WYLD TECHNOTE 85:Modifying, scheduling and retrieving Notice reports

Starters

• Click here to see the account to use for notices
• Link to Unicorn report help file noverdue report

Finding your Notice templates

• Right click your Toolbar and click "Toolbars"
• Click the down arrow, find and hi-light "reports" and click ok
• Click the "Schedule new reports" wizard (Icon that looks like a blank page)
• Click "ok" on the "Defaults" property page

  

• Your templates folder will always be the top folder, unless you have no templates. You will see other folders like Bibliographic and Circulation. These are the common reports you have access to, some are password protected because they have system wide implications. But they are Consortia wide reports, not just yours. If you plan to experiment with some of the reports I caution you to always, always, select the "Selection criteria" tab and select only your library or your branches. Also, if you save a report as a template, give it a new name under the "Report Name" field and begin the name with your library code i.e BHN-GREY, TETN , LCCC. This makes it much easier for the WYLD staff to view the list of templates. Avoid naming them things like "Tony's list", "Crystal's labels" etc.
• You will have access only to the templates saved or created for or by your users account (e.g. WSLCIRCMGR, LCCCBIBMGR) and only the account that schedules and runs the report will be able to see the scheduled and finished reports.

Modifying your notices template

• Select the template you want to modify and click "Modify"
• In general, if this is a template we have created for you, you will not need to look at the "Selection criteria". In the case of the Notices reports you will want to focus on the "Output options" tab.
• Click the "Output options" tab

  

• Be sure to check the "Count as notice sent" radio button, then select what other information you want displayed on the notice, click here for examples
• When you have made all your choices click "ok", this will save your changes to your template and send you to a window that asks if you want to "Schedule a new report", "Display scheduled reports" or "Quit"
• Clicking "Schedule a new report" will take you right back to your templates list, very handy when modifying and scheduling

Scheduling a template

• Click "Schedule a new report" if at last step above or click the "Schedule new reports" wizard
• Select the template you want to schedule and click "Schedule", click "Schedule" on the next screen
• Click the "daily", button, the Every [ ] days field will default to 1

  

• Click the gadget next to the "Date and time of first run:" field
• The calendar will default to todays date and time
• Select the date you want to start running the report and change the time and minute fields to "6:00" am. if this is the First notice and "6:30" am for subsequent notices.
• Click "ok"
• If you wish to send email notices check the "Auto email to recipients with email addresses in their patron record" check box.
• Please enter a valid email address belonging to your library (e.g. wslcirc@state.wy.us) in the "All emails originate from" field. Prior to Unicorn 2002 all mail appeared to originate from "SIRSI@wyld.state.wy.us", by putting your email address here email will appear to come from that address and any bounces, due to faulty email addresses, or replies from your patrons will come to that address instead of the wyld office.
• Click "ok"

Viewing scheduled reports

• To view any reports you have scheduled click the "Scheduled reports" wizard (Icon with with 1,2,3 )
• You are able to modify the reports here, just as you can under the "Schedule New Reports" but it is best to remove the scheduled report, modify the template in the templates folder and reschedule as any modifications here will not be saved to the template .
• You can modify the scheduling of the report here by clicking "Modify" and "Schedule"

Retrieving and printing notices

• Click the "Finished Reports" wizard, (Icon that looks like a page with a red check mark)

  

• On the properties window you will need to select the location of the program you will use to open the report. The default is Wordpad, the default location is for Windows 95/98. To locate Wordpad for Windows 2000/XP click the gadget next to "Application to view reports"
• Click the yellow folder next to the "Look in" field until it says "Program Files"
• Locate the folder "Windows NT" and click it
• Click the "Accessories" folder
• Click "Wordpad" and click "Open"
• Back on the default properties window Click the "Format report" check box (if it has a red check already you do not need to check it)
• Change the page length to "67"
• Click "ok"
• The next window will present your finished reports
• Select your notice report and click "View"
• Uncheck the "view log" check box
• If you are sending email notices you may only want to view those you will need to mail, click the "only those with no email addresses" radio button
• Click "ok"
• The report will open in your wordpad
• In wordpad, click "Edit/select all"
• Click "Format/Font", change the font size to 9 and click "ok"
• Click "File/Print preview" and verify that the page breaks fall at the begining of each new notice.
• If you choose a different application to view with, such as Word or Wordperfect, you will want to experiment with the page length, page width and margin settings on the default properties window in Workflows. With these full-body applications you can also create macros to do the reformating for you.

Copying a notice template

• Why would you need to make a copy of a notice template? If you need to send a different message to different patron classes, produce the notice at different frequencies, send a different number of notices e.g only the first and second
• Go to "Schedule new reports", find the notice you want to copy on the "templates" folder
• Click "duplicate", give the template a unique name in the "Report name" field, remember to always begin the name with your library code
• Make the modifications to the "selection criteria" and "output options"
  • For example, in the image under the "Modify your notice template" above we are producing first, second and third notices to all patrons when the item is 8 days overdue, 14 days overdue and 28 days overdue (for the first, second and third notices respectively). Lets say you want to send just the first and second notices to just 09TE patron class at 21 days overdue and 42 days overdue
  • Copy the regular notice template to one called "BHN-GREY 09TE 1ST, 2nd"
  • In the "Selection criteria" tab of the new template go to the "USER SELECTION" section and select the 09TE patron profile from the drop down list
  • In the "Output options" tab remove the third message number (blank it out) and blank out the message 3 date information
  • Click the gadget next to the "Date" field next to the "Message 1" field
  • Click "Next" on the next screen and on the next screen type "21" over the "8", click "ok"
  • Click the gadget next to the "Date" field next to the "Message 2: field ,click
  • Click "Next" on the next screen and on the following screen type "42" over the "14", click "ok"
  • If you require a different message than that sent to the other patrons contact Marc at the WYLD office
  • Save this template now by clicking "ok". You may now schedule this template as per the instructions in this Tech note
  • You will now want to modify the template you copied and exclude profile 09TE
  • Go to the templates folder and click the template you copied, in our example that would be "BHN-GREY 1st, 2nd, 3rd"
  • Click "modify"
  • Click "Selection Criteria" and go to the "USER SELECTION" and click the gadget next to the "User profile" field
  • Click the "Not contains" radio button and select 09TE, click "ok"
  • You will want to remove this template from the Scheduled list and reschdule it.

Please contact Marc Stratton [ mstratton@will.state.wy.us ] in the WYLD office with any questions.