Enhancing Your Customer Facing Documents (updated 10/03/2017)

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Dolphin Dynamics Enhancing Your Customer Facing Documents (updated 10/03/2017) Copyright 2016 Dolphin Dynamics Ltd. The information contained herein is the property of Dolphin Dynamics Ltd.

1 Dolphin Dynamics Enhancing Your Customer Facing Documents (updated 10/03/2017) Copyright 2016 Dolphin Dynamics Ltd. The information contained herein is the property of Dolphin Dynamics Ltd. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording for any purpose other than the purchaser s personal use without the written permission of Dolphin Dynamics Ltd. Dolphin Dynamics Ltd Upper Richmond Road London, SW15 2SL

Introduction This document has been created to provide our clients with the required information that would enable them to enhance the output of the default documents to make them

Figure 1: Enhanced document examples This guide will show how a user can implement the current system capabilities to create formatted content for: Linked-Remarks, Remarks, Printing

ready built with several client facing documents: Invoice, Credit Note, Receipt, Refund, Cost Quote, Booking Confirmation, Itinerary, ATOL Certificate and Voucher.

2 Introduction This document has been created to provide our clients with the required information that would enable them to enhance the output of the default documents to make them more inspiring. Figure 1: Enhanced document examples This guide will show how a user can implement the current system capabilities to create formatted content for: Linked-Remarks, Remarks, Printing Notes, Cover Letters and Images storing content against destinations and products presenting this content onto the documents What Can You Do with Your Documents The system also comes ready built with several client facing documents: Invoice, Credit Note, Receipt, Refund, Cost Quote, Booking Confirmation, Itinerary, ATOL Certificate and Voucher. Whilst some of the documents listed here are required to be of a certain standard, there are some that can benefit from the enhancement capabilities within the system. For example, a Quotation document can provide a greater level of appeal to a potential customer, if it includes the right combination of images and formatted text information. Dolphin Dynamics Ltd Confidential 2

3 This level of personalisation is very subjective based upon the corporate image along with the types of products being offered. Booking Management Module users can already define multiple versions of the documents each with its own logo branding appearing in the Header and Footer. There are some limitations around exactly what a user can do to a document being produced from a default template and these will be highlighted later in this document. Image Content Documents can be enhanced with images in the following areas: Images by destination Images by product supplier* Images can either be saved into the database by browsing to them via a normal network directory method or if already stored within a CMS, it is possible to set a URL location to that image. The user that is assigning the images to the product or destination code, can set the display parameters i.e. size (height and width) as well as horizontal and vertical positioning in relation to the text and page margins. Figure 2: Image Configuration Dolphin Dynamics Ltd Confidential 3

An example of this image configuration is shown in Figure 3 below. Note that the Horizontal Offset has been set to 6.00 (cm) so that the image indents from the left margin of the page.

4 An example of this image configuration is shown in Figure 3 below. Note that the Horizontal Offset has been set to 6.00 (cm) so that the image indents from the left margin of the page. Similarly, the Vertical Offset (0.50) will leave 0.5cm of space between the preceding line of text and the top of the image. Figure 3: Example Output from Configured Image NOTE: The ability to include an ad-hoc image into a document is not currently supported only images that have been created against the destination or vendor profile. Text Content Text content can be configured in several different ways: Free-format printing notes Stored, formatted printing notes, selected by the user on an ad-hoc basis Stored, formatted printing notes applied automatically to the document through the Auto Remarks configuration The default templates supplied with the Booking Management Module, use a Crystal engine to produce the documents. The text content that can be pushed into these templates can be pre-formatted* which Crystal will render accordingly into the final document that is provided to the client/traveller. * Crystal does not support every combination of format change Dolphin Dynamics Ltd Confidential 4

5 The text content editor allows text to be stored in either plain text or HTML format. Any text stored in plain text will be rendered on the final document in the same typeface as the rest of the default template. HTML formatted text will be rendered in the end document accordingly however as mentioned, the Crystal engine may ignore/over-ride some HTML codes therefore it may not be possible to have the document support the exact style that you require using the default templates. In this scenario, bespoke document templates would need to be created and this is a service that Dolphin Dynamics offers on a Time & Materials basis. Whilst it is possible for the Printing Notes field to be set into HTML design mode, this is not something that we regard as the general process as it can reduce the standardisation level that using a template mechanism offers. Furthermore, it may be that the considerable effort necessary to achieve the required output is not deemed acceptable therefore this level of formatting is normally reserved for the stored Remarks and Linked-Remarks as these are normally set up once by a user responsible for the marketing/content control rather than a reservations user. Linked-Remarks To create a Linked-Remark using HTML formatting codes for the product supplier, the user needs to have read-write access security permissions to Vendor Profiles. For the purpose of this document, it will be assumed that the user is familiar with creating Linked-Remarks within the General 2 tab of the vendor profile. Figure 4: Example Vendor Profile Showing Multiple Linked-Remarks Configured Dolphin Dynamics Ltd Confidential 5

then be displayed whereby the user can enter the text required and format accordingly in line with the defined limitations.

