Appendix 1- RefTracker fields for data collection

Request forms can utilise a wide variety of data fields. The information in this Appendix is designed to help System administrators choose which field should be used when they are designing a Request form, and for reference staff users to understand what the standard fields are used for.

Your System Administrator is responsible for determining which of these fields appear in each Request form, in what order, and with what descriptive label, so there may be some fields in your Request forms with names not shown on this page.

Some fields can hold up to 2 Million characters, however, all the data you store in these fields will have to be passed across the Internet for display, so be aware that very long fields will create very long URL strings and that the resulting screen will take some time to display. Attachments should be used if you need to handle very large amounts of data.

Data fields can be single line text entry boxes, multi-line text entry fields, and code tables. Your System administrator uses the Data dictionary to manage the creation and naming of data boxes and areas, and Code tables to manage the code table drop down boxes. Both data fields and code tables can be renamed and they can be disabled (no longer able to be used in your RefTracker system).

RefTracker provides many user defined fields, but many RefTracker provided fields have special meanings and so it is important that they are consistently used for the purpose specified here. However, you can apply fields to other purposes, but any special functions associated with that field must be taken into account when deciding to adapt a field to another purpose.

No matter what you use a field for, it must be used consistently so that the integrity of the information in these fields is retained, and appropriate statistics can be gathered. For this reason user defined data boxes areas and code tables must be appropriately named and enabled before they can be used.

Use the Details tab of the Summary screen to see all of the information that has been collected about a question at any specific point in time – in other words, to see all of the data fields that have data recorded in them for that question. The Details tab shows values stored for data fields used in that question, using the labels provided by the Request form used to enter the question. It also shows the question data automatically maintained by RefTracker.

There are six types of data fields associated with a question:

• Fields relating to the client who asked the question (these fields are displayed in the Client data section of the Details tab). These fields can be used in Request forms (except for Parent/Child questions which are system maintained).
• Fields relating to the question that has been asked (these fields are displayed in the Question data section of the Details tab). These fields can be used in Request forms.
• Bibliographic information related to the question (these fields are displayed in the Bibliographic data section of the Details screen). These fields can be used in Request forms.
• Request form Formatting elements that appear on Request forms, but do not allow data to be collected. These formatting elements are for use in designing Request forms only.
• Fields relating to the response that has been provided (these fields are displayed in the Response data section of the Details tab. Only the Answer itself can ever be included in the design of a Request form, as no other response data can exist at the time of entering the question.)
• ILL information related to the question (these fields are displayed in the ILL data section of the Details screen). Only some of the ILL data fields can be included in the design of Request forms because others, such as the dates related to progression through the ILL answering process are not relevant to forms.

The following provides a summary of the use of each field in RefTracker. The summaries are arranged by type as the types determine where the data will be displayed in the Details tab, and the data that will appear close by in the staff emails. System administrators need to be very careful when adapting ILL fields to other uses, that any special characteristics of the field are taken into account:

Max # chars = Maximum number of characters allowed in the field.

Client data fields:

