Application description and usage
FQP Assistant startup
There are two ways to start the program:
In Smartpoint click on Quick Commands and select #FQP
Entry command #FQP directly in the window
Main screen description
Note:
All application screens have fixed size and cannot be resized or maximized. However, they can be moved across the workspace or minimized to the taskbar.
Following controls are available on the main application screen:
Itinerary details input matrix allows agent to enter itinerary and other flight characteristics
Fare options input matrix some other options used by FQP query
FQP command text box, that continuously shows compiled FQP command. Command can be also manually edited, or any other Galileo command can be issued from this field.
Carrier button (in table header) copies Carrier downwards to the empty cells
Class button (in table header) copies Class downwardsto the empty cells
Date button (in table header) copies Date downwardsto the empty cells
Fare Basis button (in header) copies Fare Basis downwards to the empty cells
Get FQP button sends data from FQP command field to the host and displays host reply in internal terminal window.
Send FQP button sends FQP command either to the Desktop or to the Clipboard, if running Smartpoint is detected. However, this command does not close the application.
About FQP query button displays version information
Copy All copies Carrier, Class, Date and Fare Basis downwardsto the empty cells
Clear clears all input cells
Exit exits the application
Note:
All controlsshow brief hint, when moving mouse cursor above them, for example hint for Fare Basis header:
Get FQP functionality
Note:
Get FQP button is disabled until valid FQP command is detected in FQP command box.
If Get FQP button is pressed, application internally sends the command from FQP command text box and displays host reply in it’s own terminal window. If there was a valid FQP query, this screen retrieves all fares details in background to the buffer and highlights shortcuts to the fare details pages. Window headershows FQP query sequence number.
Shortcuts to fare details are underscored and mouse cursor changes to the hand when moving above these controls. Pages FQP*n can be retrieved one by one with mouse click or key press (see details in application controls description).
If there is only one fare code, the details page isshown automatically.
Once this parent FQP window is closed, application closes all child fare details windows.
Fare details page
This window displays all pages of fare detail. Fare index and code is visible in the window header and also in Windowstaskbar in the screen bottom:
Fare details screen can be minimized for later use, compared with details of other fare codes or other FQP calculations, copied to the Clipboard (Copy button) or sent to the hardcopy device (Print button).
Close button does not delete the particular fare from internal buffer, but just hides the window.
Note:
Both FQP list and Fare details windows are dynamically resized to fit host reply. In case the reply exceeds maximum available size, the vertical scrollbar is shown.
Send FQP functionality
Note:
Send FQP button is disabled until valid FQP command is detected in FQP command box.
This button first puts FQP command on the Clipboard and then checks if Viewpoint desktop and Smartpoint application are active. Following step depends on applications availability:
Only Viewpoint desktop isrunning
FQP Assistant restores Viewpoint desktop to foreground, copies command from clipboard to the terminal windows and issues TRANSMIT command.
Viewpoint and Smartpoint are running together
Application brings Viewpoint and Smartpoint to foreground, but cannot issue command directly in Smartpoint. Agent must activate Smartpoint terminal window, paste FQP command there with Ctrl-V and hit TRANSMIT key manually. Also, a following brief hint is displayed for two seconds:
. Both Viewpoint and Smartpoint are inactive
In such a case, only a message box with information about FQP command availability on Clipboard is displayed:
Note:
Application is still running in background until closed with Exit button or ESC key.
Detailed description of application controls
Itinerary details input matrix
(Only Origin & Destination are mandatory for FQP command compilation.)
Origin / Destination City pair, three alpha characters IATA code. Mandatory items.
Carrier Carrier code, two alphanumeric characters. Should be applied, if no carrier entered, than IATA Fares applicable to all carriers are returned.
Class One alpha character RBD (booking code).
Date Date of travel in format DDMMM or DDMMMYY. System defaults to the future dates, a year must be specified for dates in the past – e.g. 01JAN13.
Leading zero is not necessary for one-digit days 1-9.
Stopover Blank or S = stopover allowed, X = stopover prohibited.
Break Fare Break Point, only blank, MB or NB values accepted.
Blank: not specified.
MB: Breakpoint required at the end of this sector.
NB: Breakpoint prohibited at the end of this sector.
Above data can be input from the keyboard directly, or selected from the list.
Fare Basis Fare basis code, up to 8 alphanumeric characters.
Blank: not specified
SPCLS: only special fare required
NORMS: only normal fares required
Fare options data matrix
(All fields are optional)
Point of Sale/TKT Three alpha characters IATA code.
Necessary when different from your terminal location.
PTC - Discount code Three alphanumeric characters.
System defaults to adult passenger.
Validating Carrier Two alphanumeric characters.
If not specified, validating carrier is selected by the system automatically. Ticketing Date See Itinerary details description for Date format.
Account Code Up to 6 alphanumeric characters.
