Alma
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678 results found
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Set input focus when using persistent menu
Similar to the previous enhancement suggestion "Set input focus for 'Quick Search' box" when a user navigates using the persistent menu to move to a new area of alma the search box should already be set to input focus.
For example, if a user goes to Alma -> Receiving and Invoicing -> Reviews -> The "Find" search box should have the input focus so the user can start searching.
This is more efficient and a better user experience. It is much less clicking.
1 voteThe “/” shortcut was added to enable quick navigation to the relevant search box. Automatic focus is not possible due to other capabilities that are needed
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Set input focus for "Quick Search" box
Please set the input focus for the "Quick Search" box under these two criteria:
1) When logging into Alma
2) When changing the search criteriaWhen a user logs in they should be able to type immediately into the Quick Search box and get a result.
When a user changes the format they want to search (Titles, Collections, Authorities, Vendors, etc). They should be able to click on what they want and start typing.
In both of these scenarios by moving the mouse (especially #2) the user experience is inefficient.
1 voteAvailable in Alma new layout as of August release
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View cancelled requests
it would be useful for Fulfillment staff to have a way to track when users cancel requests, eg to explain why an item is coming off the holdshelf early, or to prove to a user that the reason why their hold has never been satisfied is because they cancelled the request. Perhaps a record should go into the Requests tab on the user's Fulfillment activities and into the item's History tab?
99 votes -
Using best ebook record in community zone
The ebook CZ records could be a lot better. The EBL records are already better than the CZ records, therefore wouldn't it be great if ProQuest would allow Ex Libris to use these records in the CZ.
0 votes -
When using Scan in Items, provide a pop-up window when there is a hold on an item.
When we process returned materials from resource sharing partners we use Scan in Items. If there is a hold on an item it only displays the message on the screen, and does not provide a pop-up alert. It would seem useful to provide a similar pop-up like you get when processing items with Return Items.
114 votesAs of March release you can configure how pop-up messages will display in the Scan In Interface. All messages can be configured to appear as a pop-up message, a feedback message, or to not appear at all. This is defined in the Scan In Messages Configuration table. Additionally, a yellow icon is added to the list of scanned items for patron request of types Booking Requests, Physical Requests, and Patron Digitization Requests to draw the scanning operator’s attention that some items have a patron request associated with them.
An additional informational message was added to the Scan Items page for lost items which were returned (Lost status removed). This message appears as a feedback message and can be configured similar to all other messages in the Scan In interface to appear as a pop-up message, a feedback message, or to not appear at all.
For more information please see Alma… -
Allow copy number mapping in Alma Import Profiles
The physical item inventory mapping configuration in Alma import profiles does not include the option to add a Copy ID. It creates a lot of extra work to, after importing records, open each item record with multiple copies, to edit the Copy ID field. We would like to be able to assign the Copy ID in the import, as we do the other physical item fields.
78 votesAdditional fields were added to the Import Profile page > Inventory Operations tab for physical inventory. You can map item-level information from these fields in the input file, or indicate a value to be placed in the imported records.
For more information please see https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Release_Notes/2021/Alma_2021_Release_Notes
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Patron physical item request – automatic cancellation of requests when ‘Date Needed By’ has passed:
I suggest that if the "not needed by " date is reached then the patron request is cancelled.
The only function of “date not needed by” for patron physical item requests is to prevent items from being put into transit from other locations if the transit cannot be completed by the required date.
However this is not clear to patrons and users ask us why we send Hold available notices when they already indicated a date when they would no longer need the item.
Staff also waste time locating items that Patrons have indicated are no longer needed, only to…
600 votesThe “Date needed by” field (also known as “Not Needed After”), which can be populated by the patron, was taken into account only in the “pick from shelf” workflow step, cancelling the request when the date was in the past without sending a cancel notification (since the patrons indicated that they are no longer interested).
Following this development, this behavior will be applied in other workflow steps in the request lifecycle:
Queued requests that are not yet active but are past their date needed by will now be canceled by the “Request – handle last expiration date” (to avoid recalling items to fulfill requests that are no longer relevant).
When an item is scanned in, if the “date needed by” of the request had passed, the request will be canceled.
When an item is placed on the hold shelf, if the date needed by is earlier than the regular hold… -
Sort Portfolios by title / make portfolios searchable
We would like the ability to sort portfolios by title within an electronic collection display in Alma. Right now, when you click on portfolio list within an electronic collection, there seems to be no discernible order; you also cannot search for titles within a portfolio list. We would like to make it easier to locate a particular portfolio within a collection particularly for selective packages.
79 votesNew facets, additional sorting options, filters, and display options were added for portfolio-level search results.
For more information please see Alma December Release Notes -
Repository import profiles for electronic titles - limit matching to specific electronic collection
To avoid accidentally overwriting the wrong records when importing batches of MARC records for electronic collections, it would be really helpful if the matching of incoming records against existing records in the repository could be limited to ONLY titles with portfolios in a selected electronic collection. As the Alma CZ bibliographic records for ebooks are often of poorer quality than the records provided by vendors to collection subscribers, we prefer to import the vendor records and de-link from the CZ record, but the matching on import can't be limited to just the records in the collection, and we often accidentally…
229 votesNow as part of the repository import users can limit the match of Bibliographic records to a specific Electronic collection
For more information see the Alma online help for Select an Electronic Collection to match against
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Replacement Costs in Analytics represented as a number
Currently they are represented as text. You have to manipulate the Excel file to get them to become numbers. However, it would be nice if they exported as numbers, or were numbers in Analytics, for easier manipulation of the data.
