• Offline Mode.  Alexandria now supports an Offline Mode so that you can keep working to perform check in, check out, and inventory even if your network or Alexandria server are down. Offline Mode also works on mobile devices and can be used for remote inventory or circulation at any time.

• Add Genre. Use the Assign Keyword command to add a Genre entry.

Removed

Archive Before Import is no longer a option. Here's why:

In the past, we have suggested that users run an archive prior to importing a large set of data. This archive would act as a fallback solution in case anything went catastrophically wrong. However, many users are relying on Archive Before Import as a way to undo

We highly encourage you to run potentially dangerous operations, like imports, during low usage periods. Please be careful. Choose your import options scrupulously and review the log for errors immediately following the operation. It is better to avoid catastrophic

to run an archive, go to administration

we don’t recommend running an archive as a fallback 

things may be running in the background, such as a patron placing a hold. You’re erasing everything that happened in the meantime. You can’t control what people are doing between the time the archive is created and the time you have to rollback. 

a lot of processes run run in the 

There are legit reasons why relying on restoring to an archive to fix a mistake is a bad idea - agreed - and this is particularly true in a centralized catalog where you are not just affecting your site, but all sites. However, not everyone is part of a centralized catalog (the minority are, actually) and our users have been relying on archives as a restore option for many years. That said....

Bill wants everyone to stop using archives in this way - now.

"Archive for "undo" BAD PRACTICE, STOP IT" - his words.

In addition to simply noting that we removed this option, we need to say something to start encouraging users to stop looking at archives as their goto for undoing something such as a bad import. This won't be easy as users have 20+ years of being trained TO use their archives in this way and we have no alternative for them at this time (like an rollback or preflight). We can only state what we have done, and why, and encourage them to perform potentially dangerous operations during periods of low usage, to be more careful up front, and to review for errors immediately following the operation. Basically, don't screw up!

They can of course utilize the daily archives for disasters and they can always make manual archives using the options in /admin or the utility, and it may be worth noting this. However, the idea is to start steering users away from this thinking and whatever statement we start here in the release notes will help in creating future training articles, etc.

Important Information

Version Numbering Change

As of 7.17.7, we've modified our versioning scheme to better coincide with scheduled monthly updates. We now use the following:

• 7 = Series Version; xx = Academic Year, beginning in June; yy = Month
• For example, 7.18.3 means:
  
  • 7 = Series version
  • 18 = 2018 academic year
  • 3 = The third monthly update
    
    

Centralized Catalogs

If you have more sites than you are licensed for, contact our Sales team immediately at 1-800-347-6439. You can check this in Sites Management; the number of total sites plus the Union Site shows at the top, and the number you have licensed is at the bottom. (The Union Site does not require an additional license.)

Updating Your Self-Hosted Application

Data conversions from older versions may not be supported. Before updating, please check the version you're currently running.

Updating from v7

If you're already running 7.17.1 or newer, you can update to the latest version. But if you're running an older version, you'll need to update a few times.

• Running 7.16.3? Update to 7.17.12 before updating to the latest version.

• Running 7.16.2? Update to 7.16.3, then to 7.17.12, before updating to the latest version.

• Running an even older version? Contact COMPanion Support for assistance. Depending on your current version, your upgrade path may go through one or more of the following: 7.15.3 → 7.16.2.6 → 7.16.3 → 7.17.12 → 7.18.2+
  
  

Upgrading from v6

The process to update from 6.23.1 to v7 is quite a bit different than updating from a more recent version. Check out our v6 to v7 Conversion Guide for more information.

• Running 6.22.9 or older? Update to 6.23.1, then to 7.17.12, before updating to the latest version.

Update to 7.18.3

If you're hosting with Alexandria Cloud, updates will be automatically installed once they're available. However, you'll need to update manually If your application is self-hosted.

Follow these steps to update your self-hosted installation:

1. Log in to Alexandria.
2. Go to Tools > Administration. 
3. Click the Actions menu, then select Check For Updates.
4. Select the update version from the list, then click Update. Your update will now download.
5. Click Cancel to close the Available Updates window.

Not every version is able to update to the newest version, so the Available Updates window will only include those versions which meet your machine and version requirements. This window will also include updates to Help files.

New & Improved

Circulation

• Enhanced the Assign Keywords command (V) to add a genre entry (VG).
• Restored the repeat count parameter for statistics mode. For example, Y @7 counts usage as 7 instead of 1.
  
  

Export & Import

• The Last Name field is no longer required when importing data to update existing patron records. It is still required when importing new records.
• Copy Serial Number and Copy Vendor data can be imported.
  
  

Management

• Name (Author) entries in the 700 tag are now being displayed as they are cataloged. They were previously converted to always show in "First, Last" order.

Reports

• Reports that include cover art will now show images that were automatically obtained from remote sources, as well as cover art images stored locally in Alexandria.
• Added an option to include fine balances on the Unpaid Charges and Lost Items Notices reports when formatted 4 per page.
• Corrected how replacement cost is displayed on the Unpaid Charges and Lost Items Notice reports.
• Fixed a bug that was preventing the Top Circulated Titles report from producing results.
• Corrected an issue on Barcode Label reports that caused some available rows to appear uneditable.
  
  

Researcher

• Added keyboard tabbing support to Patron Status.
• Added an option to create a saved list when sharing search results in Search.
• You can now select and copy from full title details and copies in Search.

System

• Improved performance and reliability throughout the system.