TIM XL installation guide 1.5 for FOH/BOH machines

Owned by Jasper van der Velde (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Dec 20, 2013
8 min read

Before you start

 

The TIM Installation process consists of two parts: installation of the Backoffice suite on your server and installation of the TIM client on your iPod(s) and\or iPhone(s). Please ensure the following requirements are met before you start your installation.

  

Backoffice

The Backoffice server is needed for installation of the Backoffice suite.This server should be part of your exisiting Aloha POS network and run your Aloha Interface Server.The hardware and software run on this server should meet the minimum requirements as shown in the following table.

 

 

 Minimum

Recommended

Operating System

Windows XP Pro

Windows Emb 7

Memory2 GB

4 GB

ProcessorDual Core

Dual Core

Installation disk space1 GB

2 GB

 

The Backoffice server will also need to run your Aloha Interface Server which enables TIM to communicate with Aloha. TIM Windows service can manage the starting or stopping of this server, but configuration in Aloha and local system variables must be set.

 

Aloha

Requirements to run TIM on your Aloha system are as follows:

  • Aloha Tableservice version 6.5 or higher;
  • Aloha Connect should be enabled for TIM to interface with Aloha.
  • External Interface Terminals should be licensed equal to the amount of concurrent users in your TIM license.
  • ‘Extended Payments’ should be enabled when you use PMS Payments.

Wireless Network

TIM clients will need to communicate with TIM Backoffice via a WIFI network. For reference see 'Wireless Best Practices' in this manual to ensure a stable, fast and secure network for your business.

iOS Devices

Ensure your Apple devices are running the latest version of iOS and are able to connect to the Aloha wireless network. To download TIM Client you will need access to an iTunes account. We recommend separate iTunes accounts per location as access on different computers is limited.

 

Table of contents

 

Aloha Manager Configuration

 

Activating Aloha Connect Interface

Aloha Manager

  1. Log into Aloha Manager using an account that can edit the store settings.

  2. Choose Maintenance > Store Settings.

  3. Select the System group.

  4. Select the Interfaces tab.

  5. Flag the Use FOH COM Interface setting.

  6. Input the following string into one of the textfields under External Activity Interceptors: TIMAlohaInterceptor.Handler. 

Configuring Interface Server and Interface Terminal(s)

TIM requires at least one interface server and one interface terminal.

Each TIM Client requires an interface terminal, if you have for example a site with five concurrent TIM clients you would need to configure five interface terminals.

 

Configuring an Interface Server

The Interface server is the instance of IBER.EXE that communicates with TIM service.

Using a FOH/BOH machine means that the IBER.EXE on your order entry terminal will function as your Interface Server. You don't have to make any additional changes in Aloha Manager.

 

 

 

Configuring an Interface terminal

Interface terminals are used by the TIM clients. If your customer wants to use five TIM clients at the same time, you will need five interface terminals configured.

  1. Log into Aloha Manager using an account that can edit terminals.

  2. Create a new terminal and name it something logical, like for example TIM 1.

  3. Select a revenue center for this terminal.This is the revenue center used by the specific client for Tabs.

  4. Select a default printer for checks to print to from the TIM client.

  5. Flag the option Interface Terminal.

  6. Select the Interface Server. This will be the order entry terminal on which you will install the TIM Back of House.

  7. Save your settings.

  8. Repeat steps 1 through 7 for every TIM client you have licensed. 

Please note that the Radiant Interface Terminal is not flagged

 

 

Installing the TIM Backoffice

 
 
 

The TIM Backoffice applications are easily installed using the install wizard.Always ensure you have the latest version of the Backoffice installshield. Contact your representative for the latest files. Installation of the Backoffice applications needs to be performed on the same machine as where the Aloha Interface Server is running.

Installation of TIM Backoffice

 

  1. Run the TIM Setup.exe.

  2. Click ‘Next >’. 

 

3. Select the directory you want to install TIM in. Click ‘Next >’ when done. 

 

 4. Click ‘Next >’ to continue the manual setup for Environment Variables.

 

  

 5. Make sure you enter the required variables:

TERM = the number you added to the order entry terminal on which you will run TIM

TERMSTR = should be the same as the other terminal and fileserver variables

NUMTERMS = Number of defined Order Entry Terminals in Aloha

IBERDIR = default C:\Ibertech\Aloha

IBERROOT = default Aloha

LOCALDIR = default C:\Ibertech\Aloha

SERVER = default ALOHABOH

EDCPATH = default C:\Ibertech\EDC

PMSPATH = default C:\Ibertech\PMS

 

  

6. Please fill in the user account with corresponding password. This should be the same user account Aloha uses for the Terms, for example ".\aloha".

  

 7. Setup evaluation. Click 'Next>' to continue.

  

 8. In some cases the last screen tells you to manually perform several actions to complete the installation. The setup will also create an Installation Report in the Tim/LOGS folder with manual actions to perform. Note that when you've made changes in the Environment Variables you'll need to reboot your system.

