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uReserve Deluxe User's Guide

Version 3.20
Copyright (c) 2000 - 2003; Microburst Technologies, Inc.
http://www.uburst.com

Table of Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. Features
  3. System Requirements
  4. CGI Script Configuration
  5. Installing uReserve For the First Time
  6. Upgrading from uReserve Basic to uReserve Deluxe
  7. Troubleshooting
  8. Main Control Panel
  9. General Settings
       Display Preferences
       Reservation Fields
       E-mail Settings
       Report Preferences
       Colors and Fonts
  10. Manage Resources
       Resource Fields
       Add Resource
       Edit Resource
       Delete Resource
       Blackout Dates
          Add Blackout Date
          Cancel Blackout Date
  11. Authorized Users
       Add Authorized User
       Edit Authorized User
       Delete Authorized User
  12. Pending Reservations
       Approve or Reject Pending Reservation
  13. Reports
  14. Purge Old Data
  15. Using uReserve Deluxe
       Viewing the Resource Schedule
       Reserving a Resource
       Viewing Reservation Info
       Modifying or Deleting a Reservation

Introduction

uReserveTM Deluxe is an online resource scheduling system that allows members in your organization to reserve any type of resource - such as conference rooms, computer systems, electronic equipment, company cars, and more! User-friendly, web-based interfaces make it easy for people to check the availability of resources and reserve resources online.


Features

The features of uReserveTM Deluxe include:

...and much more!

System Requirements

uReserveTM consists of two Perl CGI scripts. System requirements are:


CGI Script Configuration

uReserveTM is comprised of two CGI scripts and one help text file: Before installing the package on your server, you will need to configure just one file: The ureserve-languges.pl script should be put in your cgi directory without any modifications, and the help.txt file should be put in your "data" directory without any modifications.

In order to configure the ureserve.pl script, you need to edit the file using any standard text editor, such as NotePad or WordPad, and answer the configuration questions at the top of the script. Below are some instructions to help you answer the questions and configure the script for your server.

NOTE: If you've never installed or executed any Perl scripts on your server before, it is recommended that you first try installing our basic test script as described on the following reference page:

http://www.uburst.com/uReserve/testscript.html

By installing this basic Perl script first, it should help you to understand how to install and execute scripts on your server. It also will verify that your web hosting account is configured properly to run Perl scripts and will make installing the uReserveTM Deluxe script that much easier.

1. What is the path to Perl on your server?

The uReserveTM Deluxe script is written in the Perl programming language and so in order for it to run, you must specify the location of Perl on your server on the very first line of this script.

Typical locations are:

#!/usr/bin/perl
#!/usr/local/bin/perl
#!/bin/perl

(Note that the #! characters are required and should be included when specifying the path). You can ask your Web Hosting Provider for the location of Perl on your server.

2. What is your uReserve Deluxe License Number?

For this configuration question, enter the license number that you were given when you purchased uReserveTM Deluxe. To do this, literally replace or type over this line in the uReserveTM CGI script. That is, change this line in the script from:

$license_number = "UNREGISTERED VERSION";

to something like:

$license_number = "ABC-123-456-789";

... where "ABC-123-456-789" is actually the license number that was assigned to you when you purchased uReserveTM Deluxe.

3. What is your company's/organization's name?

For this configuration question, enter the name of your company/organization that will be using uReserveTM Deluxe. An example value for this configuration question is:

$company_name = "My Company";

4. What is your website URL?

For this configuration question, enter the full URL of your website. An example value for this configuration question is:

$website = "http://www.mydomain.com";

5. What is the URL of this script on your website?

After you finish configuring this script, you will be putting in your "cgi-bin" or "cgi-local" directory on your server, so for this configuration question, enter the full URL of where this script will be installed on your server. An example value for this configuration questions is:

$script_url = "http://www.mydomain.com/cgi-bin/ureserve.pl";

6. What is the full or relative path to your data directory?

As part of the installation of this uReserveTM script on your server (which is described in the next section), you will need to create a "data" directory on your server. This "data" directory is where uReserveTM will store all of the resource and schedule data files. The "data" directory should be created as a subdirectory of your "cgi-bin" or "cgi-local" directory. If you call the data directory "data" and create it as a subdirectory of your "cgi-bin", a typical answer for this question would be:

$data_directory = "./data/";

You will also need to create 3 subdirectories under this data directory, with the following names:
         15min
         30min
         60min
...and give each directory read/write permissions

Note that the value is specified relative to where the ureserve.pl script will be located. In some cases, however, you may need to specify this question as the full directory path to your data directory....such as "/www/youraccount/cgi-bin/data/" on UNIX servers, or "C:/users/youraccount/cgi-bin/data/" on NT servers.

7. What is the name of the settings file? For Advanced Users Only!

Most users will NOT need to change this setting, therefore, you can skip this question.

8. What would you like to be the start time of your reservation schedule?

This configuration question allows you to specify the start time of your daily online schedule display. Unless you are planning on using "Configurable Column Names" instead of specifying 15-min, 30-min, or 60-min timeslots, this time should be specified as a 24-hour time. Valid values will range from "0" to "23". For example, if you want your schedule display to start at 8 o'clock in the morning, then you would set this value to:

$time_range_start = "8"; # set this as your schedule start time for the 15, 30 or 60 min configuration

...or if you are going to use "Configurable Column Names" instead of specifying 15-min, 30-min, or 60-min timeslots, this value must be set to "0".

$time_range_start = "0"; # set this to ZERO if you are going to configure your column names

9. What would you like to be the end time of your reservation schedule?

This configuration question allows you to specify the end time of your daily online schedule display. Unless you are planning on using "Configurable Column Names" instead of specifying 15-min, 30-min, or 60-min timeslots, this time should be specified as a 24-hour time. Valid values will range from "1" to "24". Note that the $time_range_stop time MUST BE GREATER THAN the $time_range_start value that you configured in the previous question.