Field name	Max # chars	Used to collect or display	Special characteristics
Address line 1	2000 single line	The first line of the client’s street address.
Address line 2	2000 single line	The second line of the client’s street address.
City	50 single line	The City part of this client’s address.
Client borrower #	50 single line	The client’s library borrower number.	(Later, this may be used by RefTracker for client authentication).
Client email	2000 single line	The client’s email address.	Used by RefTracker to email answers and queries to the client who asked this question. This field is validated and must be a valid email address, or more than one separated by a semicolon. The minimum valid email address is a@a.aa
Client fax #	50 single line	The fax number to which a client may require answer information sent.	Will be displayed to the staff member when response by fax is required. Note that client name must also be collected when collecting client fax #.
Client library status	system	Records whether the person asking this question is a member of the library or not (Yes or No – usually for statistical or service level rights purposes). Often used in conjunction with the Client borrower number field.
Client location	50 code table	Client location is the primary indicator of where a client is located. It indicates their physical location (and so their time zone) and may also indicate an organisational structure within that location, such as Department. Client locations are set up and managed using the Locations function in the System menu.	Using the Locations function, Client locations can be related to Receipt locations so that questions from specific client locations can be automatically accepted into the library location responsible for handling questions from that client location.When a client enters a question, the client interface will presume the default Client location unless a different client location has been specified in the forms parameter line. Client location can also be set by using the Client location field in Request forms. When a staff member enters a question the Client location is only recorded if it is included in the design of the Request form.
Client mobile #	50 single line	The mobile/cell phone number at which a client can be contacted.	This information will be quoted to the staff member whenever the phone contact method has been selected with the opportunity to send an SMS message to this phone via email (if your library has an email to SMS service like Altarama’s Reference by SMS).
Client name	200 single line	The primary client name field. If you only need one client name field use this one. Mandatory for collection when contact method is phone, fax, mail, or in person.	This information will be quoted to the staff member whenever correspondence with the client is required. Included in the Client name search.
Client name 2	200 single line	The client’s second name – use if name needs to be separated into first and second name.	This information will be quoted to the staff member whenever correspondence with the client is required. Included in the client name search.
Client phone #	50 single line	The phone number at which a client can be contacted.	This information will be quoted to the staff member whenever the phone contact method has been selected. Note that Client name must also be collected whenever you collect Client phone #.
Client zip/post code	50 single line	The client’s postal code part of their address.
Country	50 code table	The Country part of the client’s street address, as selected from the values provided by the Country code table. This code table is a standard list used by web enabled applications.	The values in this code table are International standards and so they cannot be deleted, but you can disable entries to create a shorter list. If you need new entries like “Asia” and “Africa” it might be better to create a code table specifically to meet your need using a user defined code table.
Department/Group	50 code table	Used to collect the Department, Practice group, or any other grouping to which the client belongs.
I can be contacted via Teams	50 code table	Used to collect the fact that a client uses Teams so that a hyperlink that can start a Teams chat with this client can be started from within RefTracker.	Client_email must also be collected to create this link and validation will ensure that it is collected.
IM name	100 single line	The Instant messaging network membership name or email address (as appropriate to the IM type/network selected) for this client.	When this field is used in a RefTracker template (e.g. for an email) it is formatted as “<IM network name> – <IM name>” e.g. MSN – maryb@amb.com, or AOL – maryb0303, so that in templates there is no need to also include the IM type field. An IM type must always have been specified for the information in this field to be stored. When displayed in the Answer screen this information is hyperlinked so that Instant Messages can be sent directly to the client using that link.
IM Type	system Code table	The Instant Messaging network to be used as selected from the entries in the Instant Messaging code table.	In request forms, the IM network selected or pre-set in this field, is only recorded if a corresponding IM name is provided in the same Request form.
Language	System Code table	Used to automatically save the client’s preferred language, as determined from the Locale information saved from their browser, matched to the languages available in your RefTracker system.  If there is no match your default language as defined in the Language code table, will be used.  The Language value saved for each question only displays in the Details tab if more than one language is enabled in your RefTracker system, and this field is enabled in the Data dictionary (it is disabled by default).	This information is automatically saved for every question submitted through the RefTracker client interface. This field cannot be included in RefTracker forms, and the fact that it has been collected cannot ever been seen by the client.
Locale	System Code table	Used to automatically save the client’s preferred (as set by their browser) date format and language so that this can be used in further correspondence with them.  The Locale value saved for each question only displays in the Details tab if this field is enabled in the Data dictionary (it is disabled by default).	This information is automatically saved for every question submitted through the RefTracker client interface.  This field cannot be included in RefTracker forms, and the fact that it has been collected cannot ever been seen by the client.
Meeting room link	2000 single line	Used to collect the client’s meeting room URL (e.g. Teams, Zoom, etc.) to facilitate contact with the client using their preferred meeting room product.	This link is hyperlinked in RefTracker so that a meeting can be started with this client my just clicking the link.  The meeting product will open in Chat mode – ideal for asking if they are ready for a desktop sharing session, or getting a quick clarification.  If the client does not provide a link but rather a comment such as “I prefer to use Zoom” this will show in their client contact details but will not be hyperlinked so it is clearly just a note rather than a link.
Personal title	50 Code table	Used to collect the client’s title e.g. Mr, Mrs, Dr, Professor using selections from the Personal title code table.
Region	200 single line	Used to collect the Region part of a client’s street address, or a description of the Organisation, Department or group that they belong to.
Response method	System Code table	The client chooses the preferred method for the library to correspond with them using this field which provide a drop down box controlled by the Response method code table.	The values for this Response method code table are set by RefTracker because the system automatically sends emails when email contact is selected, but will show the staff member appropriate contact information if any other contact method has been selected. It is mandatory that every request form includes this field but it can be a hidden field.
Remove contact details after close	Binary (tick box)	Insert this field anywhere in any request form (to control the position it appears in your Request forms, or to add a note, or different label). However, if parameter 6.12 is set to “Requester specified” and you have not inserted this field in the Request form being used, the field will be automatically added at display time (in order to meet the requirement for mandatory collection of this information when parameter 6.12 is set to “Requester specified”). When you insert this field in your form we recommend that you add information about what the impact of the client’s selection in this field means.
Skypename	200 single line	Used to create a hyperlink in the client contact details that can be used to bring up Skype for outgoing communication with the client.
SMS gateway	system Code table	The Email to SMS service to be used, as selected from the drop down box created by the SMS gateway code table.  The client’s mobile number will be used to send emails to this service from RefTracker.
State	50 Code table	Used to collect the State part of the client’s street address by selecting a value from the drop down box created by the State code table.
user defined code tables	50 Code table	10 Code tables that can be appropriately named and used by your library for any other client related information that you want to collect via drop down boxes.
user defined text boxes	200 single line	5 Single line data entry fields that can be appropriately named and used by your library for any other client related information that you want to collect via a single line text entry field.
user defined text areas	2 Million multi line	5 Multi-line line data entry fields that can be appropriately named and used by your library for any other client related information that you want to collect via a single line text entry field.