 

 

Additional changes required for TIM on a FOH BOH machine 

 

 

The TIM Service will normally run the IBER.EXE and SOAP communicator. Due to the fact that TIM will not run as a service on a FOH BOH machine, and that the IBER.EXE is not officially an Interface Server but the order entry terminal, we need to make some changes in the TIM Manager.

  1. To start the TIM Manager double click the TIM icon in the lower right corner.
  2. Navigate to the properties tab, right click and choose 'Advanced Properties'.
  3. Change TIM.Service.Access.SOAP.Managed = Yes to = No
  4. Change TIM.Sevice.Iber.Managed = Yes to = No
  5. Your new setting will be saved automatically.

Once the IBER.EXE and the SOAP communicator are set to un-managed, the user needs to uninstall the TIM Service.

  1. Open command prompt.
  2. Type services.msc.
  3. Stop the TIM Service.
  4. Navigate to the TIM\BIN  (default C:\Ibertech\TIM\BIN).
  5. Create a shortcut for TIMsrvc.exe.
  6. Right click the shortcut to TIMsrvc.exe and go to properties.
  7. Add the following command line as target and press OK: C:\Ibertech\TIM\BIN\TIMsrvc.exe /uninstall
  8. Run the created shortcut.

Once the TIM Service is uninstalled the user needs to run the TIM Service as an application.

  1. Right click the shortcut to TIMsrvc.exe again and go to properties.
  2. Add the following command line as target and press OK: C:\Ibertech\TIM\BIN\TIMsrvc.exe /application

The installation of TIM is now completed. We recommend to add a shortcut for the following necessary applications to the Windows startup folder.

  1. TIMsrvc.exe - shortcut
  2. TIMsoapApp.exe
  3. TIMmntr.exe

Please note that in case of a FOH BOH machine the IBER.EXE will need to be started manually by the user. The shortcut to IBER.EXE might also be placed in the Windows startup folder

Licensing TIM software

 

To license TIM you will need to start the TIM Backoffice application.You can do this by opening the TIM.EXE in the installation directory of your TIM server.

  1. Press the  icon and select License
  2. Press the "New Request Code" button and copy this code
  3. Send the code by e-mail to order@indexsystems.nl
  4. You will reveive an Activation Key which you can paste into the License Activation Key field
  5. Press the Apply Activation Key button
  6. Your product is now registered

 

Setup your TIM client

 

  

TIM Client on iOS device

  

Installing the TIM client on your iPod touch, iPhone or iPad can be done through iTunes. For more information about iTunes accounts please see http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/account/

When you have installed TIM on your iOS device, go to settings in order to setup the device to connect to the Aloha network.
 

  1. Settings for TIM should be changed before using TIM client.

  2. By default TIM is configured to use Demo mode, turn this off in order to start using TIM.

  3. Under hostname, enter the IP-address of the server you installed the TIM Backoffice on.

  4. Default port is 5808 unless you have changed it, leave it as is.

  5. Enter a descriptive name for the specific device. Use a number or naming scheme so you can easily identify individual devices.

  6. Restart the application in order to let the changes be effective.

 

Activating devices

Once you have installed the TIM application on your iOS device, activation in the backoffice is required.Please follow these steps:

 

  1. Launch the TIM application on the iPad. A pop-up with the message: 'Device Not Allowed' will show.
  2. Start TIM Manager by double clicking on the TIM icon in the taskbar or start TIM.exe from the TIM\BIN folder.
  3. A list with devices currently allowed to the Backoffice (in green) and new devices (in yellow) will appear. To allow a device access to TIM Backoffice click 'enable device'.
  4. TIM is now correctly setup and can be used.

 

Company logo’s

 

Starting with TIM version 1.3, the end user can now install company logo’s onto the iPod for use with the reversed check view or guest check e-mail. These can be full-color or black and white logo’s in a variety of formats. For all customer logo’s please adhere to the following standards:

 

  1. Logo's should be placed in the TIM>MEDIA folder. 
  2. Logo's should have the filename LogoCLR.*** (color) or LogoBAW.*** (black and white)
  3. Logo's should have the extention *.JPG or *.PNG or *.BMP

Note: If a customer would like a logo on only one TIM client, the terminal number as defined in Aloha should be added to the filename.

For example: LogoCLR_99.PNG which indicates that the logo is only shown on interface terminal 99


 

Emailing Checks

 

The 1.4 and higher versions of TIM support the emailing of checks.To enable this, certain settings must be configured to allow for this.These settings can be found in the TIM Backoffice.To set up check emailing, open the TIM Backoffice and click on the Preferences tab on the left. This screen will allow you to configure the necessary settings to support the emailing of checks.

 

  1. Flag the SMTP email server.
  2. Set you SMTP server address and port # (If authentication is required by ISP please provide the credentials)
  3. Flag Check email
  4. Set your sender name and address
  5. Set your subject
  6. Set your content

Note: A *.PDF will be generated from the guest check and will be attached to the email automatically