8.4

Pattern Sequences can be handled in 2 different ways: by attaching a Pattern Sequence to a specific pen, or
by attaching it to a specific PlanetPress Workflow process. Here is an example for each cases, using a
typical situation of a shipping company that uses PlanetPress Capture to simplify the archiving of the client's
signature on a "Confirmation of Reception" slip.
l Pen-Based Sequences: In this case, each pen is attributed a specific pattern sequence. When
documents are printed, they are set to attribute a pattern sequence to each document in relation to
which pen it will be signed on. For example, the shipping company may have decided to print each
"route" using the route number as a pattern sequence, and each pen is tagged (with a label) as being
for use with a specific pattern sequence also. Each morning, as drivers are attributed a route, they pick
up the correct pen and stack of paper that belong to their route before leaving.
Note
It's very important to note here that the Anoto Digital Pen has absolutely no concept of Pattern Sequences. When
"attributing" a sequence to a pen, this is fully on the PlanetPress Workflow side, in the Capture Database. This
means that if a pen is mislabeled or someone picks up the wrong pen, this pen has absolutely no way to know that
it is writing on the wrong paper. more about this in the Contamination section below.
l Process-Based Sequences: In this case, while documents are still printed and their route number
attributed to their pattern sequence, the pens do not have this distinction. However, the docking station
where the pens are placed at the end of the day are set to send the pen's data to a specific process
which will only handle processing for that specific route number. In this case, one physical computer
(and, presumably, printer) is used for each route, and the driver must dock the pen in the proper
docking station which corresponds to his router number, at the end of the day.
As you may have figured out by now, we are still not actually printing more than 20,000 patterns. The only
distinction here is that we are re-using patterns in separate "zones" (or, well, sequences) and as long as
pens and pages using capture patterns are not exchanged between these zones, they act independently
with their own 20,000 pattern limitation.
Note
The mobile phone application, "PlanetPress Mobile", which uses Bluetooth communication to receive pen data
and transmit it to PlanetPress Workflow, can still be used with both pattern sequence methods, as it is the
equivalent of a docking station on the web. PlanetPress Mobile was added to PlanetPress Capture in version 7.4.