Configuring Merac Till Buttons

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

In the ‘Merac’ back office software you can configure your ePoS till screens to be as required to meet the needs of your business, whether this is for admissions, hospitality or retail requirements. Till buttons can be used for a wide range of tasks but the focus of this user guide is to show you how to assign an item that you sell (know as a PLU) to a till button

Overview

Firstly, in order to make any changes to till buttons you must have the keyboard and mouse attached.

In order to edit a button, first click on the relevant ‘Sales Panel’ to bring up the buttons in this panel.

In this instance we will be using the ‘Admission Tickets’ panel located here, so we clicked on this ‘Sales Panel’.

When you click on a ‘Sales Panel’ the buttons within that panel are then shown here.

How to amend the button contents and properties are explained in the following sections.

Amending a Till Button

To change a button on this 'Sales Panel' first position the mouse cursor over any of the buttons in this 'Sales Panel'. to

Now hold down the CTRL key on your computer keyboard (usually located in the bottom left corner of our keyboard).

While holding this button down, next right click once on your mouse, then release the CTRL key.

If done correctly a new screen will then appear like the one shown below, this is the ‘Button Panel Configuration’ screen.

In order to changes the PLU assigned to the required button, you must right click on the button itself.

For example to add a new PLU sales button tot he right on the 'Adult Day Ticket' right click on this spare button.

A pop up menu will then be shown like the one below, with various options.

Next left click on the ‘Configure Button’ option.

This will open the ‘Button Configuration’ screen, that is explained in the following section.

Button Configuration Screen

An example ‘Button Configuration’ configuration screen is shown below.

The contents of the above screen are explained in the table below:

Button Text	Enter the required description for this button. here
Text Align:	Use this option to select the required text alignment for this button.
Font:	Use this option to select the required font for this button.
Font Size:	Use this option to select the required font size for the text on that button.
	There are also tick box options to make the text bold, italic, or underlined as required.
Enable:	You can activate or de-activate the button using this tick-box.
Visible:	You can either hide or show this button on the till screen using this tick-box.
Back Colour:	You can pick the button’s background colour by left-clicking this button
Font Colour:	You can pick the button’s font colour by left-clicking this button
Picture File:	You can assign a JPEG image file to assign to a till button using this option.
	When using images, you will need to manually resize each image to fit the button size.
	Please Note: using image files on a till can slow down using the till screens.
	For this reason it is a requirement to shut down the till every night when using images on buttons.
Picture Align:	Select the required alignment for the image on the button using this drop-down.

The various Button Actions shown in the above screen are also explained in the below table:

None:	This is selected if you are not using the button.
Text Only:	This is generally used for keyboard commands i.e. backspace like a hot key.
Sell Item:	This is for your items that you want to sell a single item (PLU) by pressing this button.
Switch Panel:	This is to jump to another panel (which we is covered in panel configuration).
Command:	This is for commands e.g. the ‘Find Product’, or ‘New Member Wizard’ functionality buttons.
Voucher:	If ‘Vouchers’ have been set-up, this is used to assign a button to a ‘Voucher’ denomination.
Promotion:	If ‘Selected’ (coupon driven) promotions have been set-up, this is for assigning a button to a ‘Coupon’.
Wastage:	This is used for setting up a entering a button that can waste a specific stock item and quantity at the PoS (typically the 'Write-Off Next Item' command functionality is used to enter wastage at the PoS)

Assigning a PLU to a Till Button

In this example we will assume we are putting a single item (PLU) that we want to sell onto a blank button.

If so, the ‘Button Configuration’ screen will look like the one below.

In order to sell an item on a button, you must first select the ‘Sell Item’ option by clicking the where shown.

You will now see the screen has changed as shown below, to enable you to select the PLU to assign to the button.

Next click on the binoculars button, to the right of the ‘Sell Item’ box.

Enter a ‘Code’ or ‘Description’ of the PLU you want to find and click ‘Search’.

You can use the ↑↓ keys on your keyboard to scroll up/down the list.

