User Guide Version: 8.7.
User Guide Version 8.7.1 Last Revision: 3/21/2018 Objectif Lune, Inc. 2030 Pie-IX, Suite 500 Montréal, QC, Canada, H1V 2C8 +1 (514) 875-5863 www.objectiflune.com All trademarks displayed are the property of their respective owners. © Objectif Lune, Inc. 1994-2018. All rights reserved. No part of this documentation may be reproduced, transmitted or distributed outside of Objectif Lune Inc. by any means whatsoever without the express written permission of Objectif Lune Inc. Inc. Objectif Lune Inc. Inc.
Table of Contents Table of Contents 4 Welcome to PlanetPress Workflow 8.7.
Accessing the Data Repository Where to find the Data Repository About Documents Import Documents Import PrintShop Mail Documents Debugging and Error Handling About Error Handling Using the On Error tab Creating and Using Error Processes Accessing the Logs Resubmit Backed Up Input Files to a Process Knowing What to Resubmit Debugging your PlanetPress Workflow Process The Plug-in Bar Categories Settings & Customization About Printing PlanetPress Workflow Printer Queues Shared Printer Queue Properties Windows
The Watch Object Data Repository API Stopping Execution Special Workflow Types Special Workflows PlanetPress Capture Workflow Database Considerations (ODBC) HTTP Server Workflow PDF Workflow Capture OnTheGo Workflow About Tasks Task Properties Variable Properties Contextual Menu Unknown Tasks Masks Date and Time Format Input Tasks Task Properties Variable Properties Data Splitters Process Logic Tasks Connector Tasks PlanetPress Capture Metadata Tasks OL Connect Tasks Output Tasks Working With Variables Type
Exit PlanetPress Workflow Configuration Program About Related Programs and Services Available Input Services Available Output Services Start and Stop PlanetPress Workflow Service The Interface Customizing the Workspace Dock and Undock Areas of the Program Window Show or Hide Areas of the Program Window Combine and Attach Areas Resize the Program Window Areas Change the Interface Language PlanetPress Workflow Button Options The Configuration Components Pane Components Area Sections Processes and Subprocesses
Virtual Drive Manager The Debug Information Pane The Message Area Pane The Object Inspector Pane The Plug-in Bar Categories Settings & Customization Preferences Other Preferences and Settings General appearance preferences Object Inspector appearance preferences Configuration Components Pane appearance preferences Default Configuration behavior preferences Notification Messages behavior preferences Sample Data behavior preferences Network behavior preferences PlanetPress Capture preferences OL Connect prefe
Replacing Tasks, Conditions or Branches Remove Tasks or Branches Task Properties Dialog Cutting, Copying and Pasting Tasks and Branches Moving a Task or Branch Using Drag-and-Drop Ignoring Tasks and Branches Resize Rows and Columns of the Process Area Selecting Documents in Tasks Links Highlight a Task or Branch Undo a Command Redo a Command The Quick Access Toolbar The PlanetPress Workflow Ribbon The Task Comments Pane Additional Information 730 730 731 732 735 736 736 737 738 738 738 739 740 742 743 Cop
Welcome to PlanetPress Workflow 8.7.1 This PDF documentation covers version 8.7.1. To view the documentation of previous versions please refer to the PDF files available in the Downloads section of our website: http://www.objectiflune.com/OL/Download/DownloadCenter. Workflow is the heart of all of our solutions. Working in conjunction with PlanetPress Connect, PlanetPress Capture, CaptureOnTheGO, PlanetPress Imaging, PlanetPress Fax, and a variety of plugins, it helps improve your communications processes.
Technical Information that may require specific knowledge to understand. Warning Information that is potentially critical to using PlanetPress Workflow. Pay close attention.
System Requirements These are the system requirements for PlanetPress Workflow 8.7.1. Operating System (64-bit only) l Microsoft Windows 2008/2008 R2 Server l Microsoft Windows 2012/2012 R2 Server l Microsoft Windows Vista l Microsoft Windows 7 l Microsoft Windows 8.1 l Microsoft Windows 10 (Pro and Enterprise versions only) Note Windows XP, Windows 2003 and older versions of Windows are not supported by PlanetPress Workflow.
l l l l l l l l l 21962: Barcode scanner task may have issues reading 2-D barcodes printed/scanned with low resolution. Make sure the scans and the original printed output are at least 300DPI (600 or better recommended) 21405: When printing through a Windows printer driver on Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2, the Job Owner setting is ignored. This is caused by a documented issue in those two Operating Systems.
l l l l 13554: In the LaserFiche connector, when selecting a different template after filling up the fields and then going back to the first template, the values entered in the fields are lost. They have to be entered again. When loading a workflow configuration that includes references to Windows printers, the output task may fail to recognize the printer if the printer driver has changed between the moment the config was set up and the moment it was loaded.
PlanetPress Workflow configuration file from another PC that includes an instance of the WordToPDF task, you must review the properties of each instance of the task and click OK to validate its contents. A new printer queue will be created if required and the default printer will be reset properly. If you do not perform these steps, running the configuration will result in several error messages being logged and the task failing.
Basics PlanetPress Workflow is a tool for the automation of the processing, the distribution and the printing of your business documents. Once installed on the server, it can be set up to automate all tasks related to document processing. Setting Up the Working Environment Setting up the working environment has to be done the first time you start PlanetPress Workflow. 1. Defining the printer (see Activate Your Printers). 2. Configure PlanetPress Workflow Services (see Workflow Services).
To add a PlanetPress Workflow startup process: l l In the Ribbon, go to the Home tab and click the Startup Process button in the Processes group. In the Configuration Components pane, right-click on any process or the Processes folder and select Insert Startup Process. Note You can only have one Startup Process in any given configuration and cannot add more.
Note OL-workflow files are equivalent to .pp7 files made with older versions of PlanetPress Workflow. They contain the processes and such used by Workflow. If the PlanetPress Workflow service is running when you send a new configuration, it stops and restarts automatically with the new configuration. If the service is stopped, it will not start automatically. To send a Configuration to the local server: 1. Open the configuration you want to use as a new configuration. 2.
using the old configuration.
Features PlanetPress Workflow are input driven applications designed to output data in a variety of ways through diverse means to various applications and devices. PlanetPress Workflowcan be used as simple go between, passing along input data to output devices, but it can also perform various types of data processing. You can combine the various PlanetPress Workflow services to set up versatile automated processes to print jobs as well as generate other types of output.
Branches A branch is effectively a doubling of your job file. As your job file goes down the process, when it encounters a branch it will go in that branch, process all tasks up to the output, and return to the main trunk to continue processes. You can have branches within branches, and all branches must have an output. For more information on branches, see Branch. A branch is represented as a crossing . Conditions A condition will either execute the branch it creates or the main trunk, but never both.
Available Resources l Data Mapping Configurations: Displays a list of data mapping configurations used with the Execute Data Mapping task. Each of the templates have been sent from PlanetPress Connect using the Send to Workflow tool. For each template in the list, the following two items appear within them: l l l l l Data Model: Displays the data model used in the data mapping configuration. Double-click on the data model to view it in your default XML viewer (generally, Internet Explorer).
Note Package Files are not saved anywhere. The individual resources contained within the package are extracted and placed in the folders noted above. Resource Archives From version 8.2, PlanetPress Workflow maintains an archive of previous versions of resources, in the following location: %PROGRAMDATA%\Objectif Lune\PlanetPress Workflow 8\PlanetPress Watch\OLConnect\Archive , each in their own folder: l datamapper contains archives of the data mapping configurations (.
For more information about Data, please refer to "Sample Data" on page 36. Note Null characters present in the data may not be displayed properly when using PlanetPress Workflow Configuration program, and that they may also be printed differently by different printers. To ensure consistency, you should consider filtering out such characters.
In the PlanetPress Workflow Configuration program, you use sample data files to create and edit PlanetPress Workflow configurations. Job File Names and Output File Names When an input task sends a new data file down a process, it gives it an internal file name referred to as the job file name (associated with the %f variable). The new job file typically keeps the same name until the end of the process.
One last consideration regarding output file names has to do with standard JPEG and TIFF files generated by PlanetPress Image. When an output job contains multiple pages, multiple JPEG or TIFF files are generated (one image per file), each one identified by a sequence number appended to its name (this is managed by your PlanetPress Workflow). A three page job to be called Invoice, for example, will generate three JPEGs or TIFFs called Invoice0, Invoice1 and Invoice2.
After opening a sample of the data and/or metadata, you can easily make a selection. It is also possible to manually enter a data selection, or to change it after making a selection with the mouse pointer. Wild card parameter "?" Data/metadata selection functions accept a wildcard parameter "?", indicating the function operates on all nodes (not just one) of a given level. Examples l l l In a PDF emulation, the format of a selected region could be: region(?,0.59375,2.21875,1.85416,2.
l From Line: The starting line of the data selection. l To Line: the last line of the data selection. l From Column: the leftmost character position of the data selection. l To Column: the rightmost character position of the data selection. l Case Options: This can be one of three options: l l KeepCase: Keeps the current uppercase and lowercase letters as they are. l UpperCase: Converts all letters to their uppercase equivalent.
Data Repository lookups The Data Repository selections are made through the lookup function. Selections are done from the data located in the "Data Repository Manager" on page 676. The lookup function returns the value of a single key, which is always a string. Syntax lookup(group, return key, lookup key, lookup value) Here is a breakdown of the syntax (all arguments are mandatory): l l l l group: The name of the group in which to retrieve the value. Does not need to be surrounded by quotes.
l Right: Exact horizontal position (in inches) that defines the right of the selection region. l Bottom: Exact vertical position (in inches) that defines the bottom of the selection region. l Case Option: This can be one of three options: l l KeepCase: Keeps the current uppercase and lowercase letters as they are. l UpperCase: Converts all letters to their uppercase equivalent. l LowerCase: Converts all letters to their lowercase equivalent.
l Metadata Path (optional): Defines the precise path where the Metadata Field is located. Note Metadata Index/Count values are zero-based: the first element in any collection has an index of 0 and the last element's index corresponds to the collection's length minus 1. Option flags The flag value to enter should be the sum of all desired flags. So, a value of 11, which is 8+2+1, means that behavior 8, 2 and 1 are applied. A value of 0 means 'no flag'.
l l l Choose Debug > Select, on the menu. Right-click a task property that may contain variables (recognizable by the color of its field label, which is maroon by default) and choose one of the Get Data ... or Get Metadata ... options. Debug your configuration and step through it until the option Debug > View Metadata gets enabled. This happens when the metadata file has been created by a task in the process. The Data Selector is divided in two tabs: Data and Metadata.
Display Preferences). The Data Selector uses the emulation (either the emulation chosen when the sample data file was selected, or the one chosen in the last Change Emulation action task appearing above the current task) to format the data. It displays the formatted data to let you make selections easily using the mouse pointer. Depending on the chosen emulation and data file, the options in the Data Selector, the Sample data file section and the Data pane itself may change to accommodate your choice.
Metadata tab The Metadata tab allows to load a metadata file and make a selection from it. The Sample metadata filename is the path to the metadata file describing the current sample data file. Buttons on the right can be used to load metadata from a file or to save the current metadata to a file. Tip To get a sample of the metadata file, debug your process and step through it until the option Debug > View Metadata gets enabled. This happens when metadata have been created by a task in the process.
The Production information list displays all metadata fields describing the current metadata level, as selected in the Metadata Level tree view, for the current data page, as selected in the Data page box. The User defined information lists all metadata fields defined by the user on the current metadata level. Note A number of the options in the Metadata Selector in PlanetPress Design 7 are no longer available in the user interface of PlanetPress Workflow .
l Channel Skip l Database l XML l PDF Warning PDF Emulation, also called Document Input, is only available in PlanetPress Workflow. For more information about each emulation and how to use them, please refer to PlanetPress Design User Guide. Using the File Viewer The File Viewer is like a Data Selector without any data related options, such as emulation settings.
Choosing a Database Type Sample Data File The procedure for selecting a sample data file that is in fact a database is the same as doing so in PlanetPress Design. For more information, please see the relevant page in the PlanetPress Design User Guide. Note You can also use the PlanetPress Workflow Database action task to get data form a database, and output in multiple different formats such as CSV. See "Database Query" on page 294.
To reopen a sample data file used previously: 1. Click the Debug tab in the PlanetPress Workflow Ribbon. 2. Click on Reopen Data File in the Data group. 3. Click on one of the data files in the list. 4. Use the Data Selector to change the emulation options if necessary. 5. Click OK on the Data Selector. Metadata Metadata is a hierarchical structure describing a job. Simply put, metadata is data about data or, in other words, information tagged to data.
l l l Job: a file that contains 1 or more groups. Group: a logical and ordered group of documents (ex: all invoices for a specific customer number; all documents going to the same address, etc.). Document: group of 1 or more ordered datapages intended to the same recipient from the same source (ex: invoice). l Datapage: 1 atomic unit of content that produces zero, one or more pages. l Page: 1 side of a physical paper sheet. When metadata is produced for a given job, a hierarchical (i.e.
A single JOB can be composed of GROUPS of DOCUMENTS, which themselves are composed of physical PAGES produced by executing a PlanetPress Design document on one or more DATAPAGES. Metadata elements Each metadata node (i.e. Job, Group, Document, etc.) is described with a series of elements, that is, system-defined attributes or user-defined fields holding static or dynamic information about the node they are attached to. Each element has a name and a value.
In addition to attributes and fields, each node of type group, document or datapage has a Boolean property called 'selected' that indicates whether or not to produce the pages under that node. By default, this property is set to true for all nodes. Metadata attributes reference The Metadata attributes are categorized as either Production, Finishing or Index/Count. Production attributes describe the production of the job and/or metadata (e.g.
Attribute Description Categor y J o b Gro up Docum ent DataEncoding (optional) Name of the character encoding. Producti on X X X DataFile (optional) Path and name of the data file used by the PlanetPress Design Document. Producti on X X X Date Date the metadata was created in ISO format. Producti on X X X Time Time the metadata was created in ISO format. Producti on X X X Title Title of the source document.
Attribute Description Categor y J o b Gro up Docum ent Datap age Pa ge Creator Name of the software that created the source of the metadata. Producti on X X X TargetDevice Name of the device for which the metadata and associated data is intended. Producti on X X X Dimension Two floats separated by a colon indicating the media size in typographical points (ex: 612:792).
Attribute Description Categor y J o b Gro up Docum ent Datap age Pa ge and rotated landscape. Side "Front" or "Back"; indicates whether the page is on the front or the back of the paper sheet. This attribute is a "best effort" and is devicedependent. Finishin g X Duplex "None", "DuplexTumbl e" or "DuplexNoTu mble"; indicates a change of the duplex status. Finishin g X X X X X InputSlot Devicedependent identifier of the media source.
Attribute Description Categor y J o b Gro up Docum ent Datap age Pa ge dependent identifier of the media destination. g Weight Devicedependent weight of the media. Finishin g X X X X X MediaColor Devicedepedent color of the media. Finishin g X X X X X MediaType Devicedependent type of the media. Finishin g X X X X X X X X X X X Index IndexInDocument Index/C ount Returns the Absolute index of the node within all the nodes under the parent Document.
Attribute Description Categor y IndexInGroup Returns the Absolute index of the node within all the nodes under the parent Group. Index/C ount IndexInJob Returns the Absolute index of the node within all the nodes under the parent Job.
Attribute Description Categor y J o b Gro up Count ount SelectedDatapage Count Index/C ount X X SelectedPageCoun t Index/C ount X X SelectedIndexInDo cument Returns the Absolute index of the node within all the selected nodes under the parent Document. Index/C ount SelectedIndexInGr oup Returns the Absolute index of the node within all the selected nodes under the parent Group.
Attribute Description Categor y J o b Gro up Docum ent Datap age Pa ge the parent Job. NumCopies Indicates how many times the job is set to execute, as set when printing using a Windows driver. Index/C ount X Author Name of the user who printed the job initially, as available in the spool file, and as the first job info of the Windows capture input. Producti on X Metadata tasks A set of special Workflow plugins allows to edit the metadata during a Workflow process. See Metadata Tasks.
l Generate metadata for any given sample datafile. l Graphically retrieve the value of a metadata attribute or field for use in any design object. l Define documents and groups using any condition. l Define custom metadata fields. l Manipulate Metadata with PlanetPress Talk commands.
Metadata in document properties Page 50
The Metadata tab in the properties of a PlanetPress Design document allows to easily define documents or groups. Metadata fields The Metadata Fields in the structure of a PlanetPress Design document allow to easily define documents or groups, by dragging and dropping data from the Sample Data directly onto the document's Metadata Fields. Data Repository The Data Repository is a permanent structure to store data that can then be reused, modified or augmented at a later time, by different processes.
request is received from an already authenticated user, if the session has expired, what the user name is, etc. Data comes in and is merged into a Capture OnTheGo template and stored in the Data Repository. The end-user augments the data (using the COTG as a data-entry system). The process that receives the augmented data could look into the Data Repository to retrieve the original data (or the ID of the original data records) in order to augment, modify or delete it.
Accessing the Data Repository Via plugins Storing data in the Data Repository Data can be stored in the Data Repository using the Push to Repository task (see "Push to Repository" on page 326). Retrieving data from the Data Repository In any Workflow task where variable data is allowed (recognisable by the maroon field labels), information can be retrieved from the Data Repository using a Lookup function. Right-click a field with a maroon label and select Get Repository Location.
Where to find the Data Repository In case the Repository contains valuable information that must not be lost in case of a hardware failure, create a backup of the repository. The Data Repository is located in the following folder: %ProgramData%\Objectif Lune\PlanetPress Workflow 8\PlanetPress Watch\Repository. About Documents A Document is a file sent to PlanetPress Workflow by PlanetPress Design and is used to produce an output when merged with data.
The document is imported and displayed in the Configuration Components pane. This physically installs the documents to the Documents folder relative to the install folder of PlanetPress Workflow. Import PrintShop Mail Documents This procedure describes how to import variable content documents created in PrintShop Mail. Importing documents can be useful when transferring configurations between PlanetPress Workflow installations. To import documents into PlanetPress Workflow: 1.
does not exist, or printing to a printer that cannot be found. When such an error occurs, in most cases you would want to be aware of it and to take certain actions in order to correct or report the error. This is where our error handling features come in handy.
the process. When an error occurs in a loop (or in a plugin that acts like a loop), the loop may log the error, terminate the current iteration and proceed with the next iteration. l l l l l l l l Stop Branch: If the task is in a branch of the process, the branch is stopped and the job file is returned to the process after the branch. The branch will not produce any output. If the task is not on a branch, the entire process will be stopped.
your process, and will be triggered if the Send to Process option is checked in that tab and an error process is selected in the drop-down list. To create an error process, simply replace the initial input task by the InputErrorBin input task, and that process automatically becomes able to handle error jobs sent to it. It is up to you, however, to decide how that error job will be handled.
To view what processes are running and processing data as it happens: 1. In the PlanetPress Workflow Ribbon, click on the Tools tab, then select Service Console in the Services group. The PlanetPress Workflow Service Console opens. 2. Click on the service you want to check, including: l PlanetPress Workflow l LPD Server l Telnet Capture l Serial Capture l HTTP/SOAP Server l LPR Client l FTP Client l PlanetPress Image l PlanetPress Fax l PlanetPress Messenger 3.
1. From PlanetPress Workflow Configuration software, press CTRL+SHIFT+ALT+F4 simultaneously. The PlanetPress Workflow working folders are opened. 2. Double-click on the folder called Log. 3. There are multiple logs displayed here, including: l l ppwYYYYMMDD.log - PlanetPress Workflow logs, including the year, month and day of the log (from midnight to midnight). FTP, LPD, LPR, ??? (to be verified) Note The PlanetPress Image and PlanetPress Fax logs are available in different folders.
The numbers on the left indicate the task index, the folder capture being level 1 and the Text condition being on level 4. To resubmit backed up input data files: 1. In the PlanetPress Workflow Ribbon, go to the Tools tab then click Resubmit Job in the Services group. The File Resubmission dialog box is displayed. 2. From the Process box, select the process for which you want to resubmit the backed up input files. 3. From the Task index box, select the index level to which you want the data to be sent.
Warning The From page and To page boxes are only useful for printer queue (or printer capture) inputs. They will not function for other types of inputs. In these cases, the complete backup job is submitted. Knowing What to Resubmit When something goes wrong with an output job, a print job for instance, and printouts are lost, you usually need to know the following information in order to resubmit the input: l l The name of the job. This refers to the name used internally by PlanetPress Workflow.
