Working with Rules

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To work with rules, you must have one of the following roles:

Cataloger
Cataloger extended
Catalog Manager
Catalog Administrator

In the MD Editor you can create and manage the private and shared normalization, merge, indication, and brief record level rules that you or others created.

For details regarding the specific types of rules that you can create and manage, see:

Working with Normalization Rules
Working with Merge Rules
Working with Indication Rules
Working with Brief Record Levels
Working with Authority Headings Rules
For more information on rules, see Presentations and Documents - Rules

Rule Area Menu Bar

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. Some of the menus only appear for some entities, and the options that appear in each menu may vary depending on the type of entity.

Menu Bar for rules

Action	Description
Save Record (Ctrl+S)	Saves the changes in the repository.
New Menu — Presents a list of rule types that you may want to create. For Network Zone consortia members, users can control whether to save new rules locally or in a network institution. To make this selection, open the Records or Templates area and go to New > Placement Options. Note that this selection is per user.
Normalization	Select to create a normalization rule. For more details, see Working with Normalization Rules.
Merge	Select to create a merge rule. For more details, see Working with Merge Rules.
Indication	Select to create an indication rule. For more details, see Working with Indication Rules.
Brief level	Select to create a brief level rule. For more details, see Working with Brief Record Levels.
Authority headings	Select to create an authority heading rule. For more details, see Working with Authority Headings Rules.
Normalization (Research)	Select to create normalization rules for Esploro. This option appears only when Exploro is enabled in the system. For more details, see Managing Asset Normalization Rules.
Normalization (Discovery)	Select to create normalization rules for Primo VE. This option appears only when Primo-VE is enabled in the system. For more details, see Working with Normalization Rules.
Rule Actions Menu
Edit	Select to edit the rule (not available for out-of-the-box (default) rules and Community Zone rules). Enabled for Private rules and Shared non-default rules.
View	Select to view the rule in cases when you cannot edit it.
Duplicate	Select to duplicate the rule in order to modify and create another rule based on this rule.
Contribute to CZ	Select to contribute this rule to the Community Zone (if you have this capability). The contributed rule appears both in the Shared folder and in the Community Zone folder.
Properties	Select to view and modify the rule properties, such as its name.
Delete	Select to delete the rule. Enabled for local rules and CZ rules contributed by your institution
Test external records	Select to save and test the rule in Primo-VE. For details, see Testing Normalization Rules for External Data Sources. Enabled for Institution rules.
Search & 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 to browse 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 external system searches.

Working with Shared Rules in a Network Zone

(New for May 2026)

Rules created by Network Zone users can be protected from being edited or deleted by member Institution Zone users, and can only be edited and deleted by other Network Zone users. In addition, Network Zone rules created by one Institution Zone member can be protected from being edited or deleted by a different Institution Zone member, and can only be edited and deleted by users of that member Institution Zone, or by Network Zone users.

This feature applies to shared rules that were saved in the network i.e., it does not apply to private rules or rules shared in the institution only.
It requires the enable_shared_rules_protection parameter (Configuration > Resources > General > Other Settings) to be set to true.

Rules now remain fully visible and executable by other users in the consortia, but cannot be modified or removed by them. Only the institution that created the rules, or Network Zone users with appropriate permissions, can edit or delete these rules.

This enhancement improves data governance and stability within consortia by preventing accidental changes or deletions of shared rules that impact multiple member institutions. It supports a controlled, centralized approach to managing metadata across the Network Zone.

Save button is not active for rules.

Protected Normalization Rules

This feature is relevant only for consortia operating with a Network Zone setup.