Automated Event Ticketing System(OLD Version Updating Soon)

This Python-based solution provides an end-to-end automation for event ticketing and attendance management, leveraging Google Workspace services. It streamlines the process from attendee registration to personalized ticket delivery and automated attendance marking.

✨ Features

• Google Sheets Integration: Reads attendee registration data directly from a specified Google Sheet.
• Dynamic Ticket Generation: Creates personalized e-tickets (PNG images) for each attendee.
• Automated QR Code Generation: Embeds unique QR codes on tickets, linking to an automated attendance system.
• Google Drive Archiving: Automatically uploads generated QR codes and tickets to designated Google Drive folders.
• Personalized Email Delivery: Sends e-tickets to attendees via email with a customizable message.
• Automated Attendance Tracking: QR codes trigger a Google Apps Script Web App for seamless, no-click attendance submission to a Google Form.
• Continuous Monitoring: Runs as a long-running script, polling the Google Sheet for new registrations at set intervals.
• Smart Template Detection: Automatically detects optimal placement (Y-coordinates, font size, QR size) for names and QR codes on a provided ticket template using OCR, ensuring consistent and professional-looking tickets without manual pixel adjustments.
• Status Tracking: Updates registration statuses (e.g., "Generating...", "Generated", "Sent", "Failed") directly in the Google Sheet.
• Secure Configuration: Keeps sensitive information (like API keys and app passwords) out of version control.

🚀 How It Works

1. Registration: Attendees register via a Google Form linked to a Google Sheet (your main registration sheet).
2. Monitoring: The Python script continuously monitors this Google Sheet for new entries.
3. Ticket Processing: For each new, unprocessed entry:
   • It generates a unique URL that, when accessed, triggers a Google Apps Script Web App.
   • A QR code is created from this unique URL.
   • The attendee's name and the QR code are overlaid onto a blank ticket template (using coordinates automatically detected during setup).
   • The generated QR image and personalized ticket image are uploaded to Google Drive.
   • The ticket is attached to a personalized email and sent to the attendee.
   • The status in the Google Sheet is updated accordingly.
4. Attendance: When an attendee scans their ticket's QR code at the event, the Apps Script Web App is invoked, which then programmatically submits their attendance to a separate Google Form (linked to your attendance sheet) without requiring any manual clicks.
5. Custom Confirmation: After submission (either via QR scan or direct form fill), a custom HTML confirmation page is displayed instead of the default Google Forms page.

📂 Project Structure

The project directory is organized as follows:

Automated_Tickiting_System/
├── venv/ # Python virtual environment (ignored by Git)
├── credentials.json # Google API OAuth Client ID/Secret (ignored by Git)
├── token.json # Google API access/refresh token (ignored by Git)
├── config.py # Your actual configuration file with sensitive data (ignored by Git)
├── config_example.py # Template for config.py (committed to Git)
├── main_app.py # Main application logic and continuous monitoring
├── google_auth.py # Handles Google API authentication
├── ticket_template_empty.png # Blank ticket design template (committed to Git)
├── ticket_template_with_tags.png # Template with "{name}" and "{QR}" tags for auto-detection (committed to Git)
├── email_message.txt # Customizable email body template (committed to Git)
├── requirements.txt # Python dependencies list (committed to Git)
├── LICENSE # Project license (MIT License) (committed to Git)
└── README.md # This README file

📋 Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following:

• Python 3.8+: Download & Install Python
• Git: Download & Install Git
• A Google Account: With access to Google Sheets, Google Drive, and Google Forms.
• Google Cloud Project: Configured for API access.
• Tesseract OCR Engine: A system-level installation is required for automated template detection.

