Set up basic operating features for Polaris PowerPAC

To set basic operating features for Polaris PowerPAC:

  1. Set up the Polaris PowerPAC Web server in Polaris Administration. See Setting Public Access Profiles and Parameters.
  2. In the Administration Explorer tree view, open the Profiles folder for the organization, and select the PowerPAC tab in the details view.

Note:
Except where noted in this procedure, you can set these profiles at the system, library, or branch level.

  1. To allow remote connections to Polaris PowerPAC, double-click the PowerPAC profile Remote User PowerPAC: Enable, and select Yes. If you use Polaris PowerPAC as your PAC interface only in the library, and you do not offer remote PAC access, set this profile to No.
  2. To allow access to the portal page, double-click the PowerPAC profile Navigation: Portal, and select Yes.

This setting displays the Portal option on the Library Info menu. Set this profile to Yes if you are using the portal page as the Polaris PowerPAC home page. For more information, see Customizing Portal Page Features. Set this profile to No if the home page is a library page from which patrons access the public catalog. When you turn off the portal button, the default Polaris PowerPAC home page is the keyword search page.

  1. To allow access to the library Web site from the portal page, or to another page you specify, set these PowerPAC profiles:
    • Double-click Navigation: Web Site, and select Yes. This setting displays the Web site option on the Library Info menu.
    • Double-click Navigation: Web Site URL, and type the URL or complete network path to the page you want to display. If you leave this value blank, the default page website.aspx is displayed.

Note:
Website.aspx is stored on the Web server (Polaris/PowerPAC/library/website.aspx. You can edit the file to display a set of appropriate Web links. If you customize this file, back up your changes to preserve them in case Polaris is reinstalled on the server.

  1. To allow patrons to connect to other branches in the system once they have connected to Polaris PowerPAC, double-click the PowerPAC profile Branch Switching: Enable, and select Yes.

This setting allows patrons to choose branches in the Branch list on the Polaris PowerPAC banner. The chosen branch’s settings become effective. If you set this to No, the patron can connect only to the organization represented by the connection URL.

If you set Branch switching: Enable to Yes, select Profiles, select the PAC tab, and set the PAC profile Branch list Order to specify the display order of the branches: select Yes to display the branch names in ascending alphabetical order by name, or No to display the branch names in ascending numerical order by internal organization ID.

With either setting, the system organization is always first. This profile also controls the display order of branches on the search options page, the self-registration page, and the donations page. The setting for the current connection branch is used. The profile also controls the display order of the list of pick-up libraries for requests, but in this case the setting for the patron’s registered branch is used.

Note:
Use the system-level PAC profile Suppress branches to suppress a branch from display in the Switch to another branch list. This profile also suppresses the selected branches from the branch lists on the Search Options scoping page, the Advanced Search scoping page, and the donation page.

  1. To log transactions (such as hold requests and renewals) initiated through Polaris PowerPAC, select System, Profiles and select the PowerPAC tab, select Enable logging of transactions, and select Yes.

Note:
This setting is available at the system level only.

  1. To allow patrons to log on once for the Polaris PowerPAC session, double-click Single Login: Enable, and select Yes.

When this profile is set to Yes, the My Account menu and page footer display a Log In option. Once logged in, patrons select a Log Out option or quit Polaris PowerPAC to log out. For more information, see Controlling Patron Account Login & Access. Be sure to set the profile to Yes in these cases:

  • You offer e-sources that require patron log-in. See Setting Up E-Source Targets.

  • You offer the ability to save searches, and want patrons to be able to work with a list of their saved searches in the dashboard. See Setting Up Saved Searches in the PAC.

  • Your library uses 3M™ Public Access Management System smart cards. See step 10.

  1. To display a link to Polaris PowerPAC Children’s Edition on Polaris PowerPAC pages, double-click Navigation: Children’s PAC, and select Yes.

Note:
Polaris PowerPAC Children’s Edition is available by specific contract.

  1. If your library uses 3M™ Public Access Management System smart cards, double-click 3M PAMS: Enabled, and select Yes.

Patrons use smart cards to log in by placing the card in a reader. The cards may also provide scheduling and fund transaction capabilities. If you set this profile to Yes, also set Single logon: Enable to Yes.

Note:
Polaris PowerPAC workstations with readers must be listed in the In-House IP Addresses table. See Setting Public Access Profiles and Parameters.

  1. Select File > Save.

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