For example, if you want your schedule display to run up to 6 o'clock at night, then you would set this value to:

$time_range_stop = "18"; # set this as your schedule end time for the 15, 30 or 60 min configuration

...or if you are going to use "Configurable Column Names" instead of specifying 15-min, 30-min, or 60-min timeslots, this value must be set to "0".

$time_range_stop = "0"; # set this to ZERO if you are going to configure your column names

10. What image would you like at the top of your schedule pages?

This configuration question allows you to specify the URL of any image that you would like to be displayed at the top of your online schedule displays. This value must be a FULL URL, beginning with "http" - so an example value might be:

$page_image = "http://www.yourdomain.com/images/mylogo.gif";

If you do not want any image displayed on the page, then just set this value to "NONE" (in ALL CAPS).

11. What is the administrator's password?

This configuration question allows you to specify a password for the uReserveTM administrator. The uReserveTM administrator will have special privileges that allow him/her to login to the uReserveTM Deluxe Control Panel in order to add/edit resources. Furthermore, the administrator can use this password to change any of the resource reservations that regular user's made... even if they password protected their reservation. An example value for this configuration question is:

$login_password = "admin";

# 12. What is the name of the uReserve language file?

This configuration question will be implemented in future versions. It represents multi-language translation file names. Leave this question unchanged! require "ureserve-languages.pl"; # DO NOT MODIFY

# 13. What columns would you like to have? (CONFIGURABLE COLUMNS VERSION ONLY)

Skip this question if you are going to be setting up your schedule in either 15-min, 30-min or 60-min timeslot increments.

If you don't want to set up your schedule in either 15-min, 30-min or 60-min timeslots, you can configure the Column Names. You must specify them in the order that you want them to appear on the schedule. Change the values below to match your needs, adding additional values within single quotes ( ' ' ) and separated by commas. The last column name will not appear on the schedule but is needed during the scheduling process as reservations will be offered from one column name until the next. (This will become more clear once you have installed the script and can see the reservation form.)

@column_names = ('Period 1','Period 2','Period 3','Period 4','Period 5','Period 6','Period 7','End of Day');

Installing uReserve For the First Time

UPGRADE NOTE: If you are upgrading from uReserve Basic (v2.0), skip to next section. After editing/configuring the ureserve.pl script, as described in the Configuration section of this User's Guide, you will need to install both the ureserve.pl file and the ureserve-languages.pl in the cgi directory on your server. To do this:

  1. Use your favorite FTP program to transfer the "ureserve.pl" file and the "ureserve-languages.pl" file to the CGI directory on your server. IMPORTANT! When transferring this file, be sure to transfer it in ASCII or TEXT transfer mode (as opposed to BINARY or RAW transfer mode).


  2. Once the scripts have been transferred to the CGI directory on your server, give them READ and EXECUTE permissions. If you have a UNIX server, you can give the script READ and EXECUTE permissions (chmod 755) with your FTP program. If you have an NT server, then you may have to get your web hosting provider to give the script EXECUTE permissions for you.


  3. As specified in the previous section, you will need to create a directory on your server where the uReserveTM data files can be stored. To do this, use your FTP program to create a new subdirectory called "data" in the CGI directory on your server.


  4. Once the "data" directory has been created in the CGI directory on your server, you will need to give that directory WRITE and EXECUTE permissions. If you have a UNIX server, you can give the directory WRITE and EXECUTE permissions (chmod 733) with your FTP program. If you have an NT server, then you may have to get your web hosting provider to give the directory WRITE permissions for you.


  5. Finally, create three more subdirectories below your "data" directory, named "15min", "30min", and "60min". Give these directories WRITE and EXECUTE permissions as you did in the previous step.
After following the above steps to install uReserveTM Deluxe on your server, you can test that it is setup correctly by opening your browser and typing the full URL of the ureserve.pl script on your server into the LOCATION box on your browser. This URL should be the same URL that you specified in question #5 of the script setup, such as:

http://www.mydomain.com/cgi-bin/ureserve.pl

Upon doing so, you should see the either the uReserveTM Deluxe copyright page (if this is the first time using uReserveTM... or the uReserveTM online schedule display if you already created some resources). If you do not see the uReserveTM Deluxe copyright page or the uReserveTM Deluxe schedule display...and instead see some sort of a "Server Error", then something is not setup correctly, see the Troubleshooting section below.


Upgrading from uReserve Basic (v2.0) to uReserve Deluxe

INSTALLATION NOTE: If you are not upgrading from uReserve Basic (v2.0), follow the installation instructions in the previous section.

After editing/configuring the ureserve.pl script, as described in the Configuration section of this User's Guide, you will need to install both the ureserve.pl file and the ureserve-languages.pl in the cgi directory on your server. To do this:

  1. Use your favorite FTP program to transfer the "ureserve.pl" file and the "ureserve-languages.pl" file to the CGI directory on your server. IMPORTANT! When transferring this file, be sure to transfer it in ASCII or TEXT transfer mode (as opposed to BINARY or RAW transfer mode).


  2. Once the scripts have been transferred to the CGI directory on your server, give them READ and EXECUTE permissions. If you have a UNIX server, you can give the script READ and EXECUTE permissions (chmod 755) with your FTP program. If you have an NT server, then you may have to get your web hosting provider to give the script EXECUTE permissions for you.


  3. Put the new "help.txt" file into your data directory.


  4. Make sure you have created the three new data directories ("15min", "30min" and "60min") under your data directory, and give these directories WRITE and EXECUTE permissions.