Debugging your PlanetPress Workflow Process Debugging a process is separated in two parts. The first part is designing the process, which is to add the different tasks, branches and conditions to the process and configuring them. The second step is testing whether or not the process and configuration actually work. Before debugging begins, the following prerequisites must be completed: l l There must not be any Unknown Tasks in the process. A sample data file must be selected.
receive when PlanetPress Workflow is processing the job at run-time. For more information on how to capture your sample data file properly, please refer to the PlanetPress Trigger and Data Capture Guide. Debugging can be run in different ways: l l l From the Debug tab, click on Step. This executes only the first task in the process and waits for further action. From the Debug tab, click on Run. This executes the complete process, step by step, until it is completed.
l l l Use the Ignore button to disable the task, branch or condition that is currently selected. If you disable a branch or condition, all tasks inside that branch or condition are ignored including the output. Note that if you set a task, branch or condition to be ignored, it will also be ignored at run-time, providing you sent the configuration to the service. Look at the Messages Area pane to see any message generated by the tasks that run (See " The Message Area Pane" on page 681).
Lastly, PlanetPress Workflow 7.4 and higher also has a new option that can be used in conjunction with the previous to avoid skipping through large processes: l l l Step through the process until the emulation or data change, as in the first method. Save the data file locally and then select it as your sample data file, as with the second method.
l Connectors l PlanetPress Capture l Metadata Related l OL Connect Send l OL Connect l Outputs Note An Uncategorized category is dynamically created if your PlanetPress Workflow finds any plugin that would not be part of the existing Plug-in Bar. User-defined plugins and third party application plugins falls into such a category. Settings & Customization The Plug-in Bar can be customized according to your needs and the plugins you most frequently used.
l Delete plugins from any custom category by using the Delete key. l Revert to the default Plug-in Bar by selecting Reset to default. To import a plugin: 1. Click on the popup control ( ). 2. Click on Import Plugin. 3. Browse to the location of the plugin DLL file. 4. Click on Open. 5. New plugins appear in the Uncategorized category.
does not need to be a PostScript printer. See "Print Using a Windows Driver" on page 584. PlanetPress Workflow provides you with three main printing scenarios: l l Send output data to be printed as is: PlanetPress Workflow sends a file containing only the data to the selected queue. Send output data to be merged with a document on the printer: PlanetPress Workflow sends one of two things: l l l l A file that contains only the data to the selected printer queue.
l l l l Windows Output printer queues are used to send print jobs to local or network printers. See "Windows Output Printer Queue" on page 72. LPR Output printer queues are used to send print jobs to printers via the LPR/LPD protocol. See "LPR Output Printer Queue" on page 73. FTP Output printer queues are typically used to send print jobs to FTP sites. See "FTP Output Printer Queue" on page 74. Send to Folder printer queues are typically used to send print jobs to local or network folders.
l l l l Add: Click to add a new command to the list displayed in the Commands box. You must then edit the new command’s description and value. Note that new commands are shared by all printer queues. Delete: Click to remove a command from the Commands box. Command description: Use this box to edit the description of the command currently selected in the Commands box. Command value: Use this box to edit the code of the command currently selected in the Commands box.
Windows Output Printer Queue Windows output printer queues send print jobs to local or network printer queues set up in the Windows session in which PlanetPress Workflow is running. The corresponding Windows printer driver is used in the printing process. This type of printer queue does not support the transparency and duo-tone features, so you should not use it with PlanetPress Design documents that use those features.
l l Command description: Use this box to edit the description of the command currently selected in the Commands box. Command value: Use this box to edit the code of the command currently selected in the Commands box. Use the right-click menu for a list of standard printer control characters. LPR Output Printer Queue LPR output printer queues send print jobs to LPD-compatible printers using the LPD/LPR protocol.
l l l l l l Commands: The list of available commands appears in this box. Select either Pre-job commands or Post-job commands in the Selected box, and double-click a command from this list to add it to the appropriate list. Selected: Select either Pre-job commands or Post-job commands to add new commands to the appropriate list and to see those commands that have already selected. Double-click a command to remove it from the selected list.
l l l l l l Password: Enter a password associated with the FTP server user name entered above. Use FTP Client default port number: Forces the FTP connection on port 21, the default FTP port. FTP Port: Enter the FTP port to use. This option is disabled if Use FTP Client default port number is checked. The port should always correspond with the server's port number. Directory: Enter the directory to which the print jobs are to be uploaded.
Send to Folder Printer Queue Unlike Send to Folder output tasks, which are typically used to send data files to local or network folders, Send to Folder output printer queues are mostly used to send print jobs. The files generated will always be PostScript files. Properties General tab l l l l Folder: Enter the path of the folder to which the print jobs are to be saved. File name: Enter the name of the print jobs sent to this queue.
l l Command description: Use this box to edit the description of the command currently selected in the Commands box. Command value: Use this box to edit the code of the command currently selected in the Commands box. Use the right-click menu for a list of standard printer control characters. Triggers In PlanetPress Workflow, a trigger is typically a two line piece of PostScript code placed just before the data.
Objectif Lune Printer Driver (PS) Introduction The Objectif Lune Printer Driver (PS) allows end-users to print directly to PlanetPress Workflow from any Windows application, by using the familiar File|Print option. At the other end, PlanetPress Workflow specifically can capture the incoming stream and convert it internally into a PDF file along with its metadata.
Printer Properties setup PlanetPress Workflow WinQueue Input task can be configured to set a Windows printer queue using Objectif Lune Printer Driver (PS) to produce one of 3 different types of data files: EMF, PostScript, or PDF. Note that PlanetPress Workflow can only produce EMF or PostScript files. Possible printer properties settings, along with the data file type it will produce: Spool Print Jobs in EMF Format: l This will create an EMF data file.
4. In the WinQueue Input properties, select a Windows print queue using the Objectif Lune Printer Driver (PS) from the drop-down list. 5. Click OK. 6. Send the configuration and start your PlanetPress Workflow service. 7. Start the windows application from which you want to capture data. 8. Open your selected document. 9. Click File | Print. 10. Choose the same Windows print queue as in step 4. Note Steps 6-8 can be performed at any time, even if PlanetPress Workflow is not yet started.
About Processes and Subprocesses Processes A process is a single workflow within the configuration. A process begins with a single input task, contains one or more tasks and/or branches, and terminates with one or more output tasks. In its simplest form, a process can simply retrieve data from a given folder and save it in a different folder. In most cases, though, processes are more elaborate and configurations, which may include many processes, can be extremely complex.
by sharing them to the whole configuration file. They can thus be used to perform redundant operations that may need to be executed numerous times; for instance, archiving a copy of a zipped file received as the input job file, then decompressing it before sending the unzipped version of it back to the calling process . Whenever a process calls a subprocess, the main process (the caller) will wait for the called subprocess to finish its execution before carrying on with its own.
l l l l l l Max percentage of threading (%): Determines how many processes you may have running at the same time. This is a percentage of the maximum number of threads specified in the "Messenger plugin preferences" on page 706. For example if the maximum number of thread is 10 and you specify 50% here, a maximum of 5 replications will occur (the original process + 4 copies). As soon as possible: Select to have the process run continuously.
l Poll once per activity period: Select to perform this process’ initial input task no more than once for each set of contiguous blocks (blocks that are on the top of one another). Choosing this option overrides the polling interval option. By default since the Time Grid blocks are divided by hours, this option will make your polling happen once every hour. The Time Grid The PlanetPress Workflow Process Options dialog box includes a time grid that lets you set exactly when you want a process to run.
l Click on any block to select / deselect it. l Click and drag from one block to another to toggle all blocks between the two. l Shift-click on any block to toggle all blocks from the top-left corner of the grid to the block you click.
l l l To select all of the time segments for a given day or date, click the day or date on the top grid ruler. To deselect all of the time segments for a given day or date, CTRL+click the day or date on the top grid ruler. To select all the days or dates for a given time segment, click the time segment on the left grid ruler. To deselect all the days or dates for a given time segment, CTRL+click the time segment on the left grid ruler.
Activate or Deactivate a Process All processes are Active by default, but you may make any PlanetPress Workflow process Inactive as required. Because making a process active or inactive is a change in the configuration, to make the change effective you will have to send the edited configuration to your PlanetPress Workflow service (See "Send your configuration" on page 17). To activate or deactivate a process: 1. Right-click the process in question in the Configuration Components pane 2.
If any task converted into a subprocess was previously using local variables, these variables must be removed or transferred to global variables or job information to be usable in the newly created subprocess. Import Processes from Another Configuration File You can import individual processes or groups of processes from a PlanetPress Workflow configuration file without having to import the contents of the entire configuration file.
configurations both include a startup process, the one in the imported configuration will become a standard process. Important considerations l l When importing a PlanetPress Workflow configuration file, your PlanetPress Design and PrintShop Mail document are not physically imported as they are not part of the configuration file itself.
Using Scripts Scripts can be used to perform various operations, such as to manipulate data, for example. PlanetPress Workflow can perform scripts written in four different scripting languages and also provides an interface for editing scripts. Warning While this chapter provides some very useful and detailed information about scripting within PlanetPress Workflow, its focus is to inform you about the features, variables and functions unique to this environment.
Multiple APIs (methods of communicating with PlanetPress Workflow scripting tools) are available through the scripting engine, in all languages. l l l l l l l The Watch object is used to communicate with your current process and configuration. See "The Watch Object" on page 105. The PlanetPress Connect REST API consists of many services that expose access to a number of areas including Workflow, data entity management and file store operations. See PlanetPress Connect REST API Cookbook.
Use the Editor The Script Editor and XSLT Editor share most of the same commands and functions. You can open the Script Editor using the Open Editor button both from the Run Script Properties dialog box and from the Open XSLT Properties dialog box. When you do so, the script currently displayed in the dialog box is pasted to the editor’s scripting box. For information on the available editor options, refer to "Editor Options" on page 723.
make a selection in the Save as type drop-down list. 6. Click OK. Find Strings in a Script The Find Text dialog box allows you to search for text strings in the editor. The available options help you limit the search, making searches quicker and easier. To find strings in a script: Note If you only want to search a particular section of the script, you should select it before performing the following procedure. 1. Choose Search | Find, or press CTRL+F. The Find Text dialog box appears.
scope to selected text, you move forward only within the selection. When the search reaches the end of the script or script selection, the search finishes. It does not loop back to the beginning.
l l l l l l l l Regular expressions: Select to treat the regular expressions of the scripting language as text. If you clear this option, the regular expressions of the language are blocked from the search. Prompt on replace: Select to have PlanetPress Workflow display a prompt before it replaces text. When you use the Replace All function, you are prompted each time matching text is found. The prompt includes an All button for replacing all matching text. This suppresses any further prompting.
Once again, if you selected Prompt on replace, a dialog box opens to ask you whether to proceed with the replacement. You can OK to replace that string only, or you can click All to replace that string as well as every other string that matches the replacement settings. Go to a Line in a Script The Go To Line dialog box lets you jump to a specific line within your script.
To toggle bookmarks: l Place the cursor on a line in your script and, from the editor’s pop-up menu, choose Toggle Bookmark and a given bookmark number. If the bookmark you selected was not displayed on any line, it is added to the line where you placed the cursor. If the bookmark you selected was displayed on the line where you placed the cursor, it is removed. If the bookmark you selected was displayed on a different line, it is moved to the line where you placed the cursor.
Since the SOAP Server API Reference is primarily targeted at programmers or systems engineers, it is rather technical. SOAP API - SubmitJob Syntax SubmitJob (File, SubmitJobInfStruc , ReturnJobFile, user name, Password) : SubmitJobResult Description The SubmitJob method allows users to remotely submit files to their PlanetPress Workflow from a SOAP client. The SOAP client has the option to wait for a response file from PlanetPress Workflow SOAP server. Arguments l l l File – base64Binary.
existed at the completion of the PlanetPress Workflow process (for instance, if the process creates a PDF and sets it as the current job file, the PDF is the file that gets returned to the calling SOAP client). Note The SubmitJob method only returns a file if the PlanetPress Workflow process contains a SOAP Input task. Note If ReturnJobFile is set to true, the schedule options of the process should be set to a pooling lower than four seconds, so the client application gets a timely response.
l PostJobInfStruc – Structure containing any required information to prepare the file for resubmission into a PlanetPress Workflow process. l user name – String containing the user name. l Password – String containing the password. This value is case sensitive. Return Value l l PostjobResult - Structure containing the following information: Success – Integer indicating the Success/Error level of the operation. A result of 0 means that the operation was successful.
Parameters l user name – String containing the user name. l Password – String containing the password. This value is case sensitive. Return Value l l GetProcessListResult - Structure containing the following information: Success – Integer indicating the system-defined Success/Error level of the operation. A result of 0 means that the operation was successful. l Message – String containing text information about the Success status.
l Password – String containing the password. This is case sensitive. Return Value l l GetProcessTaskListResult – Structure containing the following information: Success – Integer indicating the system-defined Success/Error level of the operation. A result of 0 means that the operation was successful. l Message – String containing text information about the Success status. l TaskNames – Structure containing the following information details.
Return Value l l GetSOAPProcessListResult – Structure containing the following information: Success – Integer indicating the system-defined Success/Error level of the operation. A result of 0 means that the operation was successful. l Message – String containing text information about the Success status. l ProcessList – Structure containing the following information details. l l SOAPActionName – String containing the name of the process as seen in your PlanetPress Workflow.
Note If both FirstPage and LastPage are set to 0, the entire data file is used. SOAP API - SubmitJobInfStruc SubmitJobInfStruc Structure containing any required information to prepare the file for a valid insertion into a PlanetPress Workflow process. l l VariableList – Array of complex type, containing pairs of variable name and variable value.
Variable Name Description Example Usage (VBScript) "Watch.GetJobFileName" on page 110 Retrieves a string containing the job path and file name located in the job spool folder. Example Usage: str = Watch.getjobfilename "Watch.GetOriginalFileName" on page 111 Retrieves a string containing the job's original path and filename. Note: this filename is generally no longer available if it has been captured by Watch. Example Usage: str = Watch.getoriginalfilename "Watch.
Variable Name Description Example Usage (VBScript) "Watch.Log" on page 117 Writes to the Workflow log file, or the message window when in debug - can accept multiple log levels from 1 (red) to 4 (gray). Example Usage: Watch.log "Hello, World!",1 "Watch.ShowMessage" on the next page Displays a popup dialog box to the user (user has to be logged on). Example Usage: Watch.showmessage("Hello, World!") "Watch.
Variable Name Description Example Usage (VBScript) Example Usage: Watch.executeexternalprogram "del *.ps" "c:\" 0 true "Script.ReturnValue" on page 119 Returns a boolean True or False value to a Workflow scripted condition Example Usage: Script.returnvalue = 1 Watch.GetPDFEditObject Is used to manipulate PDF files using the AlambicEdit API. See the AlambicEdit API for more information. Watch.ShowMessage Displays a message to the user. This method is the same as PW_ShowMessage.
Perl $Watch->ShowMessage("test message"); Watch.ExecuteExternalProgram Calls and executes an external program through a specified command line. The program's execution will be directed by the appropriate flags specified as this method's parameters. Syntax Watch.ExecuteExternalProgram const CommandLine: WideString; const WorkingDir: WideString; ShowFlags: Integer; WaitForTerminate: WordBool: integer; const CommandLine: The command line to execute as a widestring.
Examples VBScript Watch.ExecuteExternalProgram "lpr -S 192.168.100.001 -P auto c:\myfile.ps", "c:\", 0, true JavaScript Watch.ExecuteExternalProgram("lpr -S 192.168.100.001 -P auto c:\\myfile.ps", "c:\\", 0, true); Python Watch.ExecuteExternalProgram("lpr -S 192.168.100.001 -P auto c:\\myfile.ps", "c:\\", 0, True) Perl $Watch->ExecuteExternalProgram("lpr -S 192.168.100.001 -P auto c:\myfile.ps", "c:\", 0, true); Watch.GetJobFileName Returns the complete path and file name of the job.
Python s = Watch.GetJobFileName() Watch.Log("The job filename is: " + s, 3) Perl $s = $Watch->GetJobFileName; $Watch->Log("The job filename is: " + $s, 3); Watch.GetOriginalFileName Returns the original name of the file, when it was captured. This method is the same as PW_ GetOriginalFileName. Example VBScript Watch.GetOriginalFileName JavaScript Watch.GetOriginalFileName(); Python Watch.GetOriginalFileName() Perl $Watch->GetOriginalFileName(); Watch.
Python Watch.GetMetadataFileName() Perl $Watch->GetMetadataFileName(); Watch.InputBox Warning Starting version 7.0, the Watch.InputBox function is deprecated and may no longer work due to changes in the way in which the Watch Service functions. This function is completely disabled in PlanetPress Workflow 7.3 and higher. Prompts the user to enter a string. The string is displayed as the window caption. You can specify a message that is displayed above the text box. This method is the same as PW_ InputBox.
VBScript s = Watch.InputBox("Your Name", "Please enter your name", "John Doe") Watch.ShowMessage("Will the real " + s + " please stand up?") JavaScript s = Watch.InputBox("Your Name", "Please enter your name", "John Doe"); Watch.ShowMessage("Will the real " + s + " please stand up?"); Python s = Watch.InputBox("Your Name", "Please enter your name", "John Doe") Watch.
Python s = Watch.GetJobInfo(3) Watch.Log("Jobinfo 3's value is: " + s, 2) Perl $s = $Watch->GetJobInfo(3); $Watch->ShowMessage("Jobinfo 3's value is: " . $s, 2); Watch.SetJobInfo Sets the job information index to a specified string value. Syntax Watch.SetJobInfo(Index: Integer; Value: String) Example VBScript Watch.SetJobInfo 3, "Job info 3 Value" JavaScript Watch.SetJobInfo(3, "Job info 3 Value"); Python Watch.SetJobInfo(3, "Job info 3 Value") Perl $Watch->SetJobInfo(3, "Job info 3 Value"); Watch.
Example VBScript Dim s s = Watch.GetVariable("MyVariable") Watch.Log "MyVariable's value is: " + s, 2 s = Watch.GetVariable("global.MyVariable") Watch.Log "global.MyVariable's value is: " + s, 2 JavaScript var s; s = Watch.GetVariable("MyVariable"); Watch.Log("MyVariable's value is: " + s, 2); s = Watch.GetVariable("global.MyVariable"); Watch.Log("Jobinfo 3's value is: " + s, 2); Python s = Watch.GetVariable("MyVariable") Watch.Log("global.
JavaScript Watch.SetVariable("MyVariable", "Desired value"); Watch.SetVariable("global.MyVariable", "Desired value"); Python Watch.SetVariable("MyVariable", "Desired value") Watch.SetVariable("global.MyVariable", "Desired value") Perl $Watch->SetVariable("MyVariable", "Desired value"); $Watch->SetVariable("global.MyVariable", "Desired value"); Watch.ExpandString Provides access to the emulated job file and to all variables. This function returns a string that is the expanded version of the input string.
Python s= Watch.ExpandString("%y-%m-%d") Watch.Log("Current Date is: " + s, 2) Perl $s = $Watch->ExpandString("%y-%m-%d"); $Watch->Log("Current Date is: " . $s,2); Watch.Log Creates messages that are added to PlanetPress Workflowwatch.log file. PlanetPress Workflow watch.log file is located in ...\Program Files\PlanetPress Workflow 7\PlanetPress Watch\Log\ppw[log date].log. View error messages in the Services Console while PlanetPress Workflow is in Run mode by choosing Tools | Services | Service Console.
Level Description 1 The message is logged as an Error in the log file. 2 The message is logged as a Warning in the log file. 3 The message is logged as Information in the log file. 4 The message only appears when the application runs in Debug mode. Examples In the following example, log() will write an information entry in the watch log that says "this is a log" VBScript Watch.Log "this is a log", 3 JavaScript Watch.Log("this is a log", 3); Python Watch.
VBScript Watch.Sleep 1000 JavaScript Watch.Sleep(1000); Python Watch.Sleep(1000) Perl $Watch->Sleep(1000); Script.ReturnValue Set this variable to 1 (true) or 0 (false) in order to return a true or false status to PlanetPress Workflow, when using your script as a conditional branch. This variable will have no effect if the script is run as an action. Example This example will always return true, as the condition is static. It is, after all, simply an example. You get the idea.
Script.ReturnValue = 0 } Python everythingOK = True if everythingOK == True: Script.ReturnValue = 1 else: Script.ReturnValue = 0 Perl $everythingOK = true; if (everythingOK = true) { $Script->{ReturnValue} = 1; } else { $Script->{ReturnValue} = 0; } Data Repository API The Data Repository is a permanent structure to store data that can then be reused, modified or augmented at a later time, by different processes.
