Processing the Apollo Interface

Training demonstration related to this topic (click to start):

Interface Scheduler (9:24)

Refer to the GlobalWare Apollo help for information on using the Apollo Interface and to learn about the Apollo formats used in GlobalWare.

You can process the Apollo interface in either of the following ways:

Manually by using the Apollo function on GlobalWare's Interface submenu. This method requires user interaction to set up and process the interface. See Manually Processing the Interface below.
Automatically by using a scheduler to run the Apollo executable file (Apollo.exe). This method requires some initial setup, but otherwise it does not require user interaction. See Scheduling the Interface Process below.

Manually Processing the Interface

To manually process the Apollo interface, you must perform the following general steps:

Access the Apollo Interface screen.
Set up the interface.

Note: You only need to perform this step when you run the interface for the first time. Review your interface setup to ensure GlobalWare is configured appropriately for your agency. GlobalWare automatically uses the interface settings whenever you run the interface. You can also change interface settings by using the Preferences function. For more information, see Preferences.
Run the interface.

After the interface process finishes, you might also need to perform some troubleshooting tasks. For details, see Troubleshooting the Apollo Interface.

Accessing the Apollo Interface Screen

On the Interface submenu, click Apollo.

The Apollo Interface screen appears.

Setting Up the Interface

Before you run the interface for the first time, review the interface settings to ensure GlobalWare is configured appropriately for your agency. GlobalWare automatically uses these settings whenever you run the interface. If you have previously reviewed the interface setup, proceed to Running the Interface below.

Note: You can also change interface settings by using the Preferences function. For more information, see Preferences.

Interface setup procedure

To review the interface setup:

On the Apollo Interface screen, click SETUP.

The Interface Setup area of the screen appears.

The following table describes the fields in the Interface Setup area of the Apollo Interface screen.

