Formatting Options for Default Notices
This page describes formatting options for default circulation notices. Your library can also use Print Templates or LX Starter to format notices. For an overview of each formatting method, see Formatting Circulation Notices.
Your library can configure the format and layout for default notices using various Circulation Options. Each element on a notice is a separately defined block of text. Your library determines the size of each block of information and its position on the form. The blocks of information that can be printed on a notice include:
| Block of Information | Circulation Option Used for Configuration |
|---|---|
| Library name and address | Notices: Where to print Library Address |
| Date the notice prints | Notices: Where to print Date |
| Patron name and address, as well as additional text and patron record fields | Notices: Where to print Patron Name & Address |
| Author, title, and so on; the exact elements in the item information block depend on the notice | Notices: Where to print Item Info |
| Fine and billing data, printed only on bills and fine notices | Fines/Bills: Where to print Bill Info |
| Notice text from the Text of Circulation Notices table (up to 76 characters per line and 15 lines long) | Notices: Where to print Message |
To specify the size of the notice form itself, use the Notices: Width and Height of form Circulation Option to enter the width and height of the form. All circulation notices use this one form size.
The formats for circulation notices that involve item information (for example, overdue, recall, hold pickup, hold cancellation, paging slips) contain the same types of data. Some notice types include only one item, and some notice types can contain multiple items. Likewise, the formats for circulation notices that involve billing information (for example, bills, fines, statements of charges) contain the same types of data. The main difference between notices containing item data and notices containing billing data is whether the form contains a block of item information or a block of fines and billing information.
The last line of a notice can contain the print sequence number (that is, the sequential position of the notice in the print job); the circulation text number; and the page number, if the notice for a single patron is longer than one page. This line is system generated and not customizable.
For more information about configuring your notice form, see the following:
- Notices: Width and Height of form Circulation Option
- Notices: Where to print ... Circulation Options
- Checking Notice Formatting
Before you modify these circulation options, consider first sketching out the notice form and determining the exact coordinates (starting width & height and block position & size) for each block of notice information.
Notices: Width and Height of form Circulation Option
Use the Notices: Width and Height of form circulation option to specify the size of the form on which the system prints all circulation notices:
Width
Height
The default size is 80 columns and 60 lines, which prints within the printable area for laser printers. If you are printing notices on a dot-matrix printer, or another printer that is capable of printing the full 66 lines on a page, you can use the Notices: Width and Height of form circulation option to change the form size as desired.
Notices: Where to print ... Circulation Options
Each element is a "block" of information, and you place each block within the column and line grid of your form. The system starts numbering the form's columns and lines at zero (0). Therefore, if your form is 80 columns wide, the columns are numbered from 0 to 79.
Use the Notices: Where to print ... circulation options to specify block positioning and size as follows:
Position
Size
Leave Extra Space for the Total Amount Owed
The system gives you the option to print the total amount owed by the patron on any notice. If you choose to print the total amount owed, a single line displaying this amount prints 3 lines up from the bottom of the form. If you plan to use this option, be sure to keep the bottom 3 lines of your form clear.
When the system displays position and size prompts, it displays only the numbers within the possible range of numbers for that block as determined by the form size and the type of block being positioned. The basic positioning and size considerations are:
- The starting column plus the width of the information block cannot be greater than the width of the form.
- The starting line plus the height of the information block cannot be greater than the height of the form.
For example, if the form is 80 columns wide and the starting column for the library address block is 45, when you set the width of the library address block the system displays the following prompt:
New width (columns) ? (5-35)
In this example, the system enables only a number between 5 and 35 because:
- The minimum size for a library address block is 5 columns; therefore, the block size cannot be 4 or smaller.
- The form in this example is 80 columns wide and the starting column is 45, and the block size cannot exceed the difference between these numbers; therefore the block size cannot exceed 35.
If you want to enable a wider block size, you can:
- move the starting column to the left (by using a lower positioning number)
- increase the width of the form
When you modify the size of an existing form, you must ensure that each block of information still prints on the form as expected.
If you modify the size of a form for which blocks of information are already configured, the system does not verify that the existing blocks of information still fit within the new dimensions of the form. The system only verifies that a block fits on a form when the block itself is modified.
For more information, see Overlapping Blocks on the Sample Form and E > Show ERRORS.
Checking Notice Formatting
All the circulation options used to format default circulation notices include a menu option enabling you to preview your form before you save it. In addition, if the system detects errors, these circulation options also display a menu option enabling you to check on certain errors.
