Owner ID - This number uniquely identifies you in the database and is assigned to you when you purchase your first license.  Changing this value when using the evaluation version will not have any impact (it will remain 000000).

Validation - This number ensures that you are the only one that can use the owner ID you were assigned. This number is like a password and should be kept secret. It is assigned to you when you purchase your first license. The kiosk will not access the database unless a valid Owner ID/Validation is entered. Changing this value when using the evaluation version will not have any impact (it will remain 0220394127).

Kiosk ID - This number uniquely identifies each kiosk in the database. Changing this value when using the evaluation version will not have any impact (it will remain 000158).

Password – The password is used to control access to the PC’s resources. It is initially set to 'password'. This password is used by the kiosk administrator to carry out tasks such as rebooting in secure mode (mode used to eliminate unwanted access), rebooting to the Windows desktop, changing prices, etc...

Password(2) – This password is similar to the one above except that it allows limited  control - for example it does not show the Reboot to Desktop button. By default this password is set to "limited".  This password may or may not include the privilege to change the prices. If the checkbox beside Password(2) is not checked, then the prices cannot be changed with this password.

Type the kiosk password from the main menu in the kiosk software. You will not see the password on the screen while you are typing it but the keystrokes are captured. Once the password has been typed, a small window will be displayed giving you different options.

Ensure that the second password is not included in the first one (e.g. passw and password). If the second password is included in the first one the second one will also be detected first.

Languages

Available Languages - Select the languages that will be available at the kiosk. A button will appear at the bottom of the kiosk screen for each selected language unless only one language is selected. Six languages are currently available: English, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, and Italian.

You also have the option to add two more languages for which you provide the text. These two languages are saved in the Windows registry. To add the first "other language", edit the following files by changing the English text to whatever other text you want displayed and add the file to the registry by executing it (double click on it in Windows Explorer):

Other Language 1

IMPORTANT: In secure mode, the Control-Alt-Delete combination will be disabled. It is strongly suggested that you test the auto logon before rebooting in secure mode. If you reboot in secure mode and your auto logon does not work, you might have to reinstall Windows NT.

Displayed - Check this box if you want to display the help text when the user moves the mouse over a button. This may be useful if you add your own language and you don't want to translate the help text.

You can also specify not to use any logo by selecting None.

The main menu logo appears on the top left corner of the main menu. The applications logo appears on each built-in application on the top left corner.

Maximum size of the logos

Color

There are four color backgrounds to choose from. They are:

Main Title

Select the text you want to appear as a title on the main menu. If the text does not fit on one line, it will wrap on a second line. You can also specify the font name and size.

Instructions

The text entered here will appear on the main menu in the box left to the application buttons.

Image - An image can be displayed left of the purchase instruction:

Application Buttons

These are the buttons that appear on the main menu. The text on these buttons can be changed under the application section of the setup. The font name and size can be modified from here.

You can also specify the width of the buttons. It may be necessary to make them smaller if you are using the web banner called "All" (see advertising section).


Web Based Main Menu

You can choose to cover the entire main menu (exept the area with the language bottons and the timer) with a web page retrieved either from the Internet or from a local drive. This web page may include as many links as you want. If you want to create links that will simulate clicking on the buttons hidden by the web page, use the following URLs:

If you want any of these links to be free, add the following characters in front of it:

If you want to create a link that will invoke a New Message form so that the user can send an email message, use the prefix "mailto:". If you want this link to include a destination address, use the prefix "mailto:dest@server.com"   where dest@server.com is the email to which the message will be sent.

freer  The link will be free, but if it is a web page then the navigation will be restricted to the server of the initial page. For example if the link on the main menu is http://www.microsoft.com/page1 then the user will be limited to URL within http://www.microsoft.com such as http://www.microsoft.com/page2.htm.

freeu  The link will be free, but the restriction described above does not exist.

Note: freeu and freer can also be used in with the mailto: prefix described earlier. This may be useful if you want to allow users to send emails for free. Also, if you use freer, then the user will be able to send email for free but will not be able to change the destination. Therefore you should always specify the destination address when using "freermailto:".

A different page can be displayed for each language you make available. If the web page is stored on the Internet (HTTP:// URL) and you are using a dialup connection, then the kiosk will need to be connected when the user clicks on a language button. With dialup connection, it is recommended that you store the web pages used as main menus (one per language) on a local drive.

Sign-In Position (Top and Left): Position the location of the Sign-In box when a web based main menu is used. The values used here will also have an impact on the advertising displayed in the instruction box (small screen) because this box is always postioned right below the sign-in position.