Field	Description
Download MIRs	Indicates whether GlobalWare should process MIRs received through the interface when you click OK on the Apollo Interface screen. The interface process adds MIRs to the APOLLO.AIR file. If not selected, GlobalWare reprocesses the existing APOLLO.AIR file when you click OK on the Apollo Interface screen. Note: For versions prior to 9.5, if interface processing stops (due to an error or power outage, for example), the AIR file must be deleted manually before another interface can be processed.
Store Duplicate Invoice Numbers	When checked, duplicate invoice numbers are reprocessed. When checked, the Replace/Append list is available for you to choose a character.
Location of Mir Files	Location (drive and directory path) where MIRs are stored.
Create New Customers	Indicates whether GlobalWare should create an account ID for customers that do not exist in GlobalWare. GlobalWare will also store address, business phone number, resident phone number, and fax phone number from the MIR if present. If not selected, GlobalWare will use NOACCT as the customer account ID.
Create New Providers	If selected, GlobalWare automatically creates provider account IDs for: Cruise and tour providers that do not exist in GlobalWare Missing air, car, and hotel providers. If not selected, GlobalWare automatically: Uses 'NOPROV' as the provider account ID for cruise and tour providers that do not exist in GlobalWare Creates provider account IDs for missing air, car, and hotel providers
Store Delivery Address	Indicates whether GlobalWare should store the D- field from the PNR, if present, in comment line numbers 106 through 110.
Store FreeForm Text	Indicates whether GlobalWare should store FreeForm information for Tours and Cruise with Branch specification.
Branch	Specifies the branch or branches to which storing free-form information for Tours and Cruise applies (all branches, a set of branches, or a specific branch). This field is available only if Store FreeForm Text is selected.
Store RMU	Indicates whether GlobalWare should store the first 99 unassociated remarks in comment lines 201 through 299.
Store TCN Number	Indicates whether GlobalWare should store the ticket control number (TCN) in comment line number 112. This option is not recommended because it is no longer used.
Field Separator for Name Field Remarks	Character that separates information in name field remarks (comma, period, slash, or space). For example, name field remarks can send a department code, an employee number, a cost center, and a project number to the interface. These distinct items of information are separated by a delimiter character. During the interface process, GlobalWare reads the delimiters to store the data in four sort fields in the Invoice table. For example, 1.1JANSEN/K435452396.200 contains two period characters, which delimit three items of information (1, 1JANSEN/K435452396, and 200).
Skip Paperless SF MIRs	Indicates whether you want to process MIRs for paperless service fees if your interface is set up to store MIRs for miscellaneous documents. (The Miscellaneous documents option in Apollo controls whether MIRs for both automated MCOs and paperless service fees are created, or MIRs for neither are created.)
Tie SF to Inv/Tkt	Indicates whether unattached service fees in open periods should be tied to a ticket or invoice number. If you select this option, these service fees will be included together on the invoice.
Update GL for Changed FOP	Indicates whether GlobalWare should update the general ledger when the form of payment (FOP) of a previously interfaced PNR has changed. If you do not select this option, GlobalWare will update the FOP only if the invoice has not been posted to the general ledger. This option applies to scheduled payments only. Otherwise, it is not recommended.
Use Account ID Selling Agent	Indicates whether GlobalWare should store the agent field associated with the MIR's customer account ID in the invoice.
Allow Group Segment Updates	Indicates whether GlobalWare should update group air segments that have been changed by an Apollo DJD driving command, which issues a MIR.
Allow Invoice Segment Updates	Indicates whether GlobalWare should update regular air segments (non-group segments for travel) that have been changed by an Apollo DJD driving command, which issues a MIR.
Add New Bookings	Indicates whether GlobalWare should add car and hotel bookings that have been added by an Apollo DJD driving command, which issues a MIR.
Cancel Existing Booking	Indicates whether GlobalWare should cancel existing car and hotel bookings that have been canceled by an Apollo DJD driving command, which issues a MIR. This option also cancels duplicates, leaving only the last interfaced booking in GlobalWare.
Update Existing Bookings	Indicates whether to update existing car and hotel bookings that have been changed by an Apollo DJD driving command, which issues a MIR. For more information about the Apollo DJD format, see Synchronizing Car, Hotel, and Air Segment Data: HBDJD in the Apollo Interface help system.
Do Not Update with Zero	Indicates whether GlobalWare should not update car and hotel bookings if no rates (zero amounts) were booked. Note: While this option does not allow updates to car and hotel bookings that have no rates booked, you can prevent automatic updates of individual invoices, regardless of rates booked, by selecting the No Auto-Update check box on the Invoice screen. For more information, see Using the Invoice Screen.
Store Multi-Currency	Indicates whether GlobalWare should store multiple currencies for U.S.-based GlobalWare agencies that have physical ticketing locations in other countries. Corresponding currency codes must be set up for ticketing locations on the Branch & STP Locations screen. For more information, see Branch & STP Locations.
Print Report	Indicates whether to have the Apollo interface log available to display or print.
Print Credit Limit Report	Indicates whether to print a credit limit report for applicable customers when interface processing is finished. This option is not recommend. Only agencies that have customers in arrears should use it. This option is not available if Skip Report Dialog is selected. In this case, you can run Credit Limit Report at a later time from the Corporate submenu. See Credit Limit Report.
Skip Initial Dialog	Indicates whether the interface process should not display the Apollo Interface screen. Do not selection this option if you plan to reprocess MIRs.
Skip Report Dialog	Indicates whether the interface process should not display the Print Dialog and make choices available in the Interface Log Send To field. This option is available only if Print Report is selected.
Print Transactions with Messages Only	Indicates whether to print only transactions with messages in the Apollo interface log. This option is available only if Skip Initial Dialog is selected.
Sort by Location	Indicates whether to sort by booking location in the Apollo interface log. This option is available only if Skip Initial Dialog is selected.
Page Break Per Location	Indicates whether to create a page break whenever location changes. This option is available only if Sort by Location is selected.
Interface Log Send To	Specifies the target destination for the Apollo interface log. Select one of the following options from the drop-down list Preview – Displays the log file on your screen. Print to ASCII File – Stores the log file as an ASCII text file. Specify a name for this file and indicate the location at which to store it in the File Name field. Print to PDF – Stores the log file in a Portable Document Format (PDF) file. Specify a name for this file and indicate the location at which to store it in the File Name field. Windows Default Printer – Sends the log file to your default Windows printer. These options are available only if Skip Report Dialog is selected.
File Name	File name you want to use for the Apollo interface log. This field is available only if Print to ASCII File or Print to PDF is selected from the Interface Log Send To drop-down list.

