EMS Scheduling Software

Owned by Elliot Dooleysmith
Last updated: Aug 22, 2022
6 min read

This integration was added in v1.4, check out the full release notes for this version here:
https://resourcexpress.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/RSG/pages/123371521.

Prerequisites

In order to connect ResourceXpress to your EMS scheduling software, the following will be required:

  • EMS Platform Services API version 44.1.19000.180 or higher. To check your version navigate to your Platform Services status URL e.g. http(s)://<servername>/EmsPlatform/status

  • An EMS Platform Services Integration Account, see the below Integration Account Configuration section for the account requirements

  • Access to the EMS Desktop Client and EMS SQL database

An integration account is required to enable authentication and two-way communication between ResourceXpress and EMS Platform Services. To create the integration account:

  • Log in to the Platform Services admin page e.g. http(s)://<servername>/EmsPlatform/admin

  • Click Integrations from the left pane.

  • Click New Integration Client

  • Populate the required fields per the below

Name

<Enter a suitable name>

Type

Partner

Role

All Routes

Audience

Client Audience

Active

Yes

Enable Logging

No

Allow this client to book without Everyday User Templates and Ignore Booking Rules

Yes

Everyday User Authentication Required

No

User Authentication is Persistent

No

Everyday User Authentication Method

EMS Native

  • Click Save Changes

A client secret will now be generated and shown at the top of the page. Copy the newly created Client ID and Client Secret for later use.

Once you close this page the client secret will not be viewable and cannot be retrieved.

Once the Platform Services Integration Account has been created you can configure the integration details in ResourceXpress.

  • Navigate to Administration Settings - System Settings - Resource Server and populate the fields per the below

Server Host Name

The URL entered here is case sensitive and should be entered in the exact format shown on the right including the last '/'

Enter your Platform Services URL in the format

http(s)://<servername>/EmsPlatform/api/v1/

Server Port

80 or 443

Resource Login User ID

Enter the Integration Account Client ID

Resource Login Password

Enter the Integration Account Client Secret

Resource Login Domain

Enter your company domain

  • Click Save

Each resource profile in ResourceXpress is linked to a resource profile in EMS. Before configuring ResourceXpress you should have the EMS profiles already created.

For each profile in EMS, you will need the individual ID number assigned during creation, to retrieve this ID number

  • Open the EMS Desktop Client

  • Navigate to Configuration - Facilities - Rooms

  • Open the properties of the profile you are adding to ResourceXpress and navigate to the Audit tab, make a note of the ID number shown at the bottom of this view

  • In ResourceXpress navigate to Administration Settings - Resource List and click +Create

  • Populate to below fields in the Resource Info tab

Resource Name

Enter the EMS ID number from the Desktop Client

Resource Name - Display

Enter the name you want to appear on the room panel/desk device

  • Ensure the Booking System type is set to EMS in the Connection Properties tab

When a booking is initiated using ResourceXpress via a Room Screen, Qubi, Kiosk or Map the booking is created based on specific parameters defined in EMS. To enable RX to use the correct options various SQL IDs need to be retrieved and defined in the application.

SQL IDs for the following options in EMS will be required to complete the configuration:

EMS Option

Description

EMS Database Table

EMS Option

Description

EMS Database Table

Setup Type

This defines the booking setup type as specified in the EMS Desktop Client Configuration - Facilities - Setup Types

dbo.tblSetupType

Event Type

The defines the booking event type as specified in the EMS Desktop Client Configuration - Other - Event Types

dbo.tblEventType

Status

The defines the booking event type as specified in the EMS Desktop Client Configuration - Administration - Statuses

dbo.tblStatus

Group

This defines the EMS Group account to use for non authenticated device bookings and will be shown as the booking organiser.

dbo.tblGroup

Example

Running the below query in SQL Server Management Studio against the EMS database

select ID, Description, Active, AllowWebRequest from dbo.tblsetuptype

yields the following results

To enable ResourceXpress to create bookings using the Conference setup type the ID 1 would be defined in the application.

SQL IDs for the remaining 3 options can be obtained the same way by querying the relevant table in the EMS database

ResourceXpress can utilise existing EMS user (group) accounts for device-level authentication via the Platform Services API.

To enable this feature navigate to Administration Settings - System Settings - User Authentication in the ResourceXpress admin console and select one of the below two options for the Authentication Protocol

  1. Use Resource Profile Settings - This option will utilize the Platform Services API settings specified in the Global Resource Credentials section under System Settings - Resource Server

  2. Use EMS Settings defined below - This option allows you to specify a different Platform Services URL and client credentials if required for example if the EMS user accounts are hosted in a different EMS instance than the resource profiles

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