Question data fields:

Field name	Max # chars	Used to collect or display	Special characteristics
Age/Group	50 Code table	This field is used to gather information about the type of person to whom the answer should be pitched, or the level at which a required item should be aimed. In public libraries this field is likely to be used to obtain information about the educational level to which the response should be pitched. Note that this has been set as a question data field, as it is an attribute of the response.  If you are looking for a field that describes the Age group of the requester try using the Department/Group field in the Client table as that is an attribute of the client.
Browser name	system	The type of Browser used to submit this question (as determined from the Browser user agent and www.useragenthttp://www.useragentstring.com) when questions are submitted through the client interface. Browser type might be IE (Internet Explorer), Edge, Chrome, etc. This information can be helpful in diagnosing questions that require IT assistance e.g. Database access problems.	This information is automatically saved for every question submitted through the RefTracker client interface.  This field cannot be included in RefTracker forms, and the fact that it has been collected cannot ever been seen by the client.You can disable this field in the Data dictionary if you do not want this data collected.
Browser version	system	The Browser version number used to submit this question (as determined by a Microsoft function that analyses the Browser user agent field) when questions are submitted through the client interface. A version number might be 6.2 for example. This information can be helpful in diagnosing questions that require IT assistance e.g. Database access problems.	This information is automatically saved for every question submitted through the RefTracker client interface.  This field cannot be included in RefTracker forms, and the fact that it has been collected cannot ever been seen by the client.You can disable this field in the Data dictionary if you do not want this data collected.
Browser platform	system	The operating system being used to run the Browser used to submit this question (as determined by a Microsoft function that analyses the Browser user agent field automatically collected when questions are submitted through the client interface). A Browser platform might be Windows/XP or Windows/98 for example. This information can be helpful in diagnosing questions that require IT assistance e.g. Database access problems.	This information is automatically saved for every question submitted through the RefTracker client interface.  This field cannot be included in RefTracker forms, and the fact that it has been collected cannot ever been seen by the client.You can disable this field in the Data dictionary if you do not want this data collected.
Browser user agent	system	Data about the browser in use when a question is submitted through a client interface form.  This information is automatically collected from the end user’s browser and referred to http://www.useragentstring.com/ to obtain further details about the environment being used by the client.You can test the information being collected from any device by bringing up the staff interface and going to System>Utilities>Diagnostic tools>Browser details.	This information is automatically saved for every question submitted through the RefTracker client interface.  This field cannot be included in RefTracker forms, and the fact that it has been collected cannot ever been seen by the client.You can disable this field in the Data dictionary if you do not want this data collected.
bcc:All	2000 characters	The email address/es that should be Blind copied on all correspondence in relation to this request.	Must be a validly formatted email address, or more than one email address separated by a semicolon. Cannot be used for any other purpose.
bcc:Answer	2000 characters	The email address/es that should be Blind copied on the response email ONLY. Good for ensuring that other staff are copied on responses as soon as they go out, without letting the client know about the other staff email addresses.	Must be a validly formatted email address, or more than one email address separated by a semicolon. Cannot be used for any other purpose.
bcc:Conf/Answ	2000 characters	The email address/es that the Confirmation email and Response emails ONLY will be Blind copied to (only the answer – intervening correspondence like Query to client will not go to this address/es).	Must be a validly formatted email address, or more than one email address separated by a semicolon. Cannot be used for any other purpose.
cc:All	2000 characters	The email address/es that should be copied on all correspondence in relation to this request. This field is used to save all email address/es in the cc: field of imported emails and will ensure that they are copied on all correspondence as they would be for emails in response to that email.	Must be a validly formatted email address, or more than one email address separated by a semicolon. Cannot be used for any other purpose.
cc:Answer	2000 characters	The email address/es that should be copied on the response email ONLY.	Must be a validly formatted email address, or more than one email address separated by a semicolon. Cannot be used for any other purpose.
cc:Conf/Answ	2000 characters	The email address/es that the Answer will be copied to (only the answer – intervening correspondence like Query to client will not go to this address/es).	Must be a validly formatted email address, or more than one email address separated by a semicolon. Cannot be used for any other purpose.
Client note	2 Million multi line	This field is used to allow clients to submit comments over and above those allowed for by other fields in a Request form.	Note that information in this field can be seen by the client if they use the client interface “Change question” function, so it is vital that this field is not used for internal comments.