  5. Move all of your current reservation text files from your data directory to the timeslot directory whose name matches the timeslot size of your current version.


    6. For example, if you have been using the special "15-minute version" of uReserve Basic, move all of your .txt reservation data files into the new "15min" directory.

    Likewise, if you have been using the baseline 30-min version of uReserve, move all of your .txt reservation files into the new "30min" directory, or if you were using the special 1-hour version of uReserve Basic, move all of your .txt reservation data files into the new "60min" directory.

    Note: You might need to give these files full (chmod 777) permission if you have any trouble reading/writing new reservation data.

  6. Verify that the following files are still in your data directory, and that you didn't accidentally move them into your reservation data directory (these do not go into your "15min", "30min" or "60min" directories).

Log in to your uReserve Control Panel as you would normally do. Choose "General Settings" and then "Display Preferences". On the "Display Preferences" screen, configure the schedule display preferences as desired. The key settings that must be configured correctly in order to view your current uReserve Basic reservation data using uReserve Deluxe are as follows:
Informational: After saving the "Display Preferences", a new file will be created in your data directory:
Complete the set up by updating your existing resource data. Choose "Manage Resources" from the uReserve Control Panel. Choose "Edit Resource" and then edit each resource and apply the settings. Doing this will cause new fields to be added to the current resource data in the resource-data.txt file.
If you can not get to the uReserveTM Deluxe Control Panel, and instead see some sort of a "Server Error", then something is not setup correctly, see the Troubleshooting section below.


Troubleshooting

In order to keep the troubleshooting information as up-to-date as possible, we have moved this Troubleshooting section to the uReserveTM online reference site at:

http://www.uburst.com/uReserve/reference.html



uReserve Deluxe Control Panel

Once the CGI script is correctly installed on your server, you are ready to start using uReserveTM Deluxe. Begin by logging in to the Control Panel and creating some resources.

Logging In

In order to login to the uReserveTM Deluxe Control Panel, the administrator can use his/her browser to go to the URL of the uReserveTM script on your server ... followed by a special "?command=login" tag. This will actually be the same URL that you specified in configuration question #5... followed by "?command=login" such as:

http://www.mydomain.com/cgi-bin/ureserve.pl?command=login

TIP: To make logging in easier in the future, the administrator may want to bookmark this URL.

To login, just enter the password that you specified in question #10 of the script setup.

General Settings

The administrator can configure many preferences for the way the resource schedule is displayed and rules that apply for making, viewing, modifying and deleting reservations.

Display Preferences

Various schedule display parameters can be configured by choosing "General Settings" from the Control Panel, and then choosing the "Display Preferences" option.

The following table describes the configurable schedule display parameters:

  Form Field Description
1 Reservation Timeslot Size This setting allows you to specify the size of reservation timeslots. Valid values are "15 minute", "30 minute", "60 minute", and "Configured Column Names". If you choose "Configured Column Names", make sure you have pre-configured the additional required information in the ureserve.pl script, Configuration Question #13.