6 To enter the HTML Design mode, the user needs to right-click on the text box and select Convert to HTML. Figure 5: Printing Text "Right-Click" Menu Once the content field has been put into HTML mode, the user needs to right-click again, selecting Edit in Designer this time and a pop-out window will then be displayed whereby the user can enter the text required and format accordingly in line with the defined limitations. Figure 6: Right-Click Menu to Access Designer Mode The Format Menu The Format menu provides the user with access to changing the look of the text by switching to a different font or applying bold, italic or underline formatting. The Font option provides the user the ability to also amend the size and colour of the selected text. Dolphin Dynamics Ltd Confidential 6

Figure 7: Text Format Menu Figure 8: Font Editor Options Supported HTML in Crystal Reports Whilst the Format menu displays the options to add ordered and un-ordered lists and horizontal lines, these

HTML Format Typeface Size Colour Bold Italics Underline Ordered (numbered) list Un-Ordered(bullet point) list Horizontal Line Supported by Crystal Table 1: Supported Format Options Remarks and

7 Figure 7: Text Format Menu Figure 8: Font Editor Options Supported HTML in Crystal Reports Whilst the Format menu displays the options to add ordered and un-ordered lists and horizontal lines, these features are not-supported by Crystal Reports. Table 1 below shows the supported controls. HTML Format Typeface Size Colour Bold Italics Underline Ordered (numbered) list Un-Ordered(bullet point) list Horizontal Line Supported by Crystal Table 1: Supported Format Options Remarks and Printing Notes Fields The same process applies to creating Remarks and entering Printing Notes. The right-click menu exists in the Printing Notes fields which will allow the user to change to HTML mode and then again to open the HTML Designer window. Example Document The screenshots below provide an example of an itinerary document that has used the image configuration at a destination level (1) along with a composite image against the itinerary vendor (2). HTML has also been applied to the Linked-Remarks therefore producing text format effects such as Underline (3), Bold and Italics (4). Dolphin Dynamics Ltd Confidential 7

1 2 3 4 Figure 9: Example Itinerary Document including HTML Formatting and Images 1. Document header image 2.

8 Figure 9: Example Itinerary Document including HTML Formatting and Images 1. Document header image 2. Destination image 3. Product image* 4. HTML formatted text Linked-Remarks/Printing Notes Dolphin Dynamics Ltd Confidential 8

Note: The current document templates support one image per product per document type therefore this effect of three images has been achieved by creating a composite/montage image within an image

9 Note: The current document templates support one image per product per document type therefore this effect of three images has been achieved by creating a composite/montage image within an image editor application (this was done using Microsoft Paint) and then saving it as a single image before uploading to the Booking Management Module. Cover Letter A relatively new development within the Booking Management Module, is to enable the user sending a client document, the ability to enter the text to make a cover page for the document. An example of how this would be used is where a company wants to include an about us page into the document rather than it being a separate file or in the body of the . Alternatively, it could be used to include, in letter style, highly personalised information such as weather expectations across the various destinations of the journey which may have different climates due to their location and altitude etc. Figure 10: Cover Letter Page The process for adding text into this space is the same as creating text in Linked-Remarks or any printing notes field. By default, the text will be in plain text however using the right-click menu, the user can change it to HTML Mode and then format the text in accordance with the process detailed earlier. These printing notes fields do also support the copy/paste approach, therefore if the cover letter needs to use a standard format which the user can then amend as appropriate, this standard format could be saved to a Word document, for example, and when needed the user simply copies the required text and pastes it into the Cover Letter screen. The format options listed above will be respected so if the document is already formatted when copied, it will paste into the Cover Letter screen with the appropriate format applied automatically. NOTE: The cover letter text cannot be saved to the Dolphin database for multiple use. If the cover letter text is going to be standardised but allows for the user to personalise it, we recommend that it be saved as a Word document and then each time it is needed. Dolphin Dynamics Ltd Confidential 9

Figure 11: Example Cover Letter with Personalised Text Once this is included in the document sent by email, it will look like the

10 Figure 11: Example Cover Letter with Personalised Text Once this is included in the document sent by , it will look like the example below in Figure 12. Figure 12: Example Itinerary Document with Cover Letter Text Applied Dolphin Dynamics Ltd Confidential 10

Using HTML Formatting in Emails It is also possible to use the same formatting process for the body of the email that it used to send the document from the Booking Management

Right-clicking on the email body field, will enable the user to select the option to HTML mode and then a subsequent right-click will allow them to enter the HTML Designer.