Used in case of private fares loaded with account code.
Private Fares Only Checkbox, only private fares to be returned,
Published Fares Only Checkbox, only published fares to be returned.
(Private / Publish Fares boxes should not be checked together.)
FQP command text box
This textbox displays compiled FQP command or error warning. FQP command can be manually adjusted before pressing Get FQP or Send FQP buttons Also, any Galileo command may be issued from there, like sign-in, H/FQP help display, BF retrieval, without need to go to the desktop and back.
FQP command inside the box is updated when leaving cell editing.
Carrier, Class, Date and Fare Basis copy commands
Application simplifies data entry to downline segments giving the agent possibility to copy data inside the cell to all empty cells below in the particular column (within itinerary boundary). This feature works in Carrier, Class, Date and Fare Basis columns. Buttons in these specific column headers show the brief hint:
All four columns can be copied at once pressing the button Copy All.
Main screen example before Copy All:
Main screen example after Copy All:
Keyboard filters
Inside data matrix tables, only alpha or numeric keys are accepted. In Czech environment, keysin the upper numeric key row are captured and issue numbers instead of alpha characters with diacritics. However, inside FQP editing text box, these filters are turned off and any key, including +, /, *, @, are allowed there.
All input characters are converted to upper case during cell validation process.
Navigation
Whole application can be controlled by mouse, or directly by the keyboard with following shortcuts:
Navigation inside input tables.
(Any following key or mouse click validates cell data and updates FQP command)
ENTER jumps to the first column in the next line
TAB Next cell in the line, jumps to the next line from last column. Jumps over all controls in the form, after leaving the table. Shift-TAB goes in opposite way with some limitations.
RIGHT arrow next cell in the line (stops in the last column)
LEFT arrow previous cell in the line (stops in the first column)
UP/DOWN arrows move up/down, except of Break column, where select the item from the list.
HOME jumps to the first cell in the line (similar to ENTER, but without move to the next line).
END jumps to the last cell in the line.
PG UP / PG DOWN jumps to the first / last cell in the column.
Inside cells, keys LEFT, RIGHT, HOME and END move cursor through edited text strings. Checkboxes Private / Published Fares are toggled by Spacebar or mouse.
Standard editing shortcuts Ctrl-A, Ctrl-C, Ctrl-V, Ctrl-X... can be used everywhere in the table cells.
Main screen keyboard shortcuts:
Atl-I activates current cell in Itinerary details input matrix
Alt-O activates current cell in Fare options input matrix
Alt-Q moves cursor to the FQP command text box for editing
Alt-C copies Carrier to the downward cells
Alt-L copies Class to the downward cells
Alt-D copies Date to the downward cells
Alt-F copies Fare Basis to the downward cells
Alt-A copies all columns (Carrier + Class + Date + FB) to the downward cells (button Copy All).
Alt-G button Get FQP
Alt-S button Send FQP
Alt-B About button
Alt-R button Clear, wipes all input data
ESC, Alt-X application exit
FQP screen with Fare selection shortcuts:
DOWN arrow or TAB next Fare code
UP arrow or Shift-TAB previous Fare code
ENTER or SPACE selects highlighted Fare code
ESC, Alt-C closes this particular FQP calculation and all child Fare details windows
Fare details screen shortcuts:
Alt-C copies screen with Fare details to the clipboard
Alt-P sends Fare details to the printer
ESC, Alt-C hides this particular Fare details window
Shortcut activation characters are underscored. Normally, shortcuts are hidden and appear after first Alt key press.
Error handling
Main screen data input errors
Application validates agent’sinputs when leaving the cell in Itinerary details or Fare options tables. If any error is detected, then the cell is highlighted and error message is displayed in FQP command text box. Get FQP and Send FQP buttons are disabled until all errors are corrected.
Note:
Errors in not active segments (missing origin or destination or both) are ignored.
System limitations check
If command length exceeds 240 characters, FQP issue is suppressed and corresponding error message is displayed if FQP command box:
FQP query does not return any valid fare
Application displays ERROR – No fare found message in the FQP query window header. Agent should modify input data then.
Lost reply from the host
This may happen when there is some communication failure, or host reply exceeds timeout limit. In such case, there is a message NO FARE FOUD – TIMEOUT, TRY LATER and window headershows ERROR – timeout.
If this happens, agent should check the connection, wait a while and reissue the FQP query.
Session is not signed-in
If the session sign-in expired, applications shows message asking agent to sign into the system again. Agent should go to the desktop to issue sign-in procedure. Once signed-in, FQP query in FQP Assistant should be operational again.
Note:
Experienced agents may issue SON and SEM transactions directly from FQP command box.
Support and Troubleshooting
Please contact administrators at support@cee-systems.com if any problems encountered during this tool usage. Please be ready to send following details:
Description of the problem
Application version (About key, or Alt-B)
Screenshot of incorrect application reply
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