Is it possible to expand subfield 853X $9 box to add more characters?

• Article Type: General
• Product: Aleph
• Product Version: 16.02

Description:
Field 853X: when we use control F to open a template, subfield 9 defaults only to two characters. Subscription numbers of our records are at least three characters long.

Is it possible to expand subfield $9 box to add more characters?

Resolution:
You can change the length of the field by editing the 853X_xx.eng form in NDU50/pc_tab/catalog.
The $$9 subfield is controlled by this line in the form:
^24^^^^^^^^^^^_2_

To increase the length, change the 2 to 3 (or however many characters you need), and you need to add another underscore after the 2 to increase the width of the box which displays in the form.

The Web Guide gives some help in understanding forms, but even there they say to proceed on a 'trial and error' basis.

When you have finished you need to repackage the Cataloguing tables by running UTIL M-7, and finally you can re-load the tables into the GUI client either by closing and re-opening, or by just right-clicking the Database icon in the right-hand corner of the GUI screen and re-connecting to the ADM library.