Navigate Within Web Based Main Menu When URL Contains: If you want a link to navigate within the main menu (instead of invoking the web browser application), check "Navigate Within Web Based Main Menu When URL Contains:"  and specified the text in the URL that will trigger the navigation to occur within the main menu (instead of navigating to the web browser).

Title - Specify the title that will appear on each of the application buttons. For example, you may choose Surf the Net instead of Web Browser. A different title can be specified for each language.

Image - You can change the image or icon that appears on the main menu beside each application button. As with the logo, the background color on these images must match the kiosk background color selected. The application images should be 60 pixels wide by 60 pixels high.

Options Specific to each Application

Web Browser

Allow Typed URLs - Uncheck this value if you never want the users to be able to specify a URL that they can navigate to.

Start Page - This is the web site the web browser will navigate to when starting the web browser. The user will also be taken to this site when clicking on the home button. You can specify a different start page for each language.

Search Page - This is the web site the web browser will navigate to when clicking on the Search button. You can specify a different search page for each language.

Small Buttons - Check this value if you want to display small buttons with no text instead of the regular buttons with text.

Clear Cache and History After Each User: Check this value if you want the cache to be cleared after each user. It will also delete the cookies.

Only Allow Access/Prevent Access To - To limit access to specified sites, select "Only Allow Access To" then list the web sites allowed. To allow access to all sites except some specified sites, select "Prevent Access To" then list the web sites which are not allowed. This list supports wild cards (*, ?). For example, if you select "Prevent Access To" and add the entry *sex*, then all URLs with the word sex in them would be prohibited.

Email

Web based: If you check this value, the user will be offered to use a web based email client instead of Surf - Timer email client when experiencing problems. Some of these web based email clients have huge database of POP3 servers which might help the user. The site www.thatweb.com is the default, and www.mailstart.com is another good one.

Not knowing their pop3 server is often a problem for kiosk users. To help the users, you can specify a list of domains with the corresponding pop3 server. For example, if you specify email address server.com with pop3 server mail.server.com, then the pop3 server will automatically default to mail.server.com if the user enters username@server.com as an email address. This list can be populated from the setup but will also be populated when users successfully retrieve their mail. In other words, the kiosk will remember valid combinations. This list can also include web sites. For example if you enter hotmail.com with pop3 server http://www.hotmail.com, then the user will be presented with a message offering him to navigate to www.hotmail .com if he enters a hotmail address.

Footer: The text included here will be added at the end of any email message sent from the built-in email client. You can specify the text in each language.

Newsgroups

News Server (Primary and Secondary) - Enter the server used to retrieve newsgroups. Your Internet provider should provide you with this information. Note that most News servers will only let you access their resource if your are connected to the Internet via the Internet provider that owns this server. You must provide a secondary News server only if you provide a secondary dialup connection. The primary News server is used when connecting through a LAN.

Other Application (1 to 10)

Type - Each "Other Application" can be either an executable (like Solitaire.exe) or a web site. If you select an executable, then this executable will be started when the user clicks on the corresponding button. If you specify a web site, then the web browser will be displayed with the specified web site when the user clicks on the corresponding button.

Location - the location of the executable (example c:\windows\solitaire.exe) or the URL (example www.cnn.com).

Configuration - If you select an executable, you have the option to specify where the configuration for this application is located in the registry. For example, if you made Microsoft Word available, you could enter \Software\Microsoft\Office under Configuration. As a result, this branch of the registry would be restored to its original values after each user. Make sure you include the \ as the first character.

Currency - this value will be included as part of each payment (cash or credit card) stored in the database. It is also used to display the right currency symbol.

Display prices - check this value if you want the prices to be displayed on the main menu.

Taxes

The information entered here is only used to show the user the portion of the amount paid that goes for taxes. This information is displayed on the purchase screen when a payment is made (cash or credit card). This information is also included as part of the receipt.

Assuming a tax called "Tax A", the following line would be included on the purchase form and on the receipt:

Includes Tax A: $1.23

You must specify the name of each tax in each of the languages you make available to the users.

For each tax, you must also specify if the tax applies to purchasing minutes, pages, or both by using the checkboxes under the small pictures (clock for minutes and page for printing).

This works if the taxes are simple percentage of the purchase amount. If your taxes are more complicated than that, the program will have to be modified to include a specific formula.

Receipt

When a user makes a purchase, you can give them the option to be emailed a receipt or print a receipt. You specify what is included in the header of the receipt by creating a text file for each of the languages you make available to the users. Specify the path and name of these files under Header Files.

The receipt will also include the payment ID generated by the database and the access code toward which the payment was made. This may be especially useful in cases where the user needs to remember the access code for future use. An emailed/printed receipt will provide the user a way to keep track of the access code.

Email - Check this value if you want to give the user the option to receive an emailed receipt.