Client reference #	20 single line	Allows any reference number that clients want associated with their question, to be recorded e.g. a business submitting a question might quote a reference number, or a question referred on to you by your IT department might already have an IT department call number. Legal libraries use this field for Matter number or Billing number.	Any information included in this field will be quoted in the subject line of all emails sent to the client about this question, so that it will be easy for them to recognise the question. Some high volume libraries have been known to use this field to enter a subject for the question. The subject entered here will then appear in the subject line of all emails sent to the client about this question, making it easier for client’s with little time, or client’s who have submitted large numbers of questions to the library, to be able to quickly recognise which question is being referred to. A column containing any data recorded in this field appears in the “View all my questions” client interface screen, as this is information important to end users.  The column heading will use the name that you have applied to this field in the Data dictionary.
Cost centre	50 Code table	This field is used to record the Cost centres (comma separated) that relate to this request.   It would normally contain the default (or usual) Cost center/s for this work for this client.  Make this field Mandatory if at least one Cost centre must be recorded for each request where this field is included in the Request form. The field is automatically cleaned of trailing punctuation and spaces, as commas and spaces should only appear between relevant cost centre codes.	Cost centres entered in this field will be presented in the Cost centre column in the “Record costs (and payments)” screen, for easy selection of the relevant Cost centre for each cost. If recording of a Cost centre for every cost is required, then you should make the Cost centre field in the System>Journal table Mandatory.
Currency	50 Code table	This field can be used to indicate the age of the material that the client is looking for, for example you might provide the following options in the Currency code table associated with this field: most recent references, only references less than one year old, only reference less than 2 years old, oldest references available.
Device type	Phone Desktop	The type of device that the client is using to access the RefTracker form is automatically detected and recorded when a form is completed by the client. This information can be helpful in diagnosing access issues.	This information is automatically saved for every question submitted through the RefTracker client interface.  This field cannot be included in RefTracker forms, and the fact that it has been collected cannot ever been seen by the client.
Email Subject	1000 characters	When a question is created from an imported email, the Subject line from that email is placed in this field.  If the question was not created by email importing this field will be blank.  The most common use for this field is in the definition of the Subject line for emails sent in response to an imported email e.g.  the Subject field for refm500emailing is “Response – {question_subject}”.	According to the standard, the maximum length of an email Subject line is 1000 characters.  This field can be inserted in Request forms to make the Email Subject line highly visible, but it should not be used for any other purpose than receiving the Email Subject via the email importing process.  Note that some email system only accept a maximum 78 characters of a subject so emails sent by RefTracker will only use, at most, the first 78 characters of this field.
Format	50 Code table	This field can be used to indicate the format of response material that would be most helpful to the client, or it can be used to indicate that the client is only interested in specific format materials as a response. A value is selected from the drop down box created by the Format code table.i
IP Address	system	The IP address from where the client submitted this question (or for questions recorded by staff, the IP address of the computer from which the symptoms being reported in the question being logged, were experienced). This information can be helpful in diagnosing questions that require IT assistance e.g. Database access problems.	This information is automatically saved for every question submitted through the RefTracker client interface.  This field cannot be included in RefTracker forms, and the fact that it has been collected cannot ever been seen by the client.You can disable this field in the Data dictionary if you do not want this data collected.
Item Summary	2 Million multi line	This field saves the Item summary information for a question, as defined by the Item summary definition in the Request form used to save this question (see the Edit options mode, Other options tab for the definition of how the data in this field is constructed).  This field will always display italicised.	Cannot be used for any other purpose
Last useful date	system	The date after which this information will be of no use to the client. Usually used to store the date negotiated with the client for provision of a response.	Parameter 2.12 controls how this field can be used to determine the date by which an answer should be provided. When Last useful date is used in a request form, the form will display with the Objective response date and  time showing in this field.  Form user’s only need to change this value if they need the response at an earlier time.  If Last useful date is optional, a Last useful date value will only be recorded if the form user changes this value. However if Last useful date is Required (on open), the value in it will always be recorded, even if the client does not change the suggested (Objective response) date (because being Mandatory means that the client has accepted this Last useful date).  Last useful date cannot be before the current date and time. If a request is saved with its Target date set according to the Objective response date and a Last useful date is entered at some later time (and parameter 2.12 is set to last useful date , the system will automatically change to using the last useful date that has been entered.
