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    Working with Record Templates

    Translatable
    To work with templates, you must have one of the following roles:
    • Cataloger
    • Cataloger extended
    • Catalog Manager
    • Catalog Administrator
    In the MD Editor you can create templates in which you pre-define the fields you want to be included in original cataloging records. The templates can include data in all fields and subfields, and include both control and non-control fields. This allows you to increase your productivity by working more efficiently. 
    For information, watch Working with Record Templates (05:00).

     All template values are hardcoded and cannot be modified for the default publishing settings.

    Private, Shared, and Community Zone Templates

    Templates may be private or shared among catalogers:

    • Private templates are only available to the user who is logged in.
    • Shared templates can be used and edited by any user who has permission to work with templates.
    • Both private and shared templates can be contributed to the Community Zone, where templates can be shared between institutions. For information on contributing templates to the Community Zone, see Contributing to the Community Zone - Normalization, Merge, and Indication Rules.
    The blue icon next to the template identifies editable templates. Users with a Cataloger role can edit the templates they created. Users with the Cataloger Extended role can edit any templates, except the out-of-the-box templates provided with Alma (these template have the indication '(Default)' by their name).

    Icons_Next_to_Templates_06.png

    Icons_Next_to_Templates_06.png
    Icons Next to the Templates

    Icons in the Templates List:

    Icon Description
    institution private.png Private institution template. Only the user currently logged in can use and edit this template. 
    institution icon.png Shared institution template. Any user who has permission to work with templates can use and edit this template. 
    NZ icon.png Network template. Network templates are always shared. Any network user who has permission to work with templates can use and edit this template. 
    CZ icon.png Community Zone template. CZ templates are always shared. Any CZ user who has permission to work with templates can use and edit this template.

    Out-of-the-box (Default) Templates

    Out-of-the-box templates (also called 'system' templates) are the templates that were provided by Ex Libris. These templates have the indication '(Default)' by their name. When an out-of-the-box template does not meet your requirements, use the "Duplicate" option to make a copy and modify the copy to match your requirements.

    Other templates can be set as default!

    Out-of-the-box templates cannot be deleted!

    It is not recommended to change the default bib template during the implementation period, as it could impact the migration processes.

    In addition to the MD Editor usage, the default template is applied to records added by automated processes such as records added using an API or through purchase requests.

    Out-of-the-box templates are identified as "Default" in its template properties (see below). Note that such templates must contain default values for any mandatory fields/subfields (see Editing Fields) to ensure that automatically-created records have the minimum required information.

    Template_Identified_as_the_Default_1.png

    Template identified as default in Template Properties dialog

    For holdings records, the Default holdings template can be used outside of the MD Editor, such as when placing orders through Acquisitions or doing a repository import of holdings records, if the use_marc_record_holdings_template customer parameter is set to true; see Configuring Other Settings for more information.

    The Default template is applied to records before normalization processes are applied to these records. See Working with Normalization Processes

    Using the Form Editor When Creating Templates

    The form editor for the 006 and 008 fields presents only the relevant options for the current type of record as identified by Type of record (position 6) and Bibliographic level (position 7) in the LDR field. You may need to change the LDR for these positions to be able to view the options that you want to incorporate into your template for the 006 and 008 fields.

    Working with Existing, Locally Created Templates

    Use the procedure below to work with existing, locally created templates.
    To access and work with existing templates:
    1. On the MD Editor page (Resources > Cataloging > Open Metadata Editor), select the Templates tab in the left panel.
    2. Enter the template name in the search box.
      Template_Search_Box_04_TC.png
      searching templates.png
      Template Search Box
    3. Select the template and choose one of the following options or select an option in the Template Actions menu
    Option Available for Description
    New Record from Template
    Institution templates
    Network Zone templates
    Select to create a new bibliographic record from the template.
    If you select a Network Zone template, by default the record is created in the Network Zone. To create the record locally, select File > Options New > Placement of new records and templates options and select Local within this dialog box.
    Edit Institution templates Select to edit the template (available only for local templates).
    View  All templates Select to view the template in cases when you cannot edit it. 
    Duplicate All templates Select to duplicate the template, so you can modify the copy and create another template based on this template. 
    Set as Default Shared institution templates Select if you want the template to serve as the default template for newly created records. The Default option is not available when Private is selected.
    Contribute to CZ Institution templates
    Network Zone templates

    Select to contribute this template to Community Zone (if you have this capability).
    The contributed template appears both in the Shared folder and in the Community Zone folder. 

