System Settings

The System Settings area in the legacy OPS-COM Android application provides centralized control over the handheld's hardware integrations and local behaviors. Its primary purpose is to allow administrators and officers to configure mobile printers, adjust License Plate Recognition (LPR) camera inputs, and customize ticket formatting directly on the device. This article is intended for OPS-COM administrators and field enforcement personnel configuring their handheld units.

Setup and Configuration

While the handheld device offers extensive local customization, several foundational settings must be established in the core administrative portal first.

Admin Side: Administrators must manage the core organization details, unique device identifiers, and the Next Offence Number through the OPS-COM web portal.

LPR Authorization To successfully use the LPR features on a handheld unit, an administrator must first toggle the LPR functionality on within the System Settings of the main Admin Portal.

User Side (Enforcement Staff): Tap the main application menu icon, then tap System Settings to open the configuration interface on the mobile device.

Using this Feature

The system settings are divided into four main categories. Enforcement personnel can interact with these menus to tailor the application's performance.

Local Device Settings

This section displays read-only device information pulled directly from the admin portal, including the organization name, country of operation, and the device's unique identifier.

Printer Settings

Tap any item in this list to modify how the device communicates with mobile printers and formats physical tickets.

• Bluetooth print driver: Tap to select the specific printer driver (e.g., Star Micronics).

• Bluetooth Printer: Tap to select the physical paired printer hardware.

• Characters per line: Tap to set the width limit of text on the ticket.

• Lines Before Ticket: Tap to adjust the blank buffer space below the printed company logo.

• Lines per Ticket: Tap to set a maximum length for the printed citation.

• Ticket Footer: Displays the footer message (this is not editable locally and must be changed via the admin web tool in the Handheld Common area).

• Include Client Name: Enable to print the client name if the organization's logo does not already include it.

• Include Dotted Header: Enable to print a dotted line separator beneath the company logo.

• Include Warning Value: Enable to display what the fine would be if a warning ticket were an actual violation.

• Include Discount Value: Enable to show the early-payment discount amount.

• Include $0.00 Towing Charge: Enable to display a placeholder towing cost on the ticket.

• Include Barcode: Enable to print the specific violation number as a scannable barcode.

LPR Settings

Tap these options to configure camera connections and virtual chalking rules.

• LPR Proxy IP Address: Tap to enter the IP address. The default IP is 192.18.8.1, which is used to connect to a PL8RDR.

• LPR Proxy Port: Tap to enter the proxy port number. The default is 32000.

• Include NOREAD Results: Tap to set the acceptable read score percentage. Setting the level to greater than 50% ensures the system only includes reads with a 50% or greater confidence score.

• Auto Chalk Vehicles: Enable to automatically chalk vehicles in the background while reading plates.

• Trigger on Inactive Vehicle: Enable to trigger an alarm when scanning a vehicle marked as inactive in the system.

• Time until chalked vehicle in violation: Tap to set the grace period duration before a chalked vehicle is officially flagged for a violation.

• Chalk Units: Enable to display virtual chalking distances in meters.

Advanced Settings

Tap these options to adjust backend synchronization and interface behaviors.

• Next Offence Number: A read-only display of the next sequential ticket number assigned to this device by the admin portal.

• Show Hyphen in Ticket: Enable to insert a hyphen between the device ID and the ticket number.

• Auto Synchronization Frequency: Tap to select how often the handheld automatically pushes and pulls data from the main database.

• Temp Permit Barcodes: Enable the temporary parking barcode scanning function.

• System Debugging: Enable to put the device into debug mode for testing and support diagnostics.

• Reset Settings: Tap to re-sync all settings with the core OPS-COM server, returning the handheld to its default state.

• Preference settings: Enable to hide multi-menus for chalking and evidence photos, streamlining the user interface.

Best Practices and Considerations

• Match printer drivers to hardware: Always ensure the Bluetooth print driver matches the exact Bluetooth Printer selected. If these two settings do not align, the printer will fail to connect or will print unreadable code instead of a formatted ticket.

• Leverage Auto Synchronization cautiously: Carefully consider your Auto Synchronization Frequency based on your field network reliability. Setting the sync frequency too high in areas with poor cellular reception can drain the device battery as it repeatedly attempts to connect to the database.