Tesseract OCR Installation

• Windows:
  1. Download the installer from Tesseract-OCR GitHub Wiki.
  2. Run the installer. Crucially, check "Add Tesseract to your system PATH" during installation.
  3. Restart your computer or open a new terminal/PowerShell window after installation.
• macOS (using Homebrew):
  1. Open Terminal.
  2. brew install tesseract
• Linux (Debian/Ubuntu):
  1. Open Terminal.
  2. sudo apt update
  3. sudo apt install tesseract-ocr libtesseract-dev

⚙️ Setup & Installation

Follow these steps to get your system up and running:

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/UthkarshMandloi/Automated\_Tickiting\_System.git
cd Automated_Tickiting_System

2. Set Up Python Virtual Environment

It's highly recommended to use a virtual environment to manage project dependencies.

python -m venv venv
# On Windows:
.\venv\Scripts\activate
# On macOS/Linux:
source venv/bin/activate

3. Install Python Dependencies

Install all required Python libraries within your active virtual environment.

pip install -r requirements.txt
# If requirements.txt is missing or outdated, use:
# pip install google-api-python-client google-auth-oauthlib google-auth-httplib2 Pillow qrcode pytesseract

4. Google Cloud Project Configuration

You need to set up your Google Cloud Project to allow your Python script to interact with Google APIs.

• Go to Google Cloud Console and log in with your Google Account.
• Create a New Project (e.g., "Event Ticketing Automation") or select an existing one.

a. Enable APIs

• Navigate to "APIs & Services" > "Enabled APIs & Services".
• Click "+ ENABLE APIS AND SERVICES".
• Search for and enable:
  • Google Sheets API
  • Google Drive API

b. Configure OAuth Consent Screen

This defines what users see when authorizing your app. For personal use, keep it in "Testing" mode.

• Navigate to "APIs & Services" > "OAuth consent screen".
• User type: Select "External" and click "CREATE".
• App information:
  • App name: Provide a descriptive name (e.g., "Event Ticket Generator").
  • User support email: Your email address.
  • Developer contact information: Your email address.
• Scopes:
  • Click "ADD OR REMOVE SCOPES".
  • Search for and add the following scopes:
    • .../auth/spreadsheets (for Google Sheets API)
    • .../auth/drive (for Google Drive API - broad access needed for uploads)
  • Click "UPDATE" or "ADD TO YOUR APP".
  • Justification: For the .../auth/drive scope (which is "restricted"), provide a brief justification like: "This desktop application automates event ticketing. The Drive scope is required to save generated QR codes and personalized e-tickets (PNG files) into specific Google Drive folders designated by the user. A more limited scope is insufficient as the application needs to create new files in user-specified locations."
  • For "Demo video", you can use a placeholder like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ for testing if required.
• Test users: Under the "Test users" section, click "+ Add users" and add your Google Account email address.
• Publishing status: Ensure it remains "Testing". Do NOT click "Publish App" or "Prepare for Verification" unless you intend to go through Google's full app verification process for public use.

c. Create OAuth Client ID

This generates the credentials.json file your script uses for authentication.

• Navigate to "APIs & Services" > "Credentials".
• Click "+ CREATE CREDENTIALS" > "OAuth client ID".
• Application type: Select "Desktop app".
• Name: Give it a descriptive name (e.g., "Desktop Client for Ticketing").
• Click "CREATE".
• A dialog will appear with your Client ID and Client Secret. Click "DOWNLOAD JSON".
• Rename the downloaded file to credentials.json and place it in the root of your Automated_Tickiting_System project directory.
  (Note: This file is ignored by Git for security reasons and should never be committed to your repository.)

5. Generate a Gmail App Password

This is required for your script to send emails via Gmail's SMTP server.

• Go to your Google Account Security settings: https://myaccount.google.com/security
• Under "How you sign in to Google," select "App passwords". (If you don't see this option, you might need to enable 2-Step Verification first).
• Follow the instructions to generate a new app password. Select "Mail" for the app and "Other" or "Windows Computer" for the device.
• A 16-character code will be generated. Copy this code. This is your SENDER_APP_PASSWORD.
  (Note: This password is a secret and should never be committed to your repository.)

