Alma Acquisitions Resource Guide

Cloud Apps in Alma

Cloud apps adds features beyond the core of Alma functionality, and can provide shortcuts and efficiencies for workflows inside Alma. Once enabled by FLVC or your General Systems Administrator, cloud apps can be searched and installed by individual Alma users at your institution. Depending on Alma results pages, cloud apps can add additional functionality once information is inputted. 

 

Activating Cloud Apps in Alma

1. Select the Cloud App Center icon in the top navigation bar. 
2. In Cloud App Center > Available Apps tab, scroll to find and select the app you would like to activate. 
3. Click "Activate" 
   
4. The app will now be accessible in the Activated Apps tab of the Cloud App Center. 

 

Acquisitions Cloud Apps

 

Switch PO Line Type

 

The Switch PO-Line type app allows you to change a POL Physical to Electronic or Electronic to Physical. It can be useful for correcting manual errors created during PO line creation. If successful, the app will cancel the original PO line, and create a new PO line with the correct PO line type. It will also add a note to the original PO line indicating that the PO line has been cancelled and to refer to the newly created PO line.

However, the app does have limitations:

• The app will only work on PO lines not yet sent to the vendor. The app returns an error message when used on a POL of another status (Sent, Waiting for Invoice, Waiting for manual renewal or Closed). If you would like to use this app to clean up PO lines for electronic resources that migrated as physical subscription PO lines, you will first have to close and reopen the PO line so it will be in status "in Review". 
• If the original PO line has interested users, they will be notified of the cancellation of the PO line. Therefore, it's recommended to uncheck the "Notify upon cancellation" box of the PO line before switching type via cloud app. When the new PO line is created with the correct PO line type, the interested user is transferred from the original PO line and can be notified upon activation of the electronic resource. 
• This app creates an inactive electronic portfolio along with the correct format PO line. If this portfolio is not desired, you will have to find the correct resource to associate the PO line, and delete the inactive portfolio. 

 

How to use the Switch PO Line Type app

1.  Search for your PO line with "Order Lines" search. Click on Cloud App Center icon > Switch PO-Line type under "Suggested Apps (for this page)"
2. On "Physical PO line" field, select the PO line from your search > add comments if needed > Transform to Electronic. 
3. If successful, you will see the following messages:    
   
4. The original order will be cancelled, with a note in the Notes tab indicating that it has been replaced by the new PO line. 
5. The new PO line will have an inactive electronic portfolio (which might need to be deleted). 

 

Receive New Serial Items

The Receive New Serial Items cloud app allows users with Receiving Operator roles to search for a PO line by PO line number, MMSID or title to receive new issues of print serials without going to the receiving workbench in Acquisitions. There are also options to specify item enumeration and chronology details, recall information from the last issue received, determine the correct holding and holdings summaries to update, as well as apply barcodes. 

Some limitations of this app:

• If your institution is not using Acquisitions in Alma (creating orders), then this app will not be useful. 
• If you use serial prediction patterns in your holding record, do not receive using this app. Instead, receive the traditional way- from Acquisitions > Receiving and Invoicing > Receive > Continuous tab. This is because the app will not present you with a list of your awaiting arrival predicted items, but instead prompt you to create and receive a new issue. 
• If there are multiple holdings at the same library and location, the app does not elaborate on holding ID number to ensure that you are selecting the correct holding to add your received item to. 

How to use the Receive New Serial Items app

1. Search for your order line, click on the Cloud App Center icon, and click on the Receive New Serial Items suggested App. 
2. Click "Fill item template" under Last item to check if you've received an issue before. If you have received issues, the Item Data fields will populated with what was last entered, if you haven't; the fields will remain blank. Edit the Enumeration, Chronology and description Information accordingly. In "Location #1" section, select your holding, item policy of the serial, and click "provide barcodes" if you would like to assign a barcode to the received issue > Receive new items.