How to control placement and sizing of buttons via .INI settings
Remember that button placement and the item tree go hand in hand when configuring the salespoint interface. The .INI file settings can specify how many rows/columns of buttons to use and what their relative sizes are on the screen; however, which item goes where is a function of the item tree.
To control placement and sizing of buttons via .INI settings:
1. Go to SysManager > Preferences > Miscellaneous > Global Salespoint .INI.
2. Find the section designating the Table Service Food and Beverage or Quick Service Food and Beverage salespoint group (e.g., <FineDining> or <Cafeteria>).
3. Go to the [Interface] section.
4. Ensure that the settings for displaying pictures and using buttons are configured appropriately.
5. Buttons=TRUE allows operators to use buttons rather than a list box for item selection.
6. ShowImages=TRUE enables the display of any bitmap images configured for the buttons.
7. Determine how much of the screen at the salespoint you wish to use for item selection buttons and set this appropriately.
8. PickWidth=specifies the percentage of the screen in width for the pick list.
Example:
PickWidth=40 would allow 40% of the Sales screen to be designated for item buttons (the rest would be used for the sales invoice information).
Note: PickWidth is limited to 50% of the screen or less (e.g., PickWidth=must be <50).
9. Determine how many rows and columns of item selection buttons you wish to use and set this appropriately. This varies based on your item and group configuration and how large you need the buttons to be for maximum usability (especially in a touch screen environment).
10. ButtonCols=2 would result in two columns of buttons (maximum five).
11. ButtonRows=10 would result in ten rows of buttons (maximum thirty).
Note: To start a new row with a specific item button in the interface, you can select the item in the item tree, and then click the new row check box (located directly beneath the Suppress Text check box).
12. Determine how much of a given line item is designated for the line item and quantity buttons. This varies based on how large you need these buttons to be for maximum usability (especially in a touch screen environment).
13. InvoiceButtonHeight=40 would result in 40% of a given line item being taken up by the height of the associated line item buttons.
14. InvoiceQtyPct=20 would result in the quantity buttons taking up 20% of the width of the line item.
15. Determine whether you wish to configure Hold buttons at the salespoint. Generally, Hold buttons are not used in a Table Service Food and Beverage environment, but they may be useful in a Quick Service Food and Beverage environment.
Note: Hold or Quick Save buttons temporarily suspend a sale without finalizing or ordering it. This may be useful for a customer who needs to run back to their car to get their wallet after placing an order at the counter, for instance. If you have a sale in place and press a quick save button that is empty, the sale is saved in that slot. If you have an empty Sales screen and press a quick save button that has a sale, the sale is re-loaded into the sales invoice. The buttons say Hold with a slot number if empty and show the operator and time if occupied. Printing is disabled during a Quick Save.
To use quick save buttons at the salespoint (example):
• QuickSaveButtons=TRUE (to enable the functionality)
• QuickSaveColumns=2 (enables two columns of Hold buttons)
• QuickSaveRows=1 (enables one row of Hold buttons)
Exercise:
1. Make note of the current interface settings.
2. Change the interface so that 20% is used for item selection buttons.
3. Change the interface so there are only two columns of buttons per screen.
4. Change the interface so line item buttons take up 10% of the line item.
5. Change the interface so that Qty buttons take up 75% of the line item.
6. Enable one row of three Hold buttons for the interface.
7. Return the interface to its previous settings.