Uploading Offline Circulation Transactions

To upload Offline Circulation transactions to the Sierra server, follow these steps:

1. Verify that the workstation is connected to the Sierra server.
2. Upload the Offline Circulation files to the Sierra server.
3. Erase the files from the workstation.

Verifying that the Workstation Is Connected to the Server

To determine whether the Offline Circulation workstation is connected to the Sierra server:

1. Start Sierra on the workstation.
2. Attempt to log in.
3. Continue as appropriate:
   • If you are able to log in, continue to the next step in this procedure.
   • If you are unable to log in, the Offline Circulation machine is not connected to the server. You must:
     1. Copy the patron.dat and circ.dat files from the Offline Circulation directory to a removable medium, such as a CD or flashdrive. The default Offline Circulation directory is C:\Sierra Desktop App\Offline.
     2. Locate a workstation that is running Offline Circulation and is connected to the Sierra server.
     3. Check the contents of the Offline Circulation directory on the connected workstation:
        • If it already contains a patron.dat or circ.dat file, upload the existing file(s) before continuing.
        • If no Offline Circulation files are present, copy the patron.dat and circ.dat files from the removable medium to C:\Sierra Desktop App\Offline.

Uploading the Offline Circulation Files

To upload Offline Circulation data saved in the C:\Sierra Desktop App\Offline directory:

1. Launch Offline Circulation.
2. Choose File | Upload circulation and patron data. The system prompts you to verify that the server can accept data.
3. Choose Yes. Offline Circulation:
   • Connects to the Sierra server.
   • Uploads the patron.dat and circ.dat files from the workstation to the $IIIDB/circbatch directory on the Sierra server.
   • Pre-processes the circ.dat file and converts it to an rdydate&time file. The date&time number reflects the date and time of the conversion.

When the upload is complete, Offline Circulation:

• Displays the number of uploaded circulation transactions and patron registration records.
• Prompts you to erase the files from the Offline Circulation machine.

Erasing Files from the \Offline Directory

To ensure that offline data is not uploaded twice, erase the data from the circ.dat and patron.dat files in the C:\Sierra Desktop App\Offline directory. If you do not erase old data, a future upload of this data could overwrite existing data.

To erase the offline files:

1. At the prompt, choose Yes to erase the files from the current workstation.
2. If you uploaded the files from a workstation other than the workstation on which the files were generated, erase the files from the original workstation:
   1. Launch Offline Circulation on the original workstation.
   2. To delete circulation transactions (in circ.dat), choose the File | Erase circulation transactions menu option.
   3. To delete patron registration data (in patron.dat), choose the File | Erase patron transactions menu option.

After you have completed the upload of offline data, you must process the uploaded files in Sierra.data to update the patron and item records.

See also:

Possible Messages (Uploading Offline Transactions)