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Setting Up A Lot To Be Visible and Available To The End User

This article outlines the six critical factors that determine a lot's visibility and availability to end-users when they are purchasing permits in OPS-COM. Understanding and configuring these settings correctly is essential for OPS-COM administrators to ensure that parking lots are accessible to the intended user groups.

Setup & Configuration

System-Wide Visibility Setting
    1. Hover over System Configuration and click System Settings.
    2. Click on the Permits tab.
    3. Locate the Show Only Visible lots setting. 
      • Enable this checkbox to only view lots marked as "Visible" across the system.
      • Disable this checkbox to view both visible and non-visible lots in administrative views.
Lot Visibility and User Type Settings
  1. Hover over Parking Management, Lot Administration and click Pricing & Lot Admin. 
  2. Click Add New Lot (or click an existing Lot Name to edit).
  3. On the General tab:
    • Enable the Visible radio button in the Visibility to User setting.
    • In the Lot Access section, select the appropriate User Types that are allowed to see and purchase permits for this lot. Hold the Ctrl key to select multiple user types.
    • Click Update Lot.

  4. On the Temporary Permits tab:

    • Disable the This lot is for temporary parking only checkbox.
Allocate Permits to the Lot
    • Hover over Parking Management, then Lot Administration.
    • Click Allocate.
    • Find your lot in the list.
    • Click Add Permits to Lot for your chosen lot.
    • Enter the quantity of permits you wish to make available.
    • Click Add Permits to save the changes.
    • Verify: Click the lot name in the Allocate screen to view the list of permits added to it.

  2. Set Up a Permit Sales Window:

    • Return to the Dashboard.
    • Hover over Permits.
    • Click Sales Windows. This will take you to the Manage Permit Sales Window page.
    • Click Add Sale Window.
    • Fill in all required fields, ensuring the Start Date and End Date are set correctly and the End Date has not passed.
      • Note: Lots whose end date has passed will be located under Past Permit Sales Window and cannot be set as active.
    • Ensure the lot is active within this sales window.
    • Click Save Changes.

  3. Test with a User:

    • Return to the Dashboard.
    • Hover over User Management.
    • Click on User Registration (to create a new test user) or User Search (to find an existing one).
    • Ensure that the test user's User Type (e.g., Full Time Staff) matches one of the user types you allowed to access the lot in Step 2.
    • Click Login as User for your test user.
    • On the User-Side Dashboard, navigate to Permits.
    • Check if the lot you created is available to be reserved. If the user type you are testing does not match the lot's allowed user types, the lot will not be visible on the user side.

Best Practices & Considerations

  • Test Thoroughly: Always perform a Login as User test with various user types after configuring a new lot or modifying its settings. This ensures that visibility and availability match your intentions.
  • User Type Alignment: The most common reason a lot isn't visible is a mismatch between the lot's User Types setting and the logged-in user's actual user type. Double-check this setting carefully.
  • Sales Window Dates: Ensure your permit sales windows are always current. An expired sales window will make the lot unavailable, even if all other settings are correct.
  • Permit Allocation: A lot without allocated permits, even if visible, will not allow users to purchase permits, as there's nothing to sell. Always allocate permits after lot creation.
  • Clear Naming Conventions: Use descriptive Lot Names and Lot Short Names that clearly indicate the lot's purpose or location to users.
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