The Notes feature is a very versatile part of the Hudson application suite, allowing you to record information and then "link" that information back to several different places, including: Reservations, Vehicles, Drivers, Invoices, Profiles, etc.

It is also possible now to take notes that have been created and linked to one of the above tables and "pull" them into custom templates.  For example, a Note, that is attached to a Reservation, may now be included in confirmation, receipt, survey, or other templates.   By adding special "TOKENS" to your confirmation or receipt templates, you can display the note if one exists.

The general format for this is:

where <token> is blank for reservation notes, or could be replaced with:

• GROUP
• VEHICLE
• DRIVER
• SALES, etc.

where <note type> will be equal to:

• 1
• 2
• 3... etc.

where <msg index> corresponds to trip based messages and may be replaced with:

• <blank>  (primary reservation)
  
• 2  (companion reservation)
  
• 3  (3-n ~ other reservations on same trip)
  

Examples:
_NOTE1TEXT_  ....  would bring in the text of an attached Reservation Note type 1 , if it existed. If no note exists, the area would be blank.

_GROUPNOTE5TEXT_ ... would bring in the text of a note type 5, that is attached to the Group profile.

_VEHICLENOTE7TEXT_ ... would bring in the text of a note type 7, that is attached to the Vehicle profile.

Sample Usage:
The desire is to create a sign on an 8.5 x 11 inch piece of paper that displays the clients name in large letters. The sign can be held up by a driver / greeter at the airport.  You "could" use the token  %NAME%   or %GROUPNAME% on a sign template to pull and display the passengers name or the company name (or both) from the reservation.  In this scenario, the client requests something specific and more anonymous such as "M.MOUSE"  or  "D.DUCK".  While you could insert this into a Special Instructions field, or similar - wouldn't it be nice to create a dedicated place to put the name that is to be displayed on a sign, each and every time that a client requests one?    Here is how to accomplish this using Hudson's versatile Notes functionality:

Tools > Configuration > Advanced Features > Notes Tab
Add and Enable new Note Type and set the Caption = SIGN, Greeter Sign, Sign Name, or similar.  Set the default save format = (txt) (Write down the Note Type Number (ex, 5, 6, 7, etc. that is being used).  Also set the "Reservation Link req(uired)?" to "checked," if desired, as this will ensure that any time a note is added to the system, for a sign, the note will be linked to the proper reservation record.

Find and Open your current or Hudson Default PickupSign Template.  The default is stored in HWeb > Templates > (Support?) > Pickup_Sign.rtf.

Highlight the %NAME% token and replace it with  _NOTE6TEXT_ (replacing 6, with a 7, 8, etc, depending upon which Note Type number was configured in the previous step). Save and exit the template.

You should now be able to open a reservation, browse to the tab labled "Notes" and create a new note, selecting the Type = SIGN.  You can insert M.MOUSE, D.DUCK, or other text as desired into the main body of the note. This is what will be "pulled" and inserted into the Pickup Sign template when printed.

The last step, if needed, before printing your sign is to add a Custom Print Menu Item:
Tools > Configuration > Templates
Click white icon to start a new Template Item
Set Template alias = Name Sign, Greeter Sign, or similar
Template Type = Reservation Custom Print
Primary File  = (Double click the empty field, and browse to and select the Pickup_Sign.rtf document).
Click Update & Save Changes to DB.

Press F11 to refresh your configuration.

Open the / a reservation with a Note that has a name for the sign
File > Print Custom > Name Sign

You should be able now to print a sign for the client, with the pickup name as specified in the note,  prominently displayed.

NB:  Having _NOTE1TEXT_ or similar, all by itself on a template, will not work. It is necessary to have some other standard system token (e.g. %DATE%, %ID%, etc.) also included somewhere else on the template.  For a list of other tokens that may be used, please view the following KB article.