Use the P > DISPLAY/PRINT sample form menu option to view or print a sample of the notice form you are designing. Previewing your form helps you determine whether the various blocks of information are where you want them and whether any data elements overlap.
The P > DISPLAY/PRINT sample form menu option displays a screen similar to the following:
ITEM FORMAT 012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234 1 dddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd 1 2 2 3 llllllllllllllllllllllllllllll 3 4 llllllllllllllllllllllllllllll 4 5 llllllllllllllllllllllllllllll 5 6 llllllllllllllllllllllllllllll 6 7 7 8 8 9 9 0 0 1 1 2 2 3 3 4 ppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp 4 5 ppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp 5 6 ppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp 6 ___________________________________________________________________________ F > FORWARD D > DISPLAY bill P > PRINT K > Display KEY Q > QUIT Choose one (F,P,Q,D,K)
General Features of the Sample Form
The sample form includes a scale along the top and sides of the screen, corresponding to the form's width and height (in columns and lines, respectively). The numbering for columns and lines begins with zero (0) and consists of repeating groups of the ten digits 0 to 9, up to the final subset of ten (if the form width is not an even multiple of ten).
Columns and lines display as follows:
- The screen can display up to 80 columns; in the above example, the form is 75 columns wide.
If the notice form is wider than 80 columns, each line will wrap to the next line. If you have placed a block of information on column and/or line zero of a form containing 81 or more columns, the letter representing that block of information overwrites the scale.
To preview forms of more than 80 columns without wrapping, use the P > PRINT menu option to print the form on a printer capable of printing more than 80 columns. - The form displays 17 lines at a time. To see more lines, use the F > FORWARD or the B > BACKWARD menu options.
Overlapping Blocks on the Sample Form
If blocks of information are positioned or sized so they overlap, the sample form shows the letter that represents one block overwriting the other block. For example, if the message block (represented by 'm') overlaps the total charges line (represented by 'f'), the display might look like:
ITEM FORMAT 1 iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 1 2 iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 2 3 iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 3 4 4 5 5 6 6 7 7 8 8 9 mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm 9 0 mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm 0 1 mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm 1 2 mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm 2 3 ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffmmmmm 3 4 mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm 4 012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234567890123456789012345678901234 ____________________________________________________________________________ B > BACKWARD D > DISPLAY bill P > PRINT K > Display KEY Q > QUIT Choose one (B,P,Q,D,K)
To fix the overlap, re-position the message block so that it no longer overlaps the total charges line. (The total charges line cannot be moved; the optional total charges owed line always prints in the same position.)
If blocks of information do not fit on the form, the system enables the Show ERRORS menu option.
Menu Options on the Sample Form
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| K > Display KEY |
The K > Display KEY menu option lists the letters used to designate each block of information. Each block that can be printed on a notice is represented by a single letter that fills the columns and lines designated for that block of information; e.g., 'd' represents date. To view the letters and their corresponding blocks of information, select K > Display KEY. For example: KEY FOR TEST PRINTOUT d = date positions l = library address p = patron address a = additional patron information t = telephone location if printed m = message location b = bill location i = item location f = note about fines and notices ___________________________________________________________________________ P > PRINT Q > QUIT Choose one (P,Q) |
|
D > DISPLAY bill D >DISPLAY item |
By default, the system displays a sample notice form that contains item information (e.g., an overdue notice). To view a sample notice form that contains fine and billing information, choose D > DISPLAY bill. To return to the sample notice form containing item data, choose D > DISPLAY item. All blocks of information on the form, other than item and fines/billing information, are the same. |
|
F > FORWARD B > BACKWARD |
Use these options to view more lines of the form. |
| P > PRINT | To print a sample form, choose P > PRINT. The system offers you a choice of printers if more than one printer is available from your machine. To view an accurate example of the form, be sure to use the printer on which you plan to print circulation notices. |
| Q > QUIT | To return to the previous screen, choose Q > QUIT. |
| E > Show ERRORS |
If the system detects certain errors, the E > Show ERRORS menu option displays. The most common error is that one or more blocks of information does not fit on the form. To view the list of the errors, choose E > Show ERRORS. In the following example, the system lists the errors resulting from setting the width of the form to 15 columns instead of 51: ERRORS Library Address does not fit on form Date does not fit on form Patron Address does not fit on form Telephone Number (Patron Address) does not fit on form Item Info does not fit on form Bill Info does not fit on form Message does not fit on form ___________________________________________________________________________ P > PRINT Q > QUIT Choose one (P,Q) |