Important Note: Reservation data is stored in separate data directories for each of these settings, so changing between settings will appear to "lose" current reservation data. "Configured Column Names" will, however, read and write reservations in the "60min" subdirectory.
2 Schedule Display Format This setting allows you to specify the format of your reservation schedule. Valid options are "Daily", "Weekly" or "Monthly". If "Daily" is selected, only one day at time will be shown. If "Weekly" is selected, one week at a time will be shown. If "Monthly" is selected, a monthly calendar view will be shown. Note: If "Show Weekends" is set to "No", the weekend days will not display when using the "Daily" or "Weekly" schedule, but will appear "blacked out" on the monthly schedule.
3 Restrict Viewing Reservation Details This setting allows you to specify whether the reservation details can be viewed by anyone or if the detail veiwing is restricted to the administrator or resource admin. Valid values are "YES" or "NO". The default value is "NO". If this value is set to "YES", then before the reservation details are shown, a valid admin password must be submitted.
4 Date Format This setting allows you to specify whether to use US date format (MM/DD/YYYY) or EUROPEAN (DD/MM/YYYY) date format. Valid values are "US" or "EUROPEAN". The default value is "US".
5 Time Format This setting allows you to specify whether the times on weekly reservation schedule will be displayed in STANDARD (AM-PM) format or in MILITARY (24-HOUR) format. Valid values are "STD" or "MIL". The default value is "STD".
6 Start Day This setting allows you to specify whether the weekly reservation schedule will begin on SUNDAYS or MONDAYS. Valid values are "SUN" or "MON". The default value is "SUN". Important: Changing this setting will change the format of the data file names. Do NOT change this setting if you already have reservation data that you do not want to "lose".
7 Show Weekends This setting allows you to specify whether the weekly reservation schedule will show weekend days or not. Valid values are "YES" or "NO". The default value is "YES".
8 Maintain Action Log This setting allows you to specify whether or not to record all reservations in a log file. Valid values are "YES" or "NO". The default value is "YES". Note that while this setting is set to "YES", a bar-delimited log file called "reservation-log.txt" is maintained in your "data" directory.
9 User Permission Level This setting allows you to specify the general permission level of your reservation system. The permissions levels have been defined as follows:
1 - Anyone can make single reservations or recurring reservations.
2 - Anyone can make single reservations, but only authorized users can make recurring reservations.
3 - Only authorized users can make single reservations or recurring reservations.
4 - Anyone can make single reservations, but no one can make recurring reservations.
5 - Only authorized users can make single reservations, and no one can make recurring reservations.
10 Reserve Character This setting allows you to specify the character(s) used to indicate reserved (not available) time slots on the daily schedule tables. The default setting is "R".
11 Daily/Weekly Reserve Image This setting allows you to specify an image that will be used to indicate reserved (not available) time slots on both the daily and weekly schedule tables. If you want to specify a reserved icon, then specify this setting as the full URL of the image that you want to use. If you do not want to use an image, just specify this setting as "".
12 Daily/Weekly Reserve Image Alt Text This setting allows you to specify an "ALT" message that will be associated with the "Daily/Weekly Reserve Image" icon (if any) that was specified, and this text will appear as a pop-up text box when the mouse is held over the image on the schedule.
13, 14 Daily/Weekly Calendar Cell Width/Height This setting allows you to specify the width and height of each timeslot on the daily and weekly schedule. The default value is "20" pixels, but this may need to be increased if you specify a large "reserve character" or a large "reserve image".
15 Daily/Weekly Reservation Instructions This setting allows you to specify the instructions that appear under each daily or weekly schedule. The default value is "To reserve a resource, click on the resource's name."
16, 17 Monthly Calendar Cell Width/Height This setting allows you to specify the width and height of each timeslot on the monthly schedule. The default value is "60" pixels.
18 Monthly Calendar Reservation Instructions This setting allows you to specify the instructions that appear under each daily schedule table. The default value is "To reserve a resource, click on the calendar date."
19 Only Show Reserved When Full This setting allows you to specify whether you want the monthly calendar cells to be colored in the "reserved" or "pending" color only when all of the timeslots for the given day are reserved (or pending). Set this to "NO" if you want the monthly calendar cells to display in the reserved or pending color when at least one reservation or pending reservation is made on a given day. The default value is "NO".
20 Monthly Reserve Image This setting allows you to specify an image that will be used to indicate timeslots with reservations on the monthly calendar. Confirmed reservations always take precedence over any pending reservations, so if there are both confirmed and pending reservations on the same day, the image that will show will be the "Monthly Reserve Image", not the "Monthly Pending Image". If you want to specify a monthly reserved icon, then specify this setting as the full URL of the image that you want to use. If you do not want to use an image, just specify this setting as "". The default is "";
21 Monthly Reserve Image Alt Text This setting allows you to specify an "ALT" message that will be associated with the "Monthly Reserve Image" icon (if any) that was specified, and this text will appear as a pop-up text box when the mouse is held over the image on the schedule.
22 Monthly Pending Image This setting allows you to specify an image that will be used to indicate pending reservation time slots on the monthly calendar. If there are confirmed reservations on the same day, then the reserved image or reserved color takes precedence. The pending image will show only when the only reservation(s) for that day are pending. If you want to specify a pending reservation icon, then specify this setting as the full URL of the image that you want to use. If you do not want to use an image, just specify this setting as "". The default is "";
23 Monthly Pending Image Alt Text This setting allows you to specify an "ALT" message that will be associated with the "Monthly Pending Image" icon (if any) that was specified, and this text will appear as a pop-up text box when the mouse is held over the image on the schedule.
24 Monthly Day-is-Full Image This setting allows you to specify an image that will be used to indicate a day where all timeslots are reserved on the monthly calendar. If you want to specify a day-is-full icon, then specify this setting as the full URL of the image that you want to use. If you do not want to use an image, just specify this setting as "". The default is "";
25 Monthly Day-is-Full Image Alt Text This setting allows you to specify an "ALT" message that will be associated with the "Monthly Day-is-Full Image" icon (if any) that was specified, and this text will appear as a pop-up text box when the mouse is held over the image on the schedule.
26 Show Hyperlinks to Calendars This setting controls whether or not to show a table of hyperlinks to each monthly calendar at the top of the monthly calendar view page. Set this to "NO" if you do not want to see the table of hyperlinks at the top of your monthly calendar view page. The default value is "YES".
27 Hyperlinks Columns This setting allows you to specify the number of columns to use when displaying the table of hyperlinks to each calendar on the Monthly view page. The default value is "4".
28 Hyperlinks Table Color This setting allows you to specify the color of the hyperlinks table at the top of the Monthly calendar view. The default value is "#FFFFFF" (white).
29 Hyperlinks Font Size This setting allows you to specify the font size for the hyperlinks in the table at the top of the Monthly calendar view. The default value is "1".
30 Hyperlinks Font Face This setting allows you to specify the font face type for the hyperlinks in the table at the top of the Monthly calendar view. The default value is "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica".

Table 1 : Display Preferences Form Fields

Reservation Fields

The administrator can configure the prompts and field names that are shown on the reserve resource form, along with the reservation form size.

By choosing "General Settings" from the Control Panel, then choosing "Reservation Fields", the Reservation Fields Settings form is displayed. Enter preferences and click on "Apply" to save the settings.

The following table describes the configuratble reservation fields parameters:

  Form Field Description
1 Reservation Prompt This setting allows you to override the default "Please enter your contact information below:" prompt.
2 Reservation Field 1 Prompt This setting allows you to specify the first field prompt on the reservation form. The default settings is "Name". To force this field to be required, check the box beside this setting.
3 Reservation Field 2 Prompt This setting allows you to specify the second field prompt on the reservation form. The default settings is "Phone". To force this field to be required, check the box beside this setting.
4 Reservation Field 3 Prompt This setting allows you to specify the third field prompt on the reservation form. The default settings is "E-mail". To force this field to be required, check the box beside this setting. Important Note: If you are going to e-mail notifications to the user, this field MUST be used to collect the user's e-mail address.
5 Reservation Field 4 Prompt This setting allows you to specify the fourth field prompt on the reservation form. The default settings is "Notes", and the field type allows for multiple lines to be entered. To force this field to be required, check the box beside this setting.
6 Reservation Password Prompt 1 This setting allows you to specify a password prompt string for the reservation form. The default setting is "Enter a password to protect your reservation: (Optional)".
7 Reservation Password Prompt 2 This setting allows you to override the default "An authorized user name and password is required:" prompt.
8 Reservation Password Prompt 3 This setting allows you to override the default "A user name and password is required for recurring events:" prompt.
9 Password Prompt This setting allows you to specify the general password prompt string. The default setting is "Password".
10 Reserve Password Required Prompt This setting allows you to override the default "*A password is required for all modifications" message.
11 Reservation Window Height This setting allows you to specify the height of the pop-up reservation form window. The default setting is "600" pixels.
12 Reservation Window Width This setting allows you to specify the width of the pop-up reservation form window. The default setting is "400" pixels.

