Overview

This page outlines troubleshooting steps for Kitchen Display Devices and QSR terminals.

This covers routing, image and visual setup, IP configurations, button layouts, and many more.

Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) solutions are used by Volanté to improve efficiency in food service operations. These QSRs are provided by QSR Automations, and these devices are connected to other display hardware in order to relay information from kiosk or cashier orders to a Kitchen display.

The QSR Xceed is one of several QSR products used by Volanté. It was designed to take the place of previous Kitchen Printer Solutions, and replace them with a newer, simplified monitor system, where each monitor would control and route ordered items between each other.

Builder's Guide:

Version 2019

https://www.dropbox.com/s/sofgbmbyp45lxyf/ConnectSmart%20Kitchen%202019.6%20Builder%20User%27s%20Guide.pdf?dl=0

QSR Kitchen Monitor Hardware Details

Volanté primarily makes use of three kitchen monitor devices from QSR Automations.

For our purposes, we are concerned with their usage at each site.

xCeed

Comparable to the ePic, with the added benefit of graphical display functionality.

- Configured using QSR’s ConnectSmart Kitchen.
- The xCeed offers options that allow it to be more generally applicable for all kitchens and configurations.

ePic

Uses a DOS-based interface; cannot be remoted into.

- Default ID of 16, when searching for it in RDS console; if network doesn't have conflict, it will be picked up on the QSR builder pro. That only works with original QSR, not ControlPoint.
- Volante no longer provides ePic devices for newer installs. However, troubleshooting knowledge may still be required for sites that still make use of these devices.

eXpert

Ideal for customer-facing displays.

- Makes use of HDMI ports to emphasize this fact.
- Also more graphically-oriented than the ePic.

For hardware specifications on each device, please consult the client-facing guide:

QSR Specifications and Features Document (PDF)

Understanding Routing Schemes

Routing schemes essentially allow users to route items to display on specific terminals. This is accomplished by mapping a department ID to an item type, or associating an item to a terminal ID (i.e. the terminals themselves). Routing terminals is accomplished via the control point.

Coffee Monitor Example

The site does not want an order to show up on both (i.e. both coffee screens); the intent is to route one coffee item to the right screen, to physically indicate the order can be picked up from one of two sides at the counter. This is accomplished by routing via Terminal ID.

Bagel Monitor Example

The bagel monitor is typically only one station (preset routing schemes usually feature multiple coffee monitor setups, but only 1 bagel monitor setup). Those terminals are not routed specifically to the bagel monitor.

In these cases, you want the items to show up only on one; you set this to show up to Device 1 or 2.

Assign a QSR Server in the Volanté BackOffice

QSR Server IP details in Volanté can be configured under General Setup > System Configuration > Page 2 > QSR Server IP.

Ensure that the QSR server IP matches that of the settings on the QSR device itself (including the ControlPoint settings).

QSR server IP can be assigned on a per terminal level also by entering it in the department level field in terminal setup (highlighted in yellow)

Fixing IP Address On QSR Screens

Typically, a QSR device will not have a mismatched ID as it should always be using the same static IP.

However, in the event that this has happened, you must change IP addresses in the following locations:

C:\ProgramData\QSR Automations\ConnectSmart\ControlPointClient\Data\ConnectSmartNetwork.xml
Update the <IPaddress> field to the IP of your current machine
In the Control Point Client, click on the Hammer icon () to access Server Settings.
If Control Point Client is not opening and prompting an error about network connection, check for the following things:
1. All instances/processes of the application are closed
2. Ensure Step 1 is done first
Open RDS tab and change the Primary IP.
While still in the Server Settings modal, open the ConnectSmart Network tab. Edit the existing terminal's IP Address by selecting Edit.
Press Save to confirm any changes made.
In the Volante BackOffice, navigate to General Setup > System Config > Page 2 > QSR Server IP and update the IP (image below, same as previous QSR set up screen)

Assigning an unassigned eXceed

Create the template options with the icon with the + (select that it is an exceed device and assign the appropriate networking information and periferals)

Once complete, select the unassigned exceed on the button and go into the wrench icon at the top and select the appropriate template grouping created in the line above.

Exceed will reboot and should adopt the new network configurations.

Use VNC to enter to test connectivity.