The term ... ... is the same as an Excel ... ... is the same as a Database ... Group Sheet Table Key Column Field KeySet Row Record Note Group and key names are case-insensitive. API Reference Obtaining an instance of the Repository Object The Data Repository is accessed via a COM object that exposes methods to store and retrieve data within the Repository. JavaScript var repoObject = new ActiveXObject ("RepositoryLib.
RepoObject.AddGroup("MyGroup",'["FirstKey", "SecondKey"]'); RepoObject.AddGroup("MyGroup","[\"FirstKey\", \"SecondKey\"]"); But the following is incorrect: RepoObject.AddGroup("MyGroup","['FirstKey', 'SecondKey']"); Many methods require using the JSONStringArray type but JSON is not natively supported in VB Script. Therefore, for those methods, only JavaScript sample code is provided.
Name Description AddValue() for information on how to set a value for a key. RemoveKey Removes existing key KeyName from group GroupName. The key to remove must exist in the group, otherwise an error is raised. All values for the key, in all keysets for the group, are removed. Note that when the Group contains a large number of KeySets, this operation may take a while. ListKeys Retrieves the list of all Key names and data types in Group GroupName, stored in a JSONStringObject. You should use JSON.
Name Description newly created KeySet. SetValue Updates multiple keysets in group GroupName by setting the key KeyName to Value for all keysets that match Condition. The condition is specified using basic SQL WHERE syntax. The Condition may be left empty in which case all keysets in GroupName are updated. Note that KeyName must exist in GroupName, otherwise an error is raised. The method returns an array of the keyset ID's that were updated ( [1,2] ), or an empty array ( [] ) if no keysets were updated.
Name Description available keys in KeyValues. Only the keys specified are updated in GroupName while unspecified keys are set to an empty string. RemoveKeySets Deletes all keysets in GroupName that match Condition. The condition is specified using basic SQL WHERE syntax. Condition may be left empty, in which case all keysets in GroupName are deleted. The method returns the number of keysets that were deleted. RemoveKeySetByID Deletes the keyset whose ID equals ID from GroupName.
Name Description sure no other process is accessing the Data Repository. Version Returns the version of the DLL library used by the Repository. AddGroup Creates a group named GroupName and optionally creates keys listed in keyNames. The keyNames parameter may be empty. Syntax AddGroup(GroupName: string, keyNames: JSONStringArray) Examples In each of these examples, the object repoObject is deemed having been obtained through a call to the COM object "RepositoryLib.
Examples In each of these examples, the object repoObject is deemed having been obtained through a call to the COM object "RepositoryLib.WorkflowRepository" (see "Obtaining an instance of the Repository Object" on page 121). JavaScript repoObject.AddKey("Users", "email"); VB Script repoObject.AddKey "Users", "email" AddKeySets Inserts a new keyset inside GroupName and assigns values to keys as specified in KeyValues. Every key specified in KeyValues must exist otherwise an error is raised.
repoObject.AddKeySets "Users"," [{""FirstName"":""John"",""LastName"":""Smith""}, {""FirstName"":""Richard"",""LastName"": ""Doe""}]" Inserting a row In most cases, you won't need to insert or update a row in a script, as this can be easily done through the the Push to Repository action task. However, in some cases you might want to script it for simplicity's sake. This JavaScript example inserts 2 different rows into the Users group. var Repo = new ActiveXObject("RepositoryLib.WorkflowRepository"); Repo.
Examples In each of these examples, the object repoObject is deemed having been obtained through a call to the COM object "RepositoryLib.WorkflowRepository" (see "Obtaining an instance of the Repository Object" on page 121). JavaScript repoObject.AddValue("Users", "LastName", "Smith"); VB Script repoObject.RenameGroup "Users", "LastName", "Smith" CheckRepository Verifies the integrity of the repository and recovers unused space left by deleted keysets.
ClearRepository Deletes all groups, keys and keysets from the repository, returning it to a blank state. Use with caution! Syntax ClearRepository() GetKeySets Retrieves Keys values in GroupName for keysets that match Condition. When Keys is left empty, all keys are retrieved. When Condition is left empty, all keysets are retrieved, which is useful for reports, cleanup, or custom filters based on more complex conditions.
var CustomerID = Watch.GetVariable("CustomerID"); var Repo = new ActiveXObject("RepositoryLib.WorkflowRepository"); var customer = Repo.GetKeySets("customers",' ["firstname","lastname", "customerID"]',"customerID = '" + CustomerID + "'"); Watch.SetJobInfo(9,customer); By omitting the last option from GetKeySets (the filter on CustomerID) you can get all the rows from the data repository.
Repository Object" on page 121). JavaScript var myValue = repoObject.GetValue("Users", "email", " LastName='Smith' AND FirstName='John' "); /* retrieves email for John Smith */ var myValue = repoObject.GetValue("Users", "email", " LastName='Smith' "); /* retrieves email for first user named Smith */ var myValue = repoObject.GetValue("Users", "email", ""); /* retrieves email for first user */ VB Script myValue = repoObject.
Syntax ListGroups(): JSONStringArray Example In each of these examples, the object repoObject is deemed having been obtained through a call to the COM object "RepositoryLib.WorkflowRepository" (see "Obtaining an instance of the Repository Object" on page 121). JavaScript var repoObject = new ActiveXObject ("RepositoryLib.WorkflowRepository"); var myList = JSON.parse(repoObject.ListGroups()); for (var i=0; i
var repoObject = new ActiveXObject ("RepositoryLib.WorkflowRepository"); var myList = JSON.parse(repoObject.ListKeys("Internal")); for (var Property in myList) { /* Log all key names for group Users to the console */ Watch.Log(Property,2); } Sample return value '{"ID": "meta", "FirstName": "string", "LastName": "string", "email": "string", "DateC": "meta", "DateM": "meta"}' As shown in the sample, the value associated with each key name is actually the data type for that key.
RemoveKey Removes existing key KeyName from group GroupName. The key to remove must exist in the group, otherwise an error is raised. All values for the key, in all keysets for the group, are removed. Note that when the Group contains a large number of KeySets, this operation may take a while. Syntax RemoveKey(GroupName: string, KeyName: string) Examples In each of these examples, the object repoObject is deemed having been obtained through a call to the COM object "RepositoryLib.
Repository Object" on page 121). JavaScript /* both methods perform the same task */ repoObject.RemoveKeySetByID("Users", 10); repoObject.RemoveKeySets("Users", "ID=10"); VB Script /* both methods perform the same task */ repoObject.RemoveKeySetByID "Users", 10 repoObject.RemoveKeySets "Users", "ID=10" RemoveKeySets Deletes all keysets in GroupName that match Condition. The condition is specified using basic SQL WHERE syntax.
Deleting a row This script attempts to delete a client from the rows, then returns "true" or "false" in JobInfo variable %9 as a response. var CustomerID = Watch.GetVariable("CustomerID"); var Repo = new ActiveXObject("RepositoryLib.WorkflowRepository"); var deletedCount = JSON.parse(Repo.RemoveKeySets ("customers","customerID = '" + CustomerID + "'")); var answer = (deletedCount > 0) ? "true" : "false"; Watch.SetJobInfo(9, answer); RenameGroup Renames group oldName to newName.
Syntax RenameKey(GroupName: string, oldName: string, newName: string) Examples In each of these examples, the object repoObject is deemed having been obtained through a call to the COM object "RepositoryLib.WorkflowRepository" (see "Obtaining an instance of the Repository Object" on page 121). JavaScript repoObject.RenameKey("Users", "LastName", "SurName"); VB Script repoObject.
repoObject.SetValue("Users", "FormOfAddress", "Miss", "Gender='F' AND MaritalStatus=''" ); VB Script repoObject.SetValue "Users", "FormOfAddress", "Mr.", " Gender=""M"" " repoObject.SetValue "Users", "FormOfAddress", "Ms.", " Gender=""F"" AND MaritalStatus=""Married"" " repoObject.SetValue "Users", "FormOfAddress", "Miss", " Gender=""F"" AND MaritalStatus="""" " SetValueByID Updates KeyName with Value in group GroupName, where the KeySet's ID matches the ID parameter.
/* both methods perform the same task */ repoObject.SetValueByID "Users", "FormOfAddress", "Mr.", 10 repoObject.SetValue "Users", "FormOfAddress", "Mr.", "ID=10" Updating a row There is currently no 'update' feature in the API for a whole KeySet. This JavaScript example retrieves the KeySet ID, which is then used to update values in the row. /* Get KeySet ID */ var Repo = new ActiveXObject("RepositoryLib.WorkflowRepository"); var keySetID = Repo.
Dim s s = Watch.GetJobInfo(9) If (s = "") Then Err.Raise 449 ' Raises Error #449: "Argument is not optional" Else ' Do somethign with Job Info 9! Watch.Log "Job Info 9's value is: " + s, 4 End If JavaScript JavaScript uses the throw statement within try to create an exception which, if not caught using catch() , will cause the script execution to stop and the On Error tab to be triggered. See this page on W3Schools. var s; s = Watch.
} else { # Do something with Job Info 9! $Watch->Log("Job Info 9's value is: " . $s,4); } Special Workflow Types PlanetPress Workflow supports multiple input and output types, in so many different combinations that it would be hard to give example processes for each possibility. However, some types of processes like PDF, HTTP and SOAP are important enough to pay some attention to them.
SOAP Workflow As SOAP can be either a client or a server, two workflows will be presented. The SOAP Client workflow presents PlanetPress Workflow as the client and will explore how to retrieve WSDL information and how to make a SOAP request as a client. The SOAP Server workflow will show how to create a process that responds to SOAP requests, and where our own WSDL is located. PlanetPress Capture Workflow PlanetPress Capture, introduced in PlanetPress 7.
Creating a Capture-Ready document This is done when creating your PlanetPress Design document. Adding one or more PlanetPress Capture fields to a PlanetPress Design document creates a capture-ready document, which can be used in the workflow. For more information, see the PlanetPress Design User Guide. Generating the Capture Patterns Once your document is created, the Capture Fields Generator action task is used to apply the capture patterns to each of your documents and send them to the printer.
Technical Because of timeout limitations, it is generally a good idea to use the Send immediate response to client option of the HTTP Server Input task, especially when processing a large amount of documents from the pen. Additionally, HTTP Server Processes should always be self-replicating and have a short polling interval set in their properties. Managing and Post-Processing There are a couple of things that can be done even after documents have been inked.
Capture Information PlanetPress Capture Glossary This topic describes the specific terms used in the PlanetPress Capture set of tools within PlanetPress Workflow. Anoto Digital Pen A digital pen compatible with the Anoto system. These pens contain a camera, processor and memory chip which record each stroke of the pen on a printed Anoto Pattern, and are able to send this information back to PlanetPress Workflow.
individually or as a group. Documents can also be closed or deleted from this interface. Capture Field The PlanetPress Connect object that acts as a placeholder for the Anoto Pattern. The pattern is only applied when using the Capture Field Generator in Workflow. Client/Server Architecture A multi-server setup where more then one PlanetPress Workflow server are connected as clients to a single PlanetPress Workflow server which has a Capture Database.
Open Document A document in the Capture Database that does not yet have any ink data on it, or of which not all mandatory fields (or final field) have ink present on them. Such a document is waiting for a new PGC file to complete it so it can be closed. Pattern ID The ID of the Anoto pattern. Represents the pattern on the page. Can be used to retrace the document to which the pattern belong.
architecture. Session The time spent by the pen between events that trigger a new session. Generally a session refers to any ink in a single page containing a Capture Pattern. A session can contain ink from multiple fields in any order. A new session starts whenever a PGC is sent for processing (which erases the data from the pen). General Considerations Here are some general considerations in regards to PlanetPress Capture, its environment, the hardware and the software that interacts with it.
l All databases l l l l l l Regular database maintenance is required, such as database compacting, is required by a system administrator. It is recommended to create an IT process that backs up the database regularly. The recommended ideal setup is a dedicated SQL Server PC, accessed by PlanetPress Workflow through an ODBC connection on the local network. Database file (mdb) must be local to the PlanetPress Workflow computer. It cannot be located on a network drive or another server.
l When configuring the ODBC connection, your must use the Microsoft version of the driver, and not the Native SQL version of the driver. This is due to a technical limitation of the native driver that interferes with the PlanetPress Suite database requests.
Because PlanetPress Capture relies on external data and communication and because it may be used to process sensitive and legal information, it is important to understand the security implications of any PlanetPress Capture implementation. Most of the security concerns regarding Capture are external to it. This means the security that is implemented both on your network and physical premises are critical to the security of your PlanetPress Workflow implementation.
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. 20,000 Patterns When reading or learning about PlanetPress Capture, you may have seen a number pop up here and there: "20,000 Patterns".
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. The third important number is based on your actual output needs. In other words, how many documents do you intend to print on a regular basis that will contain a pattern? These three numbers, together, represent an easy way to determine if the 20,000 patterns are actually enough for you.
Each installation would be responsible for its own documents and pens. The limitation here is that it would not be directly possible to send a page with an existing pattern to another location (either via email in PDF or via courier), sign it there and send it back - this would cause errors that would be hard to prevent and correct. In this scenario however, it's possible to centralize the activation of pen licenses to one server, while keeping the pattern generation systems separate.
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.
This can be prevented through simple methods such as printing a date on each sheet and ensuring that users never sign a document that is older than a certain time, for example 48 hours. These sheets should simply be destroyed. Second, contamination can happen in method 1) above if a pen or paper is moved from one location to another.
Conclusion l PlanetPress Workflow can only generate 20,000 unique patterns l One pattern is used (locked) for each page containing a pattern. l Processing the ink data from a pen and closing the document releases the pattern l Most implementations will not need more than 20,000 patterns l l l When necessary, patterns can be extended using multiple servers or Pattern Sequences (as long as these are used in separate physical locations).
Bluetooth Connectivity The Anoto penDirector program can also connect directly to the pen via wireless Bluetooth and receive PGC files directly through the Bluetooth link, without needing to dock the pen. To pair penDirector with an Anoto Digital Pen: 1. Make sure that a Bluetooth dongle is present and enabled on the computer where penDirector is installed. 2.
4. Specify a PGC Storage folder 5. Check the PGC POST URL option 6. Enter the URL of your PGC handling process in the box 7. Click OK to save. PlanetPress Mobile Application The PlanetPress Mobile application can be installed on some mobile phones and enable fast and direct connectivity between the Anoto Digital Pen and PlanetPress Workflow.
Paper quality The PlanetPress Capture technology, when generating the Anoto Pattern, already accounts for ink dispersion on laser printers and on general-use laser paper. Therefore, using paper that is not of the same quality (for example, one where the dispersion rate is much higher) or the same type (reflective paper) may not permit the pen's camera to read the pattern properly.
This is because the pen's camera (which captures the position of the pen) is located under the pen tip and must fully see the pattern.
Knowing this, the best practice when creating fields is that they have, at the very least, a 7mm margin on each size of the actual area you want to capture from. For example, an effective 30mm wide pattern will actually be 44mm wide using these margins. The margin should be for both the vertical size and the horizontal size.
PlanetPress Capture ICR The term "ICR", which means "Intelligent Character Recognition" is an evolution on the popularly-known "OCR", which is "Optical Character Recognition". The difference between the two is easily explained: While OCR can only recognize characters using the finished shape (for example, in scanned documents and pictures), ICR relies on much more data which is provided by the Anoto Digital Pen: the path that the pen takes, the exact timing of this path, start and stop points, etc.
User Guide). This must be either a Multi-Area Field or a Text Field. l l l The Capture Fields Processor must have the Perform ICR Recognition option checked, and language needs to be selected. Once the ICR data is available, do something with it. This is done by reading the ICR data that is available in the metadata generated by the Get Capture Document task. The metadata is also readable by the Capture Condition task, including the captured text and the reliability of this text.
l l l ICR Value: The alpha, numeric or alphanumeric value that was determined by the ICR engine. ICR Confidence: A percentage value that the ICR engine gives to any specific value, when comparing the pen data with it's character database. ICR Resemblance: A percentage value that defines how closely the value resembles the "average" character shape. Both the Confidence and Resemblance can be used together to make an informed decision on the contents received by ICR.
The following guidelines are applicable when configuring a PlanetPress Capture object that utilizes ICR: l l l l l l l The collected data is expected to be a number, therefore the numeric mask type must be selected, or The collected data is expected to be a letter, therefore the alphabet mask type must be selected, If upper case letters are expected, select Upper case in the Case option menu. The captured characters would be immediately converted to capital letter i.e.
The following diagram illustrates the available mask types. It is recommended to select the mask type that is the closest to the desired result. An alphanumeric field should be used as a last resort. Guidelines for Capture-Ready Fields l l Target: Form designer What: Only one character per Capture field can be recognized. When expecting multiple characters making up a word or phrase, you must make sure that the user only writes one character per field.
Why: To avoid any ink marks that would spill over from one field to another. If both fields A and B are to close in proximity and the ink marks from field A spill over to field B, then the marks captured on field B would be considered as being part of a character written on field B. For example, if a number spills over and is written over two fields like numbers 9, 1 or 7; then the bottom tip of these numbers could be considered as number 1 in the second field.
How: Make sure there’s enough space between each field. You must re-design the document if that’s the case. There’s no minimum value that is required as the distance between 2 fields, except for the 7mm border that is required in order for the Anoto digital pen to recognize the pattern being used. Writing in a Legible Way l l Target: User. What: It is important to write in a legible way i.e. applying yourself by writing well defined numbers and letter that are easily interpreted.
Why: The available filters to interpret the ink marks done with the Anoto digital pen, allow you to select the engine language to be used. Doing so will give you results that are the closest match to the captured data. Multiple cultural characters can be interpreted with ICR once the correct language is selected such as û, à, é, etc. How: This option is available from the Capture Fields Processor task.
Possibility of Interpretation Error in an Automated Process l l Target: Workflow designer What: We cannot be 100% sure that a character would be recognized by PlanetPress Capture as it should. Therefore, the analysis of a value interpreted with ICR should only occur if the level of confidence is superior to a determined level. Why: An automated process can treat the characters incorrectly due to an incorrect interpretation of a value. This occurrence should be minimized as much as possible.
l Any input task l "Create Metadata" on page 495 l "Capture Fields Generator" on page 467 l Print output PGC Handling Process The second process is the PGC Handling process. It receives data from the Anoto Digital pen, updates the Capture database and releases patterns as appropriate.
Post-Processing is generally done using the "Capture Condition" on page 461 task, which verifies the presence or state of the ink on the document or on specific fields. After PGC Handling Here is an example of a process that receives ink data, updates the database, and then verifies whether or not a field that indicates manager attention is required (for example, a box noting the wrong number of items in a delivery slip). If attention is required, the document is sent via email to the manager.
l l The Capture Fields Processor then uses the PGC file to update any documents in the database that the pen wrote on, and closes those documents in the database when they are complete. Capture Condition is where we can check whether a specific field (a "RequireManager" field) has ink contained in it, and if it does, the branch on the right is triggered.
Task Breakdown l The Find Capture Documents task queries the Capture database for documents that correspond to certain specific conditions. For example, here we would look for all documents that are either in an "Error" or a "Partial" state, which means they received ink but are not completed correctly.
to" those states. Two conditions are necessary, and the "Condition is true when" is set to "all items are met". l With this list of documents in the metadata, we Branch off. This is done because we need to build a report that will be sent to an administrator, and only one email should be sent. l l To build the report, inside of the branch we use the Metadata Sequencer to create one sequence for each document, by splitting at the Document level, by 1 occurrence of the level for each sequence.
the Resource action name box to static , and the Resource folder to c:\PlanetPress\http . Then, click OK. 7. Send the configuration to your local PlanetPress Workflow server. 8. Start PlanetPress Workflow services (see "Start and Stop PlanetPress Workflow Service" on page 615). 9. Open your browser and point it to http://127.0.0.1:8080/documentlist , assuming you have not changed the default HTTP port in the HTTP Server Input 2 section.
l l HTML Form Action: An HTML Form in the browser that may contain text and attached files can be filled and sent to a process with the HTTP Server Input task. HTTP Data Submission: A custom application or a server sends the request to PlanetPress Workflow using either a POST or GET command. The application or server then waits for a response from PlanetPress Workflow Tools.
l l Enable server for SSL requests: This enables secure communication between the browser and the server via HTTPS. By enabling this option, you will need to provide for the proper certificates, key and password. While this configuration is beyond the scope of this document, there are plenty of resources on the Internet to explain these systems. Serve HTTP resources: This is where you enable static resources in PlanetPress Workflow.
new request. This should be put at 0 in order to process requests as soon as possible, meaning immediately. And finally, the HTTP Server Input task properties. While these are described in the "HTTP Server Input" on page 220 task properties page, here are a few considerations to keep in mind when using this task: l l l l l The HTTP Action corresponds precisely to the name immediately following the first slash of your address.