Table 2 : Reservation Fields Settings Form Fields

E-mail Settings

The admin can configure notification e-mail addresses, as well as e-mail subjects and the server e-mail method.

The following table describes the e-mail settings parameters:

  Form Field Description
1 Primary Notification E-Mail This setting allows you to specify a primary general administrator e-mail address which is used for reservation notifications and reports.
2 Secondary Notifiction E-Mail This setting allows you to specify a secondary general administrator e-mail address which is used for reservation notifications and reports.
3 E-Mail User This setting allows you to specify whether or not to email the user (whoever is creating/modifying a reservation) a receipt of the reservation. Valid values are "YES" or "NO".
4 Admin E-Mail Subject - Reservation Added This setting allows you to specify the subject that will appear on e-mail notifications that are sent to the administrator when a reservation is added (and is not pending).
5 Admin E-Mail Subject - Reservation Pending This setting allows you to specify the subject that will appear on e-mail notifications that are sent to the administrator when a pending reservation is made.
6 Admin E-Mail Subject - Reservation Modified This setting allows you to specify the subject that will appear on e-mail notifications that are sent to the administrator when a reservation is modified.
7 Admin E-Mail Subject - Reservation Cancelled This setting allows you to specify the subject that will appear on e-mail notifications that are sent to the administrator when a pending reservation is deleted (cancelled).
8 User E-Mail Subject - Reservation Added This setting allows you to specify the subject that will appear on e-mail notifications that are sent to the user when a reservation is made (and is not pending).
9 User E-Mail Subject - Reservation Pending This setting allows you to specify the subject that will appear on e-mail notifications that are sent to the user when a reservation is created but is pending.
10 User E-Mail Subject - Reservation Modified This setting allows you to specify the subject that will appear on e-mail notifications that are sent to the user when a reservation is modified.
11 User E-Mail Subject - Reservation Cancelled This setting allows you to specify the subject that will appear on e-mail notifications that are sent to the user when a reservation is cancelled.
12 E-Mail Method This setting allows you to specify the e-mail method used by CGI scripts on your server. Valid options are "SENDMAIL" and "SOCKETS". The default value is "SENDMAIL". If you are not sure what method your server uses, contact your web host. If neither option is used by your web host, get an example from your web host of a CGI script that can send e-mail on your server, and request help from Microburst's Support Team (support@uburst.com) for configuring the new e-mail method.
13 Sendmail Path This setting allows you to specify the sendmail path if your server uses sendmail to deliver e-mail.
14 SMTP Address This setting allows you to specify the SMTP IP address of your mail server if you are using Sockets to send e-mail.

Table 3 : E-Mail Settings Form Fields

Report Preferences

The admin can configure default report preferences which are used each time a report is run. These settings can be changed when the report is generated.

The following table describes the report preferences form parameters:

  Form Field Description
1 Date Range Report Default Start Date This setting will control the default setting of the starting date for the date range report. Valid values are "Current Day" and "Start of Week". The default setting is "Current Day".
2 Date Range Report Default End Date This setting will control the default setting of the ending date for the date range report. Choose a default end date, such as 7 days from the start date, or some number of days, up to 30.
3 Print Empty Timeslots This setting allows you to specify whether empty timeslots should print on reports. Valid values are "YES" and "NO". The default setting is "NO". Set this to "YES" if you want all timeslots - open or reserved - to appear on reports.
4 Print am/pm on Report This setting allows you to specify whether the am/pm indicator should print on reports. Valid values are "YES" and "NO". The default setting is "NO". Set this to "YES" if you want am/pm to appear next to the time on reports.
5 Double-space Report This setting allows you to specify whether reports should be double-spaced. Valid values are "YES" and "NO". The default setting is "NO". Set this to "YES" if you want the report entries to be double-spaced.
6 Run Report for All Resources This setting will control the default setting of whether to run reports for all resources or for selected resources. Valid values are "YES" and "NO". The default setting is "NO". Set this to "YES" if you want to default reports to being generated for all resources.
7 E-Mail Report to Primary Admin This setting allows you to specify the default setting for e-mailing reports to the primary administrator. Valid values are "YES" and "NO". The default setting is "NO".
8 E-Mail Report to Secondary Admin This setting allows you to specify the default setting for e-mailing reports to a secondary administrator. Valid values are "YES" and "NO". The default setting is "NO".
9 Print Report To Screen This setting allows you to specify the default setting for viewing reports on the screen. Valid values are "YES" and "NO". The default setting is "YES".
10 Print Report to File This setting allows you to specify the default setting for saving reports to a file. Valid values are "YES" and "NO". The default setting is "NO". Files will be stored in the data directory associated with the timeslot size (the directories named "15min", "30min" or "60min"), named in the format "YYYYMMDD_daterange_rpt.txt" or "YYYYMMDD_daily_rpt.txt".

Table 4 : Report Preferences Form Fields

Colors and Fonts

The admin can configure schedule color and font preferences.

