Updated February 23 1999 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Release Notes Holdings Conversion Utility (HCU) v. 4.0 General Release for Windows 98/95/NT =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= This document contains important information about using the Holdings Conversion Utility (HCU) in the Windows 98/95/NT environment. For details on SilverPlatter holdings and using HCU, please refer to the Holdings documentation and online help. HCU for Windows requires Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows NT 3.51 or greater. HCU is a utility that converts a library's MARC or ASCII format serials holdings file to a format that enables seamless display of that holdings information within SilverPlatter database records. =-=-=-=- Contents =-=-=-=- The following information is available in this file: 1. Installation and Startup 2. List of Changes Since HCU 4 Beta Release 3. Known Issues and Problems 4. Contacting SilverPlatter 5. SilverPlatter FTP Site =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 1. Installation and Startup =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Retrieving the HCU Files ------------------------ To download the HCU software from the SilverPlatter FTP site: 1. Log on to your Internet account. 2. At the Internet prompt, type open ftp.silverplatter.com 3. or use the following IP address: open 192.80.71.12 4. Enter the username and password supplied by SilverPlatter. 5. Type "cd hcu" 6. Type "bin" 7. Download hcu.exe from the appropriate directory. Installing the HCU ------------------ The HCU installation includes an installation of Perl 5.003 in a directory called /SilverPlatter Information. To install HCU: 1. Run hcu.exe from a temporary directory. 2. The installation program starts. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the installation. 3. You first confirm the directory to which the application will be installed. We recommend using the installation program's default: C:\Program Files\SilverPlatter Information\HCU Starting HCU ------------ To start HCU: * From the Taskbar Start Menu, select Programs - Holdings Conversion Utility and select the Holdings Conversion Utility icon. OR * Using Explorer, go to the directory where HCU is installed and double-click on the HCU.EXE. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 2. Changes Since HCU 4.0 Beta Release =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Changes Since General Release of December 1998 ---------------------------------------------- The reverse.pl script (which converts old-style splha files to ascii files) has been enhanced since the first general release of HCU. Changes since HCU 4.0 Beta 2 ---------------------------- The format for entering a URL link into your holdings message has changed slightly from that which was specified in earlier versions of this documentation. DO NOT close the quotes at the end of the URL. A problem with unwanted Preceding Message Text being displayed, which was identified during Beta 2, has been addressed Explanatory text has been deleted from holdout.cfg file. Enter desired information following the appropriate tag. Use of the fixup facility is not recommended as HCU may not be able to load your file. Dummy records can be added to the ASCII file to address ISSN-discrepancies Changes Since HCU 4.0 Beta 1 ---------------------------- Added the ability to specify that messages in records with duplicate ISSN or title keys be concatenated. Entry of default or preceding message text has been moved from the MARC window to the ASCII window. Change to MARC format definition which allows the user to specify embedded vs. linked holdings records. Change in MARC window to allow user to specify # of intervening characters between records. Addition of the "hfix" facility as a tool to rectify files corrupted during transfer. Addition of a Progress msg while Perl scripts are running. Improved handling of trailing hyphens in the holdings message. Improved detection of duplicate titles. Changes to warning/error messages reported in log There is no longer a warning identifying records having an ISSN but no title, or a title but no ISSN. It is now possible to have the holdings message start with a digit(s). The Reverse.pl script, which converts old-style splha files to ascii files, which can then be used with HCU, is now available. