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Software for Cyber Café, Hotspot WI-FI, Call Shop |
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Hotspot, Call Shop and Cyber Café Software : Preferences
The Preferences function is the program's nerve centre and enables access to almost all the options relevant to system functioning. We will now analyze the various sections :
Layout The items on this page greatly influence the program's graphical interface:
Use Mode Allows you to select
the program's operation mode by choosing from 6 different possibilities
:
Based on your selection,
the program will hide or display the respective functions on the Explorer
Manager graphical interface. For example, choosing the Hotspot mode hides
all functions exclusive to Internet Café and the Call Shop, such as allowed
applications, telephone rates, order and printing management, etc. Language : allows you to choose the Explorer Manager language.
Enable printing monitor : allows you to enable or disable the printing monitor. If you choose to disable this item, the program's main screen will hide the section relevant to printing and leave more space for the other elements on the main window.
Enable order sending from workstations : allows you to enable or disable sending of workstation orders. As in the previous case, disabling the orders removes the corresponding section from the program's main screen.
Use background image for workstation monitors : allows you to specify an image to use as a background on workstation monitors. For example, you could use a map of the premises as a background image to help operators immediately identify a workstation.
Navigation On this page we find the following options :
Disconnection of pre-paid sessions when credit finishes : causes automatic disconnection of users whose pre-paid credit finishes while they are navigating.
Disconnection after X minutes of inactivity : by enabling this option, users will be automatically disconnected after a certain number of minutes of inactivity.
Pre-paid sessions : this section allows you to choose whether to display the remaining credit or the equivalent remaining time in the pre-paid mode sessions.
Notification when credit is about to expire : by enabling this item, the customer will receive notification when his/her credit goes under a pre-set threshold. If this item is enabled, you must indicate the thresholds, based on the type of navigation (pre-paid, time or traffic based), under which credit must be considered to be expiring.
Miscellaneous License code : allows for the customer code and relative password to be entered. Entering this data is essential for acquisition, through the “Update” button, the number of customer stations that can be activated (customer license).
Default parameters: this section allows you to set the default values for certain parameters (navigation mode, group etc) for automatic allocation to the user when a new record is created.
Enable the smart card reader : allows you to enable or disable use of the smart card reader.
Run automatically at Windows startup : this option, enabled by default, allows for Explorer Manager to automatically run at Windows startup.
Checkout management : this group contains two checkout management items. The first enables automatic checkout opening on the first operation of the day, without necessarily having to manually open the checkout using the corresponding items in the Checkout menu, while the second enables the non-registration of operations with an amount under a certain threshold (e.g. useful to ignore small credit adjustment operations).
User
drive : Normally the user drive is created
on the server in the shared "\\ServerName\Softvision Explorer Data"
folder. The items in this group can be used to save the user drive data
in a different network position or request the drive to be directly created
on the computer client. However, in this case, on logging out the user
could lose all his/her saved data.
Permitted Applications
Allows you to
specify which programs can be launched on the navigation workstations.
For example, word processing, chat, game programs etc. can be enabled.
The applications can be manually added using the "New" button
or you can use the "Find..." function capable of exploring computers
with Explorer Client running to request a list of installed programs.
One or more workstations can be simultaneously explored. After the search,
the full path of each program found is displayed, as well as the number
of workstations with the program. You can use the "+" button
to enter the selected programs on the applications. Remember that the list of permitted applications is only used to define the programs that can be executed on the Internet Café, however not all users are automatically enabled to use them. This operation must subsequently take place by enabling the programs you have just chosen, in the various User Groups.
Lastly, the bottom of this section includes certain items that allow you to specify the commands to mount and unmount CD ISO images (by default Daemon Tool Lite freeware program commands which can be downloaded at the address http://www.daemon-tools.cc/dtcc/download.php) and an item, in the Programs menu, that allows you to hide the applications not installed on that particular workstation.