Other imported data	system	Used to store information about the source of this question, given that it has been imported using a process like bulk question load or RefTracker to RefTracker question transfer. This field also holds data that could not be specifically mapped to any other field by the question loading process.	Cannot be used for any other purpose.
Places already looked	2 Million multi line	This field is provided so that clients and staff submitting questions can indicate the research that they have already done, so that it is not duplicated.
Priority	50 Code table	This field should be used to indicate the level of urgency with which this question should be handled according to a selection from the Priority code table. For example, the values set in this code table might be: low, normal, high, extreme.	The Priority code table associates an image with each of these priority levels (Normal is usually blank so that images only appear if the priority level is other than Normal). The image is displayed wherever the question Received date is displayed, such as in searches of the work database like the Open questions screen, in order to serve as a visual reminder of the urgency of this question. It is also displayed wherever the priority level is shown such as in the Details screen.
Privacy Acceptance	Binary field (tick box) using a gencode	A special field for easily inserting a tick box for end users to indicate their agreement to privacy conditions or terms of use. The Label you provide for this field becomes the instructions next to the tick box, and the note provides an opportunity for you to provide a link out to your privacy policy or terms of use document.	When inserted in a request form this field appears as a tick box with the Label to the right of it and the Note below it. It is usually inserted as a Mandatory field so that the user must tick it to be able to submit their request. Use a code table in preference to this function if you need a more sophisticated agreement function.
Question	2 Million multi line	The text of the question to be answered, and the text by which this question will be identified in screen like the Open questions screen.	It is mandatory that every request form includes this field. This field is the only field that, by default, allows clients to submit HTML formatted information.  Any text provided in this field is encoded to ensure that any HTML included in it can never by executed.
Question State	System field	This field is used to indicate whether the record is currently on hold. If not on hold it is marked as active. Use this field in Data extract and the Search screens to determine if a request is currently on hold.	Value values are On hold” and “Active”
Rating	50 Code table	This field is used to indicate the level of satisfaction that your clients are attributing to your service via a drop down box controlled by the Rating code table. It is usually used in the comments/suggestions input form, or other forms requiring an evaluation e.g. a survey question.
Reason for request	50 Code table	This field is used to indicate why people are using your library using the values in the Reason code table. In public libraries, it might simply be: work related, hobby related, education related, etc., but in Special libraries it may be used to indicate the type of work being undertaken by the client e.g. research work, presentation, report, case work. Similarly for Academic libraries, the types of work might be: assignment, thesis, research work, class preparation, etc.
Receipt location	50 Code table	This field is used to indicate the library location at which the question was first accepted, and is used for statistical purposes. The values for this field are controlled by the Locations function in the System menu.	Receipt Location is automatically created and recorded by RefTracker on receipt of the question. When a client enters a question, the client interface uses the default Client location as set in the System/Locations function, if a Client location has not already been set in that client session. Client location can also be set by using the Client location field in Request forms. The Locations function determines a relationship between client location and staff locations and the question will be receipted into the staff location determined by that relationship. If there is only one Client location defined in the Locations function, the system is said to have the client location function configured out, and in that scenario, if Staff location is built into the form, Receipt location will be set to that Staff location (this is so that requests can be directed to appropriate staff teams even when client locations is not important to your organisation). When a staff member enters a question the receipt location will be the library location of that staff member unless they specifically select another Staff location in the receipt section of the New screen.
Received via	50 Code table	This field is used to indicate how the question arrived at your library e.g. by phone, or email, or from your web pages.
Referring URL	2000 single line	The URL of the web page that the client was using when they clicked the link to the RefTracker form used to enter this request. It can be used to see what the client was looking at when they decided to place this request.  If the form was brought up from a bookmark, or from a link in a RefTracker email, or any other scenario where the URL of a RefTracker client interface page was not embedded in a web page outside of the RefTracker client interface, no value will be recorded for this field.	This information is automatically saved for every question submitted through the RefTracker client interface, but only if the URL of a RefTracker client interface page was embedded in a web page outside of the RefTracker client interface.  This field cannot be included in RefTracker forms, and the fact that it has been collected cannot ever been seen by the client.
