---
title: "Selecting Records for Patron Reports"
slug: "selecting-records-for-patron-reports"
updated: 2022-06-29T18:02:24Z
published: 2022-06-29T18:02:24Z
canonical: "docs.surpass.cloud/selecting-records-for-patron-reports"
---

> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.surpass.cloud/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Selecting Records for Patron Reports

Many reports for patrons have a **Select Records** step where you can specify which records you want to be included.

Surpass Cloud gives you two options for selecting records: a simple fill-in-the-blanks **Basic** option and a more-powerful **Advanced** option. You select which option you want from the header.

---

![patron-selection-header](https://cdn.document360.io/dd4d24fa-d091-45a6-be6a-9adef7b432ec/Images/Documentation/patron-selection-header.png)

## Basic Record Selection

You'll probably find that Basic record selection meets most of your needs for typical reporting and label printing. It allows you to select either all resources or resources that meet one or more conditions.

![patron-selection-basic(1)](https://cdn.document360.io/dd4d24fa-d091-45a6-be6a-9adef7b432ec/Images/Documentation/patron-selection-basic%281%29.png)

### Record Selection

Use the **All Patrons** to specify whether you want to include all patrons (slide toggle to the right to turn on "All Patrons") or only patron records that meet one or more conditions (slide to the left). When **All Patrons** is "off", you have selections to make for ranges, types, etc. When it is "on", those options are hidden.

If you will be specifying conditions for record selection (not all patron records), check one or more of the boxes below and enter your criteria. If you select more than one option, only those resource records meeting *all* of conditions will be included.

#### Number Range

![patron-selection-basic-range](https://cdn.document360.io/dd4d24fa-d091-45a6-be6a-9adef7b432ec/Images/Documentation/patron-selection-basic-range.png)

Enter starting and ending patron numbers for a range.

#### Specific Numbers

![patron-selection-basic-specific](https://cdn.document360.io/dd4d24fa-d091-45a6-be6a-9adef7b432ec/Images/Documentation/patron-selection-basic-specific.png)

Enter one or more patron numbers separated by commas.

#### Type

![patron-selection-basic-type](https://cdn.document360.io/dd4d24fa-d091-45a6-be6a-9adef7b432ec/Images/Documentation/patron-selection-basic-type.png)

Select a patron type from the drop-down list.

#### Group

![patron-selection-group](https://cdn.document360.io/dd4d24fa-d091-45a6-be6a-9adef7b432ec/Images/Documentation/patron-selection-group.png)

Select a patron group from the drop-down list.

#### Local Address

![patron-selection-basic-local](https://cdn.document360.io/dd4d24fa-d091-45a6-be6a-9adef7b432ec/Images/Documentation/patron-selection-basic-local.png)

Select a local address from the drop-down list.

#### Added on or After

![patron-selection-added](https://cdn.document360.io/dd4d24fa-d091-45a6-be6a-9adef7b432ec/Images/Documentation/patron-selection-added.png)

Enter a date here or select a date from the pop-up calendar. Record selection will be limited to only those patrons that were added on or after this date.

Tip
 This option is very helpful for printing barcodes or library cards for recently added patrons.

                         

### Include Inactive

![patron-selection-include-inactive](https://cdn.document360.io/dd4d24fa-d091-45a6-be6a-9adef7b432ec/Images/Documentation/patron-selection-include-inactive.png)

Slide this to the on position if you want to include patrons that have a patron type of Inactive. Typically, you would leave this off to exclude records for patrons who are no longer active in the library.

### Sort Order

Here, you tell Surpass Cloud how you want the records to be sorted. In this example, the records will be sorted first by type, then by surname (for all with the same type), and finally by given name (for all with the type and surname).

![patron-selection-basic-sort](https://cdn.document360.io/dd4d24fa-d091-45a6-be6a-9adef7b432ec/Images/Documentation/patron-selection-basic-sort.png)

Select the fields for the sort order using the drop-down list. You can select either MARC fields or [Special Resource Fields](/docs/special-resource-fields).