6. Google Forms Setup

You'll need two Google Forms: one for registration (linked to your main sheet) and one for attendance.

a. Main Registration Google Sheet

• Ensure your main registration Google Form is linked to a Google Sheet.
• Verify the exact column headers in this sheet for:
  • Name (Attendee's full name)
  • Email (Attendee's email for ticket delivery)
  • Ticket Status (Manually add this empty column)
  • Email Status (Manually add this empty column)
  • Timestamp (Usually the first column, automatically added by Google Forms)

b. Attendance Google Form & Apps Script Web App

This form will be used for attendance marking, triggered by QR code scans.

1. Create a new Google Form for attendance (e.g., "Event Attendance Form").
2. Add two "Short answer" questions to this form:
   • One with the exact title: Name (or Attendee Name - ensure it matches NAME_QUESTION_TITLE in Code.gs).
   • One with the exact title: Status (or Present - ensure it matches STATUS_QUESTION_TITLE in Code.gs).
3. Get the Form ID: Open this attendance Google Form. The ID is the long string in the URL: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/YOUR\_ATTENDANCE\_FORM\_ID\_HERE/viewform. Copy YOUR_ATTENDANCE_FORM_ID_HERE.
4. Create Google Apps Script:
   • While in your attendance Google Form, click "Extensions" > "Apps Script".
   • In the Code.gs file, replace its entire content with the code provided in Code.gs (see below in this README).
   • Update the configuration variables at the top of Code.gs:
     • ATTENDANCE_FORM_ID: Paste the ID you just copied.
     • NAME_QUESTION_TITLE: Ensure it exactly matches your form's Name question title.
     • STATUS_QUESTION_TITLE: Ensure it exactly matches your form's Status question title.
   • Save the script.
5. Deploy Apps Script as Web App:
   • In the Apps Script editor, click "Deploy" > "New deployment".
   • Click the "Select type" (gear icon) and choose "Web app".
   • Description: "Attendance Automation Web App".
   • Execute as: Select "Me ([email protected])".
   • Who has access: Select "Anyone".
   • Click "Deploy".
   • Authorize access if prompted (choose your Google account, click "Advanced" if needed, then "Go to [Project Name] (unsafe)" and "Allow").
   • After deployment, copy the "Web app URL". This is your PREFILLED_FORM_BASE_LINK. It will look like https://script.google.com/macros/s/AKfycb.../exec.
6. Configure Google Form Presentation:
   • Open your Attendance Google Form.
   • Go to "Settings" > "Presentation".
   • For "Confirmation message", select "Redirect to URL".
   • Paste your Web app URL (e.g., https://script.google.com/macros/s/AKfycb.../exec) into the URL field. (Do NOT include ?name=... parameters here).
   • Toggle OFF the option "Show link to submit another response".

7. Prepare Template Images

You need two image files for ticket generation:

• ticket_template_with_tags.png: Your base ticket design with the literal text {name} and {QR} clearly printed on it where you want the dynamic content to appear. Use a simple, high-contrast font for these tags. Place this file in your project root.
• ticket_template_empty.png: The exact same design as ticket_template_with_tags.png, but with the areas where {name} and {QR} were completely blank (no text, just background). Place this file in your project root.

8. Create Email Message Template

• Create a text file named email_message.txt in your project root.

• Write your custom email body. You can use {name} as a placeholder for the attendee's name.
  Example email_message.txt content:
  Dear {name},

  Thank you for registering for Tech Unleash 3.0!

  Your personalized e-ticket is attached to this email. Please present it at the event for entry.

  We look forward to seeing you there!

