Sharp POS UTILITY User Manual

TRAINING MANUAL

MODEL

POS UTILITY

Contents

Page No Description

2. Managing Databases

2. Communications Test

3. Trouble Shooting

4. Configuration File

4. Delete Data 5,6 Edit Register Logo

7. Register models supported

7. Pos utility

8.-12 Retrieve from register options

13. Edit

13. Help

14. Copy Register Data

15. Change ECR to Smartcard Type

16. Register Communication settings

18. TCP/ip 19,20 Modem Setup Utility 21, Auto keys 22, Firmware Version 23, Modem Status 23,24,25 Edit Products 26,27 Edit Departments 28, Tools 29, File 30, Edit Databases and Configuration options 31, Progress

32.33 Edit Direct Keys 34, Edit function text 35, Edit Free keys 36,37 Send to register options 38,39 Condiment Tables 40, Add Plus and or menus 40, Plu Preset

Managing Databases

There is only one database name supported by POSUtility, this is 'POSUtility.mdb'. This file must exist in the program directory (where POSUtility was installed), for POSUtility to

start. If you wish to access multiple databases, use the Create Customer Database under the File Menu. This allows you to organise Folders under a starting path of \CUSTOMERS. This option creates the Folder and copies an empty 'POSUtility.mdb' to it.

Using the Open Database option of the File Menu you can make a different database current by selecting a new directory. An input box will open allowing you to enter a directory name created above, or if left blank will display the directory tree, allowing you to select the directory. A POSUtility database must exist in this directory, otherwise and error message will be displayed. The current database is shown as part of the caption at the top of the screen.

NB. The Sales Files and the Log File will also be written to this directory! Example:

You have two Users or a Bar and Bottle Shop. The Bar has a number of ER-A440's and the Bottle Shop an ER-A570. The PLU's and Departments may be the same for the Bar and Bottle Shop, but the prices are different.

First RETRIEVE the data from one of the ER-A440's. If the keyboards are to be the same, you can use the Copy Register Data option. Modify/Create the PLU's and send all the appropriate data files to the other ER-A440's. Now create directories for each location, change to these in turn and copy the locations registers back.

Communications Test

This is performed before each SEND or RETRIEVE operation. If communications is established, a Green Light will show with the message 'Comms OK', else a Red light will show with the message 'Comms Failed'.

The obvious things to check are;

• Cables plugged in.

• ECR turned on.

• ECR is not busy (in the middle of a transaction).

• The On-Line settings are correct.

• The ECR On-Line number is correct.

• The correct baud rate etc are selected in POSUtility.

• The correct COM Port is selected in POSUtility.

• If you are using a Broadcast Multiplexor, you cannot have leads attached to it that

are not connected to an ECR at the other end.

Troubleshooting

Communications

ER-A750 and UP-3300

• If an ER-A750 or UP-3300, passes a Communications Test, but then fails doing other operations, or appears to stop for an extended length of time, check that a

printer is configured but NOT physically attached to the ECR. The most common cause of this effect is the ECR trying to print to a Journal Printer without one being

present.

All ECR's

• POSUtility will only update its copy of the ECR File Structure when (a) the ECR has just been created, (b) when data is retreived from the ECR, (c) when asked to

do so by using the Retreive FDS Option and (d) when it has trouble fitting the PLU/EAN/Department data into the ECR. The most common cause of failure, (other than actual communication problems) when sending PLU/EAN/Department Data to the ECR is because you have modified the ECR File Structure after

POSUtility has already updated the File Structure. The first thing to do is is use the

retrieve function to Update FDS Data.

ER-A770

• This ECR allows you to have weird combinations of prices and descriptions. While

POSUtility allows most combinations, it is good policy to use the same number of

prices and descriptions.

ER-A440S and ER-A450S

• Communication an speeds above 9600 baud can be unreliable.

Modem Support

POSUtility will use a modem to connect to the selected ECR, if this ECR has a phone

number associated with it. The number and other settings relevant to modems, is entered on the Register Communications Settings form.

You have the choice on the Register Communications Settings form to disconnect the modem after the current operation(s). The default here is to stay connected. Whilst the modem is connected, information about duration and number connected to is displayed as well as a Hangup button. This button is used to disconnect the modem if you chose to stay connected when you selected the ECR.

The modem will be automatically disconnected if you select another ECR which has no phone number associated with it, or if it has a phone number that is different to the one currently connected.

