Entering Data into New Records
After you access the correct function (and additional menu options, if necessary) for creating a record of the desired type (see Creating Records: Process Overview), Sierra offers you one or more record templates. Entering values in each field of the template and saving the record creates the record in Sierra's database.
Setting Default Fields and Values
When entering new records, the fields and their default values come from the record templates. If you change the value of one of the fields during new record creation, for some fields, such as LOCATION or COPIES, subsequent new records entered during the same session default to the values you entered. You can contact Innovative to specify which fields remember new values, or to see which fields on your system currently remember new values.
Specifying Available Templates
You can use the New Records and Record Templates tabs in Admin | Settings to specify which templates can be used to create records.
- Select a template for the new record:
| If your library has | then |
|---|---|
| More than one record template, and the Prompt for template setting is selected in the Admin | Settings | New Records tab | Sierra prompts you to select a record template from the Select Template list. |
|
One of the following:
|
Sierra automatically uses that template. |
Sierra opens the Add New Record window. If your login's Use wizard to create new records option is enabled, Sierra offers a "wizard" (a series of dialogs for entering data into fields of the template you selected).
- Enter data into each field. See the topics under the Maintaining Records section for more information on entering data into records.
Using the wizard to create new records
If you are using the wizard to create new record, you can:
- Click Next to go to the next field.
- (Sierra 6.4 and later) Click Previous to return to the last field. Sierra discards any data you've entered for the current field. If you want to keep that data, you can click Next to save the data and then click Previous until you return to the field you want to edit.
- Click Cancel New Record Creation to exit without creating the record.
When you click Next on the last field, Sierra closes the wizard and displays the new record in the record editor. You can make additional edits before saving the record.
If the wizard prompted you to enter data in a variable-length field but you left it blank, the system removes these fields before displaying the new record.
- Click Save to save your changes. Sierra creates the new record in the database.
- See also:
- Managing Templates for New Records