3. The XML request file and attachments are saved in a local folder, if the HTTP Action is a valid one (otherwise, the files are deleted). 4. The HTTP service keeps the request from the client open (it does not yet respond ot it), and waits. 5. The HTTP process corresponding to the HTTP Action captures the XML file and attachments and the process begins. 6. The process runs its course just like any other process would (including subprocesses, send to process, etc). 7.
HTTP PDF Invoice Request This straightforward workflow simply receives a GET request from a browser, loads an existing PDF invoice from a folder on the hard drive, and returns it to the browser. To do this, a client (or a web service) would request the following page: http://ppworkflowserver:8080/getinvoice?in=INV999999 Breakdown of this URL: l l http:// : transfer protocol. This could be HTTPS if the SSL certificates are activated in the preferences. ppworkflowserver : name of the machine.
Task Breakdown l l l l The HTTP Server Input task receives a request through the /getinvoice HTTP Action. Because this task either returns an HTML page with an error message or a PDF, the MIME type is Auto-Detect. It checks whether the invoice request exists by checking if the size of the file is less than 1kb using "File Size Condition" on page 394. The condition returns "true" if the file is not found: c:\PlanetPress\archives\pdf\invoices\xmlget('/request[1]/values[1]/invoicenum [1]',Value,KeepCase,No
l l Open HTTPBrochureRequest.pw7 and send the configuration to your local PlanetPress Workflow service. Open your browser to http://localhost:8080/generatebrochure Task Breakdown l l l The HTTP Server Input receives the initial request from the browser. Because this is a demonstration, a backup is made of the XML request. It's not suggested to do this every time, especially on servers receiving a large number of requests, as these files do take some amount of space for each request.
The idea is that a PDF file, because it is a formatted document in and of itself, doesn't absolutely need to go through PlanetPress Design to be processed and printed. Additionally, because of the PDF tools in PlanetPress Workflow, you can easily merge, split, print and take parts of the PDF file as required.
l l l l "Run Script" on page 401 tasks can also modify metadata using the Metadata API (See "Using Scripts" on page 91). The "Barcode Scan" on page 275 task can add information to the existing metadata, and creates it if there is none. The "Capture Fields Generator" on page 467, "Capture Fields Processor" on page 471, "Get Capture Document" on page 488 and "Find Capture Documents" on page 482 tasks generate their own metadata.
l l l l l l l l The "Metadata Level Creation" on page 510 creates the Document level of the metadata by placing each PDF data file in its own Document level. It does this by detecting when the Address in the document changes. Then, the "Metadata Fields Management" on page 500 adds a few fields at the Document level in order to properly tag each document with the appropriate information, in this case the Customer ID, Country and Rep ID.
This section describes the implementation details for a Capture OnTheGo process, including how to create, send and submit COTG documents to the Mobile application. About Tasks A task is a plugin or a block that is used to build PlanetPress Workflow processes. Tasks can do multiple things depending on the type of task and where they are placed. You can add as many tasks as you like to your processes and order them in any way you can.
Task Properties Any task you add to your PlanetPress Workflowprocess must be configured using its properties dialog box. Each task's Properties dialog will give you the options to configure that specific, individual task.
Variable properties can also be mixed, meaning you can combine, within a single variable property box, any number and order of variable types. You can, for example, do the following for an output file name: %O_@(1,1,1,30, KeepCase,Trim)_%y-%m-%d.txt. This would translate in the original file name, followed by part of the first line of a text data file, then the current date.
You can quickly identify variable information that is already present in your variable properties as such: l l l l l A percentage sign identifies standard variables, as well as standard and custom job info variables — %f, for example. A backslash indicates a control character — \004, for example. An at sign (@) indicates a data selection for emulations other than database — @ (1,1,1,1,17,KeepCase,Trim), for example.
a Folder Capture input task and enter *.* in the Masks box, the input task will grab all the files that are put in the source folder. If you enter *.mdb instead, the task will only take the those database files that have an mdb extension. You can use any standard wildcard character in PlanetPress Workflow.
Technical Filename containing brackets can be a hassle when attempting to capture them with a mask and using sets or ranges. You can capture a set that contains an opening bracket ( [[] ) , but not a closing bracket as the closing bracket always ends the set or range. There is no escape character available in masks. Date and Time Format To simplify things and to prevent errors, date and time formats have been standardized. l l Date are entered and displayed as yyyy/MM/dd (2007/06/13, for example).
Input Tasks Input tasks are the starting point to any process and determine what file this process will being with. Each process must begin with an input tasks, and although a given process may have multiple input tasks, no task can have more than one initial input task. Initial Input Tasks Initial input tasks are always at the beginning of a process and are always triggered when the process starts.
This is an important consideration when scheduling a task, as the Folder Capture will keep capturing files as long as new files are added, even if it means continuing to capture and process outside its scheduled time. It is also important that while the Folder Capture input task is processing files it keeps a copy of each file in a temporary folder, and will not delete any of these files until it has finished processing all of them. This may cause issues with running out of disk space.
l l l Backup input files: Check this to save a copy of each data file that is captured by your input. These files are saved in the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools working folders under the "Backup" folder. Backup filename: Enter the filename that you wish the input data file backup to be saved under. Delete Existing Metadata: Check to remove any metadata from memory. This option is disabled on initial input tasks, and is checked by default on secondary input tasks.
l l Add CRLF after last line: Check if you want the plugin to automatically add a new line at the end of the file. Remove the checkmark to leave the file as-is, useful in the creation of CSV files for example. Delete Metadata: Check to delete any metadata attached to your data file. "Other" Tab l Job Information group l l l l l Information elements: indicates what job infos are automatically created by the input task.
ignored, and the task just under it (not within a branch) will be given control of the job file without any modification. Any initial input task that generates an error will stop the process from running as a whole, and output tasks will not generate output. The On Error tab can be used to overwrite the default behaviors. l l l Send to Process: Check this option to send the job file to an error management process. Error Process drop-down: Enabled only when the Send to Process option is checked.
error, the contents of the variables selected in this window will be available to the rest of your process, or as long as they are not overwritten. Common Errors Though some error messages are specific to a task in particular, others may apply to any and all tasks because they are related more to the system than to PlanetPress itself. Some examples would be W3813, W3830, W3991, W4005. These correspond to issues such as not having any space to write files, permission errors on folders or files, etc.
Output Depending on the options, each email is sent as a data file, followed by each of its attachments sequentially. Technical If you use Email input tasks to capture data encoded using a Double-Byte character set (such as those used for Japanese or Chinese, for instance), it is preferable to use attachments rather than the email body to carry the data from its source to the input task, as data corruption is less likely to occur using this method.
l l l Nothing: Select to limit those messages used by this task to those that do not specify any subject. “From” contains: Select to limit those messages used by this task to those that are sent from a specific address. The address you enter in the box below can include variables. “To” contains: Select to limit those messages used by this task to those that are sent to a specific address. The address you enter in the box below can include variables.
"Other" Tab l Job Information group l l l l l Information elements: indicates what job infos are automatically created by the input task. Add lines before first data page: Using the arrows keys you can add any job information directly at the beginning of your data file. Backup input files: Check this to save a copy of each data file that is captured by your input. These files are saved in the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools working folders under the "Backup" folder.
On Error Tab The On Error tab is common to all tasks. Details can be found in the" Task Properties Dialog" on page 731. By default, any action task, branch, splitter or condition that generates an error will simply be ignored, and the task just under it (not within a branch) will be given control of the job file without any modification. Any initial input task that generates an error will stop the process from running as a whole, and output tasks will not generate output.
l l Store the ID in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the error ID. Reset to defaults: Resets all options in this tab to their default values. When storing the message or ID, if they are stored in a jobinfo they will be available in any error handling process where errors are being forwarded.
files in the queue. Once all the files are gone, the task polls the input folder again to see if new files are present and, if so, the process continues with these files. Otherwise, the process ends. Output The output to this task is a series of individual files, one after the other. These files are not modified in any way from when they are captured from the source folder.
Note No Variable Data can be used inside this field if the Treat as regular expressions option is ticked. The percent sign, the curly brackets and the period are all key elements of the RegEx syntax, therefore they cannot be mixed and matched with Workflow variable data syntax (e.g. %1, ${global.myvar}, etc.). Also, there is no validation of the RegEx being specified.
l l l l Add lines before first data page: Using the arrows keys you can add any job information directly at the beginning of your data file. Backup input files: Check this to save a copy of each data file that is captured by your input. These files are saved in the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools working folders under the "Backup" folder. Backup filename: Enter the filename that you wish the input data file backup to be saved under. Delete Existing Metadata: Check to remove any metadata from memory.
l l l l l l l l Stop Branch: If the task is in a branch of the process, the branch is stopped and the job file is returned to the process after the branch. The branch will not produce any output. If the task is not on a branch, the entire process will be stopped. Stop Process: The process is stopped and no more processing is done. No further output is produced.
Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in the Process area. Folder Listing Folder Listing input tasks list the files present in a selected folder and gives you the option to use filename masks, to sort files by name or date, and to list the files present in the selected folder’s subfolders. The lists it generates are in XML format.
C:\Samples\manuals\ usermanual.pdf C:\Samples\manuals\ 644037 Note The
l l Backup filename: Enter the filename that you wish the input data file backup to be saved under. Delete Existing Metadata: Check to remove any metadata from memory. This option is disabled on initial input tasks, and is checked by default on secondary input tasks. Job Information definitions l %1 - Folder: Contains the full path of the base folder from which the files are listed. On Error Tab The On Error tab is common to all tasks. Details can be found in the" Task Properties Dialog" on page 731.
l l l l l Message: Enabled only when the Log Message option is checked. Enter a message that will be logged in the PlanetPress Workflow log file. You can use any variables available in PlanetPress Workflow to customize the message. Store the message in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the message content. ID: Enter an error ID. This ID will be visible in the Windows Event Viewer. However, the ID is not visible in the PlanetPress Workflow log file.
Input FTP Input connects to the specified FTP server and path, and retrieves all files corresponding to the specified mask. These files may be of any format, even formats that are not readable by PlanetPress Workflow. Processing Each file capture by the input is sent down through the process, one at a time. When the file is finished, the process goes back to the input which feeds another file down, as long as there are files in the queue.
"Other" Tab l Job Information group l l l l l Information elements: indicates what job infos are automatically created by the input task. Add lines before first data page: Using the arrows keys you can add any job information directly at the beginning of your data file. Backup input files: Check this to save a copy of each data file that is captured by your input. These files are saved in the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools working folders under the "Backup" folder.
l l l Send to Process: Check this option to send the job file to an error management process. Error Process drop-down: Enabled only when the Send to Process option is checked. Lists any process of which the initial input task is the Input Error Bin task. Action: In the initial input tasks, this group is disabled and defaults to Stop Process.
Common Errors Though some error messages are specific to a task in particular, others may apply to any and all tasks because they are related more to the system than to PlanetPress itself. Some examples would be W3813, W3830, W3991, W4005. These correspond to issues such as not having any space to write files, permission errors on folders or files, etc. Comments Tab The Comments tab is common to all tasks. It contains a text area (Task comments) that lets you write comments about the task.
General tab l l URL: Enter the URL of the HTTP server from which the file must be downloaded. Since this is a variable property box, variables may be used, as well as the Get Data and Select Data commands. Note that when PlanetPress Workflow connects to a secure page, an SSL (Secure Socket Layer) connection is automatically used. Server requires authentication: Check this option if the HTTP server requires user authentication. This enables the following options.
ignored, and the task just under it (not within a branch) will be given control of the job file without any modification. Any initial input task that generates an error will stop the process from running as a whole, and output tasks will not generate output. The On Error tab can be used to overwrite the default behaviors. l l l Send to Process: Check this option to send the job file to an error management process. Error Process drop-down: Enabled only when the Send to Process option is checked.
error, the contents of the variables selected in this window will be available to the rest of your process, or as long as they are not overwritten. Common Errors Though some error messages are specific to a task in particular, others may apply to any and all tasks because they are related more to the system than to PlanetPress itself. Some examples would be W3813, W3830, W3991, W4005. These correspond to issues such as not having any space to write files, permission errors on folders or files, etc.
Input The HTTP Server Input task does not, by itself, capture any files. Neither does it directly wait for requests to be received. Actually, it is the HTTP service that receives the requests and places them in a specific location on the drive. When a request is received, the HTTP Server Input polls that location and finds the requests and all attachments. It will always pick up the "oldest" request received.
checked, it means there is a second output that comes out of the HTTP Server Input task: The last output generated by PlanetPress Workflow is sent back to the initial input, which is returned back to the client. Note Starting in version 7.2 of PlanetPress Workflow, you can now serve static resources through PlanetPress, which is especially useful for images, CSS and JavaScript files. See "HTTP Server Input 2 plugin preferences" on page 710.
l Variable containing the response code: The contents of the job information or local variable selected in this drop-down, presumed to be a valid response code, will be returned in the response header. This is the value that is present at the end of the process, not the beginning. "Other" Tab l Job Information group l l l l l Information elements: indicates what job infos are automatically created by the input task.
On Error Tab The On Error tab is common to all tasks. Details can be found in the" Task Properties Dialog" on page 731. By default, any action task, branch, splitter or condition that generates an error will simply be ignored, and the task just under it (not within a branch) will be given control of the job file without any modification. Any initial input task that generates an error will stop the process from running as a whole, and output tasks will not generate output.
l l Store the ID in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the error ID. Reset to defaults: Resets all options in this tab to their default values. When storing the message or ID, if they are stored in a jobinfo they will be available in any error handling process where errors are being forwarded.
The following error information is generated by the Input Error Bin starting version 7.5, and is accessible throughout the process: l l %{error.process}: the process name where the error occurred. %{error.tasktype}: the type of the failed task, can be Action, Input, Output, Printer, Comment and Branch. l %{error.taskname}: the name of the plugin (the Display Name as seen in the plugin bar). l %{error.taskindex}: the index of the task in the process (its position in the process). l %{error.
l l Backup filename: Enter the filename that you wish the input data file backup to be saved under. Delete Existing Metadata: Check to remove any metadata from memory. This option is disabled on initial input tasks, and is checked by default on secondary input tasks. Job Information definitions l This task does not generate any job information. On Error Tab The On Error tab is common to all tasks. Details can be found in the" Task Properties Dialog" on page 731.
l l l l l Message: Enabled only when the Log Message option is checked. Enter a message that will be logged in the PlanetPress Workflow log file. You can use any variables available in PlanetPress Workflow to customize the message. Store the message in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the message content. ID: Enter an error ID. This ID will be visible in the Windows Event Viewer. However, the ID is not visible in the PlanetPress Workflow log file.
Input This task does not poll any location by itself. It sits there waiting for requests coming in through WSDL (SOAP communication) and, when it receives a request, runs the process and returns the last output generated by the process to the client. Processing No processing is done. The request that is received by this task is XML and it is maintained as such. Output As with the HTTP Server Input, this task has a dual-output purpose.
"Other" Tab l Job Information group l l l l l Information elements: indicates what job infos are automatically created by the input task. Add lines before first data page: Using the arrows keys you can add any job information directly at the beginning of your data file. Backup input files: Check this to save a copy of each data file that is captured by your input. These files are saved in the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools working folders under the "Backup" folder.
l l l l l l l l l Default: By default, the task is ignored as if it did not exist and the error is logged before continuing the branch or process; the job file is passed on to the next task in the process. When an error occurs in a loop (or in a plugin that acts like a loop), the loop may log the error, terminate the current iteration and proceed with the next iteration.
Comments Tab The Comments tab is common to all tasks. It contains a text area (Task comments) that lets you write comments about the task. These comments are saved when the dialog is closed with the OK button, and are displayed in the Task Comments Pane. Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in the Process area. LPD Input LPD (Line Printer Daemon) input tasks retrieve data in the form of print files sent from remote computers using the LPD/LPR protocol.
Properties General tab l LPD queue name: Enter the queue name specified in the printer queue on the remote computer or computers. "Other" Tab l Job Information group l l l l l Information elements: indicates what job infos are automatically created by the input task. Add lines before first data page: Using the arrows keys you can add any job information directly at the beginning of your data file. Backup input files: Check this to save a copy of each data file that is captured by your input.
By default, any action task, branch, splitter or condition that generates an error will simply be ignored, and the task just under it (not within a branch) will be given control of the job file without any modification. Any initial input task that generates an error will stop the process from running as a whole, and output tasks will not generate output. The On Error tab can be used to overwrite the default behaviors.
error, the contents of the variables selected in this window will be available to the rest of your process, or as long as they are not overwritten. Common Errors Though some error messages are specific to a task in particular, others may apply to any and all tasks because they are related more to the system than to PlanetPress itself. Some examples would be W3813, W3830, W3991, W4005. These correspond to issues such as not having any space to write files, permission errors on folders or files, etc.
Processing Once all PDF files are captured, their original copies are deleted from the input folder (or tagged as Archive if this option is selected) and they are merged into a single PDF. This is done in a single operation, not incrementally, meaning the file is built once and, if the option is chosen, optimized once. Output A single PDF containing as many pages as all the combined input PDFs is generated. If the option is selected, this PDF is optimized.
l l Optimize resulting PDF: Select to specify whether the resulting PDF should be optimized. Optimization can lead to a significant reduction in the size of the PDF, but it may also add a certain amount of time to the process. This option should only be unchecked if the timing of the process is critical and needs to be done quickly, but keep in mind that the resulting PDF may be much larger than it should be and may even be too large for PlanetPress Workflow to handle.
Examples & Use Cases This task is put into effect in the following use cases and example processes: l Daily Sales Report from PDF Files On Error Tab The On Error tab is common to all tasks. Details can be found in the" Task Properties Dialog" on page 731. By default, any action task, branch, splitter or condition that generates an error will simply be ignored, and the task just under it (not within a branch) will be given control of the job file without any modification.
l l l l Store the message in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the message content. ID: Enter an error ID. This ID will be visible in the Windows Event Viewer. However, the ID is not visible in the PlanetPress Workflow log file. Store the ID in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the error ID. Reset to defaults: Resets all options in this tab to their default values.
Input This task does not poll an input, it sits there and waits for a job file to be sent through the Serial connection. Processing When the job is received through the Serial connection, it is saved as a job file. No further processing is done on the file. Output The task outputs the job file as is, with no evaluation or modification. General Tab l Since Serial Input tasks have no specific task configurable properties, this section contains no property information.
On Error Tab The On Error tab is common to all tasks. Details can be found in the" Task Properties Dialog" on page 731. By default, any action task, branch, splitter or condition that generates an error will simply be ignored, and the task just under it (not within a branch) will be given control of the job file without any modification. Any initial input task that generates an error will stop the process from running as a whole, and output tasks will not generate output.
l l Store the ID in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the error ID. Reset to defaults: Resets all options in this tab to their default values. When storing the message or ID, if they are stored in a jobinfo they will be available in any error handling process where errors are being forwarded.
Processing Each file capture by the input is sent down through the process, one at a time. When the file is finished, the process goes back to the input which feeds another file down, as long as there are files in the queue. Once all the files are gone, the task polls the FTP folder again to see if new files are present and, if so, the process continues with these files. Otherwise, the process ends. Output The output to this task is a series of individual files, one after the other.
Note The given directory will be looked up from the user's home directory. Such a home directory is usually under the server main user directory and generally includes the user’s name. For example, if "/tmp/temp/copy_pending" is entered, it does not point to the "/tmp/temp/copy_pending" directory but to the "/users/support/tmp/temp/copy_ pending" directory. l l l Delete remote file: Check this option to delete the file after it has been retrieved by Workflow.
l l Approve: Click to add the server to the list of approved servers. Refresh: Click to refresh the list of known servers "Other" Tab l Job Information group l l l l l Information elements: indicates what job infos are automatically created by the input task. Add lines before first data page: Using the arrows keys you can add any job information directly at the beginning of your data file. Backup input files: Check this to save a copy of each data file that is captured by your input.
without any modification. Any initial input task that generates an error will stop the process from running as a whole, and output tasks will not generate output. The On Error tab can be used to overwrite the default behaviors. l l l Send to Process: Check this option to send the job file to an error management process. Error Process drop-down: Enabled only when the Send to Process option is checked. Lists any process of which the initial input task is the Input Error Bin task.
