User Search Helper

The User Search Helper is used to identify a user. Various search options are available. You can perform a keyword or browse search. If performing a keyword search, search options may include name, phone, email, user ID, and so on. Options may display differently based on your library’s settings for User Search Fields in the Global Configuration Wizard. If performing a browse search, you can only search on user name.

To search a user

Click the User Search helper.

Under Type, select the type of search you want to perform. You have these options:

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Keyword – Locates and displays user records that contain the terms you entered. Boolean operators, field qualifiers, and other search strategies can be used to narrow or expand your search. The search indexes that display are wizard specific.

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Browse – Produces a list in the alphabetic vicinity of the term you entered. For example, a search on Jones J might return all users with a last name of Jones and whose first name begins with J.

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Browse User Group – Locates and displays an alphabetic list of user groups. Selecting a user group displays a list of the names and user IDs of the members in the group.

Note: The Browse User Group field only displays if the User Group feature is configured on your system.

When performing a keyword search:

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In the Search For box, type the text you want to use for the search. You can type or paste up to 200 characters into the Search For field for Keyword user searches.

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Select the search option you want in the Index list. The search options that display in the Index list are defined in your library’s policies. For example, you can search using the following indexes.

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Name – Displays the user’s name. You can perform a partial name search for users, but you must use a dollar sign ($) as the truncation symbol. SirsiDynix recommends including as many characters as possible before the truncation symbol so the resulting list of matching records is meaningful and concise. For example, searching for smith, jo$ produces a more concise hit list than searching for smith$ or smith, j$.

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If you do a truncated keyword search for user name, the results may not be sorted as expected, depending on the number of matches found.

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User ID – Displays the user ID. The User ID field is limited to a maximum of 20 alphanumeric characters. You can perform a partial name search for users, but you must use a dollar sign ($) as the truncation symbol.

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Alt ID – Displays the Alt ID (alternative ID) such as a Social Security number, student ID number, or driver’s license number. The Alt ID field is limited to a maximum of 20 alphanumeric characters.

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Group ID – Displays a list of users with the same group users such as a family or department.

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In the Library list, select the library to qualify your search (if applicable). If the Library field contains a specific library name, only user records for that particular library are searched. If the Library field contains the ALL-LIBS selection, the user records of all libraries are displayed.

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If you want to use multiple search options, do one of the following:

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Click AND to search for user records using the AND operator. For example, a user record is considered a match if both the specified name and phone number are found in the user record.

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Click OR to search for user records using the OR operator. For example, a user record is considered a match if either the specified name or phone number is found in the user record.

Up to eight search options can be specified for a single user search.

If performing a browse search:

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In the Search For box, type the text you want to use for the search. You can type or paste up to 70 characters into the Search For field for Browse user searches.

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In the Library list, select the library to qualify your search (if applicable). If the Library field contains a specific library name, only user records for that particular library are searched. If the Library field contains the Full access to all libraries option, the user records of all libraries are displayed.

If performing a browse user group search:

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In the Search For box, type the text you want to use for the search. You can type or paste up to 20 characters into the Search For field for Browse user group searches.

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In the Library list, select the library to qualify your search (if applicable). If the Library field contains a specific library name, only user records for that particular library are searched. If the Library field contains the Full access to all libraries option, the user records of all libraries are displayed.

Click Search.

If a list of users displays, select a user, and then continue the current process.

The user browse search allows you to scroll the search hit list using arrow keys. The arrow keys will allow you to move forward and backward through the list. Select a user, and then continue the current process.

Important Considerations When Using this Helper

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Changes you make to this helper’s properties apply globally whenever this helper is used.

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SirsiDynix Symphony automatically converts the user ID and alternate ID to uppercase characters.

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When the User Search helper is used in certain wizards, the list of matching results for a search is retained until another search is performed, or until the wizard session is ended. The retained list of matching records is available only in the following wizards: Place Hold, Place Blanket Hold, Confirm Address, User Lost Card, User Display, and Remove User.

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The User Display Libraries policy controls which libraries’ user records you can search and display. The User Maintenance Libraries policy controls which libraries’ user records you can create and modify.

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If a duplicate ID is found (perhaps because an ID used previously for a user has been assigned to a different user), then the system prompts you to select the user record you want.