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Home page and navigation bar

Learn how to use the home page to find links to information and OCLC system news as well as how to use the navigation bar in CatExpress.

About the home page

The home page is the first screen you see after you log on to CatExpress.

To return to the home page at any time, click Home on the header bar at the top of the screen.

Use the home page to:

  • Find links to CatExpress documentation, news, and other useful information.  
  • View OCLC message of the day.

Links to information on CatExpress and related topics

The gray column on the right provides quick access to:

  • News
  • CatExpress information
  • Legal Information
  • WorldCat Statistics
  • The OCLC System Status Dashboard. If you have difficulties while using CatExpress, check this page for information on any known system problems.

View OCLC system news

The News area provides access to current information of interest to OCLC users. News topics include:

  • General OCLC announcements
  • News about specific products and services
  • Release notes describing recent system updates
  • Information on planned system enhancements

The Search News screen allows you to:

  • Retrieve all current news items
  • Retrieve news by category
  • Search for words in the titles of news items
  • Search for words in the contents of news items

Access OCLC system news

  1. From the General tab, click News.
    OR
    From the home page, in the gray column on the right, under Topics, click News.

Navigation bar

The navigation bar:

  • Appears at the top of all screens.
  • Contains a set of tabs, one tab for each service available to you. Your authorization and/or subscriptions to specific services determine which service tabs appear.
  • On each service tab, provides buttons labeled Search and Other. Click a button for access to a frequently used function.
  • On each service tab, lists labeled Search Options, Other Options. Open a list to select a specific function.
  • Includes a General tab that lets you set preferences to customize the navigation bar, set service-specific options, access OCLC System News, and view web-based documentation for OCLC Connexion.
  • Lets you navigate by clicking a tab, a button, or a list option.
  • Can be customized to meet your needs. For example, you can hide tabs for services you rarely use, add a horizontal scroll bar, enlarge the tabs and text, or set time options.

Navigation bar functions for CatExpress subscribers

Service tab Button or list item Result and definition
Express Search
Basic
Advanced
Search WorldCat via CatExpress to retrieve records needed for copy cataloging.
Basic search lets you retrieve records by standard number, title, or keywords.
Advanced search lets you combine search terms with Boolean operators, limit search results by date, format, or language, limit results to Internet resources only, and specify sorting of results.

 Note: Non-subscribers using CatExpress

If you use CatExpress for a portion of your workflow, this activity is billed on a per-transaction basis, at the same rate as Connexion activity.
Other
Download Export File

Documentation
Get CatExpress records and check online documentation.
Download an authorization-specific file of OCLC-MARC bibliographic records. Records are added to the file as a result of your actions during a session.
Access the CatExpress User Guide on the OCLC web site.
General News button

News Options
Search News
Go to the Search News screen.

Go to the Search News screen.
View OCLC announcements, news about products and services, release notes describing recent system updates, and information on planned system enhancements.
Admin button

Admin Options
Preferences
User Information
Go to the Preferences screen.

Go to the Preferences screen.
Customize the navigation bar and other system interface features. Change settings for the session inactivity timer. Set CatExpress options. Set Dewey Services options (if profiled for these services).
Go to the User Information screen.
View session information for use when requesting support. Enter or change contact information (your name, e-mail address, and phone number).

 

  Documentation button  Go to a Web page on the OCLC web site that lists WebDewey documentation. Items listed are Web-accessible files in PDF format. View the documentation online or print it for offline reference.
The page also lists documentation on other OCLC cataloging services.
Dewey Services
(WebDewey)
Requires WebDewey subscription
Search button

Search Options
WebDewey
User Notes
Go to the Search WebDewey screen

Go to the Search WebDewey screen
Search the Dewey Decimal Classification.
Go to the Search WebDewey User Notes screen.
Search your library's Dewey Notes database to check for notes that apply to your classification task.
Browse button

Browse Options
WebDewey
Go to the Browse WebDewey screen.

Go to the Browse WebDewey screen.
Browse the Dewey Decimal Classification.
Create button

Create Options
User Notes
Go to a User Note workform.

Go to a User Note workform.
Create notes that apply to specific DDC numbers, to types of material you catalog, or to library practices.
Show button

Show Options Active User Notes
Go to the Active Records screen.

Go to the Active Records screen.
Find links to user note(s) you are currently viewing or editing.

Header bar and links

  • The header bar is the black bar at the top of each screen, above the navigation bar.
  • Via links on the header bar, you can access the functions listed in the following table.
Header link Use it to
Home Return to the system home page.
Help Get context-specific Help for the current screen.
From the Help window, you can search Help for additional information.
Searching Help for CatExpress topics.
You have access to all Connexion Help topics, not just those that explain CatExpress functions. When you search Help, use catexpress as one of your search keywords to avoid retrieving nonrelevant topics.
Diacritics View a table of diacritics and special characters
Use the table to identify a character, find a character by name, or copy a character for input in a record.
Contact Send a problem or question via e-mail to your regional network, service center, or OCLC Customer Support.
Send a suggested change or enhancement via e-mail to the development team.
Logoff Exit CatExpress and return to the login page.

Navigation keys

  • You can use tabs, buttons, and lists on the navigation via keyboard only.
  • The keystrokes work in all supported versions of Internet Explorer and in supported versions of Netscape 7.
     Note: Interface users may have slightly different keystrokes. See Connexion Help for details.
Purpose Keystroke
Header bar -- select an action 
Home <Alt><0> (zero)
Help <Alt><H>
Contact (Support) <Alt><S>
Diacritics <Alt><,> (comma)
Logoff <Alt><L>
Tabs -- select a tab (if it is visible on screen) 
Express <Alt><E>
Dewey Services <Alt><D>
General <Alt><G>
More <Alt><M>
Buttons -- select a button (on active tab) 
Search Or
News on General tab
<Alt><1>
Admin on General tab <Alt><2>
Documentation on General tab <Alt><3>
Options lists -- select list (on active tab) Go button off. If you did not add a Go button to the navigation bar,
  • Press the shortcut key for the list.
  • Then press <down-arrow> once to select first item on the list.
Go button on. If you added a Go button to the navigation bar,
  • Press the shortcut key for the list.
  • Then press <down-arrow> to select a n option.
  • Then press <Enter> to take action (if you have not moved the cursor from the list).
  • Or press <Alt><8> to take action (if you moved the cursor to a position in the lower frame of the screen).
Search Options <Alt><!>
Admin Options on General tab <Alt><@>
Other Options (Express tab only) <Alt><%>
Bypass navigation bar Note: This function is included to facilitate use of screen-reading software.
Skip links on header bar and tabs; move to end of navigation bar. Press <Tab> to move to first field or list on current screen. <Ctrl><K>
Or
<Alt><F9>

Switch between navigation bar and main frame (record or dialog box) 
Move from navigation bar to record/dialog frame
Or move to navigation bar from record/dialog frame
<Ctrl><Shift><Tab> (Internet Explorer)
Or
<Ctrl><Tab> (Netscape 7)