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Table of Contents
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Overview

A ticket format file is used by Interact as a template for generating printed or emailed transaction tickets. Use the Ticket Editor to create and modify ticket format files.

Ticket Design

Types of Information

Tickets may contain the following types of information.

  • Ticket Sections (Header, Body, Footer)
  • Static Text
  • Database Fields
  • Flag Fields
  • Printer Commands
  • Horizontal and Vertical Positioning
  • Images and Logos

Ticket Sections

To accommodate multiple item transactions, the ticket is split into three sections: header, body, and footer. Header lines are printed once before the first transaction item. Body lines are printed once per transaction item. Footer lines are printed once after the last transaction item. Header lines are designated by the letter 'H' in the first character position of the format line. Body lines are designated by the letter 'B' and footer lines by the letter 'F'. Each section letter must be followed by a space.

Info
titleDefault Section Type

Any format line without a section identifier is considered a header line.

Static Text

Static text fields are contained in double quotes ("). Any desired text character enclosed in the double quotes, spaces included, will appear on the ticket.

Database Fields

Database fields that are stored in the Interact database. A database field is placed on a ticket by enclosing the field name in square brackets ([ ]). A list of available database fields can be found on the Ticket Keywords page.

Flag Fields

A flag is set in the database whenever a special condition has been met by a transaction.  A list of available flag fields can be found in the Flag Fields section of the Ticket Keywords page.

Printer Commands

Every printer has its own set of commands. 

Horizontal and Vertical Positioning

Commands used to align text and database fields on a printed ticket. Instructions to use horizontal and vertical positioning commands can be found on the Font and Positioning Commands page.

Images/Logos

Images can be added to a ticket design using the following command format: {IMAGE "filename,Horizontal,Vertical,Width,Height"}. In order for an image to be added to a ticket the file must be uploaded into the database. The Ticket Editor window provides a shortcut to the upload window. To view, add, or delete images from the database, click the Image Removed Modify static images button. Images can also be uploaded by selecting Setup | Configure - Static Images

The Static Images flyout will appear and look similar to the following.

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Click the Image Removed Add button. Click the Image Removed Load/Replace Image button. Navigate to where the image is stored and double click (or select the image with one click followed by clicking the Open button). 

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The file Bedrock SGLogo is uploaded. Click the Image Removed Save button to continue. Click the Image Removed arrow to close the flyout window.

The following example will print the image in the top left corner of the ticket.

  • {IMAGE "Bedrock SGLogo,0,0,2.75,1.0"}
    • Command - IMAGE
    • Filename - Bedrock SGLogo
    • Horizontal Position (X) - 0.0 Inches
    • Vertical Position (Y) - 0.0 Inches
    • Width of Image - 2.75 Inches
    • Height of Image - 1.0 Inches

The first two lines of our sample ticket are as follows.

H [FONT NAME] "Courier New" [FONT SIZE] "10" [FONT NORM]
H {IMAGE "Bedrock SGLogo,0,0,2.75,1.0"}

To view the entire ticket format file, can be found in the Sample Ticket Designs. Additional sample tickets can be found by clicking the following link: Sample Ticket Designs page.

Warning
titleImage Name

Use only the filename. The file extensions (JPG, PNG, or BMP) are not required. The image will not appear if the file extension is included.

Multiple Images on a Ticket

Multiple images can be added to a ticket simply by adding additional command format lines. The following is an example with two command lines to print two different logos.

H {IMAGE "Bedrock SGLogo,0,0,2.75,1.0"}
H {IMAGE "awslogo,0,4.0,2.75,1.5"}

The first image is the same as the above example. The second image uses the following parameters

  • {IMAGE "awslogo,0,4.0,2.75,1.5"}
    • Command - IMAGE
    • Filename - awslogo
    • Horizontal Position (X) - 0.0 Inches
    • Vertical Position (Y) - 4.0 Inches
    • Width of Image - 2.75 Inches
    • Height of Image - 1.5 Inches

The ticket will a little taller than the Bedrock SGLogo, 1.5 inches vs. 1 inch. and will print four (4) inches (vertical position) from the top of the page. The Bedrock SGLogo is set to print a the very top.

Ticket Priority and Custom Ticket Designs

Other ticket files can be created and used as custom tickets. To use a specific ticket for a particular customer, truck, or truck type, design the ticket and give the ticket a meaningful name. Select the account, truck or truck type then select the custom ticket filename from the available drop-down list. Click the Image RemovedSave button to continue. To undo any changes click the Image RemovedUndo button.

Ticket printing will choose the ticket name (excluding the suffix) of the file based on the following priority ranking:

  1. Truck Preference Ticket (Highest Priority)
  2. Truck Type Preference Ticket
  3. Account Preference Ticket
  4. System Global Ticket (Lowest Priority)

Create a Ticket Format

Multiple ticket formats can be created. Within the Interact program, a system default ticket is selected. Unless otherwise specified, all transaction tickets will print using the default ticket. A different ticket format file, that will override the system default ticket, can be selected for an individual account or truck.

To open the Ticket Editor, select

The Ticket Editor table is used to create ticket format designs for printed or emailed tickets. Use this table to:

  • Add ticket designs
  • Edit ticket designs

To add new, edit existing, or delete ticket formats, select Utilities| Ticket Editor. A window similar to the following will appear.

 

Image Removed

To create a new ticket design, click the Image Removed  New button. A blank form appears.

Enter a meaningful name and file extension for the ticket, TicketSample.gtk for our example. Click the Image Removed Save Changes button to continue. 

Design the ticket. Use the links to our other documents to help you with commands.

Image Removed 

Click the Image Removed Save Changes button at any time to save changes. 

Transaction Used for Preview

To preview the ticket design use the Transaction Used For Preview . To select a specific transaction to be used when previewing a ticket design enter the ticket number in the space provided or click the Search Transaction button to find a ticket. A list of recent transactions appears.

Image Removed

.Click the Image Removed Refresh Preview button to preview the ticket design with the selected ticket. Continue making changes until desired design is achieved. Click the Image Removed Save Changes button to save changes.

Note
titleTicket File Import

A ticket format file created using a text editor such as Notepad, can be imported into Interact. Once the file has been imported additional modifications can be made to the ticket using Ticket Editor. Select Setup | Weigh Options to learn more. This is a great way to import ticket format files used in older revisions of Interact.

Info
titleTicket Extensions

Interact uses file extensions to perform different functions; the file extension will tell Interact if the ticket should print for an outbound transaction or an inbound transaction or an unattended transaction. Go to the Ticket Extensions page to learn more about ticket extensions.

Once the ticket has been designed it can be selected to be used as the default ticket type for all transactions. Select Setup | Weight Options - Ticket Printing

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Select the ticket format file name from the Ticket Type drop-down list.
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Click the Image Removed Save button to save changes.

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