    Make Private Shared institution templates Select to make the template private. Only the template creator can change template access from Shared to Private.
    Alma moves the template made private from the Shared folder to the Private folder. 
    Share Template Private Institution templates Select to share template with other users in your institution (available only for local templates).
    Properties All templates Select to view and modify the template properties, such as its name. 
    Delete Institution templates
     
    Select to delete the template (available only for local templates).

    Editing Template Properties

    Use the procedure below to edit template properties for an existing template:

    To edit template properties for an existing template:
    1. On the MD Editor page (Resources > Cataloging > Open Metadata Editor), select the Templates tab.
    2. Enter the template name in the search box.
    3. Select the template whose properties you want to modify and select the Properties option. The Template Properties dialog box appears
      template_properties_duplicate_record.gif
      Template Properties Dialog Box
    4. Modify the following template properties to match your requirements:
      • Name – You may rename the template. This is a required field.
      • Description – Enter or modify the description to more specifically identify the template. This is especially useful when contributing templates. See Contributing to the Community Zone - Rules and Templates for more information.
      • Private – Select this option to restrict access to the template. Only the template creator can change template access from Shared to Private. The Default option is not available when Private is selected.
      • Shared – Select this option to make the template available to other users. 
      • Default – Select this option if you want the template to serve as the default template for newly created records. The Default option is not available if you have selected the Private access option.
    5. Select Save.

    Creating a New Template

    New templates can be created from existing records or from existing templates. To create a template from an existing template, use the "Duplicate" option. 
    To create a template from an existing record:
    1. Open an existing record in the MD Editor (under the Records tab).
    2. Select File Save > Save as Template. The Save as Template dialog box opens.
    3. Enter/select the following:
      1. Name (required)
      2. Description
      3. Private or Shared template
      4. Default if you want this to be the default template that opens when creating a new record.
    4. Select Save. The new template is saved under the Templates tab and appears with the local institution icon.

    Menu Bar of the Templates Area

    In the Metadata Editor, the menu bar provides easy access to a variety of functions that you can perform. See the sections below for details regarding these functions. 
    Menu bar templates.png
    Menu Bar for templates
     
    Action Description
    Save Menu
    Save Record (Ctrl+S) Select Save to save your work, or select the arrow next to it to open the list of Save options. 

    New Menu

    The New menu presents a list of templates for the different types of entities that you may want to create. This list varies depending on the templates that you have identified to appear in the New menu. This list can be customized with the Templates display configuration option.
    Templates Display Configuration
    Select to hide or display templates in the New menu. This allows you to display only the templates that you work with, and make the list of available templates shorter. 
    To customize the list of templates that appear in the New menu:
    1. Select the Templates display configuration option (New menu). The Templates display configuration list opens:
      Templates_Display_Configuration_02.png
      The Templates Display Configuration dialog shows the following information about the templates:
      • Template format – This identifies the cataloging standard such as MARC 21, UNIMARC, and so forth.
      • Template name – This shows the name of the template as created by you or Ex Libris.
      • Template scope – This shows the level of the template such as institution, network, or community.
      • Template type – When a template is created, it is identified as Private or Shared.
      • Template status – The padlock symbol indicates that the template is an out-of-the-box template that cannot be changed. When there is no padlock, the template has been locally created and available for editing when it is a Shared template.
      • Display in menu – The slider shows if the template is selected for appearing in the New menu.
    2. In the "Display in Menu" column, toggle the slider to the right to select the templates that appear in the list of options for the New menu.
      Toggle the slider to the left to make templates hidden in the list of options for the New menu. 
    New templates can easily be created from the records on which you are working. See Save as Template.
    Placement Options Appears only for Network Zone consortia members. 
    Select where to save new records, templates, and rules - whether locally or in a network institution. Note that this selection is per user.
    Placement options for records, templates, rules.png