Modem programming can be accomplished by using the Modem Setup Utility form.

Configuration File

When starting, POSUtility looks for a file called POSUtility.cfg' in the default directory. This file, which is a text file editable with Notepad, can contain a number of configuration settings, which if present will be processed. These are;

UseTermFile = y

If set to 'y' then the Reading (X) and Clearing (Z) options will access the Term Files. i.e. the readings will now be X2/Z2. The default is to do X1/Z1's. Obviously the Term Files must be configured in the ECR!

ReportPrintControl = ?

With this set, printing during a Z Read can be controlled. The default is Not to print. The options for ? here are;

0 = print on Receipt and Journal 1 = print on Receipt only 2 = print on Journal only 3 = no printing

If the 'POSUtility.cfg' file is missing the default values are assumed. The entries in the configuration file are not case sensitive.

Delete Data

As POSUtility has been designed as a Maintenance Tool for a range of SHARP ECR's, from time to time it will be necessary to remove some ECR's and/or the PLU and Department Data from the Database. It would be wise to backup the Current Database before doing this.

If you are using multiple databases in sub-directories, these should be backed up. There are a number of warnings issued by POSUtility before any deletion takes place. If

you delete ALL of the ECR's, you will be advised that this has happened and the ECR related controls will be disabled. Once at least one ECR is added these controls will be enabled again.

Delete Data Options

• Delete Register from database

PLU & Department Data

•

Delete Departments & Products from database

Current ECR

• The Register to be deleted. This is selected using the control on the form.

Delete

• Deletes the selected Register or Data Files. The data files are both the PLU/EAN Data and the Department Data.

Cancel

• Cancel this operation and exit the Delete Data form.

Edit Register Logo

This form displays the ECR Logo information. This can be up to 6 lines, the actual number of characters being determined by the ECR/Printer Type. The number of characters for the Current ECR is displayed at the bottom of the Form. The Logo is centred on the line automatically and sent to the ECR centred.

To make a character Double Width, use the following key combination [SHIFT+6]. This will insert a ^. Each character that you want to make Double Width must be preceded with

one of these characters. A look at what is retrieved from the ECR will give a better idea of what is required.

Current ECR

• Information displayed is for this Register and Type

Logo Lines

• The six lines of the ECR Logo.

Add

• If the Logo hasn't been retrieved from the ECR, you can Add it for the current ECR. This option isn't available if there is already data.

Edit

• Edit the currently displayed Logo text. At the bottom of the form there is a message advising the number of characters for the Logo Line which is dependant on the

ECR Type and in the case of ECR's without in-built printers, it can be 30 or 40 characters for the external printer. In this case the width is set on the Register Settings Form.

Cancel

• Cancel your current edits.

• Close the Logo form.

POSUtility currently supports the following SHARP ECR Types;

• ER-A220

• ER-A440

• ER-A440S

• ER-A450S

• ER-A460

• ER-A470

• ER-A550

• ER-A570

• ER-A570 (SharpSmart)

• ER-A610

• ER-A610 (SharpSmart)

• ER-A750

• ER-A750 (SharpSmart)

• ER-A750 (PRS Scanning)

• ER-A770

• ER-A770 (SharpSmart)

• ER-A770 (PRS Scanning)

• UP-600

• UP-700

• UP-3300

• UP-3300 (SharpSmart)

•

UP-3300

(

PRS Scanning

)

POSUtility

POSUtility was developed with the sole purpose of allowing users to easily duplicate and

change SHARP ECR configurations. This means that Data from a current ECR needs to be RETRIEVED to the POSUtility Database before it can be edited and resent. This may be as simple as doing a Master Reset on the ECR and then retrieving all the data, or retrieving all the data from an ECR which is programmed the way you like. The only exception here is that PLU and Department Data can be created using the appropriate edit function, without having any ECR's configured.

POSUtility is NOT a Stock Control program. It is an ECR Maintenance program with

some added features which allow the ECR to be 'X' and 'Z' Read back to a text file. Edit Databases and Configuration

• Actions which affect the POSUtility Database and default settings.

SEND TO REGISTER

• Options for sending data to ECR's from the POSUtility Database.

RETRIEVE FROM REGISTER

• Options for the retrieving of data from ECR's to the POSUtility Database.

