Mandarin M3® - Windows OPAC
The patron's gateway to your library's collection
The M3 OPAC is the patron's gateway to your library's collection. Searching
your collection for books, magazines, e-books, Web sites, maps, CD-ROM's,
full text articles, and more is simple using the M3 OPAC.
Searching from the OPAC
What Can Patrons Search?
If your library system utilizes a Union Catalog, not only can patrons
search your local catalog, but they can also search additional sites
on the system. From the Databases tab, patrons can select and search
any site as though they were in those libraries!
Standard Search
Standard Search allows patrons to enter subject, title or author keywords
when searching the collection or online resource. The number of results
returned displays at the bottom of the screen. If patrons do not locate
what they are looking for, or their search is too broad, they may then
browse either the subject, title, or author indexes.
To assist patrons with narrowing search results, the Standard Search
supports the AND, OR, and NOT Boolean operators as well as truncation
searches (*), wildcard searches (?), and phrase searches (").
Enhanced Search
The Enhanced Search supports the same useful functionality of the Standard
Search as well as additional search field selections. In addition to
searching by subject, title, or author, the Enhanced Search allows patrons
to search MARC fields such as Date of Publication, Material Type, URL,
Title Series, and Abstract/Summary from a drop-down menu. Librarians
also have the ability to add or delete search fields, thereby customizing
this search interface for your library's audience.
Visual Catalog:
The Visual Catalog provides a graphical search alternative. By selecting
pertinent graphical buttons, patrons narrow their search utilizing a
topic tree approach until specific results are displayed.
Librarians may easily customize the Visual Catalog highlighting holidays,
e-books, Web sites, activities, bestsellers lists, Accelerated Reading
Lists, New Resources, etc. Librarians can even select to launch applications
such as WordPad, Excel, Encyclopedia, Atlases, etc. from the Visual
Catalog screen. The OPAC enables you to select topics and appropriate
graphic images. Mandarin ships over 60 graphics with the software. You
may also choose to design your own graphics and add them to the Visual
Catalog.
Search Results
The Search Results window is designed to display results in an organized
and easily readable format. Each title is displayed with availability,
material type, bibliographic information, and call number information.
The librarian can customize these display defaults as well as define
the default font and font size of the Search Results list.
From the Search Results list, patrons can:
- view book cover images (if library has annual subscription to Syndetic
Solutions from Mandarin)
- tag/untag individual items or all items
- print or save tagged items or all items
- add tagged items or all items to the Bookbag, creating a virtual
bibliography patrons can print or save
- sort the list by author, title, copyright date, call number, and
call number by prefix
- save and print holdings data
and much more . . .
If your library has the new Authority Control
Optional Module, "See" and See also" cross-references
are displayed at the top of the results list. These cross references
lead patrons to subjects related to their search.
"My Account" Feature
The OPAC now has an optional "My Account" tab. Patrons can
select this tab, enter a user name and password, and then view their
personal account information. Information patrons can access about their
account include:
- Current - Open, or current, transactions
- History - Closed, or historical, transactions
- My Info - Personal information that the library has on file
Additional Features
- The Language option allows patrons to change the interface
to display in
any of the following languages:
- English
- French
- German
- Italian
- Spanish
- The Bulletin Board keeps your patrons informed of your
library's hours of operation, holidays, or special events by linking
to your home page, any Web page you want patrons to view, or a page
designed specifically for the bulletin board
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Here's What's New in Version 1.7.01
( Current Service and Update Agreement Subscribers Only. Includes Service Pack 2 and Service Pack 3 )
Mandarin is pleased to announce the release of Mandarin M3 Core version
1.7.01. This release introduces new features in the M3 Core and optional modules.
Cataloging
- Picture records and related image files are now removed when the corresponding bibliographic or patron records are purged.
- Cataloging now includes a Bookbag. Records can be added to a bookbag and saved for future editing.
Circulation
- Users in Self-check/return mode can no longer enable the menu by selecting the language button.
- In the Select Patron dialog (when a duplicate barcode is detected), diacritical characters now display correctly.
