Name

Enter a name.

Encoding

Select the character set used by the transaction source, for example the cash register. This helps XProtect Transact convert the transaction data to understandable text that you can work with when configuring the definition.

If you select the wrong encoding, the data may appear as non-sense text.

Start collecting data

Collect transaction data from the connected transaction source. You can use the data to configure a transaction definition.

Wait for at least one, but preferably more, transactions to complete.

Stop collecting data

When you have collected sufficient data to configure the definition, click this button.

Load from file

If you want to import data from an already existing file, click this button. Typically this is a file that you have created previously in the file format .capture. It can be other file formats. What is important here is that the encoding of the import file matches the encoding selected for the current definition.

Save to file

If you want to save the collected raw data to a file, click this button. You can reuse it later.

Match type

Select the match type to use to search for the start pattern and the stop pattern in the collected raw data:

Raw data

Transaction data strings from the connected transaction source are displayed in this section.

Start pattern

Specify a start pattern to indicate where a transaction begins. Horizontal lines are inserted in the Preview field to visualize where the transaction starts and ends, and will help to keep individual transactions separated.

Stop pattern

Specify a stop pattern to indicate where a transaction ends. A stop pattern is not mandatory, but is useful if the received data contains irrelevant information, such as information about opening hours or special offers, between actual transactions.

If you do not specify a stop pattern, the end of the receipt is defined in terms of where the next receipt starts. The start is determined by what is entered in the Start pattern field.

Add filter

Use the Add filters button to point out the characters that you want to be omitted in XProtect Smart Client or replaced by other characters or a line break.

Replacing characters is useful when the transaction source string contains control characters for non-printing purposes. Adding line breaks is necessary to make receipts in XProtect Smart Client resemble the original receipts.

Filter text

Displays the characters currently selected in the Raw data section. If you are aware of characters that you want to be omitted or replaced, but they do not occur in the collected raw data string, you can enter the characters manually in the Character field.

If the character is a control character, you need to enter its hexadecimal byte value. Use this format for the byte value: {XX} and {XX, XX,...} if a characters consists of more bytes.

Action

For each filter you add, you should specify how the characters you have selected are handled:

Substitution

Enter the text to replace the characters selected. Only relevant if you have selected the action Substitute.

Remove control characters that are not defined as filter text

Remove non-printing characters that were not already removed after adding filters.

In the Raw data pane and the Preview section, see how the transaction data strings change when you enable or disable this setting.

Preview

Use the Preview section to verify that you have identified and filtered out unwanted characters. The output you see here resembles what the real-life receipt looks like in XProtect Smart Client.