Dashboard (FTD Mercury X)

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Revision as of 07:57, 21 April 2008

The FTD Mercury Dashboard summarizes certain activities in your FTD Mercury system in a graphical display. With the FTD Mercury Dashboard you can quickly review important information about your store and make up-to-the-minute decisions about your business. The Dashboard can also help you determine the tasks you still need to perform before closing your shop at the end of the day.

How-to Procedures

Enabling the Dashboard

The Dashboard does not automatically display on new FTD Mercury systems. You must enable the Dashboard in order to display it. Once enabled, you will be able to display the Dashboard anytime.

Two tasks are required to display the Dashboard:

• Enabling the Dashboard in Mercury Administration
• Enabling the Dashboard on each terminal where you would like to display it

Opening the Dashboard

Once the Dashboard is enabled, open it by double-clicking the Mercury Dashboard icon on your Mercury desktop.

Taking Action on Dashboard Indicators

Use the indicators on the FTD Mercury Dashboard to determine the actions that you need to take in your Mercury system. The Dashboard contains three types of indicators.

• The Incoming Mercury Messages chart shows the number of messages of various types that you need to respond to.
• The order indicators provide visual cues for specific order types, statuses, and potential issues. Each order indicator has two possible states. If there are orders that fit the criteria the indicator measures, the indicator will be a bright color, and the counter will have a value greater than 0. If there are no orders that fit that criteria, the counter will be 0 and the indicator color will be a muted version of the bright color.
• The communication status indicators provide visual cue that your Mercury system is experiencing a communication issue. All status indicators are bright orange; changes in status are highlighted by the addition of a large red 'X' over the icon when there is an issue.

At the end of each day, you should ensure that no order indicators have items associated with them (that is, the number at the top right of the indicator should be zero and the color should be muted). Additionally, you should ensure there are no Order messages in the Incoming Mercury Messages chart (that is, you’ve attached or rejected all incoming orders), you have sent an ANSwer to all incoming ASK messages, and you have sent a CONfirmation or DENy message in response to all incoming CANcel message. NOTE ANS, REJ, CON, DEN, FOR, and GEN messages are listed for your information. You cannot reduce these; the counters will reset the next day. If your Dashboard is clear (aside from the ANS, REJ, CON, DEN, FOR, and GEN messages), you can proceed to other end of day tasks, such as performing z-out transactions, balancing your cash drawers, and preparing your bank deposit.

Types of Information on the Dashboard

The Dashboard is a snapshot of today’s activities; messages and orders that are for past or future dates are not reflected in the Dashboard.

The FTD Mercury Dashboard displays three types of information:

Incoming Mercury Messages

Located at the top center of the Dashboard, the Incoming Mercury Messages chart shows number of incoming messages of different types you have received today; messages for past or future dates are not reflected in the Dashboard. In the case of Order, ASK, and CANcel messages, the chart reflects the number of these message types received today that you need to take action on.

Order Indicators

Order indicators which provide visual cues for specific order types, statuses, and potential issues. Each order indicator has two possible states. If there are orders that fit the criteria the indicator measures, the indicator will be a bright color, and the counter will have a value greater than 0. If there are no orders that fit that criteria, the counter will be 0 and the indicator color will be a muted version of the bright color. After the Dashboard polls the server, if there is any change in activity, the counters will update for each indicator and the indicators may light up or dim.

Order indicators for C.O.D., pickup, and undelivered orders are only for today’s orders. However, order indicators for declined credit cards, unauthorized credit cards, incomplete orders, and filed orders reflect the number of these order types regardless of the date.

Communication Status Indicators

The External Communication indicator lets you know if there is an issue with external communication, which can affect fax operations, email, credit card processing, Mercury Messages, and wireless GPS. If there is an issue, the External Communication indicator will have a large red × over the icon.

How the Dashboard Works

The Dashboard displays the number of a preset list of events that occur in your FTD Mercury system during the day. The Dashboard refreshes the display based on a polling interval set in the Advanced Settings screen in Mercury Administration. Typically, this is set to refresh every minute. At the bottom of the screen, below the status indicators, a progress bar updates indicating how long until the next refresh. When the bar fills, the Dashboard contacts the FTD Mercury server for updated information. After the Dashboard polls the server, if there is any change, the order or communications indicators may light up or dim or the number of messages in the Incoming Mercury Messages chart may increase or decrease.