Request group	50 Code table	This field is used to obtain statistics about broad groups of requests that come into your organisation. Request types are associated with request groups in a two tier structure so that, for example, the Reference group might total the statistics for all reference related question such as Architecture and Science questions.
Request type	50 Code table	This field is used to indicate the type of request, e.g. Architecture, Science or New book, so that statistics can be gathered about the types of request your organisation handles. Every question must have a request type. Question can be allocated according to their request type, so its an important attribute.
Response level	50 Code table	This field is used to indicate the amount and type of work that clients need, or are entitled to, from their librarian by using values for the Response level code table. Public libraries might use this field for values such as: simple fact, short response, researched response; whereas Special libraries might select values that reflect the corporate level of the client e.g. Staff, Manager, Director, External. Academic libraries might select values that reflect academic standing e.g. Undergraduate, Postgraduate, Master, Doctoral, Staff, Professor, Chancellor.
Staff location	System code table	This field is used to allow the staff location into which this question will arrive to be selected, or pre-set when hidden.	The values presented in this field are controlled by the Systems/Location function. If you have set up service location in this table then you should be including Client location in your form and that will result in the staff location being automatically set correctly.
Staff note	2 Million multi line	This field is used to allow staff to submit comments over and above those allowed for by other fields in a Request form. For example this would be the appropriate field to be used for collection development comments resulting from this question.	This field can never be seen by the client, and is not available for use in Request forms.
Subject line	2000 characters	If this field is included in the Request forms used to import an email, the Subject line of the email will be inserted into this field.  So it is desirable to include the “Subject line” field in all Request forms use for new question email importing.You can also use this field for a “Short summary” of the request.  Wherever the question is summarised, such as in the OPen questions screen or at the top of the Question answering screens, any data in the Subject line field will appear on a new line and bolded, above the Question text field data.	The primary use of this field is to allow the Subject line of the imported email, to be included in the Subject line of correspondence about that email.   To do that the {question_Subject} field has to be included in the Subject line of the appropriate email templates in the RefTracker Email templates code table.
Transcript no	system	This field is used to store the transcript reference number when a question has been referred from an online reference system such as Altarama’s RefChatter, to RefTracker.	This is the question_transcript_no component of the transcript URL for that online reference service as defined for that online reference service in the Received via code table (which means that all URL’s passing information from an online reference system to RefTracker should include the appropriate “Received via” value for that online reference system in the URL string). Therefore this field should not be used for any other purpose than for interfacing online reference systems.
Transcript site	50 system	This field records the name of the online reference service from which this question originated, if it originated from a virtual service . .	This is the question_transcript_site component of the transcript URL for that online reference service as defined for that online reference service in the Received via code table.This field should not be used for any other purpose than for interfacing online reference systems.
Transcript URL	1000 characters system	This is the URL or domain of the online reference service where the transcript has come from.	This is the question_transcript_url component of the transcript URL for that online reference service as defined for that online reference service in the Received via code table.This field should not be used for any other purpose than for interfacing online reference systems.
Use for information	2 Million multi line	This field is provided so that clients and staff submitting questions can provide a textual description of how the information will be used. Often such a textual description elicits much more useful information that either the Reason for request, or Level of response drop down box options can do.
user defined code tables	50 Code tables	50 Code tables that can be appropriately named and used by your library for any other question related information that you want to collect via drop down boxes.
user defined text boxes	2000 single line	20 Single line data entry fields that can be appropriately named and used by your library for any other question related information that you want to collect via a single line text entry field.
user defined text areas	2 Million Multi line	20 multi line data entry fields that can be appropriately named and used by your library for any other question related information that you want to collect via a multi line text entry field.
user defined date fields	dd/mm/yyyy or mm/dd/yyyy according to the user’s browser preferred date format	10 date fields that can be appropriately named and used by your library for any other question related information that you need collected in date format.	Can store any date back to 1 January 1900.

