DRAFT

Portable Scanner Upload and processing procedures

 

There are three areas in which the handheld portable scanners may be useful for supplementing library operations.

  1. Rolling Inventory
  2. Recording internal use of  materials
  3. Discharging returned books off-line

A.  Scanning books with Portable Scanner

    [these procedures will be written later, but there is written instructions outlining operation of the portable scanners and the various functions available.]

 

B. Uploading data from the portable scanner to the InfoDesk PC.

After scanning materials to be processed, it is necessary to upload the data from the handheld scanner; first to the PC, then from the PC to the ACORN server.  To do the first step:

  1. Turn off the handheld scanner
  2. Plug the handheld scanner into the interface cable on the Infodesk machine.  This is  a wide black plastic interface on a slip grey cable. It can fit only one way into the 10 prong receptacle on the bottom of the handheld scanner.
  3. After plugging in the cable, turn the handheld scanner back on.
  4. [Assuming you are logged onto the Infodesk machine already] - Invoke the program scanupld.exe.  This program should exist both as an icon on the Desktop  (the icon graphic is a multicolored beachball); as well as being available from the START menu under Programs\SIRSI.
    BE SURE NOT TO RUN scanupld.exe more than once, as the data from the handheld is MOVED, not copied to this file on the PC.  Running scanupld a second time will overwrite the existing file, with an empty file.
  5. Scanupld creates a file in the c:\program files\sirsi\workflows folder, named scanpc.dat.  Using My Computer or Windows NT explorer, verify that the scanpc.dat file exists in this directory, and the date/time stamp for that file corresponds to the date and time when you ran the scanupld.exe program.
  6. If the scanpc.dat file exists and appears to be the current data you just uploaded, immediately change the name of that file to scanpc[mmdd].dat (i.e. scanpc1218.dat) to prevent it from being overwritten and lost.

C. Uploading data from the PC to the ACORN Server.

  1. Having verified the data is on the PC and changing the file name, now you must enter Workflows and upload that file to the ACORN server.  To upload the data you must have the "Scanner Transfer Utility" wizard, either loaded on your personal toolbar, or you can access it by loading the "util" toolbar.
  2. When you invoke the Scanner Transfer Utility, it will open a window (Transfer:Transfer file), and expects you to enter the name and directory of the file to upload.  You should click on the little blue diamond gizmo to the right of the box, and navigate to the c:\program files\sirsi\workflows folder, and highlight the scanpc[mm/dd].dat file you recently renamed.  You can either doubleclick on that file, or single click and then select "open".  The path and filename will then appear in the "directory and filename" data box.  Below that, the system ought to automatically fill in the "upath entry" (scanner) and the library (Divinity).  It will rename the file when it uploads it to become "scanner.dat". 
  3. With the fields correctly filled in, click the "OK" button.
  4. The 'Transfer:transfer file' window will disappear, and will not give any positive verification that the upload was accomplished.  Simply assume the file has been successfully uploaded.  THIS step copies the data from the PC, it does not remove it from the workflows folder, so your scanpc[mm/dd].dat file will remain on the local drive.

D. Processing the Data via the Report Module

  1. Once the data resides on the ACORN server, you must run a report to import that data into ACORN.  From your toolbar, choose the "Scheduled Reports" wizard. Select the New button, and move across the tabs until you display the "scanner" tab reports.
  2. Select the "Load Scanner Transactions" report. then click "schedule".
  3. In the loadscanner report window,  change the Report name to be:  "load transactions mm/dd/yy" (i.e. Load transactions 12/18/01).  Then click on the "selection criteria" tab.
  4. Click on the blue gizmo to select "Divinity" as the  Library for copy selection.  Then click on  the "output options" tab.
  5. On the output options page, you need to change the  transaction type to "Mixed" using the blue down arrow to display the drop down list of acceptable entries.
  6. Then click on the schedule button.  On the schedule page, the default selection SHOULD appear with the ASAP/ONCE selections. If that is the case, simply click on the OK button to run the report.
  7. These reports typically run very quickly.  You can probably immediately click on the Finished Reports Wizard, and this report should appear at the top of the list of finished reports. 
  8. If you view the report, you should be able to verify that xx number of transactions have been processed.  IF there were errors in the process, it will likely tell you "no data has been uploaded since the last scanner upload was processed".   If you see that message, the data you had scanned was not successfully uploaded.   You can try following steps in sections C and D again. 
  9. If the report indicates the transactions were processed correctly, you can close the report, you are done.