Changing IP Addresses for Devices

Troubleshooting often involves reassigning or setting up IP addresses for devices, either to avoid conflicts with other devices or to ensure configurations are mapped appropriately.

A. Change the IP Address of the xCeed on the server, from DHCP to Static

Under the ConnectSmart ControlPoint Client, you will be presented with a list of available QSR devices.
Select the device to change the status for.
Select the dropdown menu. Change the device's server's status from DHCP to Static.

A QSR xCeed device is has been detected, and is available for editing.

B. Change the IP Address of the xCeed, in the case of conflict or configuration error

To adjust the IP of a QSR device, if it is picking up the wrong IP, you will need to edit the ConnectSmartNetwork.xml file.

Remote into the device and perform the following steps:

On the device, navigate to the following directory:
Hard Disk\ConnectSmart\QsrDisplayClient\Data\ConnectSmartNetwork.xml
Edit the XML file.
- This can be done be changing the file's extension from XML to TXT if the file does not readily open in XML format.
In the <IP Address> field, change the correct IP if it did not pick it up correctly. Change it to the device's IP.
- See the sample file below for more details.
Next, open ConnectSmart.
In the QSR Display Client screen, check that the IP Address and the Primary/Secondary Server information is valid and correct.
- Use the Command Line and ipconfig to determine the server IP if values are not known.

C. Sample ConnectSmartNetwork.xml file

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16" standalone="yes"?>
<!--QSR Automations ConnectSmart Network Settings-->
<ConnectSmartNetwork.xml>
  <Header>
    <FileVersion>3.0.120.0</FileVersion>
    <CreationDateTime>04/08/2015 10:54:22 AM</CreationDateTime>
  </Header>
  <DetailData>
    <StationId>0</StationId>
    <IPAddress>10.163.6.4</IPAddress>
    <BasePort>32768</BasePort>
    <NetworkConfigurations>
      <NetworkConfiguration>
        <IPAddress>0.0.0.0</IPAddress>
        <Product>PrimaryControlPointServer</Product>
      </NetworkConfiguration>
      <NetworkConfiguration>
        <IPAddress>0.0.0.0</IPAddress>
        <Product>PrimaryBackoffice</Product>
      </NetworkConfiguration>
      <NetworkConfiguration>
        <IPAddress>0.0.0.0</IPAddress>
        <Product>PrimaryKitchen</Product>
      </NetworkConfiguration>
    </NetworkConfigurations>
    <ControlPointServerAPIPort>32888</ControlPointServerAPIPort>
  </DetailData>
</ConnectSmartNetwork.xml>

Routing Schemes – Creating and Editing DataSets

Under Routing Scheme – mapping department id to an item type can be done by department id on item or TerminalId.

Using Pre-configured DataSets

Preconfigured DataSets are files for preconfigured routing schemes. These are generally .XML files featuring configurations for routing to specific terminal configurations. For example, a site set up with 2 Coffee Monitors and 1 Bagel monitor makes use of a preset that we have labelled "2Coffee1Bagel.zip".

Although this preset comes with many settings pre-configured, users may need to make additional adjustments to ensure it is working.

If routing does not appear to be occurring as expected, or settings have been changed and not easily reversible, it is possible to download and use default presets. If you do not have datasets downloaded, go to Dropbox, and download the corresponding DataSet.

https://www.dropbox.com/work/Volante/install/thirdpartyapps%26manuals/qsr_csk_xceed/DemoSoftware%20and%20Datasets

This data set is essentially a template for Bagel and Coffee monitors, and comes with the IDs pre-configured.

For example, users may download 2Coffee1Bagel.zip . This will be your dataset if you are not creating new ones.

Opening Datasets

Copy your dataset from the downloaded location.
Navigate to C:\ProgramData\QSR Automations\ConnectServers\KitchenServer\Datasets.
Extract the archive for the DataSet, and paste its contents in this directory.
Next, open Kitchen Builder Pro.
Upon startup, you will see a prompt to select an order set:
1. Choose: Open an existing dataset.
2. Select the dataset that was created and renamed earlier.
Click Continue. The datasets will be applied, and certain mappings will already be done.