Make interface setup changes as appropriate.
Click SAVE.

The Interface Setup area of the screen closes.

Running the Interface

To run the interface:

Complete the fields on the Apollo Interface screen as appropriate.

Field descriptions

The following table describes the fields on the Apollo Interface screen.

Field	Description
# of MIRs to Skip	Number of MIRs to skip, if any. Based on this setting, the Apollo interface process will skip duplicates of MIRs that have already transmitted successfully. Do not change the value of this field from zero (0) unless you plan to reprocess MIRs. For more information, see Troubleshooting the Apollo Interface.
Print Transactions with Messages Only	Indicates whether to print only transactions with messages in the Apollo interface log.
Sort by Location	Indicates whether to sort by booking location in the Apollo interface log.
Page Break Per Location	Indicates whether to create a page break whenever location changes. This option is available only if Sort By Location is selected.

To start the Apollo interface process, click OK.

Note: If you selected Print Report during interface setup, the Apollo interface log runs automatically after the interface process is finished. To print the downloaded log, specify the report destination in the Send To dialog box and click OK. To print the interface later, click CANCEL.

Scheduling the Interface Process

To schedule the interface process to run automatically without user interaction, you must perform the following general steps:

Configure the interface process to run unattended.
Set up a scheduler to automatically run the interface process.

After the automated interface process finishes, you might also need to perform some troubleshooting tasks. For details, see Troubleshooting the Apollo Interface.

Configuring the Interface Process to Run Unattended

You only need to perform this procedure when you run the interface for the first time. Review your interface setup to ensure GlobalWare is configured appropriately for your agency. GlobalWare automatically uses the interface settings whenever you run the interface.

To configure GlobalWare to run the interface process unattended:

On the Interface submenu, click Apollo.

The Apollo Interface screen appears.
Click SETUP.

The Interface Setup area of the Apollo Interface screen appears.
Review the interface setup and make changes as appropriate.

Notes:
- For a description of fields in the Interface Setup area of the Apollo Interface screen, see Setting Up the Interface above (under Manually Processing the Interface).
- You can also change interface settings by using the Preferences function. For more information, see Preferences.
Use the following guidance to make selections in the Automation box in the Interface Setup area.

Automation box

Automation Options

Two options facilitate the unattended interface process:
- Skip Initial Dialog
  - Best practice: Select this option along with all options under Automated Reporting.
  - Setup on the Apollo Interface screen enables you to change the interface parameters. If you skip the Apollo Interface screen and subsequently need to change a setup parameter, use Preferences on the System submenu.
- Skip Report Dialog
  
  Best practice: Select this option and indicate the interface log destination under Interface Log Send To. With either the Print to ASCII File or Print to PDF option, the interface log is automatically saved with the file name and to the location you specify.
Automated Reporting Options
- To print only transactions with messages, select Print Transactions with Messages Only.
- To sort by booking location, select Sort by Location. The Page Break Per Location option becomes available for selection.
Interface Log Send To Options

From the Interface Log Send To drop-down list, select the default print option for the interface log.
- For Print to ASCII File or Print to PDF, you must specify the destination folder and a file name in the File Name field. The date and time is appended to the specified file name whenever the scheduler runs.
- For Windows Default Printer, the report prints on the Windows default printer specified on the computer or server where the scheduler is configured.
- E-mail is not an option for Skip Report Dialog because it would require a dialog box that requires user input.

Setting Up a Scheduler to Automatically Run the Interface Process

The interface process runs from an executable file (Apollo.exe). This file is in the GlobalWare program folder (Gblware) on your computer. You indicated where the Gblware folder should be located when you installed GlobalWare. You can configure this file to launch without user interaction, as described in Configuring the Interface Process to Run Unattended above.

You can use either of the following launch options:

Configure a third-party auto-scheduler process to run the executable file within their own network.
Use Microsoft Task Scheduler to kick off the interface process.

Note: Travelport has not tested, nor does it support, this Microsoft product. Travelport cannot troubleshoot or resolve any third-party scheduling application issues. For assistance, see the Schedule a Task topic on the Microsoft TechNet website.

GlobalWare must be installed on the computer or server that has the scheduling activity.