The ‘Ticket Layouts’ menu allows you to create, edit and delete ticket layouts for use by your events/activities, merchandise, vouchers and memberships. Ticket layouts are specifically for hard copy tickets printed by a thermal BOCA ticket printer.
By default, there are some pre-set templates in the system to ensure that you do not have to create the templates from scratch. These layouts are customisable so you can create templates for specific events and venues and be particular about design elements. For example, a unique event may need a specific logo design as well as customised free text details to tell the customer. When creating an event/activity/product etc., you’ll be able to select the right template.
You can search your layouts at the top of the page and you can also filter by active, inactive or all. You are also able to change the ‘active’ status of any of the layouts simply by clicking on the switch to change.
Moreover, you have the ability to drag and drop any of the layouts into your desired order for easier viewing and access. You can also order the layouts by name in ascending or descending order by selecting on the arrow in that column.
The following pre-set templates are available. If you do not have seating plans, only the GeneralAdmission template will appear by default:
a. GeneralAdmission: This template is used when there is no seating plan. Adopted In circumstances where you have a capacity instead.
b. ReservedSeatingMixed: (Row/Table)- Designed for events where there are both rows and tables being purchased and only one ticket layout is being employed. This allows for both rows and tables to be integrated into the ticketing so there is no confusion between what is a ‘row’ and a ‘table’.
c. ReservedSeating (Tables): For seating plans that have tables only.
d. ReservedSeating (Rows): For seating plans that have rows only e.g. Row A1, A2, A3.
Only events/activities have multiple types. Memberships, merchandise and gift vouchers will have one template type default (access to these areas is limited by your plan type i.e. Basic, Standard, Enterprise).
HEADER CARD
The Header Card is what prints first when printing a ticket (if required). The header card lists the customer’s name and address details. This is perfect for filing bulk printed orders into a collection tray sorted by A-Z (surname order) and left ready for ticket collection on the night of a performance. When creating an event/activity, you will be able to select a specific ticket layout to assign. The header card is located under Events > Tools & Templates > Ticket Layouts for editing and viewing. Only one header card is available per organisation.
RECEIPTS
The Receipt prints when required at the end of the order. For example, if 4 tickets/items/vouchers are printed, the 5th ticket will be your receipt. Only one receipt is available per organisation.
Layout Search Options
Search: Simply enter the term you want to search for, select from Active, Inactive or All, and click SEARCH. Please remember to click CLEAR FILTERS to see your full list after a search.
Table
Status: You can change the ‘active’ status of individual layouts by simply flicking the switch from orange to grey. You can also drag and drop the layouts into your desired order such as those layouts you are more likely to use.
Name: This is the name of your printed ticket layout. You can also click the arrow to show the layouts by ascending or descending order alphabetically.
Description: This will be your identifying description for other users to get more of an understanding of why the layout was created e.g. “only for cheap Tuesdays”.
Date Created: This is the date when the layout was originally created.
Edit: This allows you to edit the specific layout.
Copy: This allows you to copy a layout. This is useful in situations where you want to create a new layout with only a few differences from the one you are copying.
View: This button allows to quickly preview the layout.
Bin: This bin icon allows you to delete the layout from this area. Once deleted, the layout will not be able to be recovered.
Adding a Layout
When adding a layout, you simply need to click ‘+New Layout’ [the name changes with the different modules, i.e. +New Voucher Layout for Gift Vouchers] and you are presented with the following options:
Name: This is the name of your printed ticket layout. Make sure the name is easy to search at a later date.
Description: This will be your identifying description for other system users to get more of an understanding of why the ticket layout was created e.g. “only for cheap Tuesdays”.
Ticket Layout Group (for Enterprise clients only): You have the option of grouping ticket layouts together. This is ideal if you have layouts that you want to group together by department or venue or any other identifying group or feature. Select a group from the drop-down list or choose to ‘Add layout group’.
Add Layout Group: Allows you to add a new layout group. Simply click or tap on ‘Add layout group’, enter a group name and click the save icon on the right-hand side.
Layout Type: Choose an appropriate layout type for your E-Ticket:
GeneralAdmission: This template is used when there is no seating plan. Adopted In circumstances where you have a capacity instead.
ReservedSeating (Rows): For seating plans that have rows only e.g. Row A1, A2, A3.
ReservedSeating (Tables): For seating plans that have tables only.
ReservedSeatingMixed: (Row/Table)- Designed for events where there are both rows and tables being purchased and only one ticket layout is being employed. This allows for both rows and tables to be integrated into the ticketing so there is no confusion between what is a ‘row’ and a ‘table’.
