What are administration settings?
The Administration settings are high-level preferences intended for network administrators, IT support departments, or operators with administrator-level permissions; in other words, they're advanced settings used to configure your main Data Station once and then be forgotten.
While every operator with the proper security permissions can access the Administration module, it contains settings that most operators won't be able to configure without help. An operator's access to these settings is governed by Alexandria's security preferences. Your library's administrator can manage these settings in Tools > Preferences > Security.
Actions Menu
- Send Data to COMPanion. If a Customer Support Representative needs your library data for troubleshooting you can easily send it to us by selecting this option and entering the Authorization Code you are provided.
Log Out. This button will log you out of Alexandria, despite if you have multiple windows open.
Quit Alexandria. This option will stop the Data Station from running and log out any active operators.
Navigation Bar
Status | These settings allow you to perform maintenance on your library catalog and update your Alexandria program. | |
These settings allow you to designate an SMTP server to use for sending emails, such as Item Overdue Notices, to patrons and/or staff. | ||
LDAP | These settings allow you to authenticate operator and patron program access. | |
Checkpoint | If your library utilizes the Checkpoint ILS security system use these setting to enhance your SIP2 protocol. |
What does the status interface do?
It's where an operator can easily access their Alexandria registration information, perform database maintenance, run or restore from archives, and update to the latest version. It's the default interface when accessing administration settings.
Database Maintenance
You have the ability to preserve and maintain your library catalog data by utilizing the following options through the status interface.
Restore From Archive. Use this option to replace your current data folder with a previously created archive. This is useful if you need to undo a completed process such as imports or utilities.
- Archive. Selecting this button performs an immediate, manual archive of your database. During an archive, all information in the Data Station's data folder is copied into the archive directory you've configured. While the archive is running all services on the data station are temporarily disabled. We recommend running an archive before making any large-scale changes to your database, such as imports, updates, utilities, or machine upgrades.
- Restart. Selecting this button will restart the Data Station remotely. During the restart duration, Alexandria services and modules will be unavailable to all operators.
- Database Maintenance. Selecting this button will examine your database files and perform patron, item, and circulation verification routines. If database damage is detected, it's automatically fixed. While maintenance is being performed the Data Station will be inaccessible. This process can also be scheduled to perform regularly.
Send your patrons email notifications
To send email reminders, such as the Overdue Items Notice, you will need to configure how Alexandria communicates with your library's email server. Alexandria's email system is designed to potentially cope with hundreds of emails being sent (or resent) over many machines at the same time.
Email Settings
Setting Up Your SMTP Server
Before setting up your SMTP server you will need to enter a valid email address in the sites management settings of Alexandria.
- Click on Tools to the left of your Circulation window.
- Click on Sites under the Management header.
- Enter the name of your site contact (typically this will be the District or Library Administrator of Alexandria), their title, their email and their phone/fax numbers.
- Click Save in the upper right corner.
Once you have saved this information you are ready to set up the SMTP server.
- Access Tools > Administration.
- Click Email on the left.
- Enter your SMTP server address and port in the available fields.
- Check the box if you want to allow non-secure connections. (optional)
- Enter the login and password for your SMTP server.
- Click Save in the upper-right corner of the window.
- Repeat steps 1-6 if you want to configure a back up server for Server 2.
Using Gmail as your SMTP Server
A Gmail account can be used as a portable SMTP server if your library's network does not already have one. Before you configure Alexandria to use Gmail, you will need to set your Gmail preferences to Allow Less Secure Apps.
- Access Tools > Administration.
- Click Email on the left.
- Enter smtp.gmail.com as the SMTP Server Address.
- Enter 587 as the port.
- Check the box if you want to allow non-secure connections. (optional)
- Enter the login and password for your Gmail account.
- Click Save in the upper-right corner of the window.
- Click Test Server to ensure the Gmail account is acting as a server.
- Repeat steps 1-8 if you want to configure a back up server for Server 2.
LDAP supports user-authentication for open or active directories
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (i.e. LDAP) is an application protocol for querying and modifying directory services running over TCP/IP. At this time, Alexandria supports user-authentication using existing log-on credentials maintained on a separate directory server.