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 3. Known Issues and Problems =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Fixup File May Not Be Loaded by HCU ----------------------------------- * Under certain sets of conditions, HCU will not accept fixup files for loading. Rather than using the fixup file facility for addressing discrepancies which result in non-matching of records, HCU/Windows users are advised to add dummy records to their ASCII file of serials holdings. Don't overwrite old SPLHA files! -------------------------------- * If you previously used the SilverPlatter Library Holdings Administration (SPLHA) program to generate library holdings files and want to upgrade to HCU, backup your old SPLHA files. HCU uses the same file names. FTPing holdings files to the ERL server --------------------------------------- * If you are FTPing your holdings files to an ERL v.4 server, you should transfer all of the files in binary ("bin"). However, if you're transferring your files to an ERL v.2X server, you should use binary for the .LHD and .LHI files and ASCII ("asc") for the .LHM file transfer. If you find that your holdings messages are not displaying, you may need to run the HFIX utility (see Section 1.9.3 of the Holdings User Documentation) The syntax for running HFIX on a Unix server from the HCU directory is: /sproot/perl/bin perl hfix.pl -I /sproot/perl/lib The syntax for running HFIX on an NT server from the HCU directory is: PERL5003\bin\perl -I PERL5003\lib hfix.pl Please note that this utility modifies SPLHA.LHM, SPLHA.LHD and SPLHA.LHI so these files need to be present in the directory where hfix.pl is run. Uninstalling HCU Files ---------------------- * IMPORTANT: If you wish to remove the HCU utility from your server, you must run the UNINSTALL HCU script. If you attempt to do this by simply deleting the files, you may be unable to install HCU (or WebAdmin) again due to corruption of the registry files. Location of holdings messages in records varies ----------------------------------------------- * The location of holdings messages varies depending on the retrieval client and database you are using. In general WebSPIRS holdings messages appear at the end of records, while other SPIRS clients display holdings messages after the Source or Journal Name field. Adding a new MARC format ------------------------ * The name you assign to a new MARC format is limited to 30 characters. If you add a new format, the only way to remove it is to delete the file "holdings.dat". The definition will revert to its default values * When defining a new format ensure that you do not leave blank Message text entry boxes between Message Tags that you are defining. Title is limited to 82 or fewer characters ------------------------------------------ * Journal titles longer than 82 characters will be truncated. Error if Trailing Characters after last record in a MARC conversion ------------------------------------------------------------------- * Any trailing characters following the last record in a MARC conversion will be reported by HCU as a fatal error. However, everthing preceding those characters will have been processed appropriately. Evidence of these characters will be found in the final processing statistics. E.G. if you see a message such as "2 records output"rather than the actual number of records you expected in your output file. Hotlink Text Issues ------------------ * The format for entering a URL link into your holdings message has changed slightly from that which was specified in earlier versions of this documentation. DO NOT close the quotes at the end of the URL. * When there is no text preceding a hotlink embedded in a holdings message but there is text following, only a portion of the text following the link will display. * WebSPIRS may truncate lengthy hotlinks (9451) Do Not Use Double Quotes in Default Messages -------------------------------------------- * In writing your introductory message, do not include the double quote <"> character anywhere in the message. A single quote <'> may be used instead. This applies to both the default message and the introductory message for held journals. It applies regardless of whether the messages are added within the HCU interface, or within the holdout.cfg file. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 4. Contacting SilverPlatter =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= If you need further assistance please contact SilverPlatter's Technical Support Department. SilverPlatter SilverPlatter Information, Inc. Information, Ltd. 100 River Ridge Drive 10 Barley Mow Passage Norwood, MA 02062 Chiswick, London W4 4PH Phone: 800-343-0064 (US/Canada) Phone: 0800-262-096 (UK 781-769-2599 +44-181-585-6400 Fax: 781-769-8763 Fax: +44-181-585-6640 Internet: info@silverplatter.com or support@silverplatter.com Web site: http://www.silverplatter.com =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- 5. SilverPlatter FTP Site =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- The SilverPlatter anonymous FTP server provides access to the newest versions of SilverPlatter products for users with access to FTP. To access the SilverPlatter FTP site: 1. Log on to your Internet account. 2. At the Internet prompt, type open ftp.silverplatter.com 3. or use the following IP address: open 192.80.71.12 4. When prompted for a user name, type anonymous 5. When asked for a password, type your full electronic mail address (for example, jdoe@test.com). 6. Type "cd software\" to go to the sub-directory that contains the software you would like to download. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- February 23 1999