To avoid potential confusion with selecting the incorrect DataSet in the future, users may opt to delete the default DataSets from the DataSets folder.

Choosing the wrong dataset may lead to overwriting the current mapping information on the terminal.

Routing Items

The dataset, while pre-configured, may still require additional manual adjustments to configure routing items properly.

This section will walk users through routing of all menu items.

Routing Categories

Routing Categories is used to configure item orders routing (i.e. Coffee items are assigned only to designated Coffee monitors).

This is necessary as sites typically make use of multiple monitors with specifically designated Menu Items. The most standard setups consist of one or more Coffee monitors and a Bagel monitor.

Routing scheme mapping department id to an item type can be done by department id on item (by Item), or TerminalId (by Terminal).

In other words, routing can be accomplished either by the Menu Item that is being ordered, or based on the purpose of the POS Terminal.

Routing from POS Terminals

Context:

Typically, an item needs to be routed from one terminal to another;
The purpose of this routing is that you do not want the order to show up on both screens, but rather, route to the correct, specific screen; routed to one of two machines
This is accomplished by routing the item by Terminal ID.
The bagel monitor is typically only one station at a restaurant (as opposed to coffee stations, which are two or more stations). Terminals are not routed specifically to the bagel monitor.
As for coffee monitors, we want items to only show up on one of two coffee monitors; you must specifically set this to show up to Device 1 or 2.

Control Point Diagnostics Tool

The diagnostics tool feature allows us to troubleshoot issues with Bump Bars and their inputs.

In this screen, two tabs exist: Basic and Bump Bar.

Basic Tab

In this tab, users may diagnose if Bump Bar buttons are functioning as expected. It also provides the following information:

Hovering over each button indicates whether or not it was ever used.
It also states the associated mapping of the button presses.
"Bump Bar Actions" will state a full history of all button presses performed on the Bump Bar.

Bump Bar Tab

Users can Check the Bump Bar screen to review mappings, and verify if the Bump Bar has been associated with the corresponding QSR device.

Select the buttons on the left side (the Operations section) to check various fields.

RDS Console Diagnostics

RDS details pending – Should cover:

Where to see bump bar and screen status
How to bump a transaction from the server

<tbd>

Change Colors and Headers

Colors, Headers, Footers, and other kitchen display elements can be configured

Routing Categories

Routing Categories is used to configure item orders routing (i.e. Coffee items are assigned only to designated Coffee monitors).

This is accomplished using ConnectSmart Kitchen Builder Pro, through use of Routing Categories functions.

The left pane will display the routing settings.

Navigate to Routing Categories (8th option under Kitchen Settings).
Add Routing Categories will appear. For example, users may set a routing category to "Coffee" to indicate that it is being routed to one of multiple potential coffee monitors.
Set the ID to 2.
In Category Value, choose either TERMINAL or DEPARTMENT NUMBER. Then rename the routing category to Bagels.
Department Number should likewise be set to 2.
The "Show Advanced" option can be used to configure additional Category Values.
You can add "Bagels", then you can set Terminal ID to 2, which creates more subcategories. We want to put them all into one category, optimally, so that it does not cause confusion.
Next, go through the advanced method of routing by routing terminals one to the next.
In the Scheme Name section, select Routing Categories.
Any items that have that, that are coming from a specific terminal, will be routed in there.
1. Routing categories are used to direct specific items to specific screens.
2. You will be using the Department ID from this screen to enter into BackOffice.
3. Click Apply.
4. Click Okay.
Navigate to Routing Schemes. This is where you will set the items to assign to the selecting routing categories to a particular routing scheme.
Change the Scheme name. In this example, we create the "Bagels" scheme.
In this case, we want to select the routing category that we created previously, "Bagels". Select the Category and press the right green arrow to move Bagels from the "Available" pane to the "Selected" pane.
Once you have completed, click Apply.
Click OK.
Navigate to the Activity Levels tab.
This is where you will create your screen for the Xceed and eXpert devices.

The templates that you are not using should be removed from the Kitchen Stations tab to avoid confusion when setting it up in the future.
Accidentally using the wrong template and syncing up can potentially overwrite existing settings on a live monitor.
1. Open the first keypad.
  1. The way the OrderReady screen works is that there are two columns. One for the order while it is being made, and one for when the order is ready for pick-up.
  2. On the bump bar, the top row is always for the waiting orders, and the bottom bar is always for the bumping of orders from the top bar.
  3. All settings pertaining to the bump bar can be adjusted on this screen.
  4. Click Apply.
  5. Click Save.

