Explanation of the overlayAction element in Voyager patron XML import

Product: Voyager
Relevant for Installation Type: Multi-Tenant Direct, Dedicated-Direct, Local, TotalCare

How does the <overlayAction> tag (element) work in the patron XML import file?

For a specific set¹ of individual elements of the patron record (such as temp addresses or notes), there are two options: Add or Overlay.

When Add is selected, existing elements are left in the database for this particular type, and the new ones are added.

When Overlay is selected, all existing elements of the specified type are removed and then the new ones are added.

¹Add/Overlay works with Addresses, Email addresses, notes, and statistics.

This ONLY applies to the Add and Update options in the <action> element.

Example (replaces all existing patron statistical categories with "ADM"):

<patronStatList>
<overlayAction>Overlay</overlayAction>
<patronStat>ADM</patronStat>
</patronStatList>

So, for example, for patron notes, when Overlay is specified, all notes are removed and then whatever is in the file is added in its place.

You can not batch delete overlay elements. For an example see Can use Voyager patron XML utilities to batch update or delete patron notes

If you don't want to update patron notes, you can remove the <noteList> element and then the patron notes will not be updated.

See Chapter 5 of the Technical User's Guide for further details.