DHES

I am now working on a new program called "MovieGoer Point of Sale" (still working on the name).
The project is going to be a program for movie theaters that is going to let small movie theaters use the software. As of yet the software is not really in development because I am still working out everything like what language it is in and the exact features of it.
Not only that but I am going to put it on sourceforge.net! The software will be under the GNU GPL.

Here is an outline of the features so far (final features still to be worked out):
* Different kinds of Guests (ex. Under 5, Child Under 12, Student, Adult, Senior, etc.)
* Movie Ratings (ex. E, G, PG, M, MA15+, R18+, X18+) to control who can see what movie
* Concessions Function
* Discounts
* XML Database
* Price based both on movie and guest type.

The movie ratings system works like this:
Each type of guest is assigned an ID (ex. Under 5 would be 0, Child Under 12 would be 1, Student would be 2, and so on) that orders them by age.

When you specify ratings you assign a "Minimum Age Group" which is a type of guest as well as an "Absolute Minimum Age Group" which is another type of guest.

When you start a new sale you enter how many people are in the group and then input their "Type". After this is done you select what movie they are seeing from a list. The list displays the title and rating of the movie. Once you select a movie the system finds the "Minimum Age Group" and the "Absolute Minimum Age Group". If anyone in the group is below the absolute minimum it displays an error that says "There is someone in the group that is too young to view this movie". If anyone is below the minimum it displays a message that says "Warning: There may be someone in this group who is too young to view the movie. Are you sure you wish to continue?" and has the options of "Continue" and "Cancel".

Once you are finished with the age and movie selection you are shown a screen that tells you how much the group will need to pay. There are about 20 buttons that allow you to select how much they paid as well as an option to type in how much they have paid.
By default the buttons have increments of "$0.01", "$0.05", "$0.10", "$0.25", "$0.50", "$1.00", "$2.00", "$5.00", "$10.00", "$20.00", "$50.00", "$100.00" as well as several blank buttons.
These buttons can be customized to whatever currency you like.
The screen displays how much the group will need to pay in total, how much they have paid and how much they have left to pay. It also displays a second window that shows the different denominations that have been paid. While the purpose of this window may seem un-important, it allows you to "Void" any previous amounts that have been paid in case you make a mistake.

I will post more here very soon. If you have any ideas please post them.

Zeeman, Great Idea

MAy I suggest ticket printing with support for thermal printers and recpit/SLIP printers?
This is verry useful. At the school Box office, We use Box office xpress JR.

I would also like to say that I am planning the ability to integrate with DHPOS for concessions and such.
I am also planning on making the system open API. The point of making an open source program open API as well is that it enables integrating external programs much easier. Let's say that, for example, you had the source code to a payroll program you wanted to integrate into the system. Instead of manually programming in "hooks" to allow your program to communicate with MovieGoer you can instead use built in hooks. You can do things like "lock" the application so that it cannot be used, you could automatically ring up a sale, you could set up the program to log every action, etc.
So, if you had a program that worked as a time clock you could force the user to "Clock In" before they could use the program and then require them to "Clock Out" before they leave.

BTW, if you'd like to join the project PM me and I will link you to the site for it.

I have installed the demo version of Box Office Xpress Jr and have noticed some advantages and some downsides.
One feature I plan for MovieGoer to have that BOX (Box Office Xpress) does not is that instead of using the VB "InputBox" command I will have a customized login window that actually masks the input characters.
I also intend to have 4 users levels: Clerk, Supervisor, Manager, Admin.
Here is a description of each:
* Clerk: The clerk is limited to only accessing the sales screen and (optionally) cannot even exit the program. (NOTICE: The exit prevention feature is basically just some simple kiosk code that could be easily circumvented.)
* Supervisor: The supervisor is basically the clerk except they can override certain restrictions that a clerk cannot (the functions they may override are set on a per-supervisor basis and may be set by an admin or sometimes a manager).
* Manager: The manager is given all the abilites a supervisor has as well as limited access to the configuration section. For example, a manager could be given permission to modify orders without having a customer present. They could also be given limited network capabilites such as monitoring sales and tracking users (if a network is enabled). A manager could even be given all the powers of an admin except that they may not change their own permissions, other managers permissions or any admin's permissions.
* Admin: An admin is given complete and total unrestricted access to every feature of the program. However, there is one admin designated as the "Owner" admin that may choose to disallow any other admin the ability to modfy permissions of any specific group. The "Owner" admin may not be modifed by any other admin no matter what. There is also only one "owner" admin. The system designates the owner with an ID of 1.

This hierarchy allows more control over users thereby making it easier to manage your theater.