Printer & Printer DPI: This is where you select the type of hard ticket thermal printer you have, either being a BOCA 200 or 300 DPI printer. The DPI refers to dots per inch. If you are unsure of what printer you have, you can always check these details on your printer. We recommend using 300 DPI BOCA ticket printers for optimum printing results.
Product Ticket Size: 5.5X2 inches is the standard ticket size for any BOCA ticket printer, however, you can also select a pre-loaded ticket size from the drop-down menu or select custom to set your own dimensions.
Click ‘Save & Next’ to go to the next page or ‘Cancel’ to cancel out of the layout.
Editing a Layout
Layout Name: The given name of your layout.
Layout Type: This will show the layout type you have pre-selected.
Dimensions: The dimensions of the ticket layout you have set.
**Restore to default: This will restore your layout to the defaults we have in TicketSearch for your ticket layout. ***
***Restore to Previous Version: This will restore your ticket layout to the previous version that has been saved. If you saved your layout at 9am, then at 9.10am, if at 9.15am you decide to do a restore to previous version, the system would restore to 9.10am. ***
Only once you have saved a version, you will then see the restore to previous version option.
Manage Logo: All images that you want to load into the layout must be added via the ‘Manage Logo’ area. the CK editor program does not allow you to simply copy and paste into the layout. Your logo/image should be black and white as the BOCA ticket printer prints in black. By adding a colour image, this could cause the image to appear white. Also, images should be no larger than 150px X 150px, Max 300 DPI.
When adding an image, click ‘upload image’ which will allow you to choose from images on your computer (keep in mind that the max size is 2 MB). Once you have chosen the image you wish to upload, simply click ‘Open’ and this will upload to your image templates. Once you are happy with the image, click ‘Save’ to upload.
You also have the option of adding a description to your image. This is helpful if you have multiple users using TicketSearch and they need to understand why a layout was created. All images that that have been uploaded will appear at the bottom of the ‘Manage Logo’ popup menu.
Above: All of your previously loaded images can be made inactive by flicking the active switch, edited by clicking the pencil icon or deleted by clicking the bin icon. In the example above, this would not meet guidelines due to the high colour content. Although our system doesn’t restrict you adding in colour images, once you print, you may need to assess the outcome.
Clear Ticket: This will remove the ticket entirely.
Cancel: This will cancel any changes you have made to the layout.
Submit: This will submit any changes you have made to the layout.
What options are available in the design of a layout?
Lines and boxes: You can drag and drop any of these shapes into the template area which is measured by inches for height and width. The lines and boxes are ideal for highlighting any key information on your ticket that you want to stand out for the customer or staff member/door staff. For example, you may have a certain door that needs to be really clear on the ticket for ushers and for your customers to know where to go once they arrive to the venue. Always click ‘Apply’ after you are happy with its position and size on the layout.
Barcode/QR Code: This code will appear at the top right-hand corner of the ticket layout. The default is set to be a QR Code, but you can change this by simply clicking on the barcode icon on the ticket and use the drop-down box in the editor on the right-hand side. You can drag and drop any of these on any part of the layout. Always click ‘Apply’ after you are happy with its position.
Sample Text: You can drag and drop sample texts onto the layout. Sample texts are generally used for something you would want to be uniform across all tickets, for example “no refunds/no exchanges” or your website address. Always click ‘Apply’ after you are happy with its position and size.
{select_tag}: You are able to insert tags of information from the database that you are wanting to make visible for the ticket holder or staff member to easily see. Simply drag and drop ‘{select_tag}’ into the layout. You can also add lines or boxes to enhance the visibility of a tag. Always click ‘Apply’ after you are happy with its position and size. For example, ‘Customer ID’ Is a tag that will then populate the correct customer ID number once a sale has occurred.
[Logo]: You can drag and drop any ‘[Logo]’ you have uploaded in ‘Manage Logo’ into place. Always click ‘Apply’ after you are happy with its position and size.
Free text fields: ‘Free text line 1’ etc. are available when building an event/activity, for example. It then allows you to simply enter text into the event build that then populates onto the ticket. This avoids you having to create a different layout for specific text requirements. Examples are ‘Presented by’, ‘adults only’, ‘coarse language’, ‘no drinks allowed into the venue’ etc.
Preview Mode: This can be switched from off to on. Please note, there is pre-defaulted visible text that is only a sample. To see how your layout will print, add the layout against a module i.e. events/activities and do a test sale.