Handy Library Manager
 for Windows


Help, how to topics > Options > Library check in, check out options?


Library check in/out processing options.



  • Check In / Out Receipt Heading (1): define the heading that will be displayed on the top of the check out transaction receipt.
  • Display Auto Processing Option (2): check this option to display Auto Processing check box in the transaction window. Use Auto Processing with barcode scanner and item/patron barcode labels.
  • Barcode Scanning Mode (3): if you use barcode scanner set the Timer, it will process the entry from the barcode after a very small time delay, set ENTER key if you enter barcode values manually or you use lookup feature when selecting items or patrons.
  • Display Check Out Notes Field (4):
  • administrator is allowed to enter any note when processing check out transactions. This note is recorded in the check out transaction.
  • Display Additional Item Field (5): define additional item data field that will be displayed. It is only displayed for the library administrator to verify data. This field is not recorded in the check out transaction.
  • Display Additional Borrower Field (6): define additional patron data field that will be displayed. It is only displayed for the library administrator to verify data. This field is not recorded in the check out transaction.
  • Display Check Out Extra 1, 2 Fields (7): you can display 2 extra fields from the Borrowers database in the check in/out transaction window. Define extra data fields in the loan.map file. The values from the selected fields will be recorded in the check out transaction. Example: you have grade-2 students. You enter teacher name and grade into the student record. You can record the student grade and the teacher name in the loan transaction.
  • Define Extra 1, 2 Fields (7a) : You can define extra data fields in the Option, and the program saves them in the loan.map file (new in version 4.0).
  • Do not display Check In / Auto Processing Warnings (8): use this option when you process check in transaction for many books using barcode scanner.
  • Display Item/Borrower Name Lookup Dropdowns (9): you can display lookup dropdown boxes. Small libraries that don't use barcode scanners will easily access item and borrower selection. Lookup boxes let you find an item or borrower on the first few letters that you type in. (new in version 2.4, July, 2017)
  • Check In/Out Utility Option: decide what type of transactions could be processed in the Check In/Out module.
  • Simple Mode (10) CHECK IN/OUT utility allows an operator to override predefined parameters (due date, quantity limits, transaction notes). The Simple Mode option lets you disable override features. (new in version 2.4, July, 2017)

1 - Receipt Heading opiton.


2 - Display Auto Processing Option.
3 - Barcode Scanning Mode.
4 - Display Check Out Notes Field.
5 - Display Additional Item Field (publisher is displayed)
6 - Display Additional Borrower Field (expiry date is displayed)
7 - Display Check Out Extra 1, 2 Fields (7a - define extra fields mapping)


Extra data fields are defined in the loan.map file.

EXTRA1, EXTRA2 are data fields from the Loans table. CUSTOM1, CUSTOM2 are the names of the data fields from the Borrowers table (you can replace CUSTOM1, CUSTOM2 with any field names from the Borrowers table).

When check out transaction is executed the program will save the value of the CUSTOM1 in the EXTRA1 and CUSTOM2 in the EXTRA2.

In the above example the Teacher Name is entered into CUSTOM1, the student grade is entered into CUSTOM2. Those values will be stored in EXTRA1 and EXTRA2.


Barcode Options should be set only once before any items or borrowers are added. If you do not enter your barcode values the program will generate numbers in the format defined in the Barcode Options. In this case items will have barcode values like: LIB00001, LIB00002, ,LIB01999, borrowers will have barcode values like: PAT0000001, PAT0000002, ,PAT0000999



Question:
I have downloaded the trial version of the software as I am hoping to buy in the next few days, I just want to make sure that it has all the functionality I need. In the version I downloaded there is no space to add notes for checked out items (we need to add in about people sharing books). However when I looked up tutorial videos, that option is there. I am just wondering is it because it is not available in the trial version or why do I not have this option?

Answer: In the Check In/Out Options set Display Check Out Notes Field (4).