Print - Check this value if you want to print receipts.

To - Check this value and specify an email address if you want to receive a copy of each receipt.

Access Codes

Automatically Sign-In After Crash (For New Users Only)

When this value is checked, surf-timer will automatically enter the last access code used if a crash occurred while this access code was used.

Restricted - The first part of an access code indicates the Owner ID of the issuer of the access code. If you wish to limit access to the kiosk to people who got their access code from the kiosks’ owner, then check this value.

Sign-In Option

Access Codes: Check this value if you  want the access code entry fields to be visible.

Hide Owner ID: If you always use the same owner ID, you might want to hide that field on the main menu to make it easier for your customer. If you use that option, make sure to only provide your users with the second and third portion of the access codes (the first portion being the owner ID).  When you use this option, a Clear button will also be displayed to allow the user to clear the access code fields.

User Name: Check this value if you want the Sign-In (User Name and Password)  entry fields to be visible. When checking this value, you also have to specify when the user should be asked for a user name and password:

0: Never, 1: at the time of the initial payment, 3: When quitting, if the balance is greater than zero.

F5 - If you check this value, it will be possible for the user to refresh the balance from the database by pressing F5. This only applies to the Prepaid payment modes. This is useful if you operate in a setup where the user can recharge an account at the cashier. The user would then return to the kiosk and press F5 to display the new balance without having to sign out. Note that this function is disabled when the user is in a third party application since F5 might be used for something else by that application.

Automatically Sign-In After Crash (For New Users Only) - If you check this value, surf-timer will automatically sign in the previous user if a crash occurred during the session and the user was using a new account for which no user name and password had been created


Magnetic Card Reader - You need to attach a magnetic card reader to accept credit cards as a method of payment. Specify "Serial" if a card reader is connected.

This magnetic card reader can also be used to read magnetic cards on which access codes are stored.

Bar Code Reader - Not yet supported.

Cash payment

Minimum - Since there are sometimes fees associated with each connection, you may want to specify a minimum amount.

Display Minimum - Check this value if you want the minimum purchase amount to be displayed on the main menu.

Apply to First Payment Only - Check this value if you want the minimum to apply to the first payment only. This means that if a user is already using the system them no minimum payment will be required.

Acceptor - You can attach two bill acceptors/coin acceptors to serial ports (COM ports) or parallel port. Several types of interface are supported.

Port - Specify the port to which the acceptor is connected. The software will detect signals from the specified port.

Amount - Specify the required amounts depending on the interface used.

Credit card  payment

Minimum - Since there are often administration fees associated with credit card payments, you may want to specify a minimum amount.

Display Minimum - Check this value if you want the minimum purchase amount to be displayed on the main menu.

Accepted - Specify the credit cards accepted at the kiosk. If a user tries to use a type of card not available at the kiosk, a message will be displayed and the card will not be accepted.

Processing - Specify the processing method used and the server information. Select Off-Line if the transactions are not processed in real-time.

Info required - Name, Street #, and Zip Code - Check the information required to process the credit card payments. The user will be required to specify the name only if it could not be read from the card.

If you want to create a link that will invoke a New Message form so that the user can send an email message, use the prefix "mailto:". If you want this link to include a destination address, use the prefix "mailto:dest@server.com"   where dest@server.com is the email to which the message will be sent. If the banner is "Restricted", then the user will not be able to change the destination address.

Web banners (All) - You can specify a web banner that will be displayed on the right of the screen all the time. You can specify the width. It has all the characteristics of the banners described above.

Web banners (Web 1) - You can add a web banner on the top portion of the web browser, for which you specify the size and position. The content of this banner can be stored on the Internet or on a local drive. Anything that can be displayed on Microsoft Internet Explorer can be displayed on this banner.

Web banners (Web 2) - You can add a web banner that will be displayed underneath the buttons. The content of this banner can be stored on the Internet or on a local drive. Anything that can be displayed on Microsoft Internet Explorer can be displayed on this banner.

Display

The display of advertising on the primary monitor works like a screen save. If there is activity on the keyboard or on the mouse then the advertising is hidden. There are two options for displaying advertising:

Display After - Enter the number of seconds of idle time before the advertising is displayed.

Web Full Screen

This display is retrieved from the Internet (web page). Note that you can use this type of advertising even if the kiosk is not always connected. A connection is required only at the start to retrieve the web page. Specify the number of second the kiosk should be idle (no mouse or keyboard activity) before displaying the full screen advertising. The value for Address corresponds to the site to be displayed in full screen.

AVIs and Bitmap images

You can build a list of AVI animations and bitmap images by specifying the file locations. The files will be shown in the order found in the list you build.

