Pardon the mess! The Support Center is undergoing construction. 
How helpful was this page?
Related Blog Posts
Blog Posts
-
Winter storms–recompute due dates
created by
Jan 23, 2024
-
Keep track of items on display
created by
Nov 02, 2022
-
Keeping track of patrons: Account expiration dates
created by
Jul 06, 2022
-
End-of-year tips: Managing patrons
created by
May 03, 2022
-
Are your Utilities running?—Take the right steps
created by
Feb 16, 2022
-
Analyze your collection—Mitinet and Titlewave
created by
Aug 06, 2021
-
Removing holds—Easy as 1, 2, 3
created by
Mar 10, 2021
-
Changing call numbers—helpful utilities
created by
Mar 03, 2021
-
Mystery, fantasy, classics—Adding genres
created by
Feb 24, 2021
-
My data!—All about archives
created by
Feb 17, 2021
Utilities
Last Updated: $action.dateFormatter.formatDateTime($content.getLastModificationDate())
Utilities
Tools > Utilities
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. 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.
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.
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 these operations have been performed, they cannot be undone. If a utility is run incorrectly, your only recourse is to restore from a daily Archive.
Toolbar
Quick/Saved. Choose the Quick tab to run a one-time utility, or choose the Saved tab to run one of your customized utilities.
Lock/Unlock. In a saved utility, click the padlock icon to unlock the it for editing.
Actions. Options to duplicate or delete a saved report.
Switch Site. In a Central Union, click this icon to change the site you're working in.
Operations Management. Go to Operations Management to view the log of your completed utility.
Support. Having trouble? This will open support documentation for this topic in another tab.
Categories
Utilities are organized in categories and subcategories. Select a category or subcategory title to view the list of associated reports in the Utility Selection pane. Selecting All Utilities at the top of the categories filter will populate the Quick and Saved tabs with all available utility options.
- All Utilities contains all the available utility types.
- Patron utilities allow you to remove groups of patrons, change patron policies, renew expired cards, or advance patron grades.
- Title utilities allow you add, modify, and remove information for any number of titles in your collection.
- Copy utilities allow you to add, modify, and remove information for any number of copies in your collection.
- Circulation utilities are used to clear patron histories, correct batches of incorrect due dates, or verify and update your circulation records.
- Periodical utilities are used to remove select route and subscription information.
Utility Selection
Once 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 Utility
You 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 Utilities
Saved Utilities
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.
Utility Selection Pane
The larger, right-side of the Utilities interface is dedicated to the currently selected utility and contains all of the utility's configurable settings and options.
Directly below the control strip is the Utility Selection pane; this pane changes dynamically depending on whether you have the Quick or Saved tab selected. Remember, the utilities that appear in the Utility Selection pane directly relate to the category (or subcategory) selected from the Categories pane and/or the information that is entered into the Filter bar.
Filter Bar
The Filter bar, in conjunction with the Categories pane, can be used to further filter the results of the Utility Selection pane. In some ways, this is the consummate utility filter—far surpassing the Categories pane. In fact, you may find yourself never using the Categories filters again, preferring instead to check against All Utilities using the Filter bar.
For example, if you select Periodicals from the Categories pane and then type “remove” in the Filter bar, you would only see periodical-related utilities in the Utility Selection pane. If you have All Utilities selected from the Categories pane and type “remove” into the Filter bar, you would see results matching all periodical utilities.
The results of the Filter bar depend on whether you have the Quick or Saved tab selected and what category filter is being applied.
If you would like to search the entire collection of utilities you will first need to select All Utilities from the Categories pane and then provide a term in the Filter bar. For instance, if you’re looking for a simple copy-based utility and don’t want to bother with the category filters, simply select All Utilities and start typing “copy” in the Filter bar.
Selected Utility Pane
The Selected Utility pane, located at the lower-right of the Utilities interface, is dynamic; the available tabs, fields, and options change depending on the utility you currently have selected in the Utility Selection pane and whether Quick or Saved is selected from the control strip. These tabs contain settings that allow you to configure selection options essential to how your utility is performed.
The bottom of the Selected Utility pane has some controls that change dynamically depending on whether you have the Quick or Saved selected.
- Show Additional Selections. Some utilities have uncommon or infrequently used selections initially hidden from view. When they are, a Show Additional Selections box is available. Once checked, the hidden selection options become available.
- Create Saved Utility. If you would like to save the Quick utility you’ve been modifying, click Create Saved Utility. After adjusting the default utility name (optional), your new utility, with custom settings, will be added to the Saved tab. This option only appears for Quick utilities.
- Run. Performs the utility and send a report to the Operations Management queue; every utility you run will be documented in the Show My Operations log in Operation Management.
