Data migration (Unicode) from Excel to koha

1. Save As the Excel file, 'Unicode' format.

2. Download and install EditPlus software.

3. Open the file using EditPlus

4. Save the file format as utf-8.

5. Use MARCEdit 'Delimited Text translator'to convert to MARC format.

Information courtesy:
Koustubha Kale
https://lists.katipo.co.nz/public/koha/2009-February/017107.html

Install the latest version of MariaDB with Koha

Image courtesy: Mariadb.org

MariaDB is a community fork of MySQL. Latest versions of Koha support MariaDB. Current versions of Ubuntu and Debian repository provide the old version of MariaDB. Users can add the latest version of MariaDB by adding the software repository. The following method can install MariaDB 10.3 with an existing Koha installation on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS. MariaDB installation details can be found at mariadb.org

Installation of MariaDB
The process includes adding the MariaDB repository information to Ubuntu and install the database. Take a backup of the Koha database before the installation process.

Upgrade Ubuntu
Open a terminal and apply the following commands one by one;

sudo apt-get update 
sudo apt-get upgrade

Add MariaDB repository
Login as Root User.

sudo su

apt-get install curl software-properties-common dirmngr

curl -sS https://downloads.mariadb.com/MariaDB/mariadb_repo_setup | sudo bash

Install MariaDB

apt-get install mariadb-server

Need to enter the Root password when the installation process ask. Give the same old MySQL root password.

After the installation try to Log into MariaDB,

sudo su
mysql -uroot -p

You will get following message,

ERROR 1524 (HY000): Plugin 'unix_socket' is not loaded

Go to the following link and apply the solution mentioned in the forum to fix it,

https://askubuntu.com/questions/705458/ubuntu-15-10-mysql-error-1524-unix-socket

Reference
https://mariadb.com/kb/en/library/mariadb-package-repository-setup-and-usage/

Create Super Librarian by command line

Koha 18.05 released on June 2018. No more login with the database user with this version. The user is not able to log in using the master username (koha_library) and password. Login Koha using master ID and password not advisable for housekeeping operations (e.g. cataloguing, circulation etc.). Many library professionals use the master login for day to day activities with Koha and end in trouble.

I have received a lot of queries regarding not able to login to Koha using master ID and password. They forgot the staff patron login credentials. Koha already has given a provision to create Super User ID and Password by command.

The syntax of the command

create_superlibrarian.pl --userid <userid> --password <password> --branchcode <branchcode> --categorycode <categorycode> --cardnumber <cardnumber>

     Options:
       -?|--help        brief help message
       --userid         specify the userid to be set
       --password       specify the password to be set
       --branchcode     specify the library code
       --categorycode   specify the patron category code
       --cardnumber     specify the cardnumber to be set

Apply the following commands to create the Super User.

Load environmental variables

sudo su
export PERL5LIB="/usr/share/koha/lib" 
export KOHA_CONF="/etc/koha/sites/library/koha-conf.xml"

Enter inside the Super User script folder

cd /usr/share/koha/bin/devel/

Super Librarian command
Here is an example of Super Librarian command,

./create_superlibrarian.pl --userid librarian --password librarian --branchcode MAIN --categorycode LIS --cardnumber 25

Here are the details of examples used in the command:
User ID- librarian
Password- librarian
Branchcode- MAIN
Patron category code- LIS
Cardnumber-25

Image Courtesy: Open Clip Art Library

Enable Memcached with Koha

What is Memcached?

"Free & open source, high-performance, distributed memory object caching system, generic in nature, but intended for use in speeding up dynamic web applications by alleviating database load" (https://memcached.org/).

Why we should use Memcached with Koha?

Memcached can boost the performance of Koha.

I have tried to enable Memcached with Koha versions 17.05.x to 18.05.x.

Check Memcached working with Koha

Open Koha > About Koha > Server Information

The red flag indicates that Memcached not working

Configure Firefox browser to view regional language properly

Koha can handle records in Indian regional languages well. We need to install Indic Fonts packages to display Indian languages. Even though Indic Fonts available, Firefox browser does not display the record details properly. Here is the solution to fix the regional language view problem in Koha server and client computers using Ubuntu Linux.

1. Install Indic Fonts package

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install fonts-indic

2. Adjust Firefox Font settings

Firefox > Edit > Preferences

Search for "Content" through search box. Select Advanced option

Select Malayalam Language and set a font.

Search problem after massive upgrade

Many occassions I found following error message after upgrade from very old version of Koha to the latest version. 

Software error:
Can't call method "branchname" on an undefined value at /usr/share/koha/lib/C4/Biblio.pm line 1570.

The solution is that execute a full index of Zebra. Apply following command;

sudo su
koha-rebuild-zebra -f -a -b -v library