Athenaeum Light 7 - New Features at a Glance

Athenaeum Light 7 is a major release. Below is a quick list of many of the new features.

• Ground up rewrite
  • removal of legacy code
  • optimisation of many routines
  • The interface has been preserved, but it will 'feel' new
• New Engine
  • Based on FileMaker Pro 7 and designed for Windows 2000, XP and Mac OS X
  • Robust transactional write to disk - increases file reliability
  • Most version updates will be much faster and easier - simply replace a single file
  • better performance through efficient window management
  • Massively larger databases: up to 4,000 times larger than earlier versions
  • Each individual field can store up to 4 gigabytes of data
  • Catalogue a variety of media types
  • Administrators can open multiple Athenaeum windows. Each window can view different parts of Athenaeum (borrowers, catalogue, archive, etc) or provide multiple views of the same modules.
  • The SumWare Consulting B3921 bar code font is downloadable from directly within the application - no longer a separate download from the internet.
• New Account management
  • New flexible Account/Password model
  • Tighter control over accounts - different accounts see only what they need. You can allocate one of four accounts to your Athenaeum users:
    • admin - perform all Athenaeum tasks
    • issue - browse catalogue, issue and return catalogue items
    • entry - can enter and change catalogue data, but not issue nor return
    • guest - look but not touch
  • re-login to a different account at any time, without quitting the program
  • increased data security
  • increased password security - passwords are no longer stored in the file format
  • administrator can change all Athenaeum passwords quickly and easily
• Navigation
  • quick navigation buttons on administrator screens help you quickly navigate most frequented parts of Athenaeum (catalogue, circulation and borrower lists) without having to return to the main menu
• Catalogue
  • Every library item now has four customisable categories
  • Changing the bar code of an item does not 'break' the circulation nor history records for that item
  • Store various media with each item, such as a picture of the item; file (e.g. a pdf, graphic or other document); sound ; QuickTime movie or QuickTime VR (requires QuickTime for Windows - a free download or Mac OS X)
  • Users can optionally export a copy of the picture, file or QuickTime object to the local computer
  • Catalogue item types pop-up menu easily customised
  • catalogue lists show bar code of 'not for issue' items in red
  • Item Replacement cost more easily specified
  • New Reports: Statistics with break-down on any sub-set grouped by location, type, publisher, custom, custom2, author, author origin or supplier. Includes counts and totals of purchase amounts, depreciation amounts (to any specified date) and replacement amounts
  • Additional catalogue information now copied to the clipboard for spreadsheet analysis
  • easier access to reserve, supplier and publisher listings
  • archiving items now 'instant' rather than two step dispose and archive
  • publish location field included
  • catalogue items that are overdue show the word 'late' next to the issue detail
• Borrowers
  • Borrowers no longer restricted to 'rooms' or 'years' - you define the categories you want to use yourself - increases the utility for the thousands of businesses; churches and organisations currently using Athenaeum Light.
  • Create borrower lists grouped by either of these custom categories
  • create emails to lists of borrowers (requires your computer to be configured to use MAPI compliant mail program or Apple Mail for OS X)
  • authorise any borrower with a checkbox
  • borrower lists show bar code of 'not authorised' borrowers in red
  • store pictures of borrowers in Athenaeum Light and optionally print ID cards with bar code and picture
  • custom letters to borrowers can contain styled text (bold, italic, etc)
  • borrower list shows # current issues
  • sort borrower list buttons allow more quick sorts than earlier versions:
    • by number of current issues with a single click
    • by bar code ascending
    • by given name ascending and descending
    • by last name ascending and descending
    • by custom field 1 ascending and descending (formerly known only as 'year')
    • by custom field 2 ascending and descending (formerly known only as 'room')
    • you still have all of the custom sorts you previously had (Control-S
  • sort borr
• Circulation
  • quickly list catalogue items from circulation list
  • optionally condense summaries without page breaks
  • additional circulation reports by catalogue location and type
  • items that are overdue show 'late' in the circulation list
• Instant Web publishing with FileMaker Pro 7
  • Opening Athenaeum with FileMaker Pro 7.0v2 or higher and turning Instant Web Publishing on will allow 5 concurrent users to browse the Athenaeum catalogue using a web browser such as Internet Explorer 6 or Safari
  • Using FileMaker Server Advanced with Athenaeum will allow 100 concurrent web users to connect
  • Instant Web publishing allows guests to search the catalogue using either the traditional fast find or detail find methods
  • With data integrity and security in mind, the only functions allowed, at this stage, via IWP is searching
• Networking with FileMaker Pro 7
  • Hosting Athenaeum Light 7 with FileMaker Pro 7 will allow up to 5 concurrent FileMaker Pro users to use Athenaeum Light
  • faster FileMaker networking on your local network and via broad-band internet (dial-up is also a consideration if your data sets are small, i.e. not graphic/media rich)
  • Hosting Athenaeum Light 7 with FileMaker Server 7 allows up to 250 concurrent FileMaker Pro users to use Athenaeum Light