Adding a numbering pattern
To add new new pattern click the ‘New numbering pattern’ button.
Name: this is the name that will appear in the drop-down menu when creating a new serial subscription; make sure it is descriptive.
Description: this is to further describe the numbering pattern; this does not appear when creating a new subscription, it only displays in the numbering patterns table (see above).
Numbering formula: this is what is used to create the number for each issue. You can use placeholders for up to three variables {X}, {Y}, and {Z} (which can be defined below), as well as predetermined variables:
{Day} will be replaced by the date (two digits)
{Month} will be replaced by the month number (two digits)
{Year} will be replaced by the year (four digits)
{DayName} will be replaced by the name of the day of the week
Warning
Locale is ignored in the DayName variable. It will always be displayed in English. Use one of the X, Y, or Z variables in the table with the formatting ‘Name of day’ to have the day name in a language other than English.
{MonthName} will be replaced by the name of the month
Warning
Locale is ignored in the MonthName variable. It will always be displayed in English. Use one of the X, Y, or Z variables in the table with the formatting ‘Name of month’ to have the month name in a language other than English.
Version
The placeholders {Day}, {Month}, {Year}, {DayName}, and {MonthName} were added to Koha in version 24.05.
Along with the variables, you can enter any text you want to have appear in the issue number. You must also include any spaces you want to see in the issue numbers. The text will stay the same for each issue and the variables will vary.
Warning
The variables X, Y and Z must be in capital letters and between curly brackets.
Examples
Vol. {X} No {Y}
Issue {X} ({Year}-{Month}-{Day})
{X} {Y}
Display order: this is the display order in the drop-down menu when creating a new subscription (you may want to put the most used frequencies at the top and the less frequent at the bottom; the top-most position is 0). Several frequencies can have the same display order value. If this is the case, they will appear in the order they were created.
In the table, you need to enter the parameters for each variable.
Label: this is simply a name for the variable, it is not used anywhere else, but it helps identify what the variable is supposed to be.
Add: how many numbers or units are added to the variable.
Each: the numbers or units added to the variable are added each how many issues.
Set back to: this is used for cyclic numbering; enter the starting number.
When more than: this is used for cyclic numbering; enter the last number.
Tip
When filling out these four parameter (‘add’, ‘each’, ‘set back to’ and ‘when more than’), work column by column and read it as a sentence: “Add 1 Every 1 issue, set back to 1 when greater than 10”.
Formatting: this is used if, instead of numbers, you want words to appear in your issue number. You can choose
Name of day (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc.)
Name of day (abbreviated) (Mon, Tue, Wed, etc.)
Name of month (January, February, March, etc.)
Name of month (abbreviated) (Jan, Feb, Mar, etc.)
Name of season (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter)
Name of season (abbreviated) (Spr, Sum, Fal, Win)
Warning
When filling out the table, you must always use numbers, even to represent names of days, months or seasons. Here are the equivalent for each
Days
Sunday
0
Monday
1
Tuesday
2
Wednesday
3
Thursday
4
Friday
5
Saturday
6
Months
January
0
February
1
March
2
April
3
May
4
June
5
July
6
August
7
September
8
October
9
November
10
December
11
Seasons
Spring
0
Summer
1
Fall
2
Winter
3
Before you save your numbering pattern, you can test it to make sure it behaves as you intend.
Frequency: choose a frequency that fits with your numbering pattern.
First issue publication date: choose a date where your test will start.
Subscription length: enter a number of issues, weeks or months to test your numbering pattern; if the numbering pattern is cyclic, it is recommended to try at least two cycles to see the change in cycles and make sure it behaves correctly.
Locale: if using names of days, months or season, you can choose the language in which these names will be displayed.
Note
Locale doesn’t currently work well with season names.
Next enter the parameters for your variables.
Begins with: enter the first value for each variable, these should be the values of the issue entered in ‘First issue publication date’ above.
Inner counter: enter how many issues have already passed in the cycle, so that Koha can calculate when to cycle back.
Click ‘Test pattern’ to see the results. If the result is what you expected, you can save your numbering pattern. If the results does not match your expectations, go back and tweak the parameters and test again.
Examples
Month and year for monthly serials
Numbering formula: {X} {Y}
X
Y
Z
Label
Month
Year
Add
1
1
Every
1
12
Set back to
0
0
When more than
11
99999
Formatting
Name of month
Volume and number for monthly serials
Numbering formula: Vol.{X} No.{Y}
X
Y
Z
Label
Volume
Number
Add
1
1
Every
12
1
Set back to
0
1
When more than
99999
12
Formatting
Season and year for quarterly serials
Numbering formula: {X} {Y}
X
Y
Z
Label
Season
Year
Add
1
1
Every
1
4
Set back to
0
0
When more than
3
99999
Formatting
Name of season
Volume and number for weekly serials
Numbering formula: Vol.{X} No.{Y}
X
Y
Z
Label
Volume
Number
Add
1
1
Every
52
1
Set back to
0
1
When more than
99999
52
Formatting