Print Update, Update Only, Email Transactions
Transactions include a Print/Update button that is enabled automatically when the transaction is balanced. Clicking Print/Update will update the transaction and launch the print process. When a user prints a document, Prism will automatically recognize the printer attached to the device or workstation. A wide variety of printers can be used with Prism, including standard Windows printers, OPOS, Bluetooth and AirPrint for iOS. To modify the print designs included with Prism, or to create your own, use the Document Designer. Depending on print preferences, the Print modal displayed to users may also allow emailing of a PDF copy of the receipt. Depending on the user's permissions, there may also be an Update Only button. Clicking Update Only will update the transaction without launching the print process.
Configure Print Settings
Prism has various preference settings related to printing.
| Preference Path | Description |
|---|---|
| Admin Console > Node Preferences > Hardware > Print Preferences | In this area, you can define different print settings for different areas and document types in Prism. These preferences must be set at the Store level. For example: Default Action (display a dialog to users, print, or email) Default Printer Type Default Print Design Default number of Copies Properties of the Print dialog displayed to users The settings in the workstation record for Printer Type and Print Design, if defined, will override the settings defined here. |
| Admin Console > Node Preferences > Hardware > Print Preferences > Printer Types | In this area, define the types of printers used by your store. After defining Printer Types, assign a Printer and a default design to individual printer types in the workstation record Printer Types tab. The following default printer types are defined: Tag Printer, Laser/Inkjet Printer, 40 Col Printer. You can add more Printer Types if needed. These preferences must be set at the Store level. |
| Admin Console > Node Preferences > Node Selection > [Workstation] > Printer Types tab | On the Printer Types tab of the workstation record, select from the dropdown the Printer attached to the workstation. Click the checkbox for the Printer Type of the selected printer. |
Print Preferences
Navigate to Admin Console > Node Preferences > Hardware > Print Preferences.
Sample Admin Console > Node Preferences > Hardware > Print Preferences:
Printer Types
Navigate to Admin Console > Node Preferences > Hardware > Print Preferences > Printer Types.
Assign Printer Type to Printer in the workstation record
Navigate to Admin Console > Node Preferences > Node Selection > [Workstation] > Printer Types.
Select a Printer from the drop-down and click the checkbox for the Printer Type. Save the changes.
Assign Printer Type to Printer in Workstation record on the Printer Types tab:
Print Preferences
The "print" dialog that is displayed to users and the settings that are available to change are based on the preference settings in Admin Console > Node Transactions > Hardware > Print Preferences.
Select the desired Print Area from the menu on the left.
Define print settings for the area and save.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Hide default print designs | If selected, then the default print designs shipped with the product are hidden. This will leave only your custom designs available as selections in the Print Design drop-down. |
| Override Sub Areas | The Override Sub-Areas setting determines if the child sub-areas are editable in Admin Console and consumed during POS printing. If the Override Sub-Areas checkbox is enabled for the POS Receipt parent area, the child areas for Standard, Return and Order are read-only and not consumed during POS printing. |
| Default action | Select the default action to take when a user clicks the Print/Update button: Display a dialog so the user can choose an action, always email, or always print. |
| Default printer type | Select a default printer type to use. Define Print Types in Admin Console > Node Preferences > Hardware > Printer Types |
| Default printer design | Select the print design that will be used by default. You can change the selection at run time, if needed. |
| Default copies | This setting enables you to define the number of copies of a document that will be printed by default. Printing multiple copies of a receipt or other document is required (or desired) in certain regions. When the user prints the document, the Print dialog will already be set to print the defined number of copies. |
| Default Email Design | Select the email design that will be used by default. You can change the selection at run time, if needed. For example, you might want to use a 40-column design for the default print design but use an 8x11 design as the default email design. |
| Print dialog controls | Print button, Email button, Print and Email button (two actions combined in one button), Preview button, Printer selection, number of copies, print design selection and email design selection. |
Sample Prism Print Preferences for POS Transactions:
Print
When the transaction is balanced and ready to be updated, you have two choices: Print Update or Update Only. If a coupon is to be issued, be sure to select a print design that includes "Coupon" in the description.
| Button | Description |
|---|---|
| Print Update | Selecting Print Update will update the transaction and displays the print dialog for printing or emailing the receipt. |
| Update Only | Only will update the transaction without displaying the print dialog. To use the Update Only option, a user must belong to a group with the security permission "POS - Allow Update Only at POS". |
Print Modal Options
In the Print modal, you can change the following print settings. The available options will depend on the settings enabled in Node Preferences > Hardware > Print Preferences.
| Print Option | Notes |
|---|---|
| Print Design | Select the design you want to use to print the receipt. Default = Receipt 40 col. |
| Printer | Select the printer (from the printers defined on system). Default = default system printer |
| Quantity | Select the minus or plus buttons to change the print quantity. Default = 1 |
| Email Address | If a customer is entered on the transaction and that customer's record has an email address assigned, that email will be entered and the Email button will be enabled. Before emailing the receipt, you can confirm with the customer that the entered email address is correct and then edit it, if necessary. If the customer has multiple email addresses, you can click the Select Email button to choose the desired address. |
| Print button | Touch or click the Print button to send the print command to the printer. |
| Preview button | Select Preview to see how the printed receipt will look, based on the currently selected settings. |
| Email button | Select Email to email a copy of the receipt to the entered Email Address. Note: The Email button is only enabled if a valid email address is entered. |
| Print/Email | Select this button to both print and send an email copy. Note: The Print/Email button is only enabled if a valid email address is entered. |
Update Only
The Update Only button will update the transaction without displaying the print dialog. Depending on how preferences are configured, an email copy of the receipt may be sent to the customer. To use the Update Only button, a user must belong to a group assigned the POS - Update Only permission.