Bibliographic data fields:

Field name	Max # chars	Used to collect or display	Special characteristics
Actual price	8 numerics including a decimal point if applicable	Actual price for the item.
Author	2000 single line	The author of an item being requested.	Included in summary of the item at the top of each Question answering screen.
Article title	2 Million multi line	The title of a journal being requested.	Included in summary of the item at the top of each Question answering screen.Also included in Search screen results.
Bib Comment	2 Million multi line	Any additional information that supplements the data collected in other bibliographic fields.
Bibliographic level	50 Code table	The value in this field is chosen from the Bibliographic level code table which contains the standard MARC bibliographic levels of: monograph and serial. The purpose of this field is to allow bibliographic information in RefTracker to be converted to MARC format.
Bibliographic type	50 Code table	The value in this field is chosen from the Bibliographic type code table which contains the standard MARC bibliographic types. The purpose of this field is to allow bibliographic information in RefTracker to be converted to MARC format.
Call #	200 single line	The call number of an item being requested.
Chapter	200 single line	The chapter relevant to an item being requested.
Copies actual	9 digits	Actual number of copies provided to the client.
Copies requested	9 digits	Number of copies requested by the client.
Copyright compliance	50 code table	Whether the client has agreed to copyright conditions (with options available determined by the Copyright compliance code table).
Date of Publication	200 single line	The date of publication of an item being requested.
Edition	200 single line	Edition of an item being requested.
Estimated price	8 numerics including a decimal point if applicable	Estimated price for the item or maximum price that the client is prepared to pay.
ISBN/ISSN	200 single line	The ISBN or ISSN of an item being requested.
Issue date/number	200 single line	The issue date or issue number of a journal being requested.	Included in summary of the item at the top of each Question answering screen.
Name of publisher	200 single line	The publisher of an item being requested.
Number of copies	9 digits	Number of anything related to this item.
Pages	100 single line	The page/page number relevant to an item being requested.	Included in summary of the item at the top of each Question answering screen.
Place of publication	200 single line	The place of publication of an item being requested.
Title	2 Million multi line	The title of an item being requested.	It is mandatory that whenever a bibliographic field is used in a form, the Title field must be used in the form.Included in summary of the item at the top of each Question answering screen. Also included in Search screen results.
5 x user defined code tables	50 Code tables	5 Code tables that can be appropriately named and used by your library for any other item related information that you want to collect via drop down boxes.
user defined text boxes	200 single line	5 Single line data entry fields that can be appropriately named and used by your library for any other item related information that you want to collect via a single line text entry field.
user defined text areas	2 Million multi line	5 multi line data entry fields that can be appropriately named and used by your library for any other item related information that you want to collect via a multi line text entry field.
Volume	200 single line	The volume number of a journal being requested.	Included in summary of the item at the top of each Question answering screen.