Common Errors Though some error messages are specific to a task in particular, others may apply to any and all tasks because they are related more to the system than to PlanetPress itself. Some examples would be W3813, W3830, W3991, W4005. These correspond to issues such as not having any space to write files, permission errors on folders or files, etc. Comments Tab The Comments tab is common to all tasks. It contains a text area (Task comments) that lets you write comments about the task.
Warning In its initial implementation, the SMTP Input task will NOT receive the BCC addresses from most emails sent to it. This is due to a technical limitation that will be resolved in a future version. Processing The task reads the incoming SMTP request and provides the data within its body.
l l Data location: Determines what files are sent into the process: l Envelope: Only the request envelope is sent to the process (see above). l Attachments: Each attachment is sent down the process (see above). Unzip attached file: Select to unzip the attached files. l l Zip password: Enter the password required to unzip the attached files (if any). Note that you can use variables and data selections. Conditions: Defines a filter on capturing files from the SMTP Service's hot folder.
Job Information definitions l %1 - Date Received: Contains the date and time at which the email was received. l %2 - Originator Name: Contains the Name of the sender (in the from field). l %3 - Originator Address: Contains the Email address of the sender (in the from field). l %4 - Recipients: Contains the recipient(s) of the email (in the to field). l %5 - CC: Contains the Carbon Copy recipient if there is one (in the cc field).
l l l l l l l l Stop Branch: If the task is in a branch of the process, the branch is stopped and the job file is returned to the process after the branch. The branch will not produce any output. If the task is not on a branch, the entire process will be stopped. Stop Process: The process is stopped and no more processing is done. No further output is produced.
Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in the Process area. Example In this example, the SMTP Input plugin is used to capture incoming emails data that must meet certain conditions as the subject that contains "Work to do" and the sender that contains "client@company.com ". The process then redirects the content of those emails to an extraction and finally to a PDF printing.
Telnet Input The Telnet Input Task (also known as the Raw Socket Printing Input) receives files sent to a specific port.
use multiple Telnet input tasks. To turn on or off the Telnet logging option, see the user options (see "Telnet Input plugin preferences" on page 713). Input This task does not poll an input, it sits there and waits for a job file to be sent through the Telnet port. Processing When the job is received through Telnet, it is saved as a job file. No further processing is done on the file. Output The task outputs the job file as is, with no evaluation or modification.
l l Backup filename: Enter the filename that you wish the input data file backup to be saved under. Delete Existing Metadata: Check to remove any metadata from memory. This option is disabled on initial input tasks, and is checked by default on secondary input tasks. Job Information definitions l This task does not generate any job information. On Error Tab The On Error tab is common to all tasks. Details can be found in the" Task Properties Dialog" on page 731.
l l l l l Message: Enabled only when the Log Message option is checked. Enter a message that will be logged in the PlanetPress Workflow log file. You can use any variables available in PlanetPress Workflow to customize the message. Store the message in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the message content. ID: Enter an error ID. This ID will be visible in the Windows Event Viewer. However, the ID is not visible in the PlanetPress Workflow log file.
Note Before you go through the following procedure, on the computer running PlanetPress Workflow you will need to create a local printer queue that will be used to receive data files in the form of print jobs. This queue can be shared, so as to be able to receive jobs sent from local as well as remote users. To ensure that the spooled files created by PlanetPress Workflow queue remain in the spool folder, the printer queue must be paused.
l Printer properties group l l Spool Print Job ins EMF Format (Advanced printing features): Select to create EMF files for Windows Print Converter action tasks (see "Windows Print Converter" on page 357). Note that this option must not be selected when capturing generic text type data. Spool Print Jobs in RAW Format: Select to output in RAW format, which is the exactly the data that the computer receives (and is not converted in any way).
l l %3 - Printer name: Contains the name of the printer in which the job was received. Is the same for all jobs received on any given printer. %4 - Document name: Contains the name of the job as seen in the printer queue from which it is captured. This name is defined by the software that creates the print job. On Error Tab The On Error tab is common to all tasks. Details can be found in the" Task Properties Dialog" on page 731.
l l l l Store the message in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the message content. ID: Enter an error ID. This ID will be visible in the Windows Event Viewer. However, the ID is not visible in the PlanetPress Workflow log file. Store the ID in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the error ID. Reset to defaults: Resets all options in this tab to their default values.
Variable Properties When you edit tasks, you may notice that some of the properties that you can modify have a red (or more precisely, a maroon) title. This means that the property can be dynamically determined whenever your process runs, that is to say it will not remain static. This can be extremely useful when, for example, you want to determine how many copies you will print out depending on your data, or what document will be used in the printout depending on the department it came from.
contextual menu is divided into 4 items that provide variable properties: l Variables l System: Contains system variables, also called "Standard Variables" on page 601. l Job Info: Contains Job Info variables from %1 to %9 l l l l l l l l l Local Variables: Contains a list of local variables in this process. If no local variables exist, this item is disabled. Global Variables: Contains a list of global variables in this configuration. If no global variables exist, this item is disabled.
l l l An at sign (@) indicates a data selection for emulations other than database — @ (1,1,1,1,17,KeepCase,Trim), for example. Field indicates a data selection for a database emulation — field(1,0,0,'Billing_ Email',KeepCase,NoTrim), for example. The lookup() function indicates a lookup in the "Data Repository Manager" on page 676. Unknown Tasks An unknown task is a task location that is not linked to any existing known task.
Technical Masks are case-insensitive, since the Windows platform does not support case-sensitive file names (yes, you can have mixed case in a file name but that's visual fluff - the OS itself does not care). Mask Format Here are the different mask formats available: l l Literal characters: Any alphanumerical character is considered literal character and must appear. For example, a mask of "trigger.txt" will not capture any other files than that name. Wildcards: Two wildcards are available in masks.
[[] ) , but not a closing bracket as the closing bracket always ends the set or range. There is no escape character available in masks. Date and Time Format To simplify things and to prevent errors, date and time formats have been standardized. l l Date are entered and displayed as yyyy/MM/dd (2007/06/13, for example). Times are entered and displayed using the 24 hour format as HH:mm:ss (3:38:54 PM, for example, is entered and displayed as 15:38:54).
Properties General tab l l Documents: Select a specific PlanetPress Design document if you want all the jobs to be merged with that document. Add job information to the document: Select to prompt your PlanetPress Workflow to add the available job information elements in the header of the generated file. Note that this option is only enabled if a document was selected. On Error Tab The On Error tab is common to all tasks. Details can be found in the" Task Properties Dialog" on page 731.
l l l l l l Log Message: Check this option to enable logging a custom error message in the PlanetPress Workflow log file and in the Windows Application Events. Message: Enabled only when the Log Message option is checked. Enter a message that will be logged in the PlanetPress Workflow log file. You can use any variables available in PlanetPress Workflow to customize the message. Store the message in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the message content.
l To add or remove characters. l To add or remove lines of data. l To add the content of a text file. Note that the content must be located at the beginning or the end of the data file. Input Any text-based file can be used in this task, even formats that are not directly compatible with PlanetPress. As long as the text is visible in a text-based editor (such as Notepad), it is readable and supported by this task.
l l l l l Add CRLF after last line: Select if you want to add a CRLF (carriage return/line feed) character after the last line of text added to the job file. This option is only available when you choose to add lines of text to the job file. ASCII file: Enter the path and name of the text file to be added to the job file, or use the Browse button to navigate to this file. This box is only displayed when the Text file option is selected in the Content box.
l l l l l l l l Stop Branch: If the task is in a branch of the process, the branch is stopped and the job file is returned to the process after the branch. The branch will not produce any output. If the task is not on a branch, the entire process will be stopped. Stop Process: The process is stopped and no more processing is done. No further output is produced.
Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in the Process area. Advanced Search and Replace Advanced Search and Replace action tasks are used to locate and replace strings of data within the job file and to replace them with other strings of data. Contrary to Search and Replace action tasks, they allow the use of regular expressions. Using regular expressions, it is possible to search for patterns rather than specific strings.
l l l l String to search: Enter your search string or regular expression in this variable property box. To enter multiple strings or expressions, press Enter after each one (note that only one string can be entered in the Replace with box). Treat as regular expression: Select to specify that the string or strings entered above are to be interpreted as regular expressions rather than ordinary text strings. This option disables all position options as well as the Whole words only option.
l Occurrence related: Select to indicate that the search string must be found a specific number of times before a string replacement is performed. If the Search line by line option is selected in the Search mode group, the search counter is reset for every line. If the Search whole file option is selected in the Search mode group, the search counter is not reset before the end of the file.
l l l Send to Process: Check this option to send the job file to an error management process. Error Process drop-down: Enabled only when the Send to Process option is checked. Lists any process of which the initial input task is the Input Error Bin task. Action: In the initial input tasks, this group is disabled and defaults to Stop Process.
Common Errors Though some error messages are specific to a task in particular, others may apply to any and all tasks because they are related more to the system than to PlanetPress itself. Some examples would be W3813, W3830, W3991, W4005. These correspond to issues such as not having any space to write files, permission errors on folders or files, etc. Comments Tab The Comments tab is common to all tasks. It contains a text area (Task comments) that lets you write comments about the task.
Technical This task does not recognize more than one level of the metadata Document. This means that if you are intending to define separate documents, you should use the Metadata Level Creation task after the Barcode Scan. Output This task outputs the original data file but with modified (or created) metadata. The format should be the same as the input. Supported Barcode Types The following types of barcodes are supported: Barcode types Description EAN13 EAN13 symbology.
Barcode types Description Inter2of5 Interleaved 2 of 5 symbology. Used in warehouse, industrial applications. Add2 2 additional digits code for UPC-based symbologies. Used to indicate magazines and newspaper issue numbers. Add5 5 additional digits code for UPC-based symbologies. Used to mark suggested retail price of books.
Barcode Orientations Barcode orientations represent a barcode orientation on an image. For example, when the leftto-right option is checked, the task will try to read the barcode value assuming that the barcode data should be read in a left-to-right fashion. Note The fewer orientations are selected, the faster the task performs. Settings l l Force checksum validation: Select to define whether the checksum validation is required for symbologies in which a checksum character is optional.
characters are the first 32 characters in ASCII character table (Ex.: form-feed, newline, carriage return characters) l l Scan Interval: Set a scan interval in pixels of image scanning. This property directly affects the performance and quality of the recognition. A greater interval value means better performance, but a lower recognition confidence level, and vice versa. For example, a value of 1 means that every image line will be scanned. By default, the Scan Interval is set to 1. Threshold level [0..
l l l l l l l l Stop Branch: If the task is in a branch of the process, the branch is stopped and the job file is returned to the process after the branch. The branch will not produce any output. If the task is not on a branch, the entire process will be stopped. Stop Process: The process is stopped and no more processing is done. No further output is produced.
Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in the Process area. Metadata Implementation The Barcode Scan task reads each scanned file and outputs the values read from barcode(s) on the page(s) into metadata depending of the selected Process by option: l l If the selected option is process by page, then the metadata file is created and overwritten for each new scanned page.
l l l l l Barcode_1_Orientation: Metadata field containing the orientation of the first barcode. Barcode_1_Top: Metadata field providing the distance (in pixels) from the top of the page to the top of the first barcode. Barcode_1_Bottom: Metadata field providing the distance (in pixels) from the top of the page to the bottom of the first barcode. Barcode_1_Left: Metadata field providing the distance (in pixels) from the left of the page to the left side part of the first barcode.
Change Emulation action tasks are typically used when a secondary input task brings new data that is not structured like the initial data into the process. By default, every task included in a process uses the emulation associated with the sample data file to structure the data before it processes it. Any task that must use a different emulation must be preceded by a Change Emulation action task. All the tasks that follow on the same branch will use the emulation chosen in the Change Emulation task.
Add/remove lines: Enter the number of lines to add to, or remove from, the head of the data stream, or use the spin buttons to increment or decrement the value. Positive values add lines; negative values remove lines. This is useful when one or more lines of input data precede the start of the first data page. Note that you cannot add lines in either a CSV or user defined emulation.
l l l Remove HP PCL escapes: Select to have the document remove any Hewlett Packard Printer Control Language (HP PCL) escape sequences it encounters. CSV (comma separated values). l l l l l Number of spaces per tab: Enter the number of spaces you want the document to use for a tab, or use the spin buttons to adjust the value. Text delimiter: Enter the character that starts and ends the data in each field of the record.
print over the current line, and is a technique impact printers use to print a line, or elements of a line, in bold or with underlining. For example, the input data for an impact printer might underline text by placing the text to underline on one line, and the underscore characters of the underline on the following line. The first character of the line with the text is a code that tells the printer to ignore the LF at the end of that line. The result is underlined text.
l XML. l l Cache XML data: When this option is selected, PlanetPress Watch/Server only reloads the data if the size or modified date of the XML file changes. When this option is not selected, the XML data will be reloaded into memory every time that a plugin works on the data file. Caching the XML data will make subsequent tasks run faster (as loading an XML file can take a long time) but will also use up more memory since that memory isn't released in between tasks.
l l l l l l Log Message: Check this option to enable logging a custom error message in the PlanetPress Workflow log file and in the Windows Application Events. Message: Enabled only when the Log Message option is checked. Enter a message that will be logged in the PlanetPress Workflow log file. You can use any variables available in PlanetPress Workflow to customize the message. Store the message in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the message content.
(See "Digital Action" on page 304) but is more limited. It does not contain the advanced PDF options that are offered by the PlanetPress Image solution, but is useful for creating simple PDF files using the default quality. Note This feature is part of the PDF Tools, which is only available in PlanetPress Workflow. PDFs created with the new Create PDF action task will effectively replace the current data file in any given process using such a task. Input Any data file supported by PlanetPress Workflow.
l Run mode group l l l Optimized PostScript Stream: Select to merge the selected document with the data received by this task before sending it to the PDF RIP. Note that some features, such as the Time and Date require that this option be selected. Options group l l l l Printer centric: Select to send the document along with the trigger and data to the PDF RIP. Add job information to the document: Select to add the available job info variables in the “header” of the generated output file.
the ability to take an existing PDF in input and apply the selected password to the PDF without any change to the quality level of the original PDF. l Font group l l l Embed all: Select to embed the entire font of all fonts used in the variable content document within the generated PDFs. Using this option may result in large PDFs, especially if many fonts are used. Note that those fonts installed by default with the Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Reader are never embedded.
running as a whole, and output tasks will not generate output. The On Error tab can be used to overwrite the default behaviors. l l l Send to Process: Check this option to send the job file to an error management process. Error Process drop-down: Enabled only when the Send to Process option is checked. Lists any process of which the initial input task is the Input Error Bin task. Action: In the initial input tasks, this group is disabled and defaults to Stop Process.
Common Errors Though some error messages are specific to a task in particular, others may apply to any and all tasks because they are related more to the system than to PlanetPress itself. Some examples would be W3813, W3830, W3991, W4005. These correspond to issues such as not having any space to write files, permission errors on folders or files, etc. Comments Tab The Comments tab is common to all tasks. It contains a text area (Task comments) that lets you write comments about the task.
l l l l l Grayscale images : l Compression: Auto l down sampling : Bicubic l Pixels per inch: 300 Color images : l Compression: Auto l down sampling : Bicubic l Pixels per inch: 150 Security : l Allow printing l Allow changing the document l Allow content copying l Allow form filling Font : l Embed all fonts l Subset embedded fonts Open options : l Zoom factor: Fit in window l Default view: Page only Database Query Database Query action task retrieves data from various datab
Technical Database Query action tasks require version 2.5 or higher of the Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC), including JET 4.0. When adding a Database Query action task, you have two options: l l You can use static properties (properties that will remain the same regardless of the data processed at run-time). This option lets you use an Open DataBase Connectivity (ODCB) compliant data source. You can also edit the SQL statement that assembles the database table.
Properties Database Connection tab l Database group l l l Table/Query: Select the table or query containing the information you need as your input data. Range group l l l Location: Enter either the path and name of the database or a database connection string in this box. You may click to navigate to the database and paste the database path and name automatically to this box. You may also click create an ODBC connection string to the data source and paste the string automatically to this box.
above (Table/Query box) can contain a single record, a fixed number of records, or a variable number of records. To choose the last option, select one of the When [field name] changes listed in this box. l l l Sort on field: If you want the table to be sorted before the data page creation process is started, select the sort field from this box. l Text delimiter: Select the text delimiter to be used in the generated file. l Field separator: Select the field separator to be used in the generated file.
l l l l l l l l l Create data pages as follows: Select the option used to generate the data pages. Each data page created using the table or query selected above (Table/Query box) can contain a single record, a fixed number of records, or a variable number of records. To choose the last option, select one of the When [field name] changes listed in this box.
Note MySQL, using ODBC 5.0, must be set to use a client-side cursor. Microsoft Access will always work better when using a Server-Side cursor. l l Include password in config: Select to save an encrypted version of the database password (if any) within the exported configuration. Export Config: Click to export the currently displayed properties of the PlanetPress Workflow action task. The exported configuration can then be reused on other PlanetPress Workflow workstations.
On Error Tab The On Error tab is common to all tasks. Details can be found in the" Task Properties Dialog" on page 731. By default, any action task, branch, splitter or condition that generates an error will simply be ignored, and the task just under it (not within a branch) will be given control of the job file without any modification. Any initial input task that generates an error will stop the process from running as a whole, and output tasks will not generate output.
l l Store the ID in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the error ID. Reset to defaults: Resets all options in this tab to their default values. When storing the message or ID, if they are stored in a jobinfo they will be available in any error handling process where errors are being forwarded.
Output This task outputs the data file it received with no modification. Metadata and job files are not touched either. Properties General Tab l l l l l l l Zip file name: Enter the name of the zipped file. In this variable property box, you may enter static characters, variables, job information elements, data selections, or any combination of these. Output folder: Enter the name of the folder in which you want the decompressed files to be stored.
l l l Send to Process: Check this option to send the job file to an error management process. Error Process drop-down: Enabled only when the Send to Process option is checked. Lists any process of which the initial input task is the Input Error Bin task. Action: In the initial input tasks, this group is disabled and defaults to Stop Process.
Common Errors Though some error messages are specific to a task in particular, others may apply to any and all tasks because they are related more to the system than to PlanetPress itself. Some examples would be W3813, W3830, W3991, W4005. These correspond to issues such as not having any space to write files, permission errors on folders or files, etc. Comments Tab The Comments tab is common to all tasks. It contains a text area (Task comments) that lets you write comments about the task.
Task Properties General tab l l l Host: Select the IP address of the PlanetPress Image host to which you want the request to be sent. Refresh: Click to update the list of IP addresses displayed in the Host drop-down list box. Documents: Select a specific PlanetPress Design document if you want all the jobs to be generated with that document. To use a document chosen at run-time for each job, enter a dynamic document name using a combination of text, variables and data selections.
l Output type: Select the output file type that you want. l l l l l l l PDF: The output will be a PDF file. If you select PDF, the DPI and Color Depth options (see below) are disabled and the options available in the PDF tab are enabled. JPEG: The output will be a JPEG file. JPEG is a lossy compression image format that creates small files, compressing continuous tone images (such as scanned photographs) well. TIFF: The output will be a TIFF file.
l Data Stream group: Determines what is output by the Digital Action task: l l l l l l l l Use Digital as new data stream: Use the file generated by the task for the rest of the process. Use original data stream (without document): Use the same data file as what was input to this task. Use original data stream (with document): Uses the PostScript data generated before image is created.
l XML and PDI: Select if you want this task to add both an XML and a PDI index file to the generated document. Job Options tab If you chose PDF as the output type in the General tab, use this tab to choose the appropriate PDF options. Note that all the options available in this tab are only used with PDF files. l l Job options: Select the PDF output option that best describes your needs. This loads all the standard settings for the selected usage scenario. These settings can be changed as required.
in this box, you must be sure that the data that will be selected at run-time will not contain any parentheses, as this would cause the task to fail. If you suspect that the data may contain parentheses, you should use a Run script action task (see Run Script Action Task Property) with a Strip() function to strip them out. l l Monochrome images group l l l Keywords: You may enter keywords for the document.
