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Installing the Spektrix Box Office App

Dave Carr
Dave Carr
  • Updated

The Spektrix Box Office App is a piece of software that enables your locally installed hardware to communicate with Spektrix in the cloud. To print tickets and take in-person Chip & PIN/Chip payments you'll need to install the Spektrix Box Office App. 

The App must be installed on each Windows PC that has a wired connection to a ticket printer, cash drawer or PIN Pad/Chip Reader.

In this article you will learn how to install and set up the Box Office App.

 

Pre-installation checklist

  • Ensure the computer is connected to the internet
  • Check to see if the Box Office App is already installed on the computer

To check to see if the Box Office App is installed, follow these steps:

  1. Click the Start button in your Toolbar. Alternatively, press the windows key on your keyboard.

     

  2. Type Settings and press enter

     

  3. Click Apps:

    apps_menu_windows.png

  4. Click Installed apps:

    installed_apps_menu.png

  5. Look for the Box Office App:

    installed_apps_list.png

If the Box Office App is installed on your computer, you can upgrade to the latest version without having to uninstall. Take a look at Box Office automatic updates for more information.

 

Permissions needed for installation

To download, install, and register the Spektrix Box Office App, you'll need the following permissions:

  • Windows Administrator permissions on the PC you're installing the Box Office App on. If you are unsure if you have this, check with your IT team.

  • Microsoft .NET Framework 4.71 or later installed on your PC.

    TIP:  To check the version of .Net installed, follow the steps in How to: Determine which .NET Framework versions are installed.

    If Microsoft .NET Framework isn't already installed or has a version older than 4.7.1, ask your IT team to install or update the .NET Framework.

  • The General Administrator user role in Spektrix. To check whether you have the General Administrator user role, click the control panel (bottom left hand corner of Spektrix). If you see Admin in the menu, this indicates that you have the General Administrator user role.

 

Firewall and Antivirus exceptions

If your organisation uses a proxy server or a firewall, your IT team may need to set exceptions to enable the Box Office App to communicate with Spektrix. Ask your IT team to set an exception for:

  • *.service.signalr.net on port 443 on your firewall
  • Add boxoffice.spektrix.com to your organisation's trusted devices list in your antivirus software

You can find more information in our article Accessing Spektrix with Restricted Internet Access.

A document providing a technical overview of the Spektrix Box Office App for IT teams is attached to this article.

 

Installing the Box Office App

Once you have the required permissions, follow these steps:

  1. Download the Spektrix Box Office app from the Software and Driver Downloads article.

     

  2. Open your Downloads folder on your PC and double click BoxOfficeAppInstaller.msi to start the installation.

    TIP: During installation you may see a Windows User Account Control screen pop up asking "Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?" Click Yes to proceed.

     

  3. You should see the App icon appear in the system tray, bottom right-hand corner of your screen. The icon will be orange, with a red exclamation mark

    App not running1.jpg

    TIP: A red exclamation mark means the App isn’t connected to Spektrix. This is because the App hasn’t been registered yet.

    If you see the exclamation mark once you’ve registered the App it means the App is not connected.

Once you've installed the Box Office App, proceed to the next section to learn how to register the app.

 

Registering the Box Office App

Once you have installed the Box Office App, you’ll need to register it using your Spektrix login details. Registering the Box Office App connects it to your system.

To register the Box Office App, follow these steps:

  1. Right click on the Box Office App icon in your system tray. Click Register:

    register_box_office_app.png

  2. You'll see a Register with Spektrix pop up:

    register_box_office_app_screen.png

Enter the following information:

  1. Spektrix clientname.
  2. Computer name: This does not have to match your Windows computer name. Instead, choose something easy for your team to identify, for example Box Office 1.
  3. Spektrix User Name: The one you use to log into Spektrix.
  4. Spektrix password: The one you use to log into Spektrix.

TIP: You can use any Spektrix login with the General Administrator User Role to register the App. You only need to register once, regardless of how many people use Spektrix on that computer.

Once you've filled in all four fields, click Register. If you've filled in everything correctly, you should see the App icon appear green in the system tray:

connected_to_box_office_app_system_tray.png

If the App still isn't registered or connected, refer to the Box Office App troubleshooting article.

 

Adding devices to the Box Office App

After you’ve installed and registered the Box Office App, you'll need to select the hardware you're using in the Box Office App.

Read the following:

 

Cash Drawers

Spektrix integrates with USB powered cash drawers. When you take cash payments, the drawer will automatically open.

TIP: You'll need to order cash drawers directly from a third party supplier.

To add a cash drawer for use with Spektrix, follow these steps:

  1. Ensure your Cash Drawer is connected to the PC
  2. Open the Box Office App
  3. Select the Cash Drawers tab
  4. Click on the drawer in the Available cash drawers on the left and add it to Spektrix cash drawers on the right using the > button
  5. Click Ok

 

Box Office App Updates

The Box Office App will automatically update itself either after four hours of inactivity or upon startup.

The app will turn itself off, update, and then turn back on. However, before using any device connected through the Box Office App, we advise to allow extra time. This is to ensure the Box Office App is fully updated.

 

Manually checking for updates

You can manually check for Box Office App updates by following these steps:

  1. Right click the Box Office App icon in the system tray
  2. Click Check for Updates:

box_office_app_check_for_updates.png

 

Uninstalling the Box Office App

To uninstall the Box Office App, you’ll need:

  • Administrator permissions on your PC or;
  • A member of your IT team to complete the uninstallation

Before you uninstall the Box Office App, you’ll need to stop the app from running.

  1. Click the Windows button in your taskbar. Search for Services and select it.

  2. In Services, find the Spektrix App Service, right click and select Stop:


    TIP: You can also stop the Box Office App in Windows Task Manager. Right click on BoxOfficeAppGUI (32 bit) and select End Task.

Once you’ve stopped the Box Office App from running, follow these steps to uninstall the App.

  1. Click the Windows button in your taskbar and select Settings.
  2. Click Apps from the left menu and then select Installed apps

  3. Click the three dots next to BoxOffice App and select Uninstall:


  4. Once the App is uninstalled, browse to C:\Program Files (x86)C:\Program Files (x86) and delete the Spektrix Ltd folder

To reinstall the Box Office App, follow the steps in Installing the Spektrix Box Office App.

 

Further Reading

To learn more about hardware, visit the Set up and troubleshoot hardware section of the Support Centre