Note: These comments were written in reference to VuFind® 1.0RC1 and Horizon 7.3.4 but should apply to other versions of both packages as well.

Horizon provides two methods for exporting MARC records: either from the Horizon client itself or using a command line utility. Both methods make use of an export target that needs to be set up before exporting can take place. To verify that appropriate export targets exist, launch the Horizon client and navigate to Cataloging → Export → Batch Bib Export, where there may already be targets listed that should be examined to see if they're suitable for creating MARC records that can be imported into VuFind®. You may decide it's easier just to create new export targets if the existing ones are complex or should not be edited.

To create an export target that doesn't include holdings data, navigate to Batch Bib Export and in the “Code Lookup: Export Target” dialog box, choose “Add”, which will open a new “Edit: Export Target” dialog box. In the “Target” field enter an arbitrary name such “noitem” and then a description such as “Don't export item information”. All remaining fields may be left blank; click “Close” and answer “Yes” to save the new target.

Now that an export target has been created, the actual MARC records can be exported using either the Horizon client or from the command line as mentioned earlier. To export from the Horizon client, navigate to Cataloging → Export → Batch Bib Export and choose the export target you want to use. A dialog box for entering a SQL statement appears. An example statement might be “select bib# from bib_control where bib# >= 1000 and bib# < 2000”. Click OK and choose where the export file should be saved.

Exporting MARC records from the command line requires a utility called MarcOut.exe, available from SirsiDynix at the Client Care website (login required). Make sure to download the one that matches your version of Horizon. A list of switches for the utility is available by typing “marcout /?” on the command line. An example for specifying the mandatory export target as well as a range of bib#s might be:

marcout /sDatabaseServer /uDatabaseUser /pDatabasePassword /dDatabaseName /mexported.mrc /b1000 /e1999 /xnoitem /y

When checking item status, VuFind® queries your Horizon database's item table using the bib#s associated with the imported marc records. That means you have to make sure that the MARC records you import have a tag somewhere containing the bib#. If your bibliographic records have no MARC tag containing the bib#, a new tag can be created during the export process by using MarcOut's “/q” switch. For example, to place the bib# in the 999a tag, append “/q999” to your MarcOut command line. Regardless of whether you already have the bib# in a MARC tag or need to create it during the export process, you have to make sure that the tag containing the bib# is correct in VuFind®'s import/marc.properties file before importing. In the example of using the 999a tag, it would require changing the line “id = 001, first” to “id = 999a”.

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