Subsample to use a pixel in the center of the sample area and replace the entire area with that pixel value. This method is significantly faster, but results in images that are less smooth. Select Bicubic to use a weighted average to determine pixel shades. This method is the slowest but most precise and results in the smoothest tonal gradations. l l Color images group l l l l Grayscale resolution: Select the resolution to use for grayscale images.
options of the generated PDF files. l Allow printing: Select to let users print the generated PDF files. l Allow changing the document: Select to let users edit the generated PDF files. l l l l l Allow form filling: Select to let users enter information in the form fields included in the generated PDF files. PDF open password: Enter a password in this box only if you want to prevent users who does not have this password from opening the generated PDF files.
contents of the Bookmarks tab (you use data selection objects to create bookmarks in PlanetPress) alongside the PDF pages. Select Page tab and Page to display the content of the Pages tab (thumbnails of each PDF pages) alongside the PDF pages. Select Full screen to hide all screen contents except the PDF page, and expand the PDF page to the maximum size it can occupy onscreen.
configuration. In order for the settings to work, the Add PDF to PlanetPress Search database must be checked. However, you can override which database will be updating using the option in this window, Override global PlanetPress Search Database settings. The database options then activate. l l l l l l l l l l Database type: Select the type of the database in which you want to create a table (Access, or SQL Server).
Printer action task must be followed by a Printer Queue output task set to "pass-through", in order for it to be sent to the printer and not merged with a document. You can use Download to Printer action tasks to send various types of files, such as attachments, documents and fonts that are used in PlanetPress Design documents that are executed directly on the printers.
l l Keep file extension: Select to use extensions when saving files. When this option is selected, if the task receives a file with the “txt” extension, for example, it will keep this extension even if it renames the file (as specified in the File name box). Print confirmation page: Select to print the Variable content document download confirmation page when the download is successful. On Error Tab The On Error tab is common to all tasks. Details can be found in the" Task Properties Dialog" on page 731.
l l l l Store the message in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the message content. ID: Enter an error ID. This ID will be visible in the Windows Event Viewer. However, the ID is not visible in the PlanetPress Workflow log file. Store the ID in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the error ID. Reset to defaults: Resets all options in this tab to their default values.
Note As with any task that can refer to network resources, it is important to understand the considerations involved with paths and permissions of these resources. Please refer to the Network Considerations page in the Advanced Configuration and Options chapter (Reference Guide, in English only). There are some important things to consider when using the External Program task: l l The executable file must accept so-called "command-line options" and be able to run without any sort of user interaction.
Properties General tab l Program group l l l l l Parameters: Enter parameters that will be passed to the external program when it is launched. Each parameter should be enclosed in quotation marks and separated by a space ("Param1" "Param2" "Param3") except command line options (such as -f, /n). The exact parameters accepted are unique to the executable and defined in its documentation if it exists. Start in: Enter the folder in which the external program is to run.
l l Value: The numerical exit code that will be verified. Return: Use the drop-down to select whether this exit code should define a success or a failure of the external program. If "Failure" is chosen, exit codes that match the condition set will cause the On Error tab to be triggered and any other exit code will be considered a success.
l l l l l Message: Enabled only when the Log Message option is checked. Enter a message that will be logged in the PlanetPress Workflow log file. You can use any variables available in PlanetPress Workflow to customize the message. Store the message in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the message content. ID: Enter an error ID. This ID will be visible in the Windows Event Viewer. However, the ID is not visible in the PlanetPress Workflow log file.
Input The current data file in the process will be discarded. Processing The external file specified in the task's properties is loaded and replaces the current data file. Output The loaded file is output. Metadata is not modified in any way, neither are job infos. Properties General tab l External file: The path to the file you want the job file to be replaced with. You may browse to the file using the browse button on the right of the field.
l Action: In the initial input tasks, this group is disabled and defaults to Stop Process. In all other tasks where the On Error tab is present, the following options are available: l l l l l l l l l Default: By default, the task is ignored as if it did not exist and the error is logged before continuing the branch or process; the job file is passed on to the next task in the process.
Comments Tab The Comments tab is common to all tasks. It contains a text area (Task comments) that lets you write comments about the task. These comments are saved when the dialog is closed with the OK button, and are displayed in the Task Comments Pane. Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in the Process area.
Processing The task executes the mathematical operation and stores the result in the selected job info or variable. Output The input data file is returned with no modifications. Metadata is not modified. A single job info or variable is modified by this task. Properties General Tab l l l Mathematical Expression: Variable data field containing the expression to be evaluated. This expression may combine any combination of standard PlanetPress Workflow variables and VBScript mathematical expressions.
XSLT (or XSL Transformation) is a style sheet that describes how an XML document is to be transformed into another XML document. The reason to transform an XML document into another XML document is simply to rearrange the information it contains in order to make the data structure more convenient for your needs. Input A valid XML file. Processing The XSLT is applied to the XML data file. Output The modified XML data file is output. Metadata and jobinfos are not modified.
l l l XSLT Version l XSLT 1.0: Select if you will be entering or pasting XSLT version 1.0 code. l XSLT 2.0: Select if you will be entering or pasting XSLT version 2.0 code. Tools l l Go To Line: Brings up the Go To Line dialog where you can enter a line number and jump directly to that line. Editor Options...: Opens the "Editor Options" on page 723.
Output The unmodified input file. This task does not change the data file in any way. The only modification is a single variable or job info, if the "Store Result" option is selected. Properties The Push to Repository task options are as follows: General tab l l Group: Use the drop-down to select into which group the KeySet is inserted, or in which group the KeySet should be updated. Key set: Displays a list of keys for the selected group. l l l l l l Key: Displays the key name in the group.
l Store the result ID in variable: Select a variable or Job Info in which an array of inserted or updated IDs will be placed. The array of IDs in the form of [1, 2, 3, 4, 2443, 532, 5457, ...] On Error Tab The On Error tab is common to all tasks. Details can be found in the" Task Properties Dialog" on page 731.
l l l ID: Enter an error ID. This ID will be visible in the Windows Event Viewer. However, the ID is not visible in the PlanetPress Workflow log file. Store the ID in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the error ID. Reset to defaults: Resets all options in this tab to their default values. When storing the message or ID, if they are stored in a jobinfo they will be available in any error handling process where errors are being forwarded.
Output The input data file is output, with the new name. Properties General tab l New file name: Enter the job file’s new name. In this variable property box, you may enter static characters, variables, job information elements, data selections, or any combination of these. On Error Tab The On Error tab is common to all tasks. Details can be found in the" Task Properties Dialog" on page 731.
l l l l l l Log Message: Check this option to enable logging a custom error message in the PlanetPress Workflow log file and in the Windows Application Events. Message: Enabled only when the Log Message option is checked. Enter a message that will be logged in the PlanetPress Workflow log file. You can use any variables available in PlanetPress Workflow to customize the message. Store the message in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the message content.
External Program action (see "External Program" on page 316). However, they can be slower to execute. The Run Script action task can be used either as an action or a condition. When dragging and dropping a Run Script action task on a given process, you select whether to use this task as an action or a condition from a contextual menu. For more information on scripts, what languages are supported and how to write scripts and conditions, please see the related chapter, "Using Scripts" on page 91.
l Edit l Undo: Undo the last edit. l Cut: Cut the current selection (only available if there is selected text in the editor). l l l l l l Delete: Delete the current selection (only available if there is selected text in the editor). Select All: Select all of the contents of the editor. l Find: Brings up the Find dialog. l Find Again: Repeats the previous search and finds the next occurrence. l Replace: Brings up the Replace dialog.
l l Script running from: Choose if the script should be run from the editor text box, or from an external script file. Script filename and path: Either enter the full path of the XLST Script, or click the Browse button to navigate to the file. This option is only available if you choose external script file in the Script running from option. Warning With the Run Script action, the On Error tab is accessible by right-clicking on the action in your process and clicking Advanced Properties.
l l l l l l l l Stop Branch: If the task is in a branch of the process, the branch is stopped and the job file is returned to the process after the branch. The branch will not produce any output. If the task is not on a branch, the entire process will be stopped. Stop Process: The process is stopped and no more processing is done. No further output is produced.
Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in the Process area. Search and Replace Search and Replace action tasks are used to locate and replace strings of data within the job file and to replace them with other strings of data. Note that this action task cannot be used with binary files. For more advanced search and replace functionality, you can also see "Advanced Search and Replace" on page 271.
l l Find: Enter the string of data for which to search. In this variable property box, you may enter static characters, variables, job information elements, data selections, or any combination of these. Replace with: Enter the string of data to use as a replacement. Since this is also a variable property box, the same as above applies. l button: Click to add a new line to the list of words to find and replace. l button: Click to remove the currently selected line from the list.
l l l l l l Log Message: Check this option to enable logging a custom error message in the PlanetPress Workflow log file and in the Windows Application Events. Message: Enabled only when the Log Message option is checked. Enter a message that will be logged in the PlanetPress Workflow log file. You can use any variables available in PlanetPress Workflow to customize the message. Store the message in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the message content.
Download to Printer action tasks (see "Download to Printer" on page 313), but they include image specific options. Furthermore, they can be used to send images not only to printers, but also to the virtual drive of other computers running PlanetPress Workflow applications. Note that each Sent Images to Printer action task must be followed by a Printer Queue Output task set to "passthrough", in order for the images to be actually sent to that printer.
Printer action task with the scan orientation set to Side to side, the second one with a different Send Images to Printer action task with the scan orientation set to Top to bottom, each one typically being included on two different branches of the same process. l l l l l l l l Color conversion: Select As is to keep the color information included in the images. Select Grayscale to convert color images to gray scale.
overwrite the default behaviors. l l l Send to Process: Check this option to send the job file to an error management process. Error Process drop-down: Enabled only when the Send to Process option is checked. Lists any process of which the initial input task is the Input Error Bin task. Action: In the initial input tasks, this group is disabled and defaults to Stop Process.
Common Errors Though some error messages are specific to a task in particular, others may apply to any and all tasks because they are related more to the system than to PlanetPress itself. Some examples would be W3813, W3830, W3991, W4005. These correspond to issues such as not having any space to write files, permission errors on folders or files, etc. Comments Tab The Comments tab is common to all tasks. It contains a text area (Task comments) that lets you write comments about the task.
Output The original data file, metadata and job infos are not modified, they are passed on to the next task. Properties General tab l l l l Folder: Enter the path of the folder to which the files are to be saved. File name: Enter the name of the output files generated by this task. To prevent each new file from overwriting the previous one, you should use variable names. As with any variable property box, you can use any combination of text, variables and data selections.
l l l l l l l l l Default: By default, the task is ignored as if it did not exist and the error is logged before continuing the branch or process; the job file is passed on to the next task in the process. When an error occurs in a loop (or in a plugin that acts like a loop), the loop may log the error, terminate the current iteration and proceed with the next iteration.
Comments Tab The Comments tab is common to all tasks. It contains a text area (Task comments) that lets you write comments about the task. These comments are saved when the dialog is closed with the OK button, and are displayed in the Task Comments Pane. Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in the Process area. Set Job Infos and Variables Add Set Job Infos and Variables action tasks to set job info elements as well as custom variables.
l button: Moves the line up so it is processed before. l button: Moves the line down so it is processed after. On Error Tab The On Error tab is common to all tasks. Details can be found in the" Task Properties Dialog" on page 731. By default, any action task, branch, splitter or condition that generates an error will simply be ignored, and the task just under it (not within a branch) will be given control of the job file without any modification.
l l l ID: Enter an error ID. This ID will be visible in the Windows Event Viewer. However, the ID is not visible in the PlanetPress Workflow log file. Store the ID in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the error ID. Reset to defaults: Resets all options in this tab to their default values. When storing the message or ID, if they are stored in a jobinfo they will be available in any error handling process where errors are being forwarded.
Web services, a SOAP class of applications, expose their services via the Internet in a manner that lets other applications access them, as well as use and combine them as required. In order to access and successfully use Web services, client applications must know how to get them, what operations they support, what parameters they expect, as well as what they return. SOAP servers make this information available via WSDL (Web Service Description Language) files.
l l l l l l l l l l Service: Choose an available Web service from this drop-down list to populate the Method box below. You may also enter the service name directly if the WSDL file cannot be found. Method: Choose an available method from this drop-down list. This populates the Namespace box below. You may also enter the method name directly. Namespace: You may choose an available namespace to prevent ambiguity between identically named elements or attributes.
On Error Tab The On Error tab is common to all tasks. Details can be found in the" Task Properties Dialog" on page 731. By default, any action task, branch, splitter or condition that generates an error will simply be ignored, and the task just under it (not within a branch) will be given control of the job file without any modification. Any initial input task that generates an error will stop the process from running as a whole, and output tasks will not generate output.
l l Store the ID in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the error ID. Reset to defaults: Resets all options in this tab to their default values. When storing the message or ID, if they are stored in a jobinfo they will be available in any error handling process where errors are being forwarded.
Input Text-based data files such as Line Printer Emulation and ASCII Emulation data files, which contain HP PCL control characters. Processing All HP PCL characters are removed from the data file. Note that these characters are not interpreted, only stripped out. Output The modified data file, with stripped characters, is output from this task. Metadata, job infos and variables are not modified.
l Action: In the initial input tasks, this group is disabled and defaults to Stop Process. In all other tasks where the On Error tab is present, the following options are available: l l l l l l l l l Default: By default, the task is ignored as if it did not exist and the error is logged before continuing the branch or process; the job file is passed on to the next task in the process.
Comments Tab The Comments tab is common to all tasks. It contains a text area (Task comments) that lets you write comments about the task. These comments are saved when the dialog is closed with the OK button, and are displayed in the Task Comments Pane. Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in the Process area. Translator PlanetPress Workflow Translator action tasks can convert your data from its current encoding to a number of different encoding.
Properties General tab l l l l Source encoding: Select the current data encoding. Note that the source encoding is not selected automatically and you must therefore select the proper encoding from this list in order for the conversion process to be performed successfully. Target encoding: Select the encoding to which you want the data to be converted. Include target encoding signature: This option is only available when converting to UTF-8 (Windows code page 65001) or UCS-4 (code page 12000 or 12001).
iteration. l l l l l l l l Stop Branch: If the task is in a branch of the process, the branch is stopped and the job file is returned to the process after the branch. The branch will not produce any output. If the task is not on a branch, the entire process will be stopped. Stop Process: The process is stopped and no more processing is done. No further output is produced.
Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in the Process area. Windows Print Converter Windows Print Converter action tasks are designed to convert Windows print files into Line Printer files, that can then be used in a variety of other PlanetPress Workflow tasks. Typically, Windows Print Converter action tasks are located below WinQueue input tasks (note that the latter include options specific to Windows Print Converter action tasks).
Properties General tab l EMF to XY group: Select this option if the file received by this task is a Windows print file. This will prompt the task to perform the first phase of the process, and thus convert the file to an XML file. If this option is not selected, the input file will not be converted to an XML file (note that the task will fail if the file it receives is not an XML file). The settings included in this group fine tune the process.
font's mean character width is multiplied with. The value for the mean character width is taken from the corresponding font's attributes (for texts which are printed justified, it is suggested to raise this value up to about 2). For example, if the mean character width of the font example shown here corresponds to the width of the blank character (for other fonts it may be another sign).
l l Character per inch (CPI): The number of individual characters per inch on a line of text. Line per inch (LPI): The number of lines of text per inch. Data Splitters Splitter action tasks are used to single data files into multiple data files. You can use such tasks, for example, to split files that contain statements for multiple clients into smaller files that each contain a single client statement.
channel in Channel Skip), the output data will be different from the input data, but the change will not be significant. Let us imagine that a splitter action task processes the following data file using the ASCII emulation: Data line1 of page 1 Data line2 of page 1 Last data line of page 1 Data line1 of page 2 ...and so forth...
Input A Database Emulation data file. Processing The file is separated into multiple chunks according to the rules set in the task's properties. Output Multiple data files, sent one after the other to the rest of the tasks in the process. Metadata, job infos and user variables are not modified by this task. Properties General tab l l l l l Split group: Use this group to indicate how you want the file to be split.
l l l l l l l l Match case: Select to force the splitter to match the character casing when resolving the Field value change or Field value condition. If this option is selected, a change from “DAY” to “Day” will be considered as a valid field value change, and “DAY” and “Day” will not be considered as equal values. Where to split group: Options from this group are used to define a number of pages or records before or after which the file is to be split.
overwrite the default behaviors. l l l Send to Process: Check this option to send the job file to an error management process. Error Process drop-down: Enabled only when the Send to Process option is checked. Lists any process of which the initial input task is the Input Error Bin task. Action: In the initial input tasks, this group is disabled and defaults to Stop Process.
Common Errors Though some error messages are specific to a task in particular, others may apply to any and all tasks because they are related more to the system than to PlanetPress itself. Some examples would be W3813, W3830, W3991, W4005. These correspond to issues such as not having any space to write files, permission errors on folders or files, etc. Comments Tab The Comments tab is common to all tasks. It contains a text area (Task comments) that lets you write comments about the task.
Output Multiple data files, sent one after the other to the rest of the tasks in the process. Metadata, job infos and user variables are not modified by this task. Properties General tab l Split data file on emulated page group: Select to split the data file based on pages (rather than on a word found within the emulated data) and to activate the option from this group, which is used to tailor exactly how you want the page based splitting process to take place.
l l l l To column: Enter a value corresponding to the last column in which the splitter must start searching for the word. Match case: Select to force the splitter to match the character casing. Note that this setting applies both to the Specific Word and Word change options. If this option is selected, “DAY” and “Day” will not be considered as matching the search string “day”. Trim selection: Select to force the splitter to strip empty trailing characters.
On Error Tab The On Error tab is common to all tasks. Details can be found in the" Task Properties Dialog" on page 731. By default, any action task, branch, splitter or condition that generates an error will simply be ignored, and the task just under it (not within a branch) will be given control of the job file without any modification. Any initial input task that generates an error will stop the process from running as a whole, and output tasks will not generate output.
l l Store the ID in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the error ID. Reset to defaults: Resets all options in this tab to their default values. When storing the message or ID, if they are stored in a jobinfo they will be available in any error handling process where errors are being forwarded.
Input Any data file. Processing The file is separated into multiple chunks according to the rules set in the task's properties. Output Multiple data files, sent one after the other to the rest of the tasks in the process. Metadata, job infos and user variables are not modified by this task. Properties General Tab l l l l l l Split data file on: Use this box to choose the item on which top split the file. The options available depend on whether or not the Use emulation box is checked (see below).
Splitter will search in the ten first lines of every page. Note that the actual search region is a combination of the vertical and horizontal search regions. l Word is between columns group l l l l l Consider case: Select to force the Generic Splitter to match the character casing of the string of characters entered above with the characters found in the file. If this option is selected, “DAY” and “Day” will not be considered as matching the search string “day”.
in the From box and 10 in the To box, the Generic Splitter will search in the ten first columns of the line selected above. l l l l l Pages: Enter exactly where to split the file. Enter 1 to split the file 1 page before or after the string, 2 to split the file 2 pages before or after the string, or 0 to split the file immediately before or after the string.
l l l l Operator: Select the appropriate comparison operator. If you select Equals, the Generic Splitter will only consider that the condition is met when it finds a perfect match (“day“ and “day“, for example). If you select Contains, the Generic Splitter will consider that the condition is met whenever it finds the string of characters entered in the Value box, even if the database field contains additional characters (“day“ and “days“, for example, would be considered a match).
l Where to split group l l l Pages or records: Enter exactly where to split the file. Enter 1 to split the file 1 page or record before or after the string, 2 to split the file 2 pages or records before or after the string, or 0 to split the file immediately before or after the string. Before or after: In the previous box, you entered where you wanted to split the file.
l l l l l l l l Stop Branch: If the task is in a branch of the process, the branch is stopped and the job file is returned to the process after the branch. The branch will not produce any output. If the task is not on a branch, the entire process will be stopped. Stop Process: The process is stopped and no more processing is done. No further output is produced.
Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in the Process area. In-Stream Splitter In-Stream Splitter action tasks are used to split non-emulated data files into multiple data files that are passed to subsequent tasks in the process. Note Performing the splitting process on raw, non-emulated data speeds up the splitting process.
l l l l l l l From column: Enter a value corresponding to the first column in which the splitter must start searching for the word. To column: Enter a value corresponding to the last column in which the splitter must start searching for the word. Match case: Select to force the splitter to match the character casing of the string of characters entered above with the characters found in the file. If this option is selected, “DAY” and “Day” will not be considered as matching the search string “day”.
l l l l l l l l l Default: By default, the task is ignored as if it did not exist and the error is logged before continuing the branch or process; the job file is passed on to the next task in the process. When an error occurs in a loop (or in a plugin that acts like a loop), the loop may log the error, terminate the current iteration and proceed with the next iteration.