Files and User Registry Keys
Users often use customisable programs. Take the Formula 1 game, for example, where the player can customise the vehicle, a preferred circuit, etc. This information is saved by the game in a certain file on the workstation or in a Windows registry key. Clearly, once the session ends, this information is still saved on the workstation and another user can then access it. He/she can change these settings by permanently deleting those of the previous user and when the previous user logs in he/she will find their personal settings have changed. To avoid this problem Softvision Explorer offers the possibility of saving and restoring certain files and/or registry keys for each user accessing the workstations.
User File : allows you to define the user files to be associated with each user (via the respective User Groups). Each user file must have a specified file path on the client (file to write) and the file path on the server to send on first login. With subsequent access, if the "Update" item is enabled, the file changed by the user during the session will be sent (the file is sent to the server once the session ends). Instead, if the "Update" item is not enabled, the same file will always be sent to the workstation for each access. This operation mode is useful if you want, for example, to reset the settings of a program on each start-up, preventing persistent changes made by the user.
User Registry Keys : this is similar to the above, however it works with registry keys instead of files. Each key must have a specified type (string, number etc.), the key value to send on first login, the key update ability and the full path of the registry key to write on the workstation.
Workstations
This screen allows you to customize certain types of workstation by changing their associated icon or adding new ones.
Favourite Sites Page
Allows you to
specify the sites which will appear in Internet Explorer’s list of favourite
sites. This is particularly useful when workstations are configured to
restrict navigation to certain sites (e.g. in betting shops). In fact
in this situation, this is the only way of selecting a site, because Internet
Explorer’s address bar is disabled.
Hotspot Configuration
The Softvision Explorer
can manage internet access for computers or other devices like PDA, mobile
phones etc., using wireless connections. These devices do not require any
software to access Hotspots managed by the program.
Hotspot on LAN 2 : this type of Hotspot is based on one or more wireless Access Point connected, possibly through a switch, to a second network card (LAN 2) on the server. The configuration of this section is necessary only if you wish to use the software as a Hotspot or to manage connections on LAN 2. In this screen you will have to specify which network card is connected to the network with the internet connection (LAN 1) and which network card is connected to the wireless Access Point of LAN 2. If you are using a Router wireless, you will also have to specify the IP addresses of the WAN and LAN ports of the Router Wireless. These are set at the default values of 192.168.2.1 (WAN) and 192.168.1.1 (LAN). Finally, with the “Use internal NAT” option, you can avoid changing the modem’s routing tables. This function is available only for Windows XP and Vista with the firewall active. For further information on this type of configuration, we strongly advise you to consult the guide to installation and configuration of the software. Lastly, the redirection mode specifies the technique to use for redirect users not logged in on the authentication page. This mode must run as "standard" in the majority of cases. You must use the "Alternative" mode only when there are problems with the other mode (for example with some particular modems).
For a comparison of different solution see the article
Hotspot Comparison
on LAN2 and Hotspot
Radius.
The Captive Portal, i.e., the website that users see when they attempt to access the system, can be completely personalized. The Hotspot branch of this window contains two sections for personalization:
White List
This page contains two White Lists for the hotspot: one for MAC Addresses and one for websites. The first specifies a list of MAC Addresses of devices that can navigate through the Hotspot without the need for authentication. Typically, this option is reserved for the personnel of the establishment where the Hotspot is installed. The website White List, on the other hand, permits even users who are not logged-in to navigate some websites. This function is essential, for example, to allow users who are not logged-in to access PayPal to recharge their accounts.
VoIP Telephony
This section allows you to enable the VoIP functionalities necessary for the program to manage a Call Shop. The first thing to set is the list of VoIP service carriers. The program needs at least one VoIP carrier to route the calls, however we recommend you set more than one to ensure a carrier is always available if the others are temporarily unavailable. Furthermore, by setting multiple VoIP carriers and by uploading the relative telephone rates for the different countries, you can request the program to route the call using the carrier with the least charge for that particular telephone prefix. Having entered the carriers, you must set one of them as "default". This carrier will be used to route the calls with no specified routing information. For further information on this functionality, view the VoIP Rates section. The lower part of the window includes a "SIP Client Registration" frame. Here, you must specify if the SIP telephone must use authentication based on a username and password to register or if the program must only accept calls from telephones that conducted the registration operation.