File

• Drop-Down Menu that allows access to opening the Log Files (*.txt) and the Sales Files (*.csv).

Edit

• Drop-Down Menu that allows access to all the Database Editing functions.

Tools

• Drop-Down Menu that has selections to Compact the Database, Delete the Log and Sales Files, and Delete All Data Files.

Help

• Drop-Down Menu with selections for Help and About POSUtility.

Exit POSUtility

• Close all files and exit the program.

Retrieve from Register options.

These options control what data is extracted from the ECR.

Calling Sales Options

There are three choices for calling sales back into a file. The file used has a default name supplied by POSUtility which is made up of the date, ECR Number and either an 'X' or a 'Z'. The file is a comma delimited text file and has an extension of 'CSV'. This file will be placed into the directory where the current database is. This can be accessed using a text editor, spreadsheet or database. Whilst in POSUtility this file can be opened with a text editor from the File Menu.

Each line of the file has the same number of fields. This has been done to simplify Importing and manipulation of the data to other programs. Because of this feature, some lines will have blank fields. Appended to the start of each line is the system date when the sales were called, followed by a number representing the Type of Sales. A list of these types can also be found in a text file called 'SalesRecordTypes.txt' supplied with POSUtility. The fields in the Sales File are;

Date (DD/MM/YYYY) Type Clerk/Cashier Number Code (PLU, EAN, Dept, Transaction, Hour) Description Qty 1 Dlrs 1 Qty 2 Dlrs 2 Qty 3 Dlrs 3

N.B. The quantity shown for PLU, EAN and Department sales will include the decimal places set with the SRV 906 Job. If 3 decimal places are set, a sale of

1 item will show as 1000! The 3 Qty and Dlrs (Dollars) fields are for sales up to 3 price levels. If the Type of sale only supports one price level, this will be shown under Qty 1 and Dlrs 1. The ER-A750, ER-A770 and UP-3300 handle sales in a different way from other ECR's. For these ECR's the column between the type and Qty1 will have the price level of the sold item. In this case only Qty1 and Dlr1 will be used and there will be no description for the sold PLU. Other ECR's will have a '0' in this column and the sales at different levels will be

in the Qty1 and Dlr1 to Qty3 and Qty3. The Types are; (1) PLUs & EANs (2) Departments (3) Transactions & Finalising Keys

See list below for transaction types.

(4) Hourly Sales

The number appearing in field three of the hourly sales records relates to the

'Memory Type'. This is the number of periods since Midnight. This period is 15

Minutes for a 12 Hour System and 30 Minutes for a 24 Hour System. e.g. 11 on

a 12 Hour System would be the period from 2:30am to 2:45am. (5) Clerks

Sales are by Clerk number and transaction number. See list below for

transaction types. (6) Cashiers

Sales are by Cashier number and transaction number. See list below for

transaction types.

Transaction Types:

The following numbers, relating to the type of transaction, appear in field four of

Type 3 and Type 5 Sales. The list shown is not a complete list of all the

transaction types.

1001 = %1 1002 = %2 1003 = %3 1004 = %4 1201 = (-)1 1202 = (-)2 1203 = (-)3 1204 = (-)4 2001 = TAXABLE SUB-TOTAL 1 3001 = NET 1 3002 = NET 2 3100 = ORDER TOTAL 3200 = PAID TOTAL 3600 = NON-COMMISSION SALE 4000 = REFUND 4001 = RETURN 4100 = VOID 4101 = VOID 2 4200 = VOID MODE 4300 = MANAGER VOID 4400 = SUB-TOTAL VOID 5000 = CUSTOMERS 5100 = NO SALE 6000 = PREVIOUS BALANCE 6001 = PREVIOUS BALANCE 2 (DRIVE THRU) 6100 = NEW BALANCE 6101 = NEW BALANCE 2 (DRIVE THRU) 7001 = CASH 1 7002 = CASH 2 7100 = CASH IN DRAWER 7200 = CASH/CHIT IN DRAWER 8001 = CHEQUE 1

8002 = CHEQUE 2 8003 = CHEQUE 3 8004 = CHEQUE 4 8100 = CHITS IN DRAWER 9001 = CREDIT 1 9002 = CREDIT 2 9003 = CREDIT 3 9004 = CREDIT 4 9005 = CREDIT 5 9006 = CREDIT 6 9007 = CREDIT 7 9008 = CREDIT 8 A101 = CHARGE D001 = RECEIVED ON ACCOUNT 1 D002 = RECEIVED ON ACCOUNT 2 D101 = PAID OUT 1 D102 = PAID OUT 2

X Read & Save to File

• This selection calls sales but does not clear any totals in the ECR. NB. The Term File sales are not collected by POSUtility. You are prompted for a filename to save the sales to. The default filename offered is

YYYYMMDD[ECR#]X.CSV. If the file exists, you be asked to confirm overwriting the existing one. If Term Files exist in the register, then POSUtility

will perform an X2, otherwise an X1.

