120 - BreakPoint Electronic Clerk Messaging
The BreakPoint Clerk Messaging facility includes two basic operations:
- First you must create the Clerk Message File and send it to the BreakPoint workstation.
- Once a Clerk Message File is received at the BreakPoint workstation, the cashier may use the Clerk Message Key to view the message.
Setting Up Clerk Messaging
To set up BreakPoint Clerk Messaging, you must first assign two keys to your BreakPoint keyboard. These are the Clerk Message Key (Cashier Key Function 104) and the Delete Message Key (Cashier Key Function 123).
The Clerk Message Key is used whenever the cashier wishes to view the current Clerk Message. The Delete Message Key is used when the cashier is finished with the current Clerk Message and wishes to delete the message permanently.
There is also one flag option when setting up Clerk Messaging:
SYSTEM FLAG 320 - Clerk Message Reminder with Each Clerk Logon.
This flag permits the operator to be reminded of the Clerk Message with each Clerk Logon. If this flag is left at NO, the cashier will be reminded of a Clerk Message only once, either when the cashier first starts up the BreakPoint workstation or when the Clerk Message file first becomes available.
Creating a Clerk Message File:
The BreakPoint Clerk Message File must be created under a special filename so that BreakPoint can recognize it. If you wish to send a message to a specific clerk, the filename is as follows:
PSMSGxxx.DAT - Where xxx is the Clerk Number of the cashier you wish to message.
If you wish to send a message to any or all cashiers, the filename is as follows:
PSMSGALL.DAT
The Clerk Message File can be created using any text editor or word processor. The DOS utility called EDIT is commonly used for this purpose, for example.
The Clerk Message File should contain no more than 20 lines of text that are no more than 60 columns in width. These text lines may be set to any alignment and/or spacing that is required to make the message more attractive for viewing.
Once the file has been created, it must simply be copied to the BreakPoint directory for viewing by the cashier. In a network environment, a simple COPY command may be used to move the newly created Clerk Message File to the appropriate BreakPoint drive and directory. If you are messaging from a remote computer, you may use a telephone modem and virtually any modem communciations program to move the Clerk Message File to the appropriate BreakPoint directory.
Viewing a Clerk Message
BreakPoint is designed to automatically recognize the Clerk Message File the exact moment that it becomes available in the current BreakPoint directory. When BreakPoint first recognizes a Clerk Message File in its current directory, it presents a message to the operator indicating that a Clerk Message File is available. To view the actual Clerk Message, the cashier must press the Clerk Message Key.
Please note that BreakPoint does not present the actual Clerk Message until the cashier requests it with the Clerk Message Key. This is designed as a precaution to enable cashiers to view message at a convenient time, such as when customers are not nearby that might accidentally view an unfriendly message.
Once the cashier has viewed the Clerk Message and does not wish to have BreakPoint continue to present the operator message that a Clerk Message is available, the Delete Message Key may be used to delete the current Clerk Message File.