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OCLC Support

Work with bibliographic records

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Discover how to work with bibliographic records while editing in Connexion client.

Move to the next record

The client record display has three main areas

  • Record information area
  • Fixed field
  • Variable fields

See Records for a description of the area.

To move the cursor from one area to another:

  • Navigate to Edit > Next Record Area or press <F6>.
    Or
  • Click Previous Record Area or press <Shift><F6>.

The cursor moves to the first element or field of the next record area, or if the cursor was in a particular variable field to start with, it returns to that field when you return to the variable fields area.

Change the position of the fixed field or display as variable fields

You can change the position of the fixed field in the record display or display it as variable fields.

  • Navigate to View > OCLC Fixed Field > Top or press <Ctrl><V><O><T>. The fixed field displays above the variable fields.
    Or
  • Navigate to View > OCLC Fixed Field > Bottom or press <Ctrl><V><O><B>. The fixed field displays below the variable fields.
    Or
  • Naviate to View > OCLC Fixed Field > Display as Variable Field or press <Ctrl><V><O><D>. The fixed field displays as variable fields LDR (leader), 001, 005, and 008.

Change the fixed field to another MARC format

To change the format for the fixed field of a record:

  1. Be sure that the fixed field is displayed above or below the variable fields, not as variable fields (see procedure above).
  2. The fixed field area includes a list of formats in the upper left corner. The list displays the current format of the record. Click another format in the list.

The client redisplays the fixed field with only the elements appropriate to the selected format and supplies any codes from the original fixed field that also apply to the new format.

Use fixed field drop-down lists

By default, when the fixed field display is set to Top or Bottom, each fixed field element has a drop-down list of values that are valid for the MARC format of the record.

To use the lists:

  1. Click the cell of a fixed field element to display the list, and then click the arrow to display the values in the list.
  2. Select a value. If preferred, enter a value over a selected value in the fixed field element field. See Records for more about navigating fixed fields.

If you prefer not to use the fixed field lists, clear the display:

  1. Navigate to Tools > Options or press <Alt><T><O>.
  2. Click the Record Display tab.
  3. Click the Use dropdowns for fixed fields check box to deselect it. Select another format in the list. By default, the check box is selected.

Copy control number

To copy the OCLC control number of the active bibliographic record or the ARN of the active authority record (field 001) without having to select it:

  • Navigate to Edit > Cut Copy Paste > Copy Control Number or press <Ctrl><T>.
    Or
  • Right-click in the record and, on the pop-up menu, click Copy Control Number.

The number is copied to the Windows clipboard. You can paste it into any text area or document.

Find and replace text

To find instances of text in a record and replace it with other text:

  1. Navigate to Edit > Find/Replace, click the Find/Replace button (Find/Replace button), or press <Ctrl><F>.
  2. Enter the text you want to find in the Find What text field. If you select the text you want to find before step 1, the client places the highlighted text in the Find What box for you.
  3. Enter the text you want to insert in place of found in the Replace With text field.
  4. (Optional) To enter a diacritic or special character in the text, click Enter Diacritics. See Insert diacritics and special characters for more details.
  5. (Optional) Select parameters for the search:
    • Select the Match Case check box to match upper- and lowercase exactly of the text you want to find and the text you want to replace.
    • Select the Whole Word check box to match the text in the Find What field with whole words only.
    • Select the Search Backward check box to search backward from the cursor position rather than forward.
  6. Click Find Next to find the next occurrence of the text in the Find What field. The client finds and highlights the text if found.
  7. Click Replace to replace the found text with the text in the Replace With field. 
    Or
    Click Find Next to find the next instance. Repeat until the client has searched the text of the entire record and you have replaced the text where needed.
    Or
    Click Replace All to replace all instances of the found text.
    Or
    Click Cancel to stop the find and replace process.

View institution name for OCLC symbol in 040

Move the mouse over the OCLC institution symbol in field 040 to display the institution name.

A pop-up displays the institution name or, if the name is unavailable, the client gives you a message:

  • If the message says that the symbol is not found, it is most likely a new symbol assigned after the current client release. You will have to wait for the next client release to see the institution's name.
  • If the message says that the symbol is in the file but cannot be found or is corrupt, you may need to reinstall the client to get a working institution symbol file.