Recreatex documentation

The use of counters provides an additional restriction on the number of persons or groups that can be registered in a certain period. A counter is an overarching element that generally acts upon multiple exhibitions. Using counters may be necessary for different reasons: within the context of overcrowding (considering fire safety requirements), to keep the number of offered exhibitions as large as possible despite a limited number of available tour guides, etc.

Because counters can be used very flexibly, their application is not limited to a single correct way. Therefore a few fictional situations are described below, in order to give an impression of the principle behind counters.

In this case it is presumed that the building where the exhibitions are held has a maximum capacity of 500 persons (that are allowed in the building a the same time). This building has two exhibition halls, which means two exhibitions can take place in the same building.

Basically, it should be possible to allow up to 500 persons per exhibition, which can perfectly be determined through the maximum visitors per period, set on the exhibition. Now, in order to prevent that the number of registrations over both exhibitions exceeds the building capacity of 500 persons, a counter can be used. For this counter, a limit of maximum 500 persons is set, covering both exhibitions.

This way it is guaranteed that the capacity limit of 500 persons will not be exceeded, while the option remains to utilize both halls to the maximum possible extent.

In this case it is presumed that a certain museum has a strict visitor flow: visitors need to indicate in advance in which (2-hour) time slot they would like to visit the museum. Additionally, the maximum capacity of the building (200 persons) is a part of the context. If only a single exhibition would take place in the museum, then the required restriction could be obtained by setting up 2-hour time slots (exhibition periods), each with a limit of 200 visitors per period. However, since the museum offers three exhibitions to visit, multiple counters will be needed.

To be able to offer the customer the maximum choice, a restriction of 200 persons per period can be set on each time slot (= exhibition period). Taking into account the capacity limit of the museum, counters can be assigned that cover the time slots of the three exhibitions. In this case, 5 counters would be required (1 per time slot) to control a total of 15 time slots (5 per exhibition).

In this situation, an organisation offers guided tours for two exhibitions. These tours can take place once in the morning (8:00 - 12:00) and once in the afternoon (13:00 - 17:00). The customer should have the choice between exhibition A and exhibition B, in the morning or in the afternoon. Only two tour guides are available for each time slot (morning and afternoon).

In this case, the following situations are possible per time slot (morning and afternoon):

If the limit would only be set on the exhibition period, then a restriction of maximum 1 group (guided tour) per period would be too limiting: this means it would not be possible to book exhibition A twice or exhibition B twice in a time slot. If the limit would be set on 2 groups per period, then overbooking could occur, which would be a problem since only two tour guides are available. This issue can only be solved with two counters: one for the morning time slot and one for the afternoon time slot.

To set up counters, go to Exhibitions > Settings > Counters.

Counters can be modified (by double-clicking) or created as new (for example by pressing <F2> on the computer keyboard).

In the General tab, the name and the description of the counter are required.

It is also necessary to define the specific counter type: Visitors per period' (persons) or Groups per period.

In the Periods tab, the counter periods can be generated by way of the button Create periods.

When defining the counter periods to be generated, it is also possible to set the maximum number of visitors/group (depending on the counter type).

In the Exhibitions tab, there is the option to immediately select the exhibition(s) to which you would to apply the current counter.

Please take into account the fact that a specific counter type can only be applied to exhibitions with the corresponding restriction type. This means a counter of the Groups per period type cannot be applied to an exhibition with a restriction of the Visitors per period type. Additionally, it will be necessary to define whether the counter should be 'blocking' (recommended setting), meaning that when the limit is reached, it will be impossible to register further visits for that exhibition.

The counters are taken into account on all levels where exhibition visits can be registered:

Situation:

There are two exhibitions that take place in a certain time slot (08:00 - 10:00). For each of the exhibitions, a limit of 8 groups is set.

Covering the two exhibitions, a counter limit of also 8 groups is set. For the first exhibition already 5 groups have been booked and for the second exhibition 3 groups. This means the counter limit is reached, and since the counter is set to be blocking, it will no longer be possible to register additional groups.

When saving the general information and the number of visitors (which automatically is considered as a certain number of groups), a restricting overbooking message is displayed:

In this case the text of exhibition periods, on which no longer can be registered due to the counter being full, is displayed in red.

See next page.

When pressing the space bar on such a selected exhibition period (in order to start a registration), the following restrictive message is displayed:

Similar to the registration through the calendar view: red text on blocked periods.

When pressing the Enter key on such a selected period, the following restrictive message is displayed:

In this case, the user will not be able to select a time slot (period) that is full due to the counter(s):

A useful feature within the context of the counters, is that a global overview of the current occupation of the different counters can be obtained by going to Exhibitions > Visualisations > Counter calendar.

In the left part of this overview, it is possible to select the desired period, as well as the counters that must be visualised.