Question:
I am a middle school teacher running a small middle school library. I am often not available to check books out for students since I also teach. So students need to be able to easily check books out independently.
Problem 1:
I have set a 3-book limit for checkout...however when I try checking out more than 3 books, I see a message that says "Max Number of items exceeded! The borrower should return some items first." And then below is the option to override the 3 book limit .
Is it possible to make it so that students can NOT override the 3 book limit? Kids taking way too many books is one of the main reasons we are switching to a new library system..so this is very important!
Problem 2: When I look at the check out/check in tabs, on the left hand side there is a button that says "return all". But I don't want a kid to click "return" without actually having returned the books...this is why I have volunteer librarians handle all book returns. Is there a way to disable this feature so that kids cant pretend to return a book while actually keeping it?

Answer: In the Check In/Out Options use Simple Mode feature (10).

Question:
Were do we set the default start from Bar code?

Answer: If you already entered library items, the program does not allow you to change automatically generated barcode numbers. For the new library you can do the following:
- test library features
- run Empty Library
- reset database IDs
- set the initial number in the LIB_COPIES box.


Question:
Is there any way of making Auto Processing ON the default setting in the Checkin and Checkout screens (perhaps in the Options screen). I worry that, should we adopt the program, our volunteer users will scan items in (or out) and forget to click the Check In or Check Out button thus losing the transaction. Clicking in the Auto Processing box doesn't guarantee that the option will be retained until it is un-clicked by the user.

Answer: In the Check In/Out Options set Display Auto Processing option. Use sound files for check in and check out transactions.

Question: In all your examples the ID displayed under the barcode is an L followed by six digits. My ID is a one-up counter, and so the number of digits will vary. I want a fixed-width ID so that the barcode width is also consistent. How do I do this?

Answer: Click Barcode Options and set the length for your barcodes.

Question: In all your examples the ID displayed under the barcode is an L followed by six digits. My ID is a one-up counter, and so the number of digits will vary. I want a fixed-width ID so that the barcode width is also consistent. How do I do this?

Answer: Click Barcode Options and set the length for your barcodes.

Question: I have the Handy Library Manager software at our library. On our library patrons fields, I have renamed one of the custom fields "Grade." I'm trying to figure out how to print out a list of students by grade with books loaned out, each grade on a new page. What I really want to do is provide a list of checked out books to each teacher. Since I cannot find a way to group students into a class, and we only have one teacher for each grade level, it seemed like this would be an easier way to do it.

Answer: Use Display Check Out Extra Field option (7). Modify the loan.map file. A student will check out an item, from the student record the teacher name will be recorded in the in the loan transaction. With the teacher name in the loan transaction you can create check out items report grouped by teacher.

Question: I asked this question once before, and your answer was to edit the loan.map field so that EXTRA1=CUSTOM1. I put each student's teacher in the CUSTOM1 field in the borrower information. When I tried to open the loan.map file, the computer told me it doesn't have a program that will open it. What program do I need? Assuming I could open the file and modify it, what would I do to create the report? I am rather nervous about modifying a file like this, in case I do something wrong. No one at my school is familiar with .map files. It would be much better if I could do a report like this without modifying the loan.map file. In Small Library Organizer Pro I could sort and filter to set up reports for each class by selecting books whose return date was empty, and entering a list of the students in the class that I wanted to include in the report. Is it possible to do something like this?

Answer: Use Windows Notepad text editing application or any other text editor.

Question:
Would like to read more about barcodes. Will Handy automatically start with the highest barcode and assign the next number in the sequence when I enter new books into the collection? We have a sequential numbering but there are several high values that are out of order (probably typos). Can we set the bar code sequence number we want to start with? Can we customize barcode label to read, can we customize Barcode number to be a larger font and in bold?

Answer: You can review "What you need to know about some data fields in the Library Main Catalogue table?
You can set the barcode length. However, you can not set the starting value.


Question: A way to make check-in/check-out processing automatic? We have volunteers who forget to check auto processing, so they think the books are checked out when they are not.
Answer: Define the barcode scanning mode in the Options window and set it to Timer. Do not enter EXPIRY value into the borrower records. When this value it empty, it will not trigger the member expiry rule.


Question: Is there a way to customize the Item display in the Check In/Check Out module? We would like to be able to see Format as well as Type...
Answer: You can only include one additional piece of information about the item. Review the "display additional item field" option (5).


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