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Barcode Scanning: Exciting Enhancements (February 2014): https://help.pm.leapevent.tech/a/166989
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Did you know that PatronManager supports barcode scanning? Many clients have been involved in our "pilot program" testing this feature for the past several months, but this is the first time we're officially announcing it in the release notes! We're excited to tell you about a few major improvements now, as the app comes into wide release.
Real-Time Validation / Access Control
The PatronTicket Barcode Scanner app can now be used for both attendance tracking and access control at your venue. That means every time you scan a ticket, the scanner will tell you not only that it's an "active" ticket for the event, but also whether or not the barcode has been scanned on any other device already.
Every ten seconds, we'll automatically upload the list of all scanned tickets from your barcode scanning devices to PatronManager, and download the full list of tickets that have been scanned on all other devices. This all happens in real-time, as long as you're connected to the Internet, either by wifi or the cell phone network.
Better Scanning Messages
If the ticket is "good," the screen of your device will flash green and you'll hear a happy beep:
If it's "bad" (meaning it's already been scanned, or it's for the wrong event, or it's been refunded), the screen will flash red, you'll hear a decidedly negative tone, and you'll feel a sustained vibration from the scanner.
This way, there's no ambiguity about the validity of the ticket.
Attended Checkbox for Contacts
We've added a new field that will automatically be checked off when a ticket has been scanned. You can report on actual attendance at your events (and send a followup email to no-shows), see that they attended right from each contact record, and even track in real-time when a patron has arrived at the venue.
Important: Upgrade to the New App
For clients already using barcode scanning: There's a new version of the app available from the Google Play store. If you've never downloaded the app from the Play Store (you may have used a rather mysterious URL to download it the first time around), you'll want to uninstall that version of the app, navigate to the Google Play store, and download the newest version. Simply open the Play Store and search for "PatronTicket". The listing for the app will pop right up:
Be sure to turn on automatic upgrades so you never miss a new version:
Device Support
As of December 31, 2014 (that's the end of this year), we will no longer offer barcode scanning support for devices running Android 2.2 ("Froyo") or older. What does this mean for you? If your device is running an older version of Android, you should plan to upgrade to a new device before 2015.