2 votesThis ideas exchange is complete.
The replacement cost no longer works as a decimal number.
It now behaves as follows, correctly filtering for example by less than or equal to 50: -
Existing linked accounts need active lookup to update patron expiration date
In a consortium with shared circulation policies and privileges, linked accounts need an active lookup each time they are used so that expiration dates that may have changed since a user record was first brought into an institution other than their own, can be updated to ensure a user is still entitled to privileges at another institution.
We understand that the Alma Roadmap includes plans to bring blocks through on linked accounts using a network level block, but expiration dates are also important once a linked account is already created and is used again.
33 votes -
recall
Update Lending and Borrowing Status when Recalls of Resource Sharing items are cancelled
Currently, once an item is recalled in Resource Sharing, it stays in that status even after the recall is cancelled by the patron. If this could have the same functionality as regular Fulfillment (which can be configured to have the item's original return date applied if recall is dropped), that would be ideal.
280 votesHi all,
Thank you for supporting this idea.
I'm happy to inform you that starting from the Alma August 2025 Release, it is possible to configure the Workflow Profile to automatically forward recall cancelations to the borrower.
For additional information, refer to the Alma Release Notes
Best,
Liza and the Product Team
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Develop a ‘sticky’ last search feature in the Repository search
We have staff in multiple roles, who use the repository search feature as part of their daily workflow. These staff run many repository searches a day, however, although people within a particular work area routinely use the same search parameters, across different work areas staff use a range of ‘standard’ search parameters.
We like to request that ExLibris to develop a ‘sticky’ last search feature in the Repository search. This would mean that Alma would ‘remember’ the way the Repository search was last configured, based on the user login. Our idea is that Alma would ‘remember’ a user’s most frequent…
3 votes -
In Repository Search, display "Due Time" field for checked-out items
The "Due Date" field already displays for checked-out items in a "Physical items" search but "Due Time" doesn't even though many institutions check out hourly items for which the "Due Date" field isn't really useful.
45 votes -
Allow more flexibility in Display Logic rules
We would like to be able to construct Display Logic rules that hide a service based on the absence of a service. Currently (7/8/2016), the structure of rules only allow hiding a service based on the presence of a service.
Case in point:
We provide unmediated Get It Now for a handful of publishers. Obviously, we do not want to offer Get It Now if a full text service exists. However, because Alma considers Get It Now to be a full text service (which is a discussion for another day), we cannot use a "hide Get It Now if full…109 votesCompleted as part of Alma January Release The display logic user interface was enhanced, offering more flexibility in defining display logic rules.
for more information please see Alma January Release Notes at:
https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Release_Notes/009_2019/Alma_2019_Release_Notes?mon=201901BASE -
Run a report of items by fund code in Analytics
A colleague wanted to know the usage stats for books he had purchased over a certain period of time. This would have been easiest by running a report including items, his fund code, and the relevant fiscal years. This is currently not possible - Dewey range reports inevitably miss some titles.
Can the Funds Expenditure and Physical Items SAs be made compatible?
8 votes -
Fulfillment: Send duplicate Lost Item Refund notice to the library staff
Program Alma to send a duplicate "lost item refund" notice to the library staff email/printer when a lost item is returned. This would be similiar to how Alma sends a copy of the cash receipt for fines paid to both the user and to the library staff.
When a lost item is returned to my library we need to know which patron returned the item so that we can remove the academic hold in our campus SIS system. Currently Alma only displays a message on the screen that indicates the ret'd item was lost--but messages on the screen are often…
3 votes -
test access of portfolio in CZ before activation
There should be a way to test access on a CZ portfolio without having to activate it in IZ first.
Currently, when looking for a portfolio to activate in the CZ, there is no way to test access or view the parse parameters until after the portfolio is activated. If it is not the correct portfolio, you then have to open the collection, go to portfolios, search for the title and then delete it. It would be easier if the link could be tested in the CZ before activation. (seems like this was an option in SFX?)64 votesIn order to assist with the decision of activating Community Zone portfolios, you can now view portfolio linking information from search results in the Community Zone tab. Previously in order to view the linking information of a Community Zone portfolio, you had to activate the portfolio.
For more information see Alma May Release Note at:
https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Release_Notes/2020/Alma_2020_Release_Notes -
Make 245 $p, $n, $s, $k, $f, $g part of "Title" resource description when viewing/editing holdings and item record details.
Currently when viewing a list of holdings or list of items (and editing them) for a resource/bib in Alma, the $p -- a part/section of a work is not displayed in the resource description for the title. All you see is the main title of the work (245 $a), not the sub-name designation of the part/section. You have no way of knowing which work you are viewing or editing, unless you know the call number specifically.
Example, I have 4 records that are all "The advertising red books" title, but each one is a different part/section of the work. If…
164 votesThe resource description in the headings information for the Record View, List of Items, List of Holdings, the Physical Item Editor, and single holdings was expanded. Also, the resource description was expanded in the MD Editor holdings record header. The resource description now includes the a, n, p, h, b, f, g, k, and s subfields of the MARC 21 / KORMARC 245 field and the a through i subfields of the UNIMARC 200 field.
For more information please see August Release Notes:
https://knowledge.exlibrisgroup.com/Alma/Release_Notes/010_2019/Alma_2019_Release_Notes -
Freeze navigation and tabs in Ama search results view
Currently in a list of search results, when viewing records in a list below what appears on the first screen, we have to scroll back up to the first screen of results to navigate, enter an new search, etc. If the navigation sidebar, tabs, search boxes, etc. were frozen when scrolling, similar to Excel, it would save searchers time.
8 votes
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