    Template Actions Menu

    See Template Actions

    Editing Actions Menu

    Add Field (F8)

    Adds a new empty row that can be set with a field value when cataloging.
    When the field/row being added is a control field such as the LDR, 005, or 008, the space for the first and second indicators does not appear. For some fields, you need to be certain to enter the beginning zero to make it a full three-digit field for the first and second indicator to appear. Refer to the figures below.
    005_Control_Field_with_NO_Indicators_in_MD_Editor.png
    94_versus_094_with_Indicators_in_MD_Editor_4.png
    94_versus_094_with_Indicators_in_MD_Editor_2.png
    Add Subfield (F9) Adds a new subfield with the defined separator, for example $$ or ‡, to allow inline cataloging of the active field.
    Remove Field (Ctrl+F6) Use this option to remove one or more fields.

    Select the row you want to delete or use Ctrl+select to select multiple rows, and then choose Remove Field or Ctrl+F6.

    Field Information (Alt+F)

    Select this option to display the vocabulary explanation for the field that you are editing. The field information appears in the editor split mode next to the record that you are editing.

    Field information 245.png

    Alt+F is per field. To display field information of another field, select Alt+F again.

    Alternatively, to display the Field information, select  to the right of the field:

    Field information three dots.png

    Field Information is controlled by the Help URL, see Editing Fields.

    Cut (Ctrl+X) Cuts the selected text.
    Copy (Ctrl+C) Copies the selected text. To copy multiple fields simultaneously, press Ctrl and select all the fields to be copied.
    Paste (Ctrl+V) Pastes text that was previously cut or copied. Fields are pasted at the cursor location. Pasting multiple fields simultaneously pastes the fields in their numerical sort order.

    Enhance the Template (Ctrl+Alt+E or Ctrl+Alt+W)

    Runs pre-configured normalization routines. Normalizations are intended to correct or update metadata records. For example, sorting a record's fields, removing empty fields, or stripping out fields containing order information. See the enhance the record procedure and Working with Normalization Rules for more information.

    When working on a Network Zone record, this functionality is applied only to shared fields and not to local fields. If you want to run a normalization rule on a local field, you can do so using one of the Bib normalization jobs (see Running Manual Jobs on Defined Sets), which take into account only local fields.

    Expand from Template (Ctrl+E) Expands a record's data fields using a specified template. The record may be any of the following types: bibliographic, holdings, and authority.

    When multiple panels are open in the Metadata Editor, the Expand from Template function is applied to the panel that is the focus.

    See Expanding a Record from a Template for more information.
    Search and Browse Menu
    Browse Shelf Listing (Alt+C) Displays the following options in order for you to do a call number browse:
    • Call Number Level – Select Holdings, Alternate call number, Temporary call number, or All from the drop-down list.
    • Call Number Type – From the drop-down list, select one of the call number types such as Library of Congress classification or Dewey Decimal classification to browse. This list varies depending on how your system is configured.
    • Library – Select a library from the drop-down list, to limit your browse results to a particular library.
    • Location – Select a location from the drop-down list, to limit your browse results to a particular location. Location options are available only after you have selected a library.
    • Call Number – Enter a call number value in order to perform a browse of the holdings records' 852 $h fields.

    This functionality is also available by selecting Resources > Cataloging > Browse Shelf Listing.

    When you select the link in the Description column for a call number, the bibliographic record opens in the Metadata Editor for editing. When you select the Holdings link in the Level column for a call number, the holdings record opens in the Metadata Editor for editing.

    The way in which this browse works cannot be configured.

    Browse Bibliographic Headings (Alt+H)

    Use this option to view bibliographic headings determined by the following search criteria that you select:

    • Heading type
    • Family
    • Source code
    • Search value

    See Browsing Bibliographic Headings for more information.

    This capability can also be accessed from Resources > Cataloging > Browse Bibliographic Headings.

    Search Resources (Alt+E) Exclude the record from being searched by external systems.
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