved Utilities. Scroll through the list to locate and select the specific utility you'd like to view, modify, or run.
Selected UtilityYou can modify report you've selected in the Selected Utility pane. Each tab contains the settings and options you need to configure how the utility is performed. Quick utilities have only the Selections and Options tabs, while Saved utilities allow more customization options.
Quick UtilitiesImage Added Saved UtilitiesImage Added The controls at the bottom of the Selected Report pane depend on whether you're viewing a Quick or Saved report. - Show Additional Selections. Some utilities have uncommon or infrequently used selections initially hidden from view. Check this box to show them.
- Create Saved Utility. Save this utility with your custom settings so you can run it again later.
- Run. Run the utility and send a report to the Operations Management queue. The utility will be documented in the Show My Operations log in Operation Management.
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