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Fixed-Length Fields
The next group of wizard prompts are for additional Fixed-length Fields. Field names may not match your system entirely because they are customizable as well as dependent upon server configuration and products purchased.
The next fields are Patron Code fields, which may be used on your system as categories to collect statistical data on patrons. The values for these fields, the labels for the fields and the order for prompts are all library specific decisions. Your server may use these fields differently and some may not be used at all.
In this example, PCODE1 or Patron Code 1, is used to indicate the patron's gender.
[PCODE2 will indicate whether the borrower is an adult or juvenile patron. The numeric code PCODE3 is not being used.]
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NOTE: These types of fields are referred to as coded or validated fields, meaning that only pre-determined codes can be used as valid data. There are two ways to retrieve a list of the valid codes:
- You can double-click in the white area of the wizard prompt for the system to display a separate dialog with a list of valid codes.
Click on the desired code, then click OK.
- If you type an invalid code, Millennium Circulation offers a pop-up menu of valid codes. You can use the <space> bar to trigger this menu. Click on the code to select, or use the arrow keys to scroll through the list and press Enter to select.
If you know the code you would like to enter, you can also type in that code at the prompt.
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It is important that you choose the correct PTYPE, or Patron Type, code when creating a new Patron Record.
This numeric code is one of three elements, and the only one from the Patron Record, that determines the correct Loan Rule to use for this patron at the time of a circulation transaction. The Loan Rule is used to determine the correct due dates for items and other circulation parameters.
The Birth Date field functions like the Expiration Date field and other date fields on the system.
You can type in the date or use the calendar. If you type in the birth date for patrons born in the 20th century, be sure to backspace over the first two digits of the year, the '20'.
Replace them with '19'.
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NOTE: When you type '1' in the year field, the system will fill in the '9', so you only need to type 1-7-9 for a birth year of 1979.
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The valid codes for Home Library are the same Location Codes used in all records on the system, such as Bibliographic and Item Records.
If you retrieve the list of codes, you may find that it is a very long list.
It is probably easier to type in the appropriate home library code for your patrons, or the correct code may have been set in the default template.
The PMESSAGE, or Patron Message field, is an optional field that adds a generic message to the Patron Record.
If you enter a value, the message will display each time the Patron Record is retrieved. Here is a list of some sample PMESSAGEs:
If you want no message to appear, you would choose the null, or hyphen, value.
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