1. 1 · Prepare the computer
2. 2 · Connect to the computer
3. 3 · Prepare the network
4. 4 · Install BiblioViva
5. 5 · First run
6. 6 · Connect the devices
7. 7 · Test the scanner and the printer
8. 8 · Backups

Procedure

Connect the scanner

The scanner is connected to the circulation desk computer, not to the computer BiblioViva runs on. The scanner behaves like a keyboard: every code read is written in the active field, followed by the Enter key.

1. Connect the scanner's USB cable to a port of the circulation desk computer.
2. Wait for the scanner to give the ready signal, usually a short sound or a light.

Test the scanner in a text field

1. Open BiblioViva in the browser of the circulation desk computer and sign in as admin.
2. Open Catalogue.
3. Click in the search field Search by title, author or ISBN….
4. Read with the scanner the barcode of a book, the ISBN one.
5. Check that the digits that appeared in the field are the same as those printed under the barcode.

The field changes nothing in the data: the reading only serves to see what the scanner writes.

Test the "-" character and the keyboard

The codes of the copies have a hyphen, like 2026-E0267. A scanner set for a keyboard different from the computer's writes another character in its place, usually the apostrophe '. To test it a code with a hyphen is needed: the sample sheet of the labels has one.

1. Open Administration → Configuration → Print templates.
2. Open the Previews tab.
3. Open the Labels tab.
4. Press Sample sheet. The sheet opens in a new browser tab.
5. Press Ctrl+P to open the print window and print the sheet on plain paper, with the settings of the section Set the print window.
6. Go back to the Search by title, author or ISBN… field of Catalogue.
7. Read with the scanner the barcode of one of the printed labels.
8. Check that the code in the field is the same as the one written on the label, hyphen included.

If an apostrophe ' or another character appears in place of the hyphen, the keyboard declared to BiblioViva does not match that of the computer.

1. Open Administration → Configuration → Barcodes.
2. Choose in Computer keyboard the language of the keyboard of the computer the scanner is plugged into. In Italy it is "Italian".
3. Press Save and repeat the reading of the label's code.

BiblioViva accepts anyway the codes read with both keyboards, but it is better that the scanner too is set to the computer's keyboard. The scanner's manual describes the procedure, which depends on the model and usually involves reading programming barcodes.

Set the print window

The browser opens its own print window with Ctrl+P. The sizes of cards and labels are in millimetres and are valid only if the page is neither reduced nor enlarged.

1. Choose the printer and the A4 sheet.
2. Set the scale to 100 %. The browser calls it "Actual size" or "100"; do not choose "Fit to page" nor "Fit to printable area".
3. Set the margins to "None".
4. Switch off "Headers and footers", that is the date and the address the browser adds at the top and bottom.
5. Print.

[VERIFY: the exact names of the entries of the print window in Firefox, Chrome and Edge]

Print the test page of the cards

1. Open Administration → Configuration → Print templates.
2. Open the Previews tab.
3. Open the Cards tab.
4. Press Print test page. The page opens in a new tab.
5. Print with the settings of the section Set the print window.
6. Measure with the ruler the "10 cm ruler" mark printed on the page: it must measure 100 mm.
7. Measure one unit of the page, that is front and back side by side: with the supplied template it measures 171.2 × 54 mm, with the fold at 85.6 mm. [VERIFY: on the real test sheet]

The test sheet shows the empty units, with the cut and fold marks: the real cards are printed later, from the patrons page.

Print the calibration page of the labels

A sheet of adhesive labels has a fixed size: the calibration page draws every label with its outline, to compare with a real sheet.

1. Open Administration → Configuration → Print templates.
2. Open the Previews tab.
3. Open the Labels tab.
4. Choose in Adhesive stock the sheet the library will use. The proposed sheet has labels of 70 × 48 mm, 18 per sheet.
5. Press Print calibration page. The page opens in a new tab.
6. Print on plain paper with the settings of the section Set the print window.
7. Measure with the ruler the "10 cm ruler" mark printed on the page: it must measure 100 mm.
8. Lay the test sheet over a sheet of real labels, against the light or against a window.
9. Check that the printed outlines coincide with the labels.

If the outlines do not coincide, the sizes of the label sheet are not those of BiblioViva. The sizes are corrected in Administration → Configuration → Labels → Adhesive label sheets; the procedure to measure a sheet not provided is in the technical page Print templates: authoring guide.

Possible problems

• The scanner writes nothing: try another USB port and check that the field was clicked before reading. The scanner must be connected to the circulation desk computer.
• The scanner writes the code but BiblioViva does not accept it at the desk: the scanner must send the Enter key after the code, because the code fields accept it only with Enter. The scanner's manual explains how to enable the Enter suffix.
• The scanner writes wrong characters in place of the hyphen: see the section on the keyboard, above, and the page Common problems. The technical explanation is in the page Deployment notes (technical).
• The printed ruler measures less than 100 mm: the scale of the print window is not at 100 %.
• The printout has dates and addresses at the edges of the sheet: the browser's headers and footers are on.

Related pages

• Previous step: Connect the devices
• Next step: Backups
• Common problems