Duration - Enter the number of seconds each image will be displayed. This only affect images. For AVIs the length of the AVI is used.

Interval - Enter the interval between the time a image or an AVI is hidden and the time the next image or AVI is displayed. For continuous showing, set this value to 0.

Dimension - Specify whether you want to display advertising in a small screen (the box left to the application buttons) or full screen.

The images and AVIs should have the following dimensions (depending on the resolution):

 
Secondary Monitor: The display on the secondary monitor is similar to the display on the primary monitor except that it is always displayed and always full screen. Make sure that the same AVI file is not accessed at the same time for both the primary monitor and the secondary monitor. If you want to play the same AVI on both monitor you should keep two copies. This requires Windows 98 or Windows 2000.

http://www.surf-timer.com/database.htm

Time Remaining (1 and 2) - You can specify the messages that will be displayed to warn the user of how many minutes they have left. You can also specify the message to be displayed when the time has expired.

Thank You - Message displayed when the usage is terminated.

Click here to download a utility to display Title and Class Name of currently running applications 

Disks - This is where you determine what drives you want accessible to the user. Generally, in a public Internet site, you want limited access to the system so that customers do not tamper with the system. It is not recommended that you allow access to local drives such as C:. Make sure you don’t allow access to floppy drives that are not physically accessible to the user. This selection will only affect the built-in applications such as the word processor, email, and newsgroups.

Right Clicks - If the value Right Click is checked then the right click is available. Note that it will still not be available in the built-in web browser.

To simplify the task of parsing the log files, the first 3 characters following the date and time are as follows:

DBE: Database error
INF: Information
ERR: Error
WSV: Web site visited
WFM: Web site visited from menu (from one of the buttons created on the main menu)
APS: Application started
DIS: Disconnection (dialup)
CON: Connection (dialup)
DAD: Display advertising - the screen saver ad
HAD: Hide advertising - when the mouse is moved, a key is pressed, or a payment is made.
UST: Usage started
UEN: Usage ended
SVY: the link to display the survey was clicked.
WD1: A link on the Web display 1 was clicked (web banner).
WD2: A link on the Web display 2 was clicked (web banner).
WD3: A link on the Web display 3 was clicked (web banner).
WD4: A link on the Web display 4 was clicked (web banner).
WBL: A link on the Web based main menu was clicked.

So if you wanted to know the average number of banners clicked per user, you could write a program that would go through the log file and count the number of WD1, WD2, WD3, WD4, and reset the counter every time a UST occurs.


Log File Location - Specify the path and file name where the log file will be stored before being emailed to you. Note that when a log file is sent to you it is deleted from the kiosk and a new one is created.

Send Log Files At - Specify the time at which the log file should be sent. You can also select to have it sent every so many hours.

Send Log File When restarting - If you check this option, a log file will be sent every time   Surf - Timer is restarted.

Send Log File After Each User - If you check this option, a log file will be sent sent after each user.

Email Log File - Check this option if you want the log file to be emailed. Specify the email address to which the log files will be sent.

FTP Log File - Check this option if you want the log file to be sent to a server using FTP. Specify server name and the path to which the log files will be sent.

Activities recorded - check the items you would like included in the log file.

Download and execute file daily - A file that will be downloaded then executed. This can be used for several purposes but the main one I have in mind is the download of a self-extracting file that will update files on the PC. Using such a zip file will allow you to update any number of files and the files will go in directories specified when building the zip file.You must use a self-extracting file that will not generate any message 

Updating surf-timer.exe

Windows 95 and Windows 98

Step 3 - Using Winzip create a zip file, making sure to check "Save extra folder info" because we need to save the directory structure. This zip file must include c:\windows\wininit.ini and c:\new\surf.exe. Using Winzip Self-Extractor, make a self-extracting file, making sure to check "Unzip automatically" and "Default to overwrite files without prompting".

Step 4 - Copy the self-extracting file to an FTP server.

If the kiosk is set to download and execute the file on the FTP server (step 4), then surf.exe will be updated when the PC reboots. If you have the kiosk set to reboot during the daily maintenance, it will be effective then.

Download and apply file to registry daily - A reg file (file created by regedit and that contains registry values, such as Surf - Timer settings). This will allow you to remotely change the settings you normally change using setsurf. This will be a great feature if you have many kiosks.

Restart Computer Daily - Check this value if you want the computer to be rebooted as part of the daily maintenance.

You can add or remove keywords from the list. Be cautious as to which keywords you add because they maybe words which have more than one context. For example, if you add the keyword hot, then a web site such as Hotmail will not be displayed.

URLs not Filtered: Some web sites, such as CNN, are safe to display but may sometimes include some of the keywords. For example. You can list these sites here and they will not be banned for keywords before being displayed.