7.6

PlanetPress Production could use software such as a packet sniffer to retrieve its parts and recreate the PGC files. This
may be resolvable by create a secure VPN tunnel for each location where penDirector is installed instead of going
through regular remote HTTP server.
l The PlanetPress Capture database, since it can be external to PlanetPress such as on a MySQL server, will be depend-
ent on your own database security.
l The Anoto Digital Pens, since they may contain critical information, are just like physical sheets of signed paper and
must be kept secured. This is best done through training employees handling the pens to be aware of its value and con-
tents and act accordingly. This means that the security of the pen is just as important as the security of any existing
physical documents you may handle at the moment.
l The same rules apply to PDF files as with PGC files, especially when they contain a signature from the pen. If you are
already securing digital scanned copies of signed documents, the PDFs should be secured in similar ways.
However, remember that as with most security concerns, in order to be a “threat”, someone would have to have a high level
or working knowledge of either the Anoto SDK (which is not easily obtainable) or PlanetPress Production and PlanetPress Cap-
ture. In some situations this may be enough (security through obscurity) but we always recommend having the same level of
security for Capture files and documents as you would the rest of your sensitive information. In most cases, the procedures
in place are enough for this purpose.
10,000 Patterns
When reading or learning about PlanetPress Capture, you may have seen a number pop up here and there: "10,000 Patterns".
In order to better understand what this number means and what it entails for you, the user, this document will first present an
overview of a typical PlanetPress Capture implementation and then explain how the 10,000 patterns limitation can be cir-
cumvented in some cases. We will also touch upon the potential pitfalls of these workarounds as they are used.
THE NUMBERS
First and foremost, the 10,000 patterns is a fixed number - PlanetPress can only generate 10,000 unique patterns as this is the
number of patterns that we license through Anoto.
The 10,000 patterns are, however, not all available when generating documents. There are 8 "demo"patterns that are used to
generate documents when PlanetPress Capture is in demo mode (no license activated), and react the same way that the bulk
of the 10,000 patterns. Another single pattern is used to register pens in the database, and one last single pattern is used when
printing a "Preview"from PlanetPress Design. So in reality, the number of available patterns for document generation is 9990,
but for simplicity's sake this FAQuses the round number "10,000".
In a typical PlanetPress Capture implementation, a process in PlanetPress Production generates output (generally, this output
is directly printed) and, at the same time, will "lock" one pattern for each page that it generates, if that page contains a pattern.
PlanetPress Production also stores a copy of each document in the Capture Database, in PDF format.
While a document is printed, and until this printed document has not received any ink or signature, the document is deemed
"open", the pattern it uses remains locked in the database and cannot be re-used. Then, when someone writes on the doc-
ument and sends the pen data to PlanetPress Production (through a docking station or through bluetooth), if the required con-
ditions have been met, the document will be "closed", its pattern released and available to be used immediately.
An open document can also be called a "live" document, in the sense that it is only active between the time where it is printed
and the time where ink from the Anoto Digital Pen is processed and the document is closed. This duration is called "time to
live" or "TTL", and it is the second very important number: how long is the pattern actually needed.
Special Workflow Types