Comments Tab The Comments tab is common to all tasks. It contains a text area (Task comments) that lets you write comments about the task. These comments are saved when the dialog is closed with the OK button, and are displayed in the Task Comments Pane. Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in the Process area.
l l Page(s) per output: Enter the number of pages to include in the file generated by the splitter in this edit box below or use the spin buttons. Split PDF file on a word: Select to split the data file whenever a given region is found within the PDF data file (rather than on based on pages), or whenever the region found at a given location changes, and to activate the options from this group, which are used to tailor exactly how you want the region based splitting process to take place.
box. Enter 1, for example, to split the file at the beginning of the line that precedes the line on which the condition is met. l l l l Before: If you entered a value other than 0 in the Where to split box, select this option if you want to split the file a given number of lines before the line on which the condition is met.
mind that the resulting PDF may be much larger than it should be and may even be too large for PlanetPress Workflow to handle. l Reset Metadata according to new PDF: Metadata will be recreated according to the new PDF that was created, including page numbering, etc. On Error Tab The On Error tab is common to all tasks. Details can be found in the" Task Properties Dialog" on page 731.
l l l l Store the message in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the message content. ID: Enter an error ID. This ID will be visible in the Windows Event Viewer. However, the ID is not visible in the PlanetPress Workflow log file. Store the ID in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the error ID. Reset to defaults: Resets all options in this tab to their default values.
Processing The file is separated into multiple chunks according to the rules set in the task's properties. Output Multiple data files, sent one after the other to the rest of the tasks in the process. Metadata, job infos and user variables are not modified by this task. Properties General Tab This tab lets you choose the splitter settings for default PlanetPress Workflow XSLT engine. If you want to use your own XSLT engine, click the Alternate XSLT Engine tab.
l l l l l l l l Keep XML structure: Select if you want the generated files to have the exact same structure as the original XML file (all the way to the root node). Add new root node: Select this option and enter a root node name in the box to the right, if you want the generated files to have a structure that begins with a new root name and that then goes directly to the node on which the file was split, as indicated in the Split on node box below.
engine). Note that you should not enter fixed values for the following parameters: the XSLT stylesheet parameter, the source XML data file parameter or the output file parameter. When you click the buttons below, the corresponding parameters are automatically added at the current cursor position. These variables will be replaced by the correct information at run-time. l l l l XSLT file button: Click to add the {XSLTFILE} variable to the command prompt displayed in the box above.
l l l l l l l l Stop Branch: If the task is in a branch of the process, the branch is stopped and the job file is returned to the process after the branch. The branch will not produce any output. If the task is not on a branch, the entire process will be stopped. Stop Process: The process is stopped and no more processing is done. No further output is produced.
Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in the Process area. Process Logic Tasks A process is like a flowchart. The data files captured by the input tasks become job files (see "Data File and Job File" on page 24) that travel down the process. Many processes include multiple process logic tasks. In the Process area, conditional branches appear with their associated condition, allowing you to understand the logic of the whole process at a glance.
The Send to Process action and Go Sub Action are used to send the job file to another process or subprocess and, in the case of the GoSub, to get information back from the subprocess. See "Send to Process" on page 405 and "Go Sub" on page 396. Branch A Branch duplicates your job file along with accompanying information. Branches do not execute in parallel - the branch is executed, and then the trunk (or the following branch) continues.
In case of the failure of a Branch task (the branch itself, not the other tasks contained within), by default the process will ignore the branch and simply go down the main trunk. You can overwrite this in the On Error tab. On Error Tab The On Error tab is common to all tasks. Details can be found in the" Task Properties Dialog" on page 731.
l l l ID: Enter an error ID. This ID will be visible in the Windows Event Viewer. However, the ID is not visible in the PlanetPress Workflow log file. Store the ID in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the error ID. Reset to defaults: Resets all options in this tab to their default values. When storing the message or ID, if they are stored in a jobinfo they will be available in any error handling process where errors are being forwarded.
File Name Condition File Name conditions test the original name of the job file traveling down the process branch, or in other words, the name of the file received by the last input task appearing above the condition. Properties General tab l l File name mask: Enter one file name mask or multiple masks separated by a semicolon (;). See Masks. The condition will be tested True only in the case of an exact match, so consider using wildcard characters.
l l l l l l l l Stop Branch: If the task is in a branch of the process, the branch is stopped and the job file is returned to the process after the branch. The branch will not produce any output. If the task is not on a branch, the entire process will be stopped. Stop Process: The process is stopped and no more processing is done. No further output is produced.
Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in the Process area. File Size Condition File Size conditions test the size of the job file they receive. Note that the job file may include data selections, attachments and documents that were added by other tasks. If a file does not exist, it's file size will be 0kb.
l Action: In the initial input tasks, this group is disabled and defaults to Stop Process. In all other tasks where the On Error tab is present, the following options are available: l l l l l l l l l Default: By default, the task is ignored as if it did not exist and the error is logged before continuing the branch or process; the job file is passed on to the next task in the process.
Comments Tab The Comments tab is common to all tasks. It contains a text area (Task comments) that lets you write comments about the task. These comments are saved when the dialog is closed with the OK button, and are displayed in the Task Comments Pane. Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in the Process area. Go Sub The GoSub action task transfers the execution of the calling process to the specified subprocess.
l l Backup emulation: Select if you want to use the emulation selected when the job file reaches the subprocess for the main process as well. Note that the emulation is not passed from a main process to a subprocess or vice versa. Retrieve subprocess error: Select if you want to receive error(s) from the subprocess in order to handle them on its own. On Error Tab The On Error tab is common to all tasks. Details can be found in the" Task Properties Dialog" on page 731.
l l l l Store the message in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the message content. ID: Enter an error ID. This ID will be visible in the Windows Event Viewer. However, the ID is not visible in the PlanetPress Workflow log file. Store the ID in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the error ID. Reset to defaults: Resets all options in this tab to their default values.
Properties General tab l l l l Number of iterations: The number of times the loop should be repeated. Every task after the Loop action task will be repeated this number of times. The number may be static, or use a variables (See Variable Properties). Store current iteration in Job Info #: The Job Info in which the loop's iteration should be stored. Useful for sequential file names or conditions based on the iteration. The value of this Variable Properties box should be a digit between 1 and 9.
l l l l l l l l l Default: By default, the task is ignored as if it did not exist and the error is logged before continuing the branch or process; the job file is passed on to the next task in the process. When an error occurs in a loop (or in a plugin that acts like a loop), the loop may log the error, terminate the current iteration and proceed with the next iteration.
Comments Tab The Comments tab is common to all tasks. It contains a text area (Task comments) that lets you write comments about the task. These comments are saved when the dialog is closed with the OK button, and are displayed in the Task Comments Pane. Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in the Process area. Run Script Run Script tasks are used to run scripts that typically perform some kind of processing on the job file received by the task.
be within the branch or on the main trunk. To control the output, use the "Script.ReturnValue" on page 119 variable in your script. Properties The Script Editor menu options are as followed: l File l l l Export: Lets you save the current script as a file. l Print: Prints the current script. Edit l Undo: Undo the last edit. l Cut: Cut the current selection (only available if there is selected text in the editor).
l l Perl: Select if your script is written in Perl. l Python: Select if your script is written in Pyton. Tools l l Editor Options...: Opens the "Editor Options" on page 723. Help l Contents and Indexes: Opens the Editor Help (this page) The other options of the window are: l l l The script editor text box: This is where you enter your XSLT Script that will be used.
overwrite the default behaviors. l l l Send to Process: Check this option to send the job file to an error management process. Error Process drop-down: Enabled only when the Send to Process option is checked. Lists any process of which the initial input task is the Input Error Bin task. Action: In the initial input tasks, this group is disabled and defaults to Stop Process.
Common Errors Though some error messages are specific to a task in particular, others may apply to any and all tasks because they are related more to the system than to PlanetPress itself. Some examples would be W3813, W3830, W3991, W4005. These correspond to issues such as not having any space to write files, permission errors on folders or files, etc. Comments Tab The Comments tab is common to all tasks. It contains a text area (Task comments) that lets you write comments about the task.
By default, any action task, branch, splitter or condition that generates an error will simply be ignored, and the task just under it (not within a branch) will be given control of the job file without any modification. Any initial input task that generates an error will stop the process from running as a whole, and output tasks will not generate output. The On Error tab can be used to overwrite the default behaviors.
error, the contents of the variables selected in this window will be available to the rest of your process, or as long as they are not overwritten. Common Errors Though some error messages are specific to a task in particular, others may apply to any and all tasks because they are related more to the system than to PlanetPress itself. Some examples would be W3813, W3830, W3991, W4005. These correspond to issues such as not having any space to write files, permission errors on folders or files, etc.
Properties General tab l Parameters group l l l l l l l Community: Enter the community name for the printer or other SNMP compliant device you want to monitor. A community acts like a combination of a user and password granting you access to an SNMP device. Depending on the community name, the device knows what rights to grant, for example, read-only or read-write. Community names serve as a form of organization and security used with SNMP.
make the condition False whenever a critical alert is detected, regardless of its type. Select Non-critical alert to choose a specific non-critical alert in the Detected error box. Select Critical alert to choose a specific critical alert in the Detected error box. Select Do not test if you only want to test the printer status (above). l l Detected error: Select a specific non-critical or critical alert.
l l l Send to Process: Check this option to send the job file to an error management process. Error Process drop-down: Enabled only when the Send to Process option is checked. Lists any process of which the initial input task is the Input Error Bin task. Action: In the initial input tasks, this group is disabled and defaults to Stop Process.
Common Errors Though some error messages are specific to a task in particular, others may apply to any and all tasks because they are related more to the system than to PlanetPress itself. Some examples would be W3813, W3830, W3991, W4005. These correspond to issues such as not having any space to write files, permission errors on folders or files, etc. Comments Tab The Comments tab is common to all tasks. It contains a text area (Task comments) that lets you write comments about the task.
Properties General tab l l l l l l l String: If you want to test the presence of a given string at a given location, enter the string in this box. If you want to compare two strings or perform a numeric comparison, enter the first string in this box. Note that you can enter either a static string, a variable or a data selection in this box. If you enter a variable, PlanetPress Workflow will retrieve the string from the variable before performing the comparison.
l l l Page range: Select Any page if you do not want to specify a precise data page. Select Pages to specify individual pages or page ranges. The page range setting is only considered when either ”Is found” or ”Is not found” is selected in the Operator box. Range: Entries must be separated by commas. Page ranges are entered using a starting page and an ending page, separated by a dash. For pages 1, 3 and 5 to 7, you would enter the following: 1,3,5-7.
l l l l l Message: Enabled only when the Log Message option is checked. Enter a message that will be logged in the PlanetPress Workflow log file. You can use any variables available in PlanetPress Workflow to customize the message. Store the message in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the message content. ID: Enter an error ID. This ID will be visible in the Windows Event Viewer. However, the ID is not visible in the PlanetPress Workflow log file.
l Action: In the initial input tasks, this group is disabled and defaults to Stop Process. In all other tasks where the On Error tab is present, the following options are available: l l l l l l l l l Default: By default, the task is ignored as if it did not exist and the error is logged before continuing the branch or process; the job file is passed on to the next task in the process.
Comments Tab The Comments tab is common to all tasks. It contains a text area (Task comments) that lets you write comments about the task. These comments are saved when the dialog is closed with the OK button, and are displayed in the Task Comments Pane. Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in the Process area. Time of Day Condition Time of Day conditions test the current time and day.
l Grid: Select separate or contiguous time blocks. Click a block to toggle it on or off. Click and drag to toggle multiple blocks on or off. Click date or day at the top of the grid to toggle the whole date or day on or off. Click a time interval on the left margin of the grid to toggle the whole time interval on or off. l Select All: Click to toggle all the time blocks on. l Clear: Click to toggle all the time blocks off. On Error Tab The On Error tab is common to all tasks.
l l l l l Message: Enabled only when the Log Message option is checked. Enter a message that will be logged in the PlanetPress Workflow log file. You can use any variables available in PlanetPress Workflow to customize the message. Store the message in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the message content. ID: Enter an error ID. This ID will be visible in the Windows Event Viewer. However, the ID is not visible in the PlanetPress Workflow log file.
Create MRDX The Create MRDX action task is used to register a job on a Suretrac server using an MRDX file. The MRDX contains information about the job and its finishing, as well as integrity features use by SureTrac. This task requires a PDF file as an input, along with metadata generated through a document that contains PitneyBowes Scan Codes. Properties General Tab l Register Job to the SureTrac Server group: Check this option to enable the group.
overwrite the default behaviors. l l l Send to Process: Check this option to send the job file to an error management process. Error Process drop-down: Enabled only when the Send to Process option is checked. Lists any process of which the initial input task is the Input Error Bin task. Action: In the initial input tasks, this group is disabled and defaults to Stop Process.
Common Errors Though some error messages are specific to a task in particular, others may apply to any and all tasks because they are related more to the system than to PlanetPress itself. Some examples would be W3813, W3830, W3991, W4005. These correspond to issues such as not having any space to write files, permission errors on folders or files, etc. Comments Tab The Comments tab is common to all tasks. It contains a text area (Task comments) that lets you write comments about the task.
Input Any data file present on a SharePoint document store, even those not compatible with PlanetPress Workflow emulations, and the properties of these files. Processing The task connects to the selected Document store and retrieves a copy of files according to the specified rules. The files may be deleted or marked as checked out depending on the options selected, otherwise they are untouched. Output The output to this task is a series of individual files, one after the other.
l l Do not download checked out documents: If the document is set as "Checked Out" in SharePoint, it will be ignored. Action Group l l l Download the document: Simply download the document and do not modify it in SharePoint. Download the document and mark it as checked out in SharePoint: Download the document and mark it as Checked Out in SharePoint. This is useful for preventing files to be downloaded more than once.
Job Information definitions l l %1 - Source file name: Contains the name of the current captured file. %2 - Directory: Contains the name of the SharePoint director from which the current file was captured. On Error Tab The On Error tab is common to all tasks. Details can be found in the" Task Properties Dialog" on page 731.
l l l l Store the message in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the message content. ID: Enter an error ID. This ID will be visible in the Windows Event Viewer. However, the ID is not visible in the PlanetPress Workflow log file. Store the ID in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the error ID. Reset to defaults: Resets all options in this tab to their default values.
Input Any file that is compatible with Laserfiche (see the Laserfiche user manual for more information on supported files types) Processing A connection is established with the Laserfiche server, the file is uploaded and the metadata in the Laserfiche server is generated correctly. Output The output from this task is the specified file along with the metadata within the Laserfiche server. The file is not directly modified by this task.
l l Configure Templates: Click to open the Configure Templates dialog. See LaserFiche Repository Output - Configure Templates. PlanetPress archive folder: Folder path of the folder capture of the current process. This field is optional and should only be set when publishing PlanetPress Workflow archives that have PDI files.
l Action: In the initial input tasks, this group is disabled and defaults to Stop Process. In all other tasks where the On Error tab is present, the following options are available: l l l l l l l l l Default: By default, the task is ignored as if it did not exist and the error is logged before continuing the branch or process; the job file is passed on to the next task in the process.
Restrictions l l Each Laserfiche Repository Output task uses a connection to Laserfiche. You can use as many Laserfiche Repository Output tasks at the same time as your Laserfiche license allows. If you see the error message ‘The session number was exceeded’ in the PlanetPress Workflow Service Console, it means you have exceeded your allowed number of connections.
task, otherwise it will run as many times as there are metadata sequences, which will result in decreased performance. Input Any compatible data file, requires metadata to be present. Processing The task parses each level of the metadata and, for each field of the specified name it finds, a lookup is made. If a field of the same name appears on multiple levels, the lookup will happen for all fields, on all levels, individually. Output The original data file is unchanged.
l l l l l l l Add Field: Creates a new field with the data. This may cause multiple fields to be created. Replace field value: Replaces any existing field with the new content. Only the last result will be displayed. If the field does not exist, it will create it. Append field value: Ads the data to the existing field within the same one. No "separator" is added. If the field does not exist, it will create it. Result Field: The metadata field name in which the result should be stored.
l Action: In the initial input tasks, this group is disabled and defaults to Stop Process. In all other tasks where the On Error tab is present, the following options are available: l l l l l l l l l Default: By default, the task is ignored as if it did not exist and the error is logged before continuing the branch or process; the job file is passed on to the next task in the process.
Comments Tab The Comments tab is common to all tasks. It contains a text area (Task comments) that lets you write comments about the task. These comments are saved when the dialog is closed with the OK button, and are displayed in the Task Comments Pane. Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in the Process area.
Note Microsoft® Word® needs to be installed for this task to be functional and to test the connection. Input A compatible Microsoft Word Document (see notes). Processing The Word document is converted into a PDF file. If a Mail Merge is made, the mail merge is done in the document before the document is converted into a PDF file. The conversion is done through the use of a printer queue - the document is printed to this queue and the print job is converted to PDF.
Properties General tab l l Microsoft Word Document: Enter a Microsoft® Word® document or template, or click the browse button to navigate to the location of the document. The supported extensions are: *.doc, *.docx, *.dot and *.dotx. Perform Mail Merge: Check when providing a Microsoft® Word® document or template configured for mail merge. l l l l l l Use settings specified in document: Selected to instruct the task to use the connection string and SQL statements stored in the DOC file.
On Error Tab The On Error tab is common to all tasks. Details can be found in the" Task Properties Dialog" on page 731. By default, any action task, branch, splitter or condition that generates an error will simply be ignored, and the task just under it (not within a branch) will be given control of the job file without any modification. Any initial input task that generates an error will stop the process from running as a whole, and output tasks will not generate output.
l l Store the ID in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the error ID. Reset to defaults: Resets all options in this tab to their default values. When storing the message or ID, if they are stored in a jobinfo they will be available in any error handling process where errors are being forwarded.
l l l If using a Microsoft® database such as Access® or Excel®, each software must be installed in the same version. For example, using Microsoft® Word® 2007 with a Microsoft® Access® 2003 database will cause the task to fail. If the database path is specified in the Microsoft® Word® document, the mail merge has to be performed with the settings specified in the document, otherwise the database path provided in the task is ignored and can cause different conflicts.
Properties Repository Tab The Repository tab is where you enter the connection information necessary to create the link between OL Connect or PlanetPress and CaptureOnTheGo. l l l Store ID: Enter a valid Capture OnTheGo Server user name (mandatory). Password: Enter the password (mandatory) that corresponds to the Store ID entered above. Show password: Check this box if you want to see the password you type in the Password box.
l Metadata group: This group lets you determine which Capture OnTheGo users can see the document and where they will see it. l l l Recipients: Enter valid Capture OnTheGo user group names or individual user names in this box. These names determine which users can have access to the document. Click the button marked with a plus sign to add groups of users or individual users to this list box. The list must include at least one entry (otherwise, no one will be able to see the document).
the Download button, if they want to have the document on their device). You may enter ‘Yes’, ‘No’, or a variable. The document will be automatically downloaded if the value is ‘Yes’ (whether entered manually or returned by the variable) and if the recipients list includes only individual user names. In any other case, the document will need to be manually downloaded by the users.
the following tasks (if the Output to Capture OnTheGo task has been added as an Action). l Blank Forms group: Check the This is a blank form option to make the form reusable. The Form will not be deleted from the app's form library when it is submitted, so it can be used over and over again. It will only be deleted from the app's form library after the number of days set in Days to keep each instance.
l Force folder creation: If the folder does not exist, it will be created. l Error if the file name exists: Task will generate an error if the file name is already there. l l Mark the document as checked in: Sets the "Checked in" property of the document on the SharePoint server. Configure Fields: Opens the Configure SharePoint Metadata Fields dialog. Configure SharePoint Metadata Fields dialog This dialog lets you setup the information you want to assign to the SharePoint Metadata information.
Technical Document libraries using the Content Type system in SharePoint 2007 and higher (as well as Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 and higher) are supported in PlanetPress Workflow 7.4 and higher only. Connection Tab l l l l Server Name: The name of the SharePoint server. This can either be a server name (e.g. http://SharePoint2003 ) or an IP address (e.g. http://192.168.1.123 ). Both http:// and https:// (secure) connections are accepted.
l Action: In the initial input tasks, this group is disabled and defaults to Stop Process. In all other tasks where the On Error tab is present, the following options are available: l l l l l l l l l Default: By default, the task is ignored as if it did not exist and the error is logged before continuing the branch or process; the job file is passed on to the next task in the process.
Comments Tab The Comments tab is common to all tasks. It contains a text area (Task comments) that lets you write comments about the task. These comments are saved when the dialog is closed with the OK button, and are displayed in the Task Comments Pane. Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in the Process area.
Task Properties General tab l l l l l Host: Select the IP address of the PlanetPress Fax host to which you want the request to be sent. The Fax configuration is set in the PlanetPress Fax User Options on the target host. Refresh: Click to update the list of IP addresses displayed in the Host drop-down list box. Documents: Select a specific PlanetPress Design document if you want all the jobs to be faxed with that document. You must select a document, pass-troughs are not available.