  Best regards,
  The Tech Unleash Team

9. Configure config.py

• In your project root, you will find config_example.py.
• Make a copy of config_example.py and rename it to config.py.
• Open config.py and fill in all the YOUR_..._HERE placeholders with the information you gathered in the previous steps:
  • MAIN_SHEET_LINK
  • MAIN_SHEET_NAME
  • TICKETS_FOLDER_ID (Create a folder in Drive, copy its ID from the URL)
  • QR_CODES_FOLDER_ID (Create a folder in Drive, copy its ID from the URL)
  • PREFILLED_FORM_BASE_LINK (The Apps Script Web App URL with ?name={name_param}&status={status_param})
  • SENDER_EMAIL
  • SENDER_APP_PASSWORD (The 16-character App Password you generated)
  • TESSERACT_CMD_PATH (Set this to the full path of tesseract.exe if it's not in your system PATH, e.g., r'C:\Program Files\Tesseract-OCR\tesseract.exe')
• Ensure SHOULD_DETECT_COORDINATES_ON_STARTUP = True for the first run to enable auto-detection of image coordinates. The script will automatically set this to False after successful detection.

▶️ Usage

1. Activate your virtual environment:
   # On Windows:
   .\venv\Scripts\activate
   # On macOS/Linux:
   source venv/bin/activate

2. Run the main application script:
   python main_app.py

The script will:

• On the first run (or if SHOULD_DETECT_COORDINATES_ON_STARTUP is True):
  • Attempt to detect {name} and {QR} positions on ticket_template_with_tags.png using Tesseract OCR.
  • Automatically update config.py with the detected coordinates and set SHOULD_DETECT_COORDINATES_ON_STARTUP = False.
• Initialize Google API services ( Sheets & Drive). The first time, it will open a browser for you to authorize access.
• Start continuously monitoring your Google Sheet for new registrations.
• For each new entry, it will generate a ticket, upload assets, send an email, and update statuses in the sheet.

To stop the script, press Ctrl+C in the terminal window.

⚠️ Troubleshooting

• AttributeError: module 'config' has no attribute '...': Ensure you have copied config_example.py to config.py and filled in all required values. Also, verify that the column names in config.py exactly match your Google Sheet headers (case-sensitive).
• pytesseract.pytesseract.TesseractNotFoundError: Tesseract OCR engine is not found.
  • Verify Tesseract is installed on your system (see Prerequisites).
  • Ensure tesseract.exe (Windows) or tesseract (macOS/Linux) is in your system's PATH.
  • Alternatively, set the full path to tesseract.exe in config.TESSERACT_CMD_PATH.
• Detection Warning: '{QR}' tag not found...: Tesseract couldn't read the tag from your image.
  • Open ticket_template_with_tags.png in an image editor.
  • Ensure the text is EXACTLY {QR} (case-sensitive).
  • Make it large, clear, and high-contrast (e.g., black text on white background).
  • Ensure no other elements obscure it.
• HttpError 403: Insufficient Permission (for Drive uploads): Your authenticated Google account lacks permission for the target Drive folders.
  • Ensure the Google account used for authentication (the one linked to token.json) has "Editor" access to both TICKETS_FOLDER_ID and QR_CODES_FOLDER_ID in Google Drive.
  • Delete token.json and re-run python google_auth.py to force a fresh authorization, ensuring you grant all requested permissions in the browser.
• Error: Missing required parameters. (from Apps Script Web App): The Apps Script is not receiving name or status via the URL.
  • Verify PREFILLED_FORM_BASE_LINK in config.py is the correct Apps Script Web App URL and ends with ?name={name_param}&status={status_param}.
  • Check Apps Script "Executions" logs (console.log(e.parameter)) to see what it actually receives.
• Emails not sending:
  • Ensure SENDER_EMAIL and SENDER_APP_PASSWORD in config.py are correct.
  • Verify you are using an App Password for SENDER_APP_PASSWORD, not your regular Gmail password.
  • Check your Gmail account's security settings for any blocked sign-in attempts.

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! If you have suggestions for improvements or find bugs, please open an issue or submit a pull request.

📄 License

This project is open-source and available under the MIT License. (You can create a LICENSE file in your repo with the MIT license text)