 
ILL data fields:

Field name	Max # chars	Used to collect or display	Special characteristics
ILL Comment	2 Million multi line	Any information that adds to the data collected about the ILL.
ILL Exact edition	Check box	Whether an exact edition is required or not.
ILL Loan	Check box	Whether the item is required on Loan or not.	Not available for use in Request forms.
ILL Overseas Location	Check box	Whether the item is required from an overseas location, or not.
ILL Request level	50 Code table	Method of delivery requested for this item.
ILL Actual receipt date	date	Date on which ILL was received.	Not available for use in Request forms.  Can store dates back to one year before the earliest record in your RefTracker system.
ILL Expected receipt date	date	Date ILL is request to arrive.	Not available for use in Request forms. Can store dates back to one year before the earliest record in your RefTracker system.
ILL Voucher details	200 single line	Text describing any voucher used to pay for the ILL.
ILL Source of reference	200 single line	Text describing where the fact that the item could be requested by ILL was found.
ILL Request number	200 single line	Text describing any request number associated with the ILL request by the supplying library.
ILL Date requested	date	Date on which this ILL request was made.	Not available for use in Request forms. Can store dates back to one year before the earliest record in your RefTracker system.
ILL Requirements	2 Million multi line	Text description of any special instructions regarding this ILL.
ILL Copy for retention	Check box	Whether a copy of the item that will be kept by the requesting library is required.	Not available for use in Request forms.
ILL Actual returned date	date	The date on which the ILL was returned	Not available for use in Request forms. Can store dates back to one year before the earliest record in your RefTracker system.
ILL Return method	200 single line	Text describing how the ILL is to be returned.	Not available for use in Request forms.

 
Response data fields:

Field name	Max # chars	Used to collect or display	Special characteristics
Answer	2 Million multi line	The field in which the staff member develops their answer, and when complete, holds the completed answer.	This is the field that will be sent to the client as their answer.
Category	100 Code table	The classification given to the question on closing – usually a subject or authority classification, as selected from the values provided by the Category code table. Multiple selections can be made from the drop down box created by this code table.	Not available for use in Request forms.
Closing comment	2 Million multi line	This field is presented in the Closing division for questions where the Request form specifies it should appear. It takes Alpha numeric characters and so can be used for collection of any text or numeric closing detail.  It is often used with QuickText for insertion of billing descriptions.  QuickText can even be auto-inserted.	Not available for use in Request forms.
Closing note	200 single line	This field is presented in the Closing division for questions where the Request form specifies it should appear. It takes Alpha numeric characters and so can be used for collection of any text or numeric closing detail, such as a description of why a particular Expertise or Category was applied, for recording a file number where you browsers autofill might suggests a commonly used number or even for things like “Number of documents provided”.
Evaluation rating	50 Codetable	The rating provided by the client in relation to the response they received in relation to this request, if one was provided, as selected from the values provided by the Evaluation code table.	Not available for use in Request forms.
Evaluation comment	2 Million multi line	A comment elaborating on the Evaluation rating provided by the client in relation to the response they received to this request.	Not available for use in Request forms.
Expertise	50 Codetable	The level of staff expertise required to answer this question, as selected from the values controlled by the Expertise code table.	Not available for use in Request forms.
Number of items	Numeric	The number of items delivered with this response.  Often used for number of attachments, number of reports, number of documents, number of samples, etc.	Not available for use in Request forms.
Resources	50 Code table2000 for the description that can be entered for each Resource	The Resources that proved useful in providing this response, selected from the values in the Resources code table. Multiple selections can be made from the display created by the Resources code table.	Not available for use in Request forms.

Formatting elements:

Field name	Max # chars	Used to collect or display	Special characteristics
Divider	n/a	Draws a line across the width of the data entry portion of your Request form.	Display feature for Request forms – not used for storing data.
Text display	1000	The note associated with this field will appear as text across the data entry part of your Request form. Usually used to insert instructions about filling out the form. To insert a blank line add a note containing only a space.	Display feature for Request forms – not used for storing data.

For programmers, more information is provided about these fields in the Data dictionary and the Global variables help pages.