Z Read & Save to File

• This option calls sales and then CLEARS the totals in the ECR. NB. The Term File sales are not collected OR cleared by POSUtility. You are prompted for a filename to save the sales to. The default filename offered is

YYYYMMDD[ECR#]Z.CSV. If the file exists, you be asked to confirm overwriting the existing one. On ECR's which support GLU's (Guest Look Ups), if there are

open GLU's, then depending on the SRV setting of Job 929 Clerk Sales cannot be cleared. To be able to Clear Clerk Sales while there are open GLU's, Job

929-B must be set to a 1 or 3. On ECR's that won't allow POSUtility to clear the Clerk Sales, an error message will be displayed, giving you the choice of Finalising the open GLU's and Retrying, or Cancelling the clearing of Clerk

sales. If Term Files exist in the register, then POSUtility will perform a Z2, otherwise a Z1.

Don't call sales

• This is the default option here.

One of the most useful features of POSUtility is its ability to Retrieve Data from the ECR and store it in the database for editing and resending. There are four possible

options here. All the RAM Data can be retrieved for sending to another ECR, or for saving the ECR configuration. FDS Data can be uploaded on its own, but as this is normally handled automatically by POSUtility, the only time you would do this if you know the ECR File Structure has been changed. Register Data can either include or exclude the PLU/EAN and Department Data. The Register Data contains, Direct Keys, Free Keys, Function Text, FDS Data and ECR Logo. Data for ALL the

configured registers is held in the

POSUtility

Database. See Managing Databases

for information on keeping multiple copies of the Database.

Include Plu's & Dept's

• Ticks all the CheckBoxes on the ECR Files tab, as well as PLU's, EAN's and Departments on the Products tab, for retrieval from the ECR.

Exclude Plu's & Dept's

• Ticks all the CheckBoxes on the ECR Files tab, but nothing on the Products tab, for retrieval from the ECR.

Don't get register data

• This is the default option here.

You can retrieve the following files from the ECR, as well as those described above.

File Data Structure (FDS)

• Get FDS data from the ECR. This is not normally needed, as the FDS data is updated as required by POSUtility. The obvious time to use this is if you have changed the File Structure of the ECR. Use this option if you change the file structure of an ECR, otherwise you will experience problems sending PLU/EAN/Department Data.

Receipt Logo Function Text SRV Parameters

• This data is not editable, but can be saved in the current database with other files for the ECR.

Condiment Tables PLU Menu Presets Free Key Table

Direct Keys Auto Keys Touch Screen

• This option is only applicable to the UP-3300.

ECR RAM Image

•Get ALL RAM data from the ECR. Please note this data is NOT EDITABLE! This option gets a complete memory image from the ECR. This image is unique to the Firmware (EPROM) Version installed in the ECR where the data was retreived

from. Sending it to an ECR with a different version can cause the ECR to lock up. All RAM data is used to create a register

identical to the source ECR including any sales.

TCP/IP Config

• This option is only applicable to the Starrtec Services TCP/IP Interface for Sharp ECR's.

Comms Test

• This is a Communications Test to see if there is a valid ECR connected to the computer and if it is available for Comms. This test is performed before EVERY

Comms Session. If no SEND or RETRIEVE options are selected, the test will be performed on its own. During this test the Progress Bar will be displayed to show the result.

RETRIEVE

• Clicking this button will ask you to Select a Register (ECR) for this operation.

Edit

The Edit drop-down menu allows access to the same features as the buttons at the bottom of the POSUtility main screen. The Delete Data option is not available from here.

Edit

Edit Logos Edit Function Text Edit Free Keys Edit Direct Keys

Edit Auto Keys Edit Products Edit Departments Edit PLU Menus Edit Condiment Tables

Help

Access Help information from here.

Help

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