---

## Advanced Record Selection

Advanced record selection has more flexibility than Basic record selection, however it can also be very simple if you just need to set a condition on a field that's not an option on the Basic tab. It really shines when the conditions for your report are more complex, such as getting a report for records where you want to combine multiple conditions with an "**or**" condition, want records that do "**not**" meet a certain condition, and/or want to group conditions together in more complex ways.

          📺 **Video Tutorial**

          

Advanced record selection is covered in this tutorial video on creating patron reports on YouTube: [**Advanced Custom Patron Reports**](https://youtu.be/7WFXPa0HbGQ).

![patron-selection-advanced](https://cdn.document360.io/dd4d24fa-d091-45a6-be6a-9adef7b432ec/Images/Documentation/patron-selection-advanced.png)

### Sort Order

Just as in Basic record selection, you tell Surpass Cloud how you want the records to be sorted.

![patron-selection-advanced-sort](https://cdn.document360.io/dd4d24fa-d091-45a6-be6a-9adef7b432ec/Images/Documentation/patron-selection-advanced-sort.png)

Select the fields for the sort order using the drop-down list. See [Patron Fields](/docs/patron-fields) for a list of available patron fields.

### Record Selection Criteria

This is where Advanced record selection is different. Here, you add one or more condition **rules**.

Let's start with an example. The following rule tells Surpass Cloud that we want patron records added on or after January 1, 2020.

![patron-selection-advanced-1](https://cdn.document360.io/dd4d24fa-d091-45a6-be6a-9adef7b432ec/Images/Documentation/patron-selection-advanced-1.png)

For each rule, you select the following:

- **Field** - Select a [Patron Field](/docs/patron-fields). In the example above, the selection is the last-checked-out date, which is a Special Resource Field.
- **Comparison Operator** - Select from a list of comparisons such as "equals", "begins with", "is between," etc. The list of choices varies depending on the field you have selected. In the example above, the operator is "is greater than or equal to" because we want all on or after a given date.
- **Value or Range** -  Depending on the field and comparison operator selected, this could be a simple input, two input fields (for a range), or a drop-down with a list of selections for fields such as Type or Role. In the example above, we have one date input.

#### Multiple Rules

To add additional rules, click the **+ Add Rule** button. Let's add a rule to the added-after date rule from the prior example.

![patron-selection-advanced-2](https://cdn.document360.io/dd4d24fa-d091-45a6-be6a-9adef7b432ec/Images/Documentation/patron-selection-advanced-2.png)

Here, we have added a rule saying that the cell phone must be blank. Note that **AND** is highlighted between the two rules. This means that *both* rules must be met for records to be selected. We could click **OR** to change this so that records would be selected if *either* condition is met (either checked out in the date range or reference category).

When we have more than one rule like this, we call it a **Group**. In this case, we have a group of two rules. If we added another, we would have a group of 3.

If you have multiple rules in a group, you can delete any rule except the first by clicking the red **X** on the right side of the rule.

AND/OR Selection Applies to All in Group
 The selection of **AND** or **OR** applies to all rules within the group. If we had three rules in this example, the **AND**/**OR** selection would apply to all three.

                         

#### Adding Groups

It is possible to create even more complex conditions by combining rules into nested groups. Here is an example of that.

![patron-selection-advanced-3](https://cdn.document360.io/dd4d24fa-d091-45a6-be6a-9adef7b432ec/Images/Documentation/patron-selection-advanced-3.png)

In this example, we are asking for all patron records added after January 1, 2020 **AND** have either no cell phone number **OR** no email address.

We created this by adding the first rule for Circulation Status and then clicking the **+ Add Group** button. That created the group where we have the cell phone and email address rules joined with **OR**.

You can remove a group by clicking the red **X Delete Group** button.

We're Here to Help!
 Don't worry if you don't master creating complex record selection rule sets. It's probably not something you'll need to do often and, when you do, the folks at Surpass Support are here to help! Just drop us an email or give us a call and we'll be happy to assist.