Support News

January 2003 Edition

New Feature Spotlight: LZW Compression Support, Batch Printing and Deleting
Q&A with Technical Support: Filtering Files and Folders
Smart Tip of the Month: Printing through MetaScript
Third Party Software: PeachTree Complete 2003
Support Bookshelf: Internet Information Server Guides


New Feature Spotlight

LZW Compression Support

Virtual Ticket 5.0 now generates thumbnails of LZW compressed files. LZW compression is utilized in many popular file formats, including GIF, TIFF, and some PDF formats. With a serverside license (under UniSys patent 4,558,302), installed in the MetaCommunications Application Server Shell, Virtual Ticket 5.0 can decode these files and create thumbnails and extended previews.

Batch Printing and Deleting

Batch printing and deleting of attached tickets can now be performed in Virtual Ticket 5.0. Previous versions of Virtual Ticket allowed users to delete or print one item at a time in the browser window. The printing feature now allows users to select multiple attached tickets of the same document type in the Virtual Ticket 5.0 Browser window and print them. The deletion feature allows users to delete an entire list of attached tickets for a Virtual Ticket group at one time. To make use of these new features, perform the following steps:

  1. Open a new Virtual Ticket 5.0 Browser window and open an existing record.
  2. Switch to a Group containing attached tickets you would like to delete or print.
  3. Click on the first ticket you would like to print or delete. Select the other documents by holding down the Shift key and dragging your mouse over the desired items.
  4. To Print, choose Print from the File menu. To delete, click the Delete button in the Virtual Ticket 5.0 Browser.


Q&A with Technical Support

How can folders or files be excluded from Virtual Ticket?

It may be unnecessary to track various file types in the Virtual Ticket system. To keep the database free of unneeded files, filters may be created to help organize the files being added to the system. Files and folders can be filtered through several different methods depending on your system configuration.

Filtering through Virtual Ticket 5.0

If you wish to exclude particular file types from the Virtual Ticket database (such as fonts) a filter can be set up in Virtual Ticket Administrator to prohibit these files from being added to the system through the Virtual Ticket file collector windows. Perform the following steps to create a filter:

  1. Launch and log in to Virtual Ticket Administrator.
  2. Choose File Types from the Setup menu.
  3. Click FILTER OUT… to set the filtration condition you want the Virtual Ticket system to use when attempting to filter digital files. Files that satisfy this condition will be filtered out when a folder of digital resources is dragged into the Virtual Ticket system. A filtration condition dialog box will appear, allowing you to set the filtration criteria.
  4. Select an attribute on which you want to filter from the attribute popup. The attributes available include: File Type, File Name, File Location, Mac Creator, and Mac Type.
  5. Select the condition operator you would like to apply to this attribute. Available operators include: starts with, contains, does not contain, equal, not equal, less than, less than or equal, greater than, greater than or equal.
  6. Specify the attribute or value on which the operator will be run.
  7. Use the Plus button to add additional filtration criteria.

Filtering through InterSync

If you add your files to the system using InterSync, filters can be used to keep unwanted files or folders from entering your Virtual Ticket 5.0 database.

  1. Open the MetaCommunications Management Console by selecting Start:Programs:MetaCommmunications:Management Console from the Task Bar.
  2. Expand MetaCommunications Services, File System Service, and Databases in the Console Root.
  3. Click Folders in the Console Root. A list of your existing folders scanned by InterSync will appear.
  4. Choose the folder you want to filter, right-click on it, and choose Properties from the menu.
  5. Select the Content Control tab.
  6. Choose one of the following options: Include all folder content, Exclude all folder content, or Custom control. Custom control adds greater flexibility with the option to exclude any hidden folders or files as well as the ability to exclude files and folders based on a “file/folder name starts with” criterion.


Smart Tip of the Month

Printing through MetaScript

Printing in the Virtual Ticket 5.0 Browser window can be automated using the PrintObject MetaScript command. The PrintObject command uses the form name and the ID of the record you would like to print to automate the printing process. This functionality can save time in situations where users have separate entry and printing forms or wish to print multiple forms at the same time. The following example shows how a user can print a record with a checkbox acting as a printing trigger on a Virtual Ticket 5.0 form.

  1. Launch and log into Virtual Ticket Administrator 5.0.
  2. In the File Cabinet Window, expand a desired Folder Type and Group, and click on a Document Type file cabinet. Create an integer field named Print.
  3. In the Forms Editor, open the entry form where you would like to trigger printing.
  4. Place the integer field, Print, on your form as a checkbox.
  5. Place the Document ID field on your form as a character field.
  6. Select Global MetaScript from the Format menu.
  7. Enter the script below into the window:
        8. Form.addEventListener("editingFinished", PrintExample);
        Form.addEventListener("cancelEditing", EditCancelled);

        var wasCancelled = false;

        function
        PrintExample(aEvent)
          {
          if (!wasCancelled)
          {
          var DocID = Field( 'Document_ID' );
          if (Field( 'Print' ) == 1 )
            {
            PrintObject("Print Form #1", DocID);
            }
          }
          wasCancelled = false;
        }
        function
        EditCancelled(aEvent)
          {
          wasCancelled = true;
          }

  8. In the line containing the PrintObject command, replace the Form name in the example, “Print Form #1”, with the name of the desired printing form. Save the script.
  9. Test the script by opening a record using the desired entry forms in the Virtual Ticket 5.0 Browser. Check the print checkbox and click Update in the Virtual Ticket 5.0 Browser window. Your Print dialog window will appear.
    Note: The function EditCancelled is used to prevent printing in situations where the editing of the form has been cancelled.


Third-Party Software

Accounting Integration with PeachTree

Job Manager 3.0 is now integrated with Best Software’s PeachTree Complete 2003. This functionality is based on the built-in workflow for integrating Job Cost Plus with accounting packages, and includes the transfer of Customer and Invoice information from Job Cost Plus to Peachtree.

For More information:

Job Manager 3.0 users with package 104 visit:
www.meta-comm.com/support/knowledge_base/article.asp?id=16125.

Job Manager 3.0 users with package 112 visit:
www.meta-comm.com/support/knowledge_base/article.asp?id=16126.


Support Bookshelf

Microsoft Internet Information Server is required in order to put the Virtual Ticket WebServer on the Internet for your customers to access. The following references will provide some helpful insight into IIS.

Microsoft IIS 5 Administration. Gerry O’Brien.
This book covers a wide range of topics, from administering a web site to custom scripting. Advanced users may find the information about Active Server Page development helpful when they consider customizing their Virtual Ticket Web Server sites. Other topics that may be helpful to your business include: Setting up FTP and SMTP Sites, Web Site Security, and Remote Administration.

Microsoft® Windows® 2000 and IIS 5.0 Administrator's Pocket Consultant. Willam Robert Stanek.
This guide is a good administrative reference. The step-by-step approach helps users work through everyday problems quickly.

These guides are available at www.barnesandnoble.com and www.amazon.com



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