Once the required PLU is highlighted, click ‘Ok’.

Alternatively, click on the required PLU and it will be selected automatically.

You will now see the selected PLU code appears in the ‘Sell Item’ box.

Amending Text / Colour Properties of a Button

You can now amend the text on the button using the ‘Text Properties’ section of this screen.

Enter the required description for this button in the ‘Button Text’ box.

N.B. this defaults to the PLU description. Amend the text in the 'Button Text' field as required.

As you to the text the changes will appear on the example button, in the top right corner of the screen.

Use the ‘Text Align’ drop-down to select the required alignment for the button text.

Select the required font using the ‘Font’ drop-down (the default font is ‘Arial’).

Select the required font size using the ‘Font Size’ drop-down.

Select whether the font will be ‘Bold’, ‘Italic’ or ‘Underline’ by ticking the relevant boxes.

Click the box to the right of ‘Back Colour’ to select the required background colour, using the colour selector screen.

Click the box to the right of ‘Font Colour’ to select the required font colour,, using the colour selector screen.

The colour selector screen that appears in both case will be as shown below.

Simply click on the required button colour from the ‘Basic Colours’ grid.

Alternatively, clicking ‘Define Custom Colours’ allows you to select / define your own color as required.

Click ‘Ok’ once the required colour has been selected.

You will now be back at the following screen.

To confirm the changes, click the ‘OK’ button.

Next, click the ‘Apply’ and then ‘Ok’ buttons in that order.

This takes you back to the main till screen.

The new button should now be showing on the relevant till screen.

We recommend you click on the button to test that it sells the PLU correctly.

N.B. as with any changes to till screen you must now send them to the till(s) using Edit > Recreate Till Data as usual.

Adding Image Files to a Button

There is the option to add a picture to this button, however there are some caveats:

(1) Adding images to till buttons can slow down the operation of the till, especially opening screens with pictures.

(2) When using images on till button you will need to shut down the till regularly (we recommend each night)

(3) The software does not scale images to fit buttons, you must resize all the images yourself to fit each button.

(4) Only a .JPG image file can be assigned to a till button.

For the above reasons we advise caution when assigning images to buttons and do not recommend it, unless you feel it is absolutely necessary to put an image file on a till button(s).

To assign an image file to a button, click on the binoculars to the right of the ‘Picture File’ box.

Navigate to where your JPG images are stored and click on the required image.

Now click ‘Open’.

N.B. if you select the wrong image, or wish to remove the image from the button, then simply click on the ‘X’ button to the right of the ‘Picture File’ box to remove the image.

You can select how you want the picture file to be aligned on the button using the ‘Picture Align’ drop-down.

Please note any ‘Button Text’ will still be present when you assign an image to a button.

If the ‘Button Text’ cannot easily be read once the image is on the button, you can remove the ‘Button Text’.

Alternatively, you may want to amend the change e.g. the ‘Font Colour’ so the text stands out.

Click ‘Ok’ once you have assigned the picture and centred it to be as required.

Click the ‘Apply’ and then ‘Ok’ buttons to confirm the button changes.

You will now be on the till screen, so check the button appears and functions as required.

If the size of the image does not fit the button, you will need to resize the JPG image and re-attach it as above.

N.B. as before any changes to till screen you must send them to the till(s) using Edit > Recreate Till Data.

Copying, Pasting, Clearing and Hiding Buttons

To copy, paste, clear or hide buttons, you need to be in the ‘Button Panel Configuration’ screen.

As before this is done by hovering the mouse over the panel you want to edit, then hold down the CTRL key.

Then single click the right-hand mouse button (and you can then release the CTRL key).

A pop-up menu options shown below will then appear as shown below:

The ‘Copy Button’ and ‘Paste Button’ options are useful when you want to move buttons. For example, you may need to move buttons to make space around them before you expand their width or height.

To copy an entire button (i.e. the PLU and the button text, font, colour etc), left click the ‘Copy Button’ option.