Chef Screen

Navigate to the Chef Screen.

Set the Station ID to match the ID that you previously created.
Double click on the screen.
You may name the screen sections here.

Under the Input Tab, you will be assigning the top row of the keypad to manage customer waiting orders.

Under Station 1: Virtual Keypads, select Waiting Orders.
Under the Routing tab, if you have different routings, you will select the appropriate routing for this screen.
Under the Bumping tab, you are going to select the screen that you are bumping the orders to.
The Bump From and Bump To Screen:
1. You must have two screens checked off in this case, Order Ready on Customer Screen, and Order Ready on Chef Screen. This indicates that when a Chef is bumping an item off the Chef Screen, it appears in the Order Ready section of the Customer Screen.
2. Click OK.
3. Double-click in the bottom section of the screen now.
4. Under the Input Tab, you will assign the Bottom Row of the Keypad to the Customer Order Ready screen.
5. Under the Routing tab, you won’t have anything checked off here, because you don’t want things to appear in this section unless they have already been bumped.
6. Under the Bumping tab, you are going to make sure under Bump From: Customer Order Ready, and Bump To: no selection.
7. Click Done.
8. Click Apply.
9. Click Ok.

Organize the Order Ready Screen

This section covers editing and arranging the Order Ready Screen.

This screen works the same way.

Double-click the desired side.
Under the Routing tab, click the default routing scheme.
Under the Bumping tab, everything should appear empty.

You will now have to send these changes to the screens themselves.

Click Tools.
Select Copy Current to Runtime.
Click OK.
Restart both your servers in the Services app.
Hit Refresh.

Visual Editing with View Settings

Grid Header Templates – Rearrange Layout of QSR Screen

Users may arrange layouts of parameters on the QSR screen using the Grid Header Templates module.

Although these visuals are typically determined by the site. To do this in Kitchen Builder Pro:

Go to "Grid Header Templates" from the left side, under View Settings.
The corresponding window appears. Choose the Template to edit from the tree on the left (e.g. select Quick Service Template).
To add parameters to the screen, select the parameter, select a column/row representing the screen, and add them in using the green arrow icons.
Typical fields that may be rearranged include the Terminal Number and Transaction Number.
If the resolution of the device's window is not wide enough, drag the Grid Header Templates window

Destinations

Destinations allow for assignment of items of "Destination IDs" to Sale Types. Sale Types are configured in the Volanté BackOffice.

To access this screen in ConnectSmart Kitchen Builder Pro:

Under the Transaction Manager section, select Destinations.
The Destinations screen will open.
Set up the Destinations and their associated IDs

Sale Type

Destinations are mapped to set numbered IDs. Destinations need to match the IDs listed.
- For example, in the list above, "DRIVTHRU" ID is 5.
The Destination matches under Sales Type under General Setup > Sale Type. ID must match.
In the example, we go to General Setup > General Settings.
Check the Sale Type IDs.
On the POS, we then add the "Sale Type" on the POS.

Editing Visuals – Colors and Images

View Settings

The View Settings options are all aesthetics.

Change Colors – GRDS Color Schemes

In ConnectSmart Kitchen Builder Pro, users may make use of the GRDS Color Schemes feature to adjust colors and other aesthetic touches (including background graphics).

Go to Kitchen Builder Pro
In live production environments
Do not pick the default layout normally; you will want to pick the site-specific one
IF you choose the wrong run time/environment, your screens will change to whatever the selected default was.
To revert it back, reopen

Change Background of the QSR Screen to an Image

Many client kitchen displays make use of a simple color layout. However, it is possible to change background graphics on the kitchen display screens.

To change the background of a QSR layout to an image instead of a color:

Navigate to GDRDs Color Schemes > Styles
Select Image. Choose an image file from the device's local directory (will need to be copied to the machine, i.e. via file sharing/Teamviewer copying).

GRDS Video Settings

Users may configure the screen in this section.

