Setting Up Polaris Offline

In the event of an internet outage at the library or a server issue with Polaris, library staff will be unable to access the Polaris client or the Leap Web App, forcing staff to work in offline mode.  Without access to the library system, some libraries choose to log transactions in an Excel spreadsheet or pen-and-paper, but another option is the Polaris offline client.  

The Polaris offline client mirrors the functionality of the Polaris client.  Leap does have an offline option, but we are choosing not to use it at this time because it relies on the browser's cache to store transactions.

The Polaris offline client needs to be installed on each staff machine that is expected to perform offline transactions.  There are also database files that need to be updated regularly to ensure that offline information is up-to-date.

Downloading Offline Files

Before configuring the offline client, staff need to download a recent copy of the offline database files. These files include patron information and system configuration to ensure that checkout data is accurate.  

To download the database files:

1. Navigate to https://pinnacle.polarislibrary.com/offline/
2. Log in with your Polaris credentials. You may need to enter the same credentials more than once.
3. Once logged in, the System Database (PolSystem.mdb) and Patron Database (PolPatron.mdb) files.
   • 
4. Download both files and save them to the computer. These files will be placed in the C:\ProgramData\Polaris\{version}\Offline folder once it has been created. If this folder path does not exist on the machine, continue to the "Downloading Offline Client" section.
5. If library's plan to use offline regularly, it's recommended that these files are periodically updated.

Downloading Offline Client

To access Polaris offline, the Offline client will also need to be downloaded and installed on each machine that intends to run offline.  To minimize the number of transaction files that need to be processed, libraries may want to consider designating certain workstations as the offline computer.

To download the Polaris offline client:

1. Navigate to http://utilities.polarislibrary.com/
2. Log in with your Polaris credentials. You may need to enter the same credentials more than once.
   • If Polaris credentials do not work, contact Pinnacle staff.
3.  Once logged in, the page lists all of the available Polaris versions.  Download the client that matches our current Polaris version.  See Polaris Upgrade Documentation to check the current version.
4. After the file is downloaded, install the application on the current machine.  The installation should follow standard Windows procedures, but detailed instructions can be found here.
5. Once the installation is complete, navigate to C:\ProgramData\Polaris\{version}\Offline
6. Paste the two mdb files downloaded in the previous section to the Offline directory
7.   The installation process likely created a desktop shortcut.  It's recommended to rename this shortcut to clearly indicate that the icon is used for "OFFLINE."  Staff should only use this for offline mode, not for regular Polaris usage.