The following table describes the colors and fonts settings parameters:

  Form Field Description
1 Background Image This setting allows you to specify a background image that will be displayed on all schedule pages. This setting should be specified as the full URL of the image that you want to use - otherwise, set this setting to "NONE" in order to have no background image.
2 Background Color This setting allows you to specify the background color of the schedule pages. The default setting is "#FFFFFF".
3 Font Face This setting allows you to specify the font face used for the title areas of the schedule pages. The default setting is "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica".
4 Font Size This setting allows you to specify the font size used for the title areas of the schedule pages. The default setting is "2".
5 Font Color This setting allows you to specify the hex-based font color used for the title areas of the schedule pages. The default setting is "#000000".
6 Link Color This setting allows you to specify the hex-based link color used for hyperlinks in your schedule pages. The default settings is "#0000FF".
7 Visited Link Color This setting allows you to specify the hex-based vlink color used for visited hyperlinks in your schedule pages. The default settings is "#0000FF".
8 Active Link Color This setting allows you to specify the alink color used for active hyperlinks in your schedule pages. The default settings is "#0000FF".
9 Calendar Title Color This setting allows you specify the hex-based color of the title that will be displayed on all schedule pages. The default setting is "#F0F0F0".
10 Open Timeslot Color This setting allows you specify the hex-based color of the title that will be displayed on all schedule pages.
11 Reserved Timeslot Color This setting allows you specify the hex-based color of timeslots which are reserved on the schedule. The default setting is "#FFCECE".
12 Pending Timeslot Color This setting allows you specify the hex-based color of timeslots which are pending on the schedule. The default setting is "#FFD700".
13 Unavailable Timeslot Color This setting allows you specify the hex-based color of timeslots which are blacked out or unavailable on the schedule. The default setting is "#C0C0C0".
14 Calendar Font Face This setting allows you to specify the font face used within the graphic schedule displays. The default setting is "Verdana,Arial,Helvetica".
15 Calendar Font Size This setting allows you to specify the font size used within the graphic schedule displays. The default setting is "2".
16 Calendar Font Color This setting allows you to specify the hex-based font color used within the graphic schedule displays. The default setting is "#000000".

Table 5 : Colors and Fonts Form Fields

Manage Resources

Resource Fields

The administrator can configure the wording of resource form prompts, as well as the names of the resource fields. These fields names and prompts are used when adding and editing a resource, as well as when a reservation is being made. These fields hold information which give users details about the resource when they are making a reservation.

The default resource "title" is "Resource Name", but this could be configured to be anything - such as "Laptop Number", "Equipment ID", "Doctor", "Hairstylist", "Lab Name", for example. Default resource field names are "Resource Name", "Location", "Capacity", "Phone" and "Notes", and these can be configured to be any names as well.

The following table describes the configurable resource fields settings:

  Form Field Description
1 Resource Title Prompt This setting allows you specify the resource title. The default value is "Resource", but depending on the type of resource that you will monitoring, you may want to change this setting to "Lab", "Conference Room", or "Sports Field", for example.
2 Resource Prompt This setting allows you to override the default "At what time would you like to reserve this resource?" prompt.
3 Recurring Prompt This setting allows you to override the default "Is this a recurring event?" prompt.
4 Resource Field 1 This setting allows you to override the default "Resource Name" field label.
5 Resource Field 2 This setting allows you to override the default "Location" field label.
6 Resource Field 3 This setting allows you to override the default "Capacity" field label.
7 Resource Field 4 This setting allows you to override the default "Phone" field label.
8 Resource Field 5 This setting allows you to override the default "Notes" field label.

Table 6 : Resource Fields Settings Form Fields

Add Resource

The administrator can add additional resources for scheduling by choosing the "Manage Resources" button on the Control Panel, and then choosing the "Add Resource" button from the menu of resource options. The "Add Resource" form will be displayed - enter the requested information in the form and press "Apply" in order to add the new resource.

The following table describes the configurable resource parameters:

  Form Field Description
1 thru 5 Resource Name, Location, Capacity, Phone, Notes These default resource fields comprise the generic resource description. You can change the name of these fields through the Control Panel-->Manage Resources-->Resource Fields option.

NOTE: Not all special characters may be used in resource names. Supported special chars are:
( ) { } ! % & *
6 User Permission Level This setting allows you to specify the general permission level of the resource, overriding the General Setting for permission level. The permissions levels have been defined as follows:
1 - Anyone can make single reservations or recurring reservations.
2 - Anyone can make single reservations, but only authorized users can make recurring reservations.
3 - Only authorized users can make single reservations or recurring reservations.
4 - Anyone can make single reservations, but no one can make recurring reservations.
5 - Only authorized users can make single reservations, and no one can make recurring reservations.
7 Calendar Placeholder Field/Max Chars This setting allows you to specify a field from the reservation form which will display as the reservation placeholder on the graphical schedule. You must specify the max number of characters to display, and you may have to adjust your timeslot sizes to fit large-sized entries.
8 Fixed Reservation Length This setting allows you to specify a fixed length of reservation timeslots, such that when a user makes a reservation, the timeslot chosen will contain both a begin and end time and the user will not be able to adjust the reservation size.
9 Max Reservation Length This setting allows you to specify a maximum length of a reservation.
10 Reservation Lead Time Create This setting allows you to specify a lead time required when making a reservation for this resource. Reservations will not be permitted within this lead time before the actual reservation date.
11 Reservation Lead Time Cancel This setting allows you to specify a lead time required when deleting or cancelling a reservation for this resource. Reservations will not be permitted to be cancelled within this lead time before the actual reservation date.
12 Resource Admin Override Password This setting allows you to specify a resource admin override password that can be used to override any reservation password made for the resource. This is a separate password than the general admin password.
13 Resource Admin E-mail This setting allows you optionally specify an email address for a resource administrator. This is the email address to which email notifications of reservations are sent, in addtion to any configured Primary or Secondary Admin e-mails.
14 Special E-mail Text This setting allows you to specify additional text which will be added to the reservation notification e-mail.
15 Pending Until Approved This checkbox controls whether reservations for this resource are pending until approved by an admin or not. Check this box if you want all reservations for this resource to require administrative approval before accepting them.
16 Pending E-mail Text This setting allows you to specify additional text which will be added to the pending reservation notification e-mail.

