LibAnswers FAQ - Questions about LibAnswers? We'll solve 'em!

Great question! There are several ways you can do this - you could use any or all of the following methods:

• Set up your Off-Hours Success Message.
• Have the SMS module? You will want to change your auto-responders set-up.
• Change your system tagline.
• Change your "More Ways To Ask Questions" box
• Hide the question submission form.

Off-Hours Success Message

Based on the available hours you set up in this area, your users will either see the "Success Message" (when you're open) or the "Off Hours Success Message" (when you're closed).

So, you can use this every day, not just when closed for holidays!

Note: You must be an admin-level user to do this.

1. Go to Admin Stuff > Ask Us Form
2. Scroll to the Off-Hours Success Message section.
3. Fill out the hours you're available and add your message to the text box at the bottom.
4. Click Save.

Change your auto-responders set-up

If you've got the SMS module, you'll want to change your auto-responders. That way, if anyone texts your number, they'll get a message saying you are closed for the holidays.

To do this, go to Admin Stuff > SMS Settings. As the instructions indicate, you'll want to enter 24-24 to active the auto-responders all day. In the autoresponder text field, you can enter a message telling your patrons that you are closed. Their messages will appear in your unanswered queue and can be answered when you reopen.

Change your system tagline

The system tagline shows up right above the search box, so it is very visible - this may be a good place to tell people you are closed. That said, be aware that the tagline is limited to 140 characters.

To change the system tagline, go to Admin Stuff > System Settings . The tagline should be the second option on the System-wide Settings page.

Change your "Info/Alert" box

If the tagline option won't work for you - or does not provide enough information - you might want to try editing the "Info/Alert" box on your LibAnswers home page.

To edit this box, go to Admin Stuff > Look & Feel > Boxes and Sidebar. Look for the Info/Alert Box section. You can edit the title and text of the box.

Don't forget to make sure your Info/Alert box is displaying on your homepage! In the Sidebar Content section at the top, make sure the letter I is there. When you're back, you can always hide the box again!

Hide the question submission form

You can also hide the box that would allow people to submit questions. This will allow your patrons to search for questions that have already been answered, but they would not be able to submit new questions.

You can hide the form by going to Admin Stuff > Look & Feel. Find the Custom JS/CSS Code box on the System-wide Settings page and paste the following:

<style>
#qsdiv { display: none; }
</style>

Then click the Save button. After the break is over, just remove the code from that box and click the Save button again.