Re-charge using PayPal
In this
section you can configure the system to accept re-charge payments with
a PayPal account or by credit card. Before configuring this section, you
are advised to consult the page on re-charge
using PayPal. In particular, for the correct
functioning of the recharging procedure, you must activate the immediate
payment notification (IPN) in your PayPal profile and turn the port TCP 80
towards the server.
PayPal Account : email address linked to the PayPal account through which payments are to be made. URL
to be displayed for successfully completed transactions
: this is the page that will be displayed on completion of a successful
transaction. It is very important for this URL to be correct, because
the customer’s pre-paid account is automatically credited with the re-charge
when, at the end of the transaction, re-direction to this URL from PayPal’s
site occurs.
Notifications Explorer Manager provides notification of particularly important events, such as the arrival of a new order, a user logging out with a post-paid session, etc. The notification is displayed in a pop-up window accompanied by a sound. You can individually enable or disable each type of notification and decide the associated sound by indicating the relative WAV file. Receipts The program can issue and print receipts following an operation that involves takings. You can indicate which operations require printing of a receipt (account balance, a pre-paid recharge, etc.) The taxes to enter on the receipts can be completely customised by indicating the name of the tax (generally VAT) and the corresponding tax rate (for example 20%). You can also specify whether the prices indicated during the operations include or exclude taxes. For example, if a 30 euro recharge is made with the "Prices include taxes" item enabled, a receipt will be printed with a total amount of 30 euro (including tax), while for taxes not included in prices a receipt will be printed with an amount of 36 euro (6 euro taxes). The layout of the receipts is completely customizable : you can choose the logo image to print, the size of the characters used and the text to enter for the title, sub-title and the background text on the receipt. If you want to also change the receipt layout you will need to directly change the Receipt.htm file in the Custom Data folder.
Multiple Servers You can use
multiple servers to communicate computers that run Explorer Manager. Let
us assume, for example, that a hotel chain has a server installed with
Explorer Manager to manage the Hotspots in three different hotels which
we will call A,B and C. If a customer is registered in hotel A, obviously
he/she can only access that particular Hotspot. If the customer goes to
Hotel B he/she has to register again to also navigate in those Hotspots.
To avoid multiple registration, the Multiple Server function can be used
to ensure the various Explorer Managers installed in hotels A, B and C
communicate with one another via internet to exchange information on their
registered users. To use this function, you must specify each network server with the relevant public IP addresses (without fixed IP, use a dynamic DNS service). Each server must also have an associated number code that uniquely identifies it. For the correct functioning of the procedure it is fundamentally important that the server lists, with the relevant codes, are identical in all the network servers. Remember that the servers communicate with one another using port 9393. As a result, you must forward that port to the network computer that runs Explorer Manager.
To avoid manually uploading the list on all the servers, use the following procedure: 1) Ensure Explorer Manager is active on all the network servers. 2) Upload the list on one server only. 3) Activate user sharing on all the other servers without uploading any sections. 3) Re-start all the servers.
Once the procedure ends, the list will be sent to all the network servers, thereby avoiding its manual upload.
Databases Softvision Explorer supports three different types of database : Microsoft Access, Sql Server (also Express Edition) and MySql (from version 5). Access is the default database. To change this setting, just select Sql Server or MySql, setting the relevant access parameters (server address, password, etc.). For a complete description of what these parameters mean, refer to the respective database guides. Having changed the type of database used, the program will import the Access data in the new database. Remember that the reverse operation is not allowed : for example, if you are using the MySql database you can return to the Access database, but you cannot transfer data loaded while using the MySql database. This page also allows you to request the automatic compacting of the archive every X days. Compacting is of fundamental importance (particularly for Access) to always ensure a high performance level in accessing data on the database. Automatic Backup |