Table 7 : Add/Edit Resource Form Fields


Edit Resource

The administrator can edit the static information associated with a resource by choosing the "Manage Resources" button on the Control Panel, and then choosing the "Edit Resource" button from the menu of resource options. The "Edit Resource" form will be displayed - modify the necessary information in the form and press "Apply" in order to save the resource configuration changes.

Refer to Table 7 "Add/Edit Resource Form Fields" for field descriptions.

Delete Resource

The administrator can delete an existing resource by choosing the "Manage Resources" button on the Control Panel, and then choosing the "Delete Resource" button from the menu of resource options. Upon pressing the "Delete Resource" button, he/she will be prompted to select the resource to delete. Simply select the resource that is be deleted.

Important Note: Once reservations have been made for a resource, it is strongly recommended NOT to change the "name" of the resource. Doing so will cause all reservation data for the resource to appear "lost", however, the data is still intact, but it is written in the data files under the old resource name. You could download the reservation .txt files and manually edit every occurrence of the old resource name, then re-upload the reservation files, if you require this capability.

Blackout Dates

The administrator can individually specify timeslots that a resource is not available.

Configure the color that blackout dates will appear on the schedule by choosing the "General Settings" button on the Control Panel, then choosing "Colors and Fonts", and then specifying the hex value color in the "Unavailable Timeslot Color" field.

Add Blackout Date

Choose the "Manage Resources" button on the Control Panel, and then choose the "Blackout Dates" button from the menu of resource options. Current blackout dates for all resources are displayed in a selectable list. Choose "Add" to create a new blackout date and time for a resource.

The following table describes the blackout date form parameters:

  Form Field Description
1 Select Resource Name(s) This multi-select list box allows you to select one or more resources for which you are going to create a blackout date.
2-3 Blackout From Date/To Date This setting allows you to specify a date range for which to apply the new blackout. You can optionally select a day or days of the week, rather than specifying a date range.
4 Select Day(s) This setting allows you to specify a day or days of the week for which to apply the new blackout. You can optionally select a date range for the blackout, rather than specifying days of the week.
5-6 Blackout From Time/To Time This setting allows you to specify a starting time and ending time for the blackout period, on the day(s) or dates selected.

Table 8 : Add Blackout Date Form Fields


NOTE: If while trying to add a Blackout Date you receive the error message:

System Error. No blackout dates were added.

...this would be caused by the use of special characters in your resource(s) name. Supported special chars that may be in your resource names are: ( ) { } ! % & *

Delete Blackout Date

Choose the "Manage Resources" button on the Control Panel, and then choose the "Blackout Dates" button from the menu of resource options. Current blackout dates for all resources are displayed in a selectable list. Choose "Delete" to cancel the blackout date.

Authorized Users

Add Authorized User

The administrator can optionally specify authorized users for making reservations. The general settings default permission level and the individual resource setting for permission level affect whether a user and password is required when a reservation is made.

To specify an authorized user, choose the "Authorized Users" button on the Control Panel, and then choose the "Add Authorized User" button from the menu of options. The "Add Authorized User" form will be displayed. Enter the requested information in the form and press "Apply" in order to add the new authorized user.

IMPORTANT NOTE: By default, a list of all resources will be displayed on the Authorized User form. The resources are not authorized for the user until they are highlighted, and the input saved. You can multi-select resources to authorize a user for by holding down the CTRL key while clicking on the resources.

The following table describes the Add Authorized User form parameters:

  Form Field Description
1 Full Name This field is used for collecting the full name of the authorized user.
2 User Name This field is used for specifying an authorized user name which will be used when reserving resources.
3 Password This field is used for specifying an authorized user password which will be used when reserving resources.
4 Authorized Resources This multi-select list allows you to specify one or more resources that this authorized user has permission to reserve. The list of all resources will be shown, and the user will not be authorized to any resource unless it is selected (highlighted) in the list. Hold down the CTRL key while clicking on the resources in order to multi-select resources.

Table 9 : Add/Edit Authorized User Form Fields

Edit Authorized User

The administrator can edit the information associated with an authorized user by choosing the "Authorized Users" button on the Control Panel, and then choosing the "Edit Authorized User" button from the menu of options. The "Edit Authorized User" form will be displayed - modify the necessary information in the form and press "Apply" in order to save the authorized user configuration changes.

Refer to Table 9 "Add/Edit Authorized User Form Fields" for field descriptions.

Delete Authorized User

The administrator can remove an authorized user by choosing the "Authorized Users" button on the Control Panel, and then choosing the "Delete Authorized User" button from the menu of options. Select the user to delete and press "Submit". A confirmation form will be displayed before the delete is performed.

Pending Reservations

The administrator can view all current pending reservations by choosing the "Pending Reservations" button on the Control Panel. The administrator can individually approve or reject a reservation request. The resulting action notification will be e-mailed to the user to make him or her aware that the reservation is active or cancelled.

View or Reject Pending Reservation

Select from the list of pending reservations and choose "View" to see the details of a pending reservation. A pop-up display will show the reservation details. Choose "Authorize" to accept the reservation request, or choose "Reject" to cancel the reservation request and to free up the requested timeslot for another user to reserve.

An e-mail notification of the change of status of the reservation will be e-mailed to the user automatically, and a confirmation e-mail will also be sent to the administrator(s).

