Replacing Subfields

Select Replace Subfield from the Choose Command Type dialog box to open the Replace Subfield dialog box.

Using the data you enter in the Replace boxes, Global Update locates all occurrences of the subfield that contain the specified tag, indicators, and subfield code, and replaces the content of those subfields with the data you specified in the Subfield Data box.

To replace subfields:

  1. Select the field(s) containing the subfields you want to replace by doing one of the following:
    • Select the Use Displayed Field check box if you want to use the fields that appear on the Select Records tab.

    • Enter the field group tag, MARC tag, and indicators in the Replace boxes. Make sure the Use Displayed Field check box is not selected.

The system updates only the fields in the selected records that meet all of the specified criteria.

Using Special Characters in the MARC Tag Box

You can use special characters in the MARC Tag box:

  • Use commas to separate multiple tags, for example, 240,245.
  • Use a hyphen to enter a range of tags, for example, 700-730.
  • Use wildcards to specify a family of MARC tags. The characters "X", "x", "?", "*", or "." are valid. Enter a wildcard character at any position in the MARC tag, up to two wildcards per tag. For example, "5**" designates all MARC tags in the 500s, including 500, 535, 590, and so forth.
  1. In the Sbfld box, select the code for the subfield you want to replace.
  2. In the Subfield Data box, type the text you want to replace in the subfield identified above.
  3. When you are finished, click OK to close the dialog box and return to the Command input tab. The command you created appears as a single line, for example:

The command row includes a Command column and an Action column. The Command column indicates the type of command you specified. (Replace = replace subfield.) The Action column indicates the target data criteria and the data to replace in the format target criteria ==> replace data. MARC tags appear in parentheses, and indicators appear in brackets. A wildcard character or word, such as a period ("."), an equal sign ("="), or "<any>" might represent some data fields with unspecified (default) content. Selected options checkboxes appear as a letter following a slash at the end of the command (for example, "/f" for Use Displayed Field).

In the example above, Global Update identifies all records that have an 856 field with subfield |z, deletes the existing subfield content, and replaces it with "Access full text". The period (".") at the beginning of the command indicates there was no specified field group tag.

  1. To create more change commands, see Creating Commands for Changing Records. Click the Preview tab to view the effects of your commands. Click the Process button in the Preview tab to apply the changes.

Options Checkboxes

The following checkbox appears in the Replace Subfield dialog box. Select the checkbox to enable the options.

Use Displayed Field
If you retrieved records using an index search, the specified changes apply to all fields corresponding to the displayed field on the Select Records tab regardless of the MARC tag of the field in which the search term occurs. Other limiting specifications on the command input tab can affect the result. For example, a search of the author index might retrieve records in which an author appears both as a personal name main entry (MARC 100) and as a personal name added entry (MARC 700). If you check the Use Displayed Field checkbox and enter no other command specifications, Global Update changes both the 100 and 700 fields. Be sure to review the Preview tab list to confirm your results before processing.
If you retrieved records using an Advanced Word Search or a review file, the specified changes apply to the field appearing in the browse list of the Select Records tab. For bibliographic records, Global Update displays the Title field by default. To display a different field in the browse list as the target for change, toggle to the desired field.