Figure 13: Adding an image into the email body Figure 14: HTML Design Window for Email Body As you can see from the Figure 14, it is possible to use some of the HTML codes in

11 Using HTML Formatting in s It is also possible to use the same formatting process for the body of the that it used to send the document from the Booking Management Module. Right-clicking on the body field, will enable the user to select the option to HTML mode and then a subsequent right-click will allow them to enter the HTML Designer. Any text that has been entered in plain text mode or has been set as the default text, will remain in the HTML Designer window. Figure 13: Adding an image into the body Figure 14: HTML Design Window for Body As you can see from the Figure 14, it is possible to use some of the HTML codes in the body that Crystal does not support so in this example, there is an image (the signature) linked via a URL. The location of the image needs to be stored in a location that can be accessed externally i.e. by the receiving client otherwise it will not appear correctly if, for example, a stored location on the users c: drive of their computer. Dolphin Dynamics Ltd Confidential 11

When the email is received, it would like something like these (depending on email application): Figure 15: Email with HTML coding and inserted images Next Steps Hopefully this

12 When the is received, it would like something like these (depending on application): Figure 15: with HTML coding and inserted images Next Steps Hopefully this document gives you the know how to get the most out of your Dolphin documents. If you need help getting there, we can offer training or consultancy services, and if you want to create something entirely bespoke to your brand we can offer a time and materials customisation service. There are some configuration settings that will need checking before you start so whichever of these options you choose please give call or to the Support Desk. Support@dolphind.com Telephone: Dolphin Dynamics Ltd Confidential 12

13 Appendix 1 The limitations of using Crystal documents to create HTML format content stored in the Booking Management Module are listed below. Issue Description Limitation Of HTML format options Despite a high number of HTML codes controlling text format Crystal however only a few of these are actually supported by Crystal. One of the key items would be the ability to use ordered/unordered lists. Current capabilities would require the content loading user, to force the number or bullet point by entering it in normal text. Stored Linked- Remark width HTML Codes As Part of Remark Heading Image Links/ URL Links The design width of the Linked-Remark gets over-ridden when it is saved into the database. It appears (unconfirmed by Dev) that the default width for a Linked-Remark coded in HTML is 80 characters. Using a standard 12 point font size, this only fills two-thirds of the width of the page so despite how the content loader has designed the text to appear i.e. with paragraphing and word wrapping, it is automatically over-ridden In order to have Linked-Remark headings appear as headings i.e. Bold or Underlined, the appropriate HTML codes need to be configured as part of the Heading Name. Not all content loaders would be familiar with the syntax of HTML code and so it would be useful to be able to format the heading name in the same way as it can be done in the HTML Designer screen by the way of a right-click menu. Crystal supports images but it does not seem to support an image (or hyperlink) as part of a text content field. The HTML Designer screen gives the option to insert an image which displays correctly within the HTML Designer screen but does not get rendered correctly by Crystal as it will either, ignore it completely, create a blank area or display the location address of the image rather than the image itself. As a limitation of Crystal, the functionality to insert images and hyperlinks within an HTML content field should be deactivated. Dolphin Dolphin Dolphin Dolphin Dynamics Ltd Confidential 13

14 Text Wrapping Around Images Destination Image and Description The default templates do not support wrapping text around an image as the image placeholder spans the width of the page therefore, if we could find a way that Crystal could support a linked image, it would then be possible to configure so that the text wraps around thereby reducing down the amount of blank space rendered on the document. Folder level destination description does not show underneath the folder destination image (as would make sense) but instead appears at the end of the document. Would be good to have a flag/setting that if activated as a Folder level item, the user could choose to have the description appear at the top or bottom of the document. Crystal Crystal Dolphin Dynamics Ltd Confidential 14

Dolphin Dynamics. Enhancing Your Customer Facing Documents

Dolphin Dynamics. Enhancing Your Customer Facing Documents Dolphin Dynamics Enhancing Your Customer Facing Documents Document Amendment History Date Issue number and reason Author 17/06/15 Document Creation Simon Baker Copyright 2015 Dolphin Dynamics Ltd. The