General: Configure standard settings for the selected monitor. We are typically to leave most of the General Settings fields, but we may adjust the Display Settings (colors and text labels if appropriate) and number of columns and rows.
Input: Assign Virtual Keypads (VKP) and Touch Panels to a monitor, based on the Station and Activity Level.
Routing: Configure Routing Scheme setup by checking off the appropriate Routing box.
Bumping: Set up bumping behavior, i.e. how items Bump To Views and Bump From Views.
- Allows configuration of bumping items from one screen to another.
- Designate monitors that will be bumped to and from.
- Can be used with Order Ready – allow for pushing of, say, soups, from one screen to the next.

Printing: Configure printing to specific printers in this section.
- Currently unused by most sites. Some sites, such as Rogers and Amway Grand use it, but that is the exception.

Advanced: Not used. Recipes are not used by our sites.

Configurations Completed

Once these are configurations are completed, save the configurations under > Tools > Copy Current Runtime.

In your OS, return to Services.
Start the Service to QSR ConnectSmart Kitchen Server.
Every change made must restart the Kitchen Server Service to commit the changes.
Now restart the devices.

Activity Levels

Once you have all your routings and everything is set, go to Activity Levels (next to Kitchen tab, at the upper left).

This section consists of:

Activity Level Settings
Virtual Keypads
Kitchen Station
Printer Stations

Button Layouts – Virtual Keypads

Reassign Keypad Mappings

To reassign Keypad mappings on the Bump Bar for each respective device, users can make use of the Virtual keypad feature.

In ConnectSmart Kitchen Builder Pro, open the Activity Levels tab in the upper-left corner (instead of the Kitchen tab).
Choose to edit or add an existing Virtual Keypad.
Selecting an existing Keypad, and drag and drop items from the Action pane at the bottom of the window to the Bump Bar arrangement at the top.

Change Keypads on ePics

To change the keypads for ePics:

Navigate to Virtual Keypads > Show Keypad Displays
Add buttons from the Actions tab at the very bottom of the screen.

Building a Coffee Monitor Scheme

Open the GRDS Video Station Builder.

Under General Tab – Make a change to the color scheme under Display Settings.
Keep the header at the top, as it is typically used for displaying Menu Items.
We can customize the number of columns and rows depending on the clients' needs.

Common QSR Troubleshooting Issues

What does "Network Inactive" actually mean for QSR devices?

This message means that a QSR Server is down.

Troubleshooting Duplicate IP Issues – "What happens if you have a duplicate IP with an xCeed?"

Upon restarting, and booting up, you will be notified on the monitor that another device may have the same IP address.

In addition, duplicate IP devices will keep flashing "Disconnect" on the ControlPoint screen.

To resolve this, change the IP in the Network Settings, then in the XML file.

Client says "items are showing up on the wrong screen".

This is possibly a routing issue. Users may be advised to change how the schemes are being routed, or how the screens are routed, if needed.

Ideally, we are to fix the template ourselves, instead of re-importing the previous one. This also allows us to understand what the actual issue may be instead of merely resetting the configuration.

For more details on adjusting routing using presets, see the section above on Pre-Selected DataSets.

Troubleshooting Tools

ControlPoint Client

This feature is a Screen Capture function for monitoring the QSR/KDS. It effectively allows users to view the screen for troubleshooting purposes.

To access this function, click the ControlPoint Client (screen monitor icon); this lets you see what's on their screen.

Note that, while this is a Screen Capture, and shows the state of the screen, this is necessarily a real-time view.

As such, xCeed and eXpert devices have VNC provided and built-in so that you can remote in for them as well to check the client in real-time.

Reviewing a Screen Capture of the terminal.

Orders not showing up or going to screen?

Open Service. Check if the corresponding QSR services are running or not.

If services are actually running, open Control Point.
ControlPoint should show if a particular station is offline; this is indicated by the Event/Logs box at the bottom of this screen (highlighted in red below).
Check that devices are still connected. If not, perform the above troubleshooting steps on the corresponding terminals instead.

Additional Notes

Install Files for KDS

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/8e3lpi3pkc8hiqo/AADGOZxB-Ml3YAy2DyVJx8OBa?dl=0

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See Also:

System Configuration - BackOffice (v7)

Troubleshooting Articles

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