You can then paste this button to where you want it to go. To do this right mouse click the button you want to paste to (usually a free button) and from the options that pop-up, left click the ‘Paste Button’ option.

Please note this will note the button that you copied will still be present, so you may want to clear this button.

To do this right-mouse click on the button and from the options that pop-up, left click the ‘Clear Button’ option.

There are also ‘Copy Attributes’ and ‘Paste Attributes’ options. These are used just like the above options, but these options are used to copy and paste the “style” only of a button to another button (colours, font etc).

Sometimes you may want to set up a button in advance but not want it to be seen on your till until later. To do this right-mouse click on the button and from the options that pop-up, left click the ‘Hide Button’ option.

A hidden button looks like the one shown below, as a flat button (usually the button appears to be raised)

At the point you want to show this button then right-mouse click it and form the options select ‘Un-Hide Button’.

Please note if you mark a button as ‘Hidden’ then if you went into the ‘Button Configuration’ for this button, you will notice it has simply removed the tick in the ‘Visible’ tick box.

So, this is the alternative way of hiding / unhiding a button by ticking / unticking the above box as required.

If required you can also disable a button, to do this untick the ‘Enable’ tick-box where shown.

Click ‘Ok’ to confirm any changes that were made.

As usual, click ‘Apply’ and ‘Ok’ to confirm the button changes made.

N.B. as with any changes to till screen you must send them to the till(s) using Edit > Recreate Till Data.

The difference between how a disabled and hidden button appears on the till is shown below.

To set the buttons back to an ‘Enabled’ / ‘Visible’ button again simply access the ‘Button Configuration’ screen (as detailed previously and tick the required box(es) so they are back to normal.

Click ‘Ok’ to confirm any changes that were made.

As with any change, click ‘Apply’ and ‘Ok’ to confirm the changes made.

To do this send the changes to the till(s) in the usual way, by clicking Edit > Recreate Till Data.

Changing the Sizes of Buttons

In the ‘Button Panel Configuration’ screen the size of the buttons can also be amended. Please note the width of a button can only be expanded to the right and the height of a button can only be expanded downwards, so before doing this process make sure there is the required space around the specific button(s).

To widen a button, right mouse click on it and left mouse click on the ‘Expand Width Right’ option.

To increase the height of a button, right mouse click on it and left mouse click the ‘Expand Height Down’ option.

If you want to decrease the width or height of a button you made larger, then you simply right mouse click the button and select the ‘Shrink Width’ and/or the ‘Shrink Height’ option(s) as required.

Please note that if you expand a button without moving the button next to / below it, the expanded button will simply go over the top of the existing button. Please note if you do this in error, simply shrink the button back to its original size and the button that was covered will still be there.

As before you must click ‘Apply’ and ‘Ok’ to confirm the button changes made and as usual you must.

Next, send these changes to the required till(s) using Edit > Recreate Till Data.

Changing Sales Panel Text Properties

Please note, if required you can easily change the text / colour of each of the buttons that opens a ‘Sales Panel’

As before, in order to make any changes to till buttons you must have the keyboard and mouse attached.

In order to amend the name, you first need to hover the mouse pointer over this specific section of the screen.

So, in this case the mouse pointer would need to be located over the right hand column of buttons as indicated below.

Now hold down the CTRL key on your keyboard (usually near the bottom left corner of the keyboard).

While holding this button down, next single right-click on your mouse (and then you can release the CTRL key)

As before the ‘Button Panel Configuration’ screen appears, but you can see it is for the selected section of the till screen.

Now right-click on the button you want to amend the text / colour of with your mouse.

Changing Sales Panel Names

You now left click the ‘Configure Button’ option form the below list.

As before, it is now just a case of changing the text, font, font size and colours etc of this button to be as required.

Click ‘Ok’ once the required changes have been made.

You will now be back at the ‘Button Panel Configuration’ screen.

As before you must click ‘Apply’ and ‘Ok’ to confirm the button changes made.

As usual you must then send these changes to the required till(s) using Edit > Recreate Till Data.