Polaris Transactions Database

The tables in the Polaris Transactions Database provide the information necessary to track and report transactions in Polaris.

If you have basic knowledge of writing SQL queries, you can query the Polaris Transactions Database directly to find more information about transaction types and specific transactions. Using Polaris SimplyReports, you can also construct detailed transaction reports without writing SQL queries. Custom queries and reports are also available from Innovative Interfaces for a fee, and you may find additional queries and reports created by Polaris customers that you can download from the Innovative Customer Supportal (https://support.iii.com).

See also:

Querying Transaction Database Tables

You can run an SQL query to find the same kind of information that you select to include in the Polaris transaction log, using the Transaction Logging database table in Polaris Administration (see Logging Transactions). Run the following query:

Select * From Polaristransactions..TransactionTypes

The important columns in this table are:

When you search the TransactionTypes table, you may want to order by a particular column.  For example, add Order by TransactionTypeID to group transactions loosely by subsystem. Or add Order by IsImplemented to group all of the transactions that are currently selected to be logged.

The TransactionSubTypes table provides additional details about the transaction type. Run the following query:

Select * From Polaristransactions..TransactionSubTypes

The important columns in this table are:

Each TransactionType has multiple TransactionSubTypes.

ViewTransactions pulls together the information from the TransactionTypes and TransactionSubTypes tables, allowing you to see each type of transaction and the kind of data that Polaris retains. Run the following query:

Select * From Polaristransactions..ViewTransactions

Viewing Specific Transactions

Two tables contain information about specific transactions—TransactionHeaders and TransactionDetails. You will also need to refer to subsequent tables, such as TransactionTypes, TransactionSubTypes, ViewTransactions, and TransactionDetailStrings.

The TransactionHeaders table contains the following basic information about specific transactions:

Note:
The TransactionDate and TranClientDate are usually within milliseconds of each other, but on some occasions they can be different. The TranClientDate is usually more accurate regarding when the transaction was created, unless the date/time is incorrect on the workstation. Make sure that the date/time are correct on your workstations. You can ensure consistency in server and client time settings. See Ensuring Locale and Time Consistency.

The TransactionDetails table contains more details about the specific transaction. The following information is in the TransactionDetails table:

Tip:
For certain transactionsubtypes, the value in the NumValue field does not point to a specific record ID. Instead, it points to a value in the TransactionDetailStrings table. The transactiondetailstrings are used especially for PAC search transactions, when the author or title of a book or a branch name is recorded in the transactions database.

To get a full picture of an actual transaction, link the TransactionHeaders and TransactionDetails table using the TransactionID.