Set up type of material/custom search filters for PAC

To specify what format/types of material are listed in the Limit by list as search filters in Polaris PowerPAC and Mobile PAC, set up your own filters, and specify the default (top) filter for the Limit by list:

Note:
For a list of the Type of Material codes, see Type of Material Filters. For a list of CQL codes that you can use to create custom filters, see Setting PowerPAC Narrow/Related Search Options.

1. In the Administration Explorer tree view, open the Policy Tables folder for the organization, and select PAC Limit By Display. The PAC Limit by Display table appears in the details view.

2. To work with a standard format/type of material, follow these steps:

1. Select the format and click . The Modify PAC Limit by Display dialog box appears.

 

2. To change the name of the format/type of material, type the new name in the Description box.

Note:
This setting affects only the names as listed in the PAC Limit by list. The tooltip associated with each format icon in PAC search results always displays the default name of the format, as does the detailed information for a title.

3. To display or suppress the format/type of material in the PAC Limit by list, select Yes (display) or No (suppress) in the Enabled box.

Set all the table entries to No to suppress the Limit by list from display.

Note:
The Digital Collection format/type of material identifies materials such as images, sound files, video clips, and text files. It is intended for use with Polaris Fusion™, a separately licensed feature. Contact the Polaris Customer Sales Department for more information about Polaris Fusion.

4. Click OK. The Modify PAC Limit by Display dialog box closes, and the table displays your changes.

3. To set up a custom filter, follow these steps:

1. Click in the PAC Limit By Display table. The Insert PAC Limit By Display dialog box appears.

 

2. Type the filter name in the Description box. This name appears in the Limit by list in PAC.
3. Type the CQL search command for the filter in the CCL Filter box.

Tip:
You can construct a filter that limits search results to titles with at least one linked item that is available. See Set up availability search filters for PAC.

You can type any valid CQL command. Refer to PAC CQL Commands & Access Points. (If the command is not valid, the PAC search will return no results.) If the patron leaves the search term blank, the search finds all the titles that satisfy the CQL command.

Examples:
A filter that allows patrons to search quickly for mysteries on DVD:
Description: DVD Mysteries
CQL Filter: TOM=DVD and GENRE=mystery

4. Click OK. The Insert PAC Limit by Display dialog box closes, and the table displays your changes.

Tip:
When Polaris ILS is installed, the default selection is All formats, which specifies no filter on the search. You may want to change the description of this selection—to No limits, for example—if your list includes custom filters.

4. To set the order of options in the Limit by list, select a filter in the table and click  or . Repeat this step until the list is ordered the way you want it.

The higher an enabled item is positioned in the table (the lower the Display Order number), the closer to the top the item appears in the Limit by list. The first enabled item in the table is the top item in the Limit by list.

5. Select File > Save.

Related Information

• Setting a default search filter by search type - You can specify a Limit by default setting for each search type that includes this feature. See Specifying Default Search Settings.
• Deleting a search filter - Select a custom filter in the PAC Limit by Display policy table, and click . You cannot delete standard formats/types of materials. The Protected column indicates whether a filter can be deleted. If the value is Yes, you cannot delete the filter.
• Modifying a search filter - Select the filter in the PAC Limit by Display policy table, and click . You can modify the description, CQL command, and the Enabled setting for a custom filter. You can modify only the description and the Enabled setting for standard formats/types of materials. The Protected column indicates whether the CQL command can be edited for a filter. If the value is Yes, you cannot edit it.
• EContent - The definition of electronic resources includes any ebooks that contain 07/00=c (see Type of Material Codes (TOMs)). If you want ebooks to be excluded from searches for electronic resources, change the Enabled setting for the standard electronic resource (TOM=elr) to No. Then create a custom Limit by filter for electronic resources that excludes ebooks: TOM=elr not TOM=ebk and enable your custom filter for display.
• Narrowing search results - The Narrow Web part is displayed in the dashboard by default with the patron’s search results. When the patron selects a filter with this feature, the filter is applied to the current results set. See Setting PowerPAC Narrow/Related Search Options.
• Scoping searches by collection - To offer an option to scope searches by collection, set the PowerPAC profile Search options: Limit by collection enabled to Yes. This setting places the Collections option on the More Search Options light box in Polaris PowerPAC.

• Scoping searches by language - To allow search scoping by the languages specified in the MARC Language Scoping Display table, set the PowerPAC profile Scoping: Use MARC language scoping display table to Yes. For more information about this table, see Setting Language Display. If you select No, all languages defined by the MARC 21 format are displayed for search scoping on the Search Options page of Polaris PowerPAC.