Set up Patron Messages in Polaris Administration

The messages you define in Polaris Administration are available for selection in the Library assigned list when a staff member posts a message to a patron account.

To set up patron messages:

1. In the Administration Explorer tree view, open the Parameters folder for the organization, and select the Patron Services tabbed page in the details view.
2. Double-click Patron message text: Configure. The Patron Message Text dialog box appears.

3. To add a message, follow these steps:
   1. Type up to 250 characters in the Message text box. Your message can include alpha-numeric and special characters, and URLs.
   2. Click Add. The message is added to the list with an icon that indicates the organizational level at which it was added.

Note:
The Message list includes all the messages added at the system and parent library levels as well as the branch level. The appropriate organizational icon indicates the level at which the message was added. To add a message from a parent organization for use by your organization, click the message. The text appears in the Message text box. Then click Add. Only messages defined at your organizational level can be modified or translated.

3. Click Apply to save your changes and continue to work with this dialog box, or click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

4. To modify an existing message, follow these steps:
   1. Select the message in the Messages list. The message is displayed in the Message Text box.
   2. Edit the message in the Message Text box.
   3. Click Modify. The modified message is placed in the Messages list.
   4. Click Apply to save your changes and continue to work with this dialog box, or click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

5. To translate an existing message, follow these steps:

1. Select the message in the Messages list and click Translate. The Language Strings dialog box opens.

2. Select a language from the Choose language list. The options are the languages licensed for Polaris PowerPAC.
3. Type your translation in the language column next to the English equivalent.
4. To insert a diacritic character, click Diacritics. The Character Picker dialog box opens.

5. Select a graphic character set, select the character, and click Insert. For details on choosing diacritic characters, see Choose characters/diacritics from a chart. The Character Picker dialog box closes.

6. Click Apply to save your changes and continue to work with the Patron Message Text dialog box, or click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

6. To delete a message, follow these steps:
   1. Select the message in the Messages list.
   2. Click Delete.

If the message is linked to any patron record, a warning message is displayed. You can cancel the deletion or continue to delete the message. If you delete it, it is removed from any patron accounts where it is currently posted.

3. Click Apply to save your changes and continue to work with the Patron Message Text dialog box, or click OK to save your changes and close the dialog box.

7. To set an expiration period for patron messages, follow these steps:
   1. Double-click the Patron Services parameter Patron message text: Expiration period for the organization.
   2. Set the number of days (0-99) that a message should remain in a patron account (unless it is manually deleted).

After a message has been posted for the time period you set, it is automatically deleted.

Note:
The time is counted from 11:59 on the day the message is created through 11:59 or after of the final day. (The exact time depends on when the automatic deletion job runs.) For example, if the time limit is 5 days, a message created at 2:00 p.m. on Monday will expire at or after 11:59 p.m. Saturday. The period is not affected if the message text is modified. However, if the expiration period is changed, all messages are immediately affected. For example, reducing the expiration period may cause some messages to expire immediately and shorten the life of others.

3. Select File > Save from the Administration Explorer menu bar.

Related Information

Staff procedures - See Posting Patron Messages.