Opening Records in the Sierra Editor

Use the Sierra Editor to edit bibliographic, item, volume, order, checkin, authority, course, patron, vendor, fund, and ILL records.

Open a record in the editor in one of the following ways, depending on whether the record is a parent (stand-alone) or attached:

Parent or stand-alone records

Attached records

Additional Features for Specific Record Types
  • For bibliographic records, double-clicking on the record in the browse window or highlighting the record and choosing Select opens a brief bibliographic display and a Summary panel from which you can view and edit the attached records. To view the full bib record, choose the Edit button from the toolbar.
  • For patron records to which journals are routed, double-clicking on the record in the browse window or highlighting the record and choosing Select brings up a tabbed Journal panel for the patron. To view the full patron record, choose the Edit button from the toolbar.

Also, for patron records, if your login has been assigned permission 291 (Send email), you can select the patron's email address with the mouse's right-hand button and send email to the patron (see Special Considerations for Editing Patron Records).

While you edit a record, the Edit toolbar button appears dimmed. If you press the View button as you edit a record, the edit session is terminated and the record opens in view-only mode. If you are viewing a record, the View button is dimmed.

Viewing Records in Use by the System

Invoice or order records that are currently in use can be viewed, but not edited. When viewing a system-busy record, you see (View Only Mode) at the top of the record.

In some windows, Sierra also shows if you are in edit or view-only mode in the Status Bar.

Viewing Updates to a Busy Record

When you retrieve a record that is in use by the system, you see a static copy of the record. If the record is modified while you are viewing it, Sierra does not update your display. To view any updates that have been made to the record since you retrieved it, you must close the record and retrieve it again.

Viewing Out-of-Scope Records

If you open a record that is out of your scope, it opens as view-only and you see (Not in Scope) at the top of the record.

Changing the Record Being Edited

Depending on the record you are currently editing, you can select a different record to edit in the following ways.