https://bugs.koha-community.org/bugzilla3/show_bug.cgi?id=43216 Bug ID: 43216 Summary: Clarify batch record modification: 952/995 rules only create new items Initiative type: --- Sponsorship --- status: Product: Koha Version: Main Hardware: All OS: All Status: NEW Severity: enhancement Priority: P5 - low Component: Tools Assignee: koha-bugs@lists.koha-community.org Reporter: martin.renvoize@openfifth.co.uk QA Contact: testopia@bugs.koha-community.org Target Milestone: --- When using Batch record modification together with a MARC modification template that adds a 952 (MARC21) or 995 (UNIMARC) field/subfield, staff routinely expect this to modify existing items on the target biblios (e.g. add a collection code to items that already exist). That is not what happens. Batch record modification and its preview (svc/records/preview) both operate on the biblio's stored MARC record without embedding existing items (Koha::Biblio::Metadata->record is called without embed_items). Existing items are therefore completely invisible to the template - the template only ever sees a record with no 952/995 fields, so any 'add field' action for 952/995 produces a brand new, standalone field. At execution time (Koha::BackgroundJob::BatchUpdateBiblio), if the resulting record contains a 952/995 field the job treats it as a request to create a new item (bug 26869) and requires the mandatory subfields (homebranch, holdingbranch, itemtype) to be present, or the record fails with an error such as 'No homebranch subfield found'. The preview step applies the same template but skips this validation entirely, so staff see what looks like a harmless 952$8 being added and are then surprised when the real batch job reports per-record failures. There is currently no UI hint, warning, or documentation calling out that: - 952/995 actions in a batch record modification template only ever create new items, never edit existing ones - mandatory item fields must be supplied by the template itself or the job will fail for every affected record - the preview does not reflect this validation, so a clean preview is not a reliable indicator of success This bug is to track adding a clear warning (in the UI when 952/995 actions are configured in a template used for batch record modification, and/or in the preview screen) plus documentation, so staff are not caught out by this distinction. Batch item modification (tools/batchMod.pl) remains the correct tool for editing fields on already-existing items. -- You are receiving this mail because: You are watching all bug changes. You are the assignee for the bug.