Email Receipts
You can email an electronic copy of the receipt to the customer's email address and/or an email address of your choosing. Email receipts are sent in HTML format to the email address assigned in the customer's record.
To email receipts to customers, you must:
- Configure Prism preferences and enter your email server information
- Add email addresses to customer records
When one or more email addresses are entered in a customer's record, the customer's primary email address is automatically entered in the Print dialog displayed when printing/updating a transaction. You can add or edit an email address at time of printing. If using the email feature, be aware that it is the end user's responsibility to enter the correct SMTP server information in the RP Prism Admin Console.
Basic Steps for using Prism Email Services
- Configure email server settings in the Preferences & Settings > Hardware > Email Server area of the Admin Console.
- Assign a default print design for Email in the Hardware > Print Preferences area of preferences. You can optionally make Email the default action to take when updating documents.
- At POS, when the transaction is complete and the user clicks the Print/Update button, select the Email option in the displayed Print dialog. Confirm the user's email address is correct, if necessary. You can enter multiple email addresses separated by a comman. If you will be using the SSL option for sending email (recommended), be sure to use port 587. In addition, you must enter a valid username/password for authentication on the SMTP server.
Prism Email Server Preferences
Refer to the following table for information about configuring the fields in the Email Server Preferences area.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Email Host Name | Enter the IP Address or domain name of the machine used as the email server. |
| SMTP Port |
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol Port. Used for secure email using Secure Socket Layer (TLS/SSL). Make sure the Secure Socket Layer checkbox is selected. Enter 587 as the port number. (For unsecured email, clear the Secure Socket Layer checkbox. Enter 25 as the port number.) |
| Username | Enter a valid username/password for authentication by the SMTP server. |
| Password | Enter a valid password for the Username entered. Used for authentication by the SMTP server defined in the Host Name field. |
| Sender Email | Enter the email address that will appear in the "From:" line of the email. |
| Use SSL | If selected, Secure Socket Layer (TLS/SSL) communication is used. Default = Not selected |
| Default Email Subject Line | This enables you to define the default subject line and the sender's email address that is displayed in the From: field of the email |
| Document Email Subject Line | By default, the Email Subject Line will read: "Your receipt # " followed by the document number of the transaction. You can configure preferences to use different text and/or a different database field. See the "Customizing Document Email Subject Line" section. Maximum number of characters = 80 |
Customizing Document Email Subject Line
You can customize the Document Email Subject Line. By default, the Email Subject Line will read: "Your receipt # " followed by the document_number of the transaction.
Notice the format of the Email subject Line in preferences: Your receipt #{{Document_Number}} The database field inside the double-brackets is an example of data-binding. When the email is generated, whatever value is bound to the field specified in preferences will be inserted into the generated email receipt.
Here are typical fields that can be used to customize the email subject line parameter:
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| {{Document_Number}} | Transaction Number (Default) |
| {{Transaction_Total_Amt}} | Transaction Total |
| {{Discount_Amount}} | Transaction Discount Amount |
| {{Discount_Perc}} | Discount percentage |
| {{Store_Name}} | Store Name |
| {{Store_Number}} | Store Number |
| {{bt_first_name}} | Bill To Customer First Name |
| {{bt_last_name}} | Bill To Customer Last Name |
| {{st_first_name}} | Ship To Customer First Name |
| {{st_last_name}} | Ship To Customer Last Name |
| {{lty_lvl_name}} | Name of customer loyalty level |
| {{So_Deposit_Amt_Paid}} | Transaction Deposit paid |
| {{Employee1_Full_Name}} | Transaction Associate 1 Name |
| {{Tracking_Number}} | Transaction Shipping Tracking Number |
| {{NOTES_GENERAL}} | Transaction notes |
| {{Sold_Qty}} | Transaction Sold Quantity |
Print Groups
Print Groups enable you to group similar documents together and print the entire group with one print command. This is especially useful for retailers who regularly need to print multiple copies of receipts that have slight differences in the designs. For example, some retailers keep a printed copy of the receipt at the store with the word "copy" on it (to prevent fraudulent returns). This requires two print designs: one without the word "copy" (for the customer) and one with the word "copy" (for the merchant). This is just one example of how you can use print groups.
To add a new print group in Document Designer:
Launch Document Designer and log in.
Select an Area (e.g., POS Transactions).
Click the Groups button.
Click the New button.
Enter a Group Name and select the designs to include in the group by moving them from the Available column to the Selected column. Use the arrow keys to move designs back and forth. Click OK to save the new group.
The Group Name is now listed in the design groups. Click Close. To confirm the group was created and stored, you can query the RPS.REPORT_GROUP table.
Print Groups at POS
Go to Prism and create a new receipt. List any item and tender. Choose Print/Update
Within the main print menu, select the 'Use Groups' checkbox in the upper right-hand corner. In the Design drop-down, select the desired Print Group. Click Print.