About the estimateCost(order) function

When you create a cost script, the script editor is automatically populated with a basic template script containing the estimateCost(order) function. This function defines the cost estimate information that is displayed on the New Order form.

Use the template as a starting point for your cost script. It contains one line item, which is customizable; you can change the heading text, the description, and how it is calculated. Once you get the hang of it, you can add as many line items as will fit on the New Order form.

Example cost script

Here is an example of a simple cost script with only one line item.

New Order form

Now let’s take a look at the template script in a bit more detail.

Define a line item

For each line item you want to display on the New Order form, you need to specify what will be displayed. This includes any individual line items, such as delivery costs, cumulative line items, such as Finishing costs, and any sub totals you might want to display, such as, cost per copy. While the template has only one line item, you can create as many line items as will fit on the New Order form.

New Order form

Costing script

printingCostLineItem = {
    name:           'Printing Costs',
    description:    printingDescription(order),
    cost:           paperCost + tonerCost,
    style:          'OPTION_1'
};

For each line item, you need to define the following:

Push a line item into the items array

Each line item needs to be pushed to an array that is then rendered in the Job Ticketing interface. Make sure you have this push command for every line item. This is done using the following command:

items.push(<line item object name>)

If you have a line item object called printingCostLineItem, the command would be:

items.push(printingCostLineItem)

Calculate the total cost

Now that you have defined all of the line item costs, you need to define a calculation for the total estimated cost. This calculation is the sum of specific line item costs. The total is handled differently to the individual line items as it does not need to be pushed to the items array. It is returned directly to the New Order form in Job Ticketing.

Example

In this example, the estimated cost is the sum of the sub-total ($3.80) and the delivery cost ($0.00).

New Order form

Costing script

total = subtotal + deliveryCost;

Return the data to the New Order form

Now that you have defined each line item and pushed the line items to the items array, you need to send the array and the total cost to the caller of this function. For the estimateCost (order) function, the caller is the New Order form in Job Ticketing.

Costing script

return {
          total: total,
          description: '',
          items: items
       };