- Sorting has been improved in Library Transactions mode.
- A scriptable interface is now built into Circulation that allows for more complex barcode processing
- Circulation now supports the copy-specific reserve. This is enabled by a new Group Editor option that sets the type of reserve that is used for all items in that group.
- In Transit handling has been enhanced for scoped library systems. In Transit status can be set by using the new “Send to Library…” command.
Find/Replace
- When the result set is selected using Select All, then a few records are deselected, Find/Replace now continues processing on all records that remain selected.
Inventory
- Inventory failure with multiple threads on multi-core (duo core) CPUs fixed.
- Inventory failure when a barcode file that has been defined in the session is missing - is now fixed.
Record Editor
- Two-digit country codes in 008 are no longer replaced by ‘xx’ when the field is viewed in the Fixed Field editor.
ReportTool
- Improved stability.
- Improved Memory Management.
- Numerous system crash scenarios have been resolved.
- Improved creation of temporary work files on network drives.
- Addressed issues in 2-pass formula field processing.
- Addressed issues in “Formula referencing another Formula” calculations.
- Improved output when printing a report to HTML.
- Improved output when printing a report to RTF.
- There is now an Undo/Redo feature.
- SubDetail with Frames: Multiple report objects, such as database fields, can now be manipulated as if they were a single object.
- Conditional color Formatting: Font attributes, such as color, can now be changed based on the contents of a database or formula field.
- Added ability email a report in HTML format.
Features Included in Free Version 1.6
( Does Not Include Service Pack 2 or Service Pack 3 )
This release introduces new features in the M3 Core modules as
well as several innovative optional modules, including Syndetic Solutions,
MARC Magician integrated with M3 Cataloging, and M3 Pocket Module.
New M3 Core module features are outlined below.
Cataloging
- Ability to import pictures and to update patron and item records
with these pictures.
- Ability to create multiple holdings for a bibliographic record at
one time.
- When sorting, non-filing characters ("the", "a",
and so on) are now ignored.
- When creating a new holding for an existing bibliographic record,
the prefix (852#k) is now copied into the new holding record.
- Ability to tag a block of records in the main Cataloging window
by selecting the first record and pressing SHIFT while selecting the
last record; this tags all records in between.
- The removal of empty fields after saving a record is now optional.
Windows® OPAC
- Ability to view book cover images.
- Ability to link to Syndetics Solutions, which allows patrons to
view summaries, reviews, and other content data for items in your
collection. It also provides cover images for thousands of items.
This is available on a subscription basis for an additional charge.
- Ability to customize your library name on the main window.br />
- Ability to save and print holdings data from the Search Results
and Bookbag windows.
- Ability to view holdings information in the Bookbag Details window.
- In libraries with union databases, local holdings are indicated
by a star-shaped Availability and Tagging check box.
Circulation
- New shortcut toolbar on the main window contains buttons for commonly-
used functions. This might ship off by default.
- Ability to renew all or return all transactions in the Transactions
pane is available from a transaction menu.
- Ability to apply refunds or enter additional fines in the Payment
window.
- Ability to search for a patron or item from the main window by typing
keywords in the Barcode box.
- The display of override messages in Self-Check mode is now optional.
If they are disabled, the only message that will display is if the
item is non- circulating.
- Ability to disable the History tab in the Circulation Options dialog
box.
- Ability to enable a message to display when an item is being placed
on hold instead of reserve.
- A warning message displays when an item that is assigned to a special
reserve group is returned.
- If a scanned barcode is invalid, three distinct beeps will sound.
- When an item is recorded as lost, the fine assigned will be the
item price indicated in field 852#9. If no price exists, the fine
will be the maximum fine as set in Group Editor.
Miscellaneous
- The Search dialog box used in Cataloging, Circulation, and Group
Editor is now able to handle special characters, such as ampersands
(&).
- Ability to change the font size and type in the record editor (visible
in Cataloging and Circulation) by modifying the Default Grid Font
entry in the ActiveMarcEdit.ini file. The default font setting is
8 pt MS Sans Serif.
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