Reports

The administrator can generate schedule reports by choosing the "Reports" button from the Control Panel.

The initial report selection screen will show a calendar view for all resources, to aid in the selection of the date or date range to run the report. Settings from the "Report Preferences" option (General Settings --> Report Preferences) will determine the Date Range Report Default Start Date and the Date Range Report Default End Date on this screen. You can view schedule days by clicking on any calendar date, and you can change the month viewed by using either the navigation buttons or the Jump-To-Month entry box.

After deciding whether to run a daily, date-range, or monthly report, choose the appropriate "Generate" button beside your report type choice. The report details screen will be displayed. The default options for this screen are based on the settings configured from the "Report Preferences" option (General Settings --> Report Preferences). Specify the report criteria and choose "Generate" to run the report, or choose "Cancel" to return to the initial report selection screen.

The following table describes the report details form parameters:

  Form Field Description
1 Run Report for All Resources? This radio button selection lets you choose to automatically run the report for all resources, or by setting it to "NO", lets you select from the resources for which to run the report.
2 Select Specific Resource(s) This multi-select list box is only used if "Run Report for All Resources" is set to "No". Choose one or more resources for which to run the report.
3 Print Empty Timeslots This radio button controls whether empty (non-reserved) timeslots should print on the report. Set this to "NO" if you only want reserved or pending timeslots to show on the report.
4 E-mail report to Primary/Secondary Admin This setting controls whether the report is e-mailed to the primary or secondary admin. Set this to "NO" if you don't want the report e-mailed.
5 Print to Screen This setting controls whether the report will display on the screen. Set this to "YES" to see the report on screen.
6 Print to File This setting controls whether the report will be written to a file in the data directory on the server. Set this to "NO" if you do not want the report written to a file.

Table 10 : Report Details Form Fields

Purge Old Data

Occasionally, it may be desirable to purge old reservation files from your server. This will help to save disk space and keep uReserve running efficiently.

The administrator can view the number of old reservation files by choosing the "Purge Old Data" button on the Control Panel. A count of old files will be displayed. Choose "Purge Data" to permanently delete the old files from the data directory, or choose "Back" to leave the old data files on the server.

Note: If you have chosen "Print to File" for any reports, these files will also accumulate in the data directory but are not automatically deleted by the "Purge Data" function. These report files should periodically be purged manually through your FTP program.

Using uReserve Deluxe

Once the administrator has added one or more resources, everyone can start using the uReserve's main resource scheduling feature start reserving the resources.

Viewing The Resource Schedule

To view the actual resource schedule, visitors just need to link to the URL of the script on your server, such as:

http://www.mydomain.com/cgi-bin/ureserve.pl

By just going to this URL, the online resource schedule will be displayed. You may want to consider putting a link to that URL somewhere on your main website so that visitors can easily link to that URL.

Reserving A Resource

To reserve a resource using the Daily or Weekly calendar view, the visitor just needs to click on the name of the desired resource on the desired day. Upon clicking on the name of the desired resource, a window will be displayed with some general information about the resource and a form by which the visitor can reserve the resource.

To reserve a resource using the Monthly calendar view, the visitor needs to click on the reservation day on the calendar. Upon clicking on the reservation day, one of two things will happen: (1) if there are no reservations already placed for that day, a pop-up form will show the resource information and prompt the visitor for reservation form information, or (2) if there is at least one reservation placed on that day, the daily schedule will be displayed, showing the timeslots and their availability. If the daily schedule is displayed, the visitor needs to click on the name of the desired resource, and then submit the subsequent pop-up form after filling out the reservation information.

If a "Reservation Lead Time - Create" was specified in the resource configuration, then this time is taken into account when a reservation is made. If the time at which the visitor is requesting a reservation is within the required lead time specified for the resource, the reservation will not be accepted.

Note: In order to limit who is allowed to make reservations, see the "Authorized Users" option.

Viewing Reservation Information

Timeslots in which resources have been reserved (and are no longer available), in which reservations are pending, or in which a blackout is in effect, will be displayed in a different color from the open timeslots on the schedule displays. These colors are controlled from the Control Panel --> General Settings --> Colors and Fonts options.

If the General Settings --> Display Preferences setting for Restrict Viewing Reservation Details is set to "No", then anyone can find out specific information about a reserved time slot by clicking on the link (character, image or field info) that is located in the associated reserved time slot.

If the General Settings --> Display Preferences setting for Restrict Viewing Reservation Details is set to "Yes", then specific information about a reserved timeslot is limited to the general admin and resource admin (if one was specified). Clicking on the timeslot link that is locatedin the associated reserved timeslot will generate a pop-up password form. Use the general admin password or the resource admin override password to view the reservation details.

Modifying or Deleting a Reservation

To modify or delete a reservation, the visitor can needs to click on the special character link that is located in the associated reserved time slot. Select "Modify" in the resulting display and then make any desired changes.

If a password was specified when the resource was originally reserved, then that password will also be needed before any "modify" or "delete" operations are performed.

If the visitor attempts to delete a reservation which was created as a recurring event, a prompting message will be displayed asking if all of the associated recurring reservations should also be deleted: If a "Reservation Lead Time - Cancel" was specified in the resource configuration, then this time is taken into account when a reservation is deleted. If the time at which the visitor is requesting a reservation cancellation (delete) is within the required cancellation lead time specified for the resource, the cancellation request will not be accepted.

Note: The general administrator can use his/her password to override any of the visitor reservation passwords. If a resource administrator password was configured, this password can also be used to override any of the visitor reservation passwords.


Additional Information about uReserveTM Deluxe

For additional information about uReserveTM Deluxe or to find out about other great products from Microburst Technologies, Inc., please visit our website at:

http://www.uburst.com