The INFO-Agent System Administrator Guide provides detailed step-by-step instructions about INFO-Agent tools and features. It is intended for system administrators who provide support to users of INFO-Agent. It includes information on data administration and advanced features of the application.

Please address comments or feedback about the Guide to:

You can access additional technical assistance through the Collaborate community and the annual Think Transit conference.

To start using Trapeze INFO-Agent, you must log on to the system.

Before installing INFO-Agent, make sure to perform the following prescribed steps.

When installing INFO-Agent, make sure that you install the correct versions of the required components.

The recommended Trapeze file directory could potentially contain all Trapeze modules. These folders and their subfolders typically reside in the root directory of the application server that contains all Trapeze products.

You must install the components that are necessary for the build you are installing in the appropriate server.

In order for the workstation to open properly, you must register the dll and ocx files with your operating system and to ensure it knows where to find them while running the Trapeze Workstation.

Open DataBase Connectivity (ODBC) is a standard application programming interface for connecting to different databases using a common language. Each database must communicate with the Trapeze software using an ODBC connection.

Trapeze4 applications such as INFO-Agent require Trapeze6 in order to set user security privileges and Address Matcher.

You must set the Profile system properties to identify the database and its location

Address Matcher is required for INFO-Agent so the Address Matcher system properties must also be defined.

The CTM Server performs database services such as generating itineraries, headways, and lookups for lines and stops.

The CTM Engine is a database component that performs services similar to those in the CTM Server.

The CTM server processes itinerary searches while the Schedule server is used for the automated generation of live and template schedules.

When working in a secure environment, schedulers or INFO-Agent users normally do not have access to the CTM services, that is, they are unable to restart services and reload cache.

DBEdit is comprised of three modules that perform distinct functions.

Database definition files (*.dbd and *.db-schema) define the framework used by Trapeze applications as they gather information and store it in your data sources.

Connect to a data source first before attempting to apply any of the DBEdit commands.

The Admin Options dialog appears after you open a database (DBD file) and connect to a data source (DSN).

The tables and fields used in your database must match those found in applicable database definition files.

If needed, the database can be edited using DBEdit.

DBEdit uses normal text files that contain queries as SQL files.

Assign security rights to the different users and user groups accordingly.

The Group Security key allows security settings to be applied to user groups.

The CTM Data system properties apply to the data used in the CTM Server:

The CTM Logging properties control the logging options in INFO-Agent.

The CTM Reports properties determine how various data elements are displayed in INFO-Agent when emailing, printing, or viewing descriptions of trip itineraries.

The CTM Server properties apply to the use of the CTM Server based on the selected sign-up periods and date ranges.

The Headway Wizard system properties allow you to control the display accessibility information and whether nodes or trip times are shown.

The Remarks properties allows the control of the addition, editing, and, removal of remarks.

Workstation properties affect general formats within the workstation.

Accessibility is defined for your site for the purposes of generating itineraries that suit your clients’ needs.

The FX Fares ancillary data screen is a versatile tool designed to calculate fares for sites with both simple and complex fare structures.

If your transit site uses multiple agencies to offer continuous transit service across several geographical areas, create ancillary data on these agencies before using INFO-Agent. Please contact your Trapeze representative for more information.

If you have multiple agencies, you can create sign-up periods for each agency.

Services refer to schedules generated to provide transit service for a particular purpose.

You can place similar services into Service groups (one group per service with the same name as the default).

Locations in INFO-Agent typically refer to where a bus stop is geographically placed. It can also expressed as an address or a place with latitude or longitude coordinates.

User security can be turned off when troubleshooting.

When creating a user, you can specify which functionality the user can access by specifying security rights and by adding users to groups from which they can inherit permissions.

You can create, modify, and delete user groups that specify which functionality that group members can access by defining security rights and by adding groups to other groups from which they can inherit permissions.

You can assign users to groups, and you can assign groups to other groups.

Password policies the system must enforce can be defined in the Properties screen.

Security rights in Trapeze are managed using permission keys.

It is important to understand how the system is using parameters to search the available data to give you the results you want when making a request.

You can remove parameter sets that you no longer require.

The system automatically uses the setting defined as the default unless you specify otherwise.

Adjust parameter values accordingly in order to arrive at better itinerary solutions.

Create step sets for situations that may typically take some time to produce itinerary results.

Additional itinerary solutions are only available through the Find More Itineraries feature.

Apart from the minimum and maximum number of transfers, other parameters can be included in the step sets; the parameters in the step sets take precedence over the generic ones.

The CTM Parameter Lines function significantly narrows down a search by focusing on the most desirable solutions. This function is of great use in complex transit layouts where all inclusive searches take a long time as well as for unattended modes of providing information such as websites and IVR.

The desired lines make no distinction in direction since there are very few solutions that would satisfy a request, which contains both directions of the particular line.

This overview aims to explain the Itinerary Planning algorithm so that when certain solutions are expected but not generated, you can work through the problem.

You can copy a saved itinerary from one sign-up period to another sign-up period:

The Maintain Itineraries feature allows you to copy, view, and delete itineraries.

By default, when performing an itinerary search, the itinerary list on the Details tab is filtered. Filtering displays itineraries that adhere to your parameter settings. Filtering is indicated by the Filter Itineraries button that appears selected:

The Itinerary wizard allows you to create manual itineraries for future use.

The following color codes are used throughout the headway sheet to assist in building itineraries:

The Transfer Wizard can be access through the Tools menu or on the Details tab of the Itinerary Planing screen.

You can specify filters to enable you to view the transfers of selected lines of an agency at a specific node or stop.

For some sites, passengers are able to transfer from a vehicle operated by one agency to another vehicle operated by another agency. The procedure on viewing inter-agency transfers is similar to that of viewing transfers for a single agency.

You can view transfers for a line going the opposite direction using the Reverse button.

Individual transfers can be manually created at specific locations between two routes, for example, a transfer takes place from a stop on Route 1 to a stop on Route 2.

Use Update Distances if your transfer stops were created in a legacy (pre-431) version of INFO-Agent.

A designation flag on a stop means that the stop can be used as a method of creating transfers automatically.

You can generate transfers automatically.

When generating transfers, the Polygon filter tool allows you to include or exclude areas within or outside of selected polygons. This is useful when, for example, you have a downtown area within a polygon that requires a different transfer level or minimum time.

You can access Transfer details in edit or view mode.

You can change the status, priority level, minimum transfer time, or location of an existing transfer.

Deleting transfers allows you to remove transfers that are no longer necessary or in use.

Transfers that are disabled are not removed from the database but are ignored when the system performs an action such as searching for itineraries, until they are enabled again.

The Stop Clusters tab allows you to add, edit, or remove stop clusters.

You must have the security requirements before configuring Audiences.

To be able to use the Audience functionality, activate the Audience Lookup Service in the Trapeze6 Service Shell. .

Make sure that the Audience.security file is in the Modules folder.

Trapeze recommends that you “grant” permissions to the user (user ID) to allow configuring of the Common Locations Audiences including anonymous web users.

Set grant permissions for users who are allowed to view and/or edit audience records.

Trace Options switches must be activated when using Audiences.

You can add users and user group to Audiences in the Location screen.

Each Common Location must be manually configured for the various audiences that you have created. The following procedure describes assigning audiences to locations but not to location types.

You can run SQl queries in DbEdit.

You can also assign audiences to location types, that is, not only specific locations. This means that you can assign audiences to a group of locations belonging to a specific location type.