Technical In some combinations of Microsoft Outlook and Windows versions, it is not possible for Outlook to be opened while PlanetPress Workflow is running, so emails are not sent out automatically. To correct this, make sure to logon to Windows on the PlanetPress Workflow server using the same login that PlanetPress Workflow is using, and open Outlook before starting the PlanetPress Workflow services. You could also use a startup process to start Outlook before the rest of the services.
Properties General tab l l l Host: Select the IP address of the PlanetPress Image host to which you want the request to be sent. Refresh: Click to update the list of IP addresses displayed in the Host drop-down list box. Documents: Select a specific PlanetPress Design document if you want all the jobs to be generated with that document. To use a document chosen at run-time for each job, enter a dynamic document name using a combination of text, variables and data selections.
l Output type: Select the output file type that you want. l l l l l l l l l PDF: The output will be a PDF file. If you select PDF, the DPI and Color Depth options (see below) are disabled and the options available in the PDF tab are enabled. JPEG: The output will be a JPEG file. JPEG is a lossy compression image format that creates small files, compressing continuous tone images (such as scanned photographs) well. TIFF: The output will be a TIFF file.
l l l l l Send Email: Select to send the generated file via email. You enter the emailing properties in the Login, Recipients, and Attachment(s) tabs. Note that the generated file will only be sent if you select the Attach output file(s) option in the Attachment(s) tab. Archive folder: Enter the path of the folder to which output files generated by this task are to be archived. PDF index files (PDI and XML) are also put in this folder.
required. Note that if you make changes and then select a different output option, your changes will be lost. PlanetPress Image supports numerous PDF standards: Standard, High Quality, Custom, and a variety of PDF/VT, PDF/A and PDF/X formats. l General group l l l l l l l l ASCII format: Select to create the PDF file using ASCII characters (instead of the usual 8-bit binary format). This option produces a file suitable for transmission over a 7-bit ASCII link.
l Monochrome images group l l l Compression: Select the compression to use for the monochrome images. Flate compression is lossless, so no data is lost during compression. Flate Mono works well on images with large areas of solid shades or repeating patterns, such as screen shots and simple images created with paint or drawing programs. CCITT typically yields the best compression of monochrome images. It is the compression method developed for fax transmissions.
l Color images group l l l l Compression: Select the compression to use for the color images. Flate is a lossless compression method, so no data is lost in the process. It works well on images with large areas of single shades or repeating patterns, such as screen shots and simple images created with paint or drawing programs. JPEG removes image data and may reduce image quality, but may be suitable for continuous-tone photographs containing more detail than can be reproduced onscreen or in print.
l l l Security Level: The password protection for PDF can be encrypted using one of the available encryption methods (RC4, AES-256 and AES-128). It gives the task the ability to take an existing PDF in input and apply the selected password to the PDF without any change to the quality level of the original PDF. Font group l l l PDF open password: Enter a password in this box only if you want to prevent users who does not have this password from opening the generated PDF files.
global settings so that the task updates a different database than the one set in that global configuration. In order for the settings to work, the Add PDF to PlanetPress Search database must be checked. However, you can override which database will be updating using the option in this window, Override global PlanetPress Search Database settings. The database options then activate.
PrintShop Mail Once you have imported PrintShop Mail documents (see " Import Documents" on page 54) to your PlanetPress Workflow workstation, you can use PrintShop Mail action tasks to output the job file with a selected PrintShop Mail document. PrintShop Mail action tasks let you print as well as generate PostScript or PDF files. The PrintShop Mail and PrintShop Mail 7 action tasks are essentially the same except for the version supported: PrintShop Mail only supports 6.
Properties PSMail tab l l File name: Select a specific PrintShop Mail document if you want all the jobs to be printed with that document. Output type group l Output type: Select the type of output you want the task to generate. l l l l l l l l l l l Select PDF to generate a PDF file. Select Windows PostScript driver to print to a PostScript printer available via Windows. Select Preflight to check if the merging of the data file and document would generate warnings or errors.
l l l l Layout: Select which layout to use to produce the JPG file (output is limited to a single image). This option is only available when JPG is selected in the Output type box. User generated file as output: The output from the plugin will be the file generated by the merging (depending on the output type selected). This option is not available in the Windows PostScript Driver output type. User original data as output: The output from the plugin will be original data file.
l l l l l l l l Stop Branch: If the task is in a branch of the process, the branch is stopped and the job file is returned to the process after the branch. The branch will not produce any output. If the task is not on a branch, the entire process will be stopped. Stop Process: The process is stopped and no more processing is done. No further output is produced.
Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in the Process area. PlanetPress Capture Note PlanetPress Capture is only available in version 7.2 and higher of PlanetPress Workflow. It is not available in older versions nor is it available in PlanetPress Office and PlanetPress Watch. PlanetPress Capture is a set of tools available in PlanetPress Workflow that enable output and input for interaction with an Anoto Digital Pen.
used, the data file and metadata are completely ignored by this task's condition rules, and the database information is used instead. Processing The condition is evaluated using the specified rules, combination (condition is true when...) and scope (condition scope). Output The original data file and metadata is output by this task. If the rules used in the condition return True, the data and metadata is sent down in the condition's branch. Otherwise, this same information is sent in the trunk.
l l l Document is on error: Condition will be true if a logical error was triggered while processing the PGC. This can happen, for example, if a field was re-written when it should not, a List Field set to only accept one option contains ink in both options, etc. Condition based on Pattern Availability : Select to base the condition on the availability or non availability of patterns in a specific pattern sequence.
l l Pidget setting: Triggered by specific pidget settings. l l l l l l l Before: If the first stroke found in the Capture Field was made earlier than the specified date and time, the condition becomes true. After: If the first stroke found in the Capture Field was made later than the specified date and time, the condition becomes true.
l l ICR Confidence: Triggered when the confidence percentage the ICR engine gave to the ICR value compares with the value determined in the "Confidence" box, using the chosen comparison operator. ICR Resemblance: Triggered then the resemblance percentage the ICR engine gave to the ICR value in relation to its recognition database compares with the value determined in the "Resemblance" box, using the chosen comparison operator. For more information on ICR, see PlanetPress Capture ICR.
without any modification. Any initial input task that generates an error will stop the process from running as a whole, and output tasks will not generate output. The On Error tab can be used to overwrite the default behaviors. l l l Send to Process: Check this option to send the job file to an error management process. Error Process drop-down: Enabled only when the Send to Process option is checked. Lists any process of which the initial input task is the Input Error Bin task.
Common Errors Though some error messages are specific to a task in particular, others may apply to any and all tasks because they are related more to the system than to PlanetPress itself. Some examples would be W3813, W3830, W3991, W4005. These correspond to issues such as not having any space to write files, permission errors on folders or files, etc. Comments Tab The Comments tab is common to all tasks. It contains a text area (Task comments) that lets you write comments about the task.
You may also use a Metadata Sequencer task in order to split the job into multiple parts. This both creates multiple smaller outputs, as well as multiple smaller PDFs in the Capture database. While it is not recommended to separate each document on its own as it removes all optimization and makes the database much larger, you may split into document batches such as 250, 1000 or 2500 documents.
Properties Pattern Generator action task properties are as follows: l l l Capture Document: Choose the PlanetPress Design capture ready document that will be used to generate the output including the capture fields. Document Title: Enter a name for the document that will be saved inside the PlanetPress Capture Database. This name should be unique and recognizable and will be used later to retrieve the document form using the Get Capture Document action task.
l Basic Functional Capture Workflow l Capture Web Manager Workflow On Error Tab The On Error tab is common to all tasks. Details can be found in the" Task Properties Dialog" on page 731. By default, any action task, branch, splitter or condition that generates an error will simply be ignored, and the task just under it (not within a branch) will be given control of the job file without any modification.
l l l ID: Enter an error ID. This ID will be visible in the Windows Event Viewer. However, the ID is not visible in the PlanetPress Workflow log file. Store the ID in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the error ID. Reset to defaults: Resets all options in this tab to their default values. When storing the message or ID, if they are stored in a jobinfo they will be available in any error handling process where errors are being forwarded.
Input This task requires a PGC file that has been obtained from an Anoto Digital Pen that was used to write on documents generated from the same PlanetPress Workflow installation. Processing The PlanetPress Capture Fields Processor action task receives and processes the information sent by the Anoto digital pen and updates all the documents in the PlanetPress Capture Database using the information from the pen. Any ink in the pen is added as an EPS (image) layer on the PDF inside the Capture Database.
l Document Level l l l l l l l l l CapCloseDate: Date at which the document was closed by Capture Field Generator. Blank if the document is still open. CapDocID: The database ID of the document. This field is useful especially if using the Capture API since the ID corresponds to the itembyID function. CapDocName: The name of the document as specified in the Capture Field Generator. CapOpenDate: The date at which the document was created by the Capture Field Generator.
Properties Capture Fields Processor action task properties are as follows: l l PGC Name: This value will be added to the output metadata, as well as the Capture Database, to link the PGC to the document it updates. Pattern sequence group l Type: Specify from where the Pattern Sequence should be taken. l l l l l l l l l Pen Information: Use the Pattern Sequence assigned to the pen in the PlanetPress Capture Database.
l l At the Document node, timestamp information such as ink start/end time At the Page node, information about each Capture Field such as its name, dimensions, style, index, mask, timestamp and content status. Technical When the "ignore out of bounds ink data" option is checked, this option modifies the way that the On Error tab reacts. When a single split is processed and generates an error, only that split triggers the On Error tab. The other splits continue processing as usual.
loop may log the error, terminate the current iteration and proceed with the next iteration. l l l l l l l l Stop Branch: If the task is in a branch of the process, the branch is stopped and the job file is returned to the process after the branch. The branch will not produce any output. If the task is not on a branch, the entire process will be stopped. Stop Process: The process is stopped and no more processing is done. No further output is produced.
Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in the Process area. Capture PGC Splitter The Capture PGC Splitter task can be used to separate each document into its own PGC file so they can be processed separately. The splitter then sends each document PGC to the next action, which should be the Capture Fields Processor task.
Task Properties General tab l Pattern sequence group: Determines what Pattern Sequence will be assigned to each PGC file. l Type: Specify from where the Pattern Sequence should be taken. l l l l None: Do not use a Pattern Sequence. Pen Information: Use the Pattern Sequence assigned to the pen in the PlanetPress Capture Database. Custom: Overwrite the pen's information and specify a Pattern Sequence manually or use a data selection.
l l l l l l l l Stop Branch: If the task is in a branch of the process, the branch is stopped and the job file is returned to the process after the branch. The branch will not produce any output. If the task is not on a branch, the entire process will be stopped. Stop Process: The process is stopped and no more processing is done. No further output is produced.
Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in the Process area. "Anoto" and the Anoto logotype are trademarks owned by Anoto AB. PLANETPRESS CAPTURE is based on Anoto Digital Pen and Paper Technology, which is covered by over 200 patents worldwide, including but not limited to US6663008, US7172131, US7248250, US7281668, JP3872498, JP3842283, CN1595440, SE517445, RU2256225, and AU773011.
l Metadata Level: A drop-down list containing all of the levels of Metadata. Choose the one where the ICR data will be added. On Error Tab The On Error tab is common to all tasks. Details can be found in the" Task Properties Dialog" on page 731. By default, any action task, branch, splitter or condition that generates an error will simply be ignored, and the task just under it (not within a branch) will be given control of the job file without any modification.
l l l ID: Enter an error ID. This ID will be visible in the Windows Event Viewer. However, the ID is not visible in the PlanetPress Workflow log file. Store the ID in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the error ID. Reset to defaults: Resets all options in this tab to their default values. When storing the message or ID, if they are stored in a jobinfo they will be available in any error handling process where errors are being forwarded.
Technical The Find Capture Document task makes multiple simultaneous statements to the database when requesting a list of documents. For this task to work, the option "Allow multiple statements" must be checked in the ODBC connection setup done in the control panel. Input Because this task in an input task, it does not use the current job file in your process, even when used as a secondary input task.
l Filter: The selected filter type. This can be any of the following: l l l l l l l l l l Document Name: The name of the document, as specified in the Document Name property of the "Capture Fields Generator" on page 467. Date Generated: The date, in YYYY-MM-DD format, when the document was generated through the Capture Field Generator. Date Closed: The date, in YYYY-MM-DD format, when the document was closed by the Capture Field Processor or Get Capture Document tasks.
l l l l l l l l l l l l l Less than or equal to: Numerical comparison, where anything lower or equal to than the specified value is included. Greater than or equal to: Numerical comparison, where anything higher or equal to than the specified value is included. Contains: Inclusive string comparison, documents where the specified value is present within the chosen filter are included.
Warning The Advanced Data File option will generate a high number of queries into the Capture Database, and will be slower than a regular data file by orders of magnitude.
l l l l l l l l Stop Branch: If the task is in a branch of the process, the branch is stopped and the job file is returned to the process after the branch. The branch will not produce any output. If the task is not on a branch, the entire process will be stopped. Stop Process: The process is stopped and no more processing is done. No further output is produced.
Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in the Process area. Get Capture Document The Get Capture Document action task is used after the Capture Fields Processor to retrieve all documents that have been updated. Input A data file in PGC or PDF format that is accompanied by valid Metadata. This metadata must contain Capture information and is generally available after a "Capture Fields Processor" on page 471 or "Find Capture Documents" on page 482 task.
In addition, any ICR information available (when using PlanetPress Capture ICR) will be placed at the Page Level, as follows: l l ICR_[FieldName]_Val : The value of the text that was recognized by the ICR engine, for the field named [FieldName]. If the field is not and ICR field or if that field contains no ink, the value will be empty. ICR_[FieldName]_Cfd : The confidence value (in percentage) of the engine for the value provided.
l Capture Web Manager Workflow On Error Tab The On Error tab is common to all tasks. Details can be found in the" Task Properties Dialog" on page 731. By default, any action task, branch, splitter or condition that generates an error will simply be ignored, and the task just under it (not within a branch) will be given control of the job file without any modification. Any initial input task that generates an error will stop the process from running as a whole, and output tasks will not generate output.
l l l ID: Enter an error ID. This ID will be visible in the Windows Event Viewer. However, the ID is not visible in the PlanetPress Workflow log file. Store the ID in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the error ID. Reset to defaults: Resets all options in this tab to their default values. When storing the message or ID, if they are stored in a jobinfo they will be available in any error handling process where errors are being forwarded.
it will always return False. Input A PGC file received from an Anoto digital pen. Processing The ink contained in the PGC file is converted into an EPS layer, which is then applied on an blank, empty PDF file of the size specified in the task's properties. If more than one Pattern ID is found in the PGC file, each separate Pattern ID will generate a new page on which its ink is applied. Output A PDF file with a blank background and only the ink data found in the PGC file.
On Error Tab The On Error tab is common to all tasks. Details can be found in the" Task Properties Dialog" on page 731. By default, any action task, branch, splitter or condition that generates an error will simply be ignored, and the task just under it (not within a branch) will be given control of the job file without any modification. Any initial input task that generates an error will stop the process from running as a whole, and output tasks will not generate output.
l l Store the ID in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the error ID. Reset to defaults: Resets all options in this tab to their default values. When storing the message or ID, if they are stored in a jobinfo they will be available in any error handling process where errors are being forwarded.
l "Metadata Sorter" on page 515 l "Metadata to PDI" on page 518 l "Metadata-Based N-Up" on page 520 Create Metadata Creates all the metadata that is either the result of the merging between a data file and a PlanetPress Design document, or the information about a PDF File. Input Either a data file in any supported Emulation, or a PDF File.
Properties General Tab l l Documents: Select a specific PlanetPress Design document you want all the jobs metadata information generated for. Add job information to the document: Select to prompt your PlanetPress Workflow to add the available job information elements in the header of the generated file. Note that this option is only enabled if a document was selected.
loop may log the error, terminate the current iteration and proceed with the next iteration. l l l l l l l l Stop Branch: If the task is in a branch of the process, the branch is stopped and the job file is returned to the process after the branch. The branch will not produce any output. If the task is not on a branch, the entire process will be stopped. Stop Process: The process is stopped and no more processing is done. No further output is produced.
Input A PDF File, either with no metadata and along with metadata that presumably corresponds to the PDF file, or a PDF file with embedded metadata. Processing If the Embed option is used, the metadata information is embedded directly into the PDF File as binary data. This does not change the way the PDF is viewed by any PDF viewer. If the Extract option is used, metadata present inside of the PDF file is extracted from it. If no metadata is embedded, the task generates an error W3976.
l l l Send to Process: Check this option to send the job file to an error management process. Error Process drop-down: Enabled only when the Send to Process option is checked. Lists any process of which the initial input task is the Input Error Bin task. Action: In the initial input tasks, this group is disabled and defaults to Stop Process.
Common Errors Though some error messages are specific to a task in particular, others may apply to any and all tasks because they are related more to the system than to PlanetPress itself. Some examples would be W3813, W3830, W3991, W4005. These correspond to issues such as not having any space to write files, permission errors on folders or files, etc. Comments Tab The Comments tab is common to all tasks. It contains a text area (Task comments) that lets you write comments about the task.
Updating all nodes For a given Metadata Field Management action, all nodes of a given level might be updated with a New Field value. To accommodate this, all metadata/data selection functions accept a wildcard parameter "?", indicating the function operates on all nodes (not just one) of a given level. See: "Data selections" on page 26.
l l Delete: Delete the metadata field if it exists and disable the Field information column's Field value option. Field Information: Specify the metadata node level, field name and field value of the specified action. l l l l Level: Choose between Job, Group, Document, Datapage. The task will loop through each selected node of the chosen metadata level. l Job: Apply the action on the specified field at the Job level. l Group: Apply the action on the specified field at the Group level.
On Error Tab The On Error tab is common to all tasks. Details can be found in the" Task Properties Dialog" on page 731. By default, any action task, branch, splitter or condition that generates an error will simply be ignored, and the task just under it (not within a branch) will be given control of the job file without any modification. Any initial input task that generates an error will stop the process from running as a whole, and output tasks will not generate output.
l l Store the ID in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the error ID. Reset to defaults: Resets all options in this tab to their default values. When storing the message or ID, if they are stored in a jobinfo they will be available in any error handling process where errors are being forwarded.
Output This task outputs the exact same data that was given to it. Its metadata will either be missing (Delete Metadata), Changed (Load Metadata) or the same (Save Metadata). Properties l Chose an action group l l l l l Load metadata file: Loads an external metadata file that was previously saved. This can be useful in Error processes if you have previously saved the Metadata to file (ErrorBin outputs do not transfer Metadata).
l l l l l l l l l Default: By default, the task is ignored as if it did not exist and the error is logged before continuing the branch or process; the job file is passed on to the next task in the process. When an error occurs in a loop (or in a plugin that acts like a loop), the loop may log the error, terminate the current iteration and proceed with the next iteration.
Comments Tab The Comments tab is common to all tasks. It contains a text area (Task comments) that lets you write comments about the task. These comments are saved when the dialog is closed with the OK button, and are displayed in the Task Comments Pane. Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in the Process area. Metadata Filter The task allows specifying the Level (Group, Document and Datapage) on which to perform the action and under which condition.
l l l l Document: Select the metadata Document nodes (the nodes only) based on the specified rule(s). Datapage: Select the metadata Datapage nodes (the nodes only) based on the specified rule(s). Rules: Define according to which criteria the action must to be performed. The condition must be TRUE to execute the action. All nodes on a specific level with false condition become Unselected. The task effectively both selects and deselects nodes based on the condition.
l l l l l l l l Stop Branch: If the task is in a branch of the process, the branch is stopped and the job file is returned to the process after the branch. The branch will not produce any output. If the task is not on a branch, the entire process will be stopped. Stop Process: The process is stopped and no more processing is done. No further output is produced.
Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in the Process area. Special Considerations l l The task CANNOT re-select unselected nodes if the condition is false for those nodes. Filter rules cannot be based on the following metadata attributes: SelectedIndexInJob, SelectedIndexInGroup, SelectedIndexInDocument and SelectedIndex. Metadata Level Creation Conditionally creates new metadata groups or documents.
1. WinQueue Input: Intercepts a printed data file sent to a Windows printer queue. 2. Metadata Level Creation: Begins a new document node when “Page 1 of” is found on a data page. l Action: Document l Delimiter: Begins when l Rule: (@(?,1,1,1,9,KeepCase,NoTrim) IS EQUAL TO Page 1 of) 3. Metadata Sequencer: Splits the data file on each metadata document node level.
Group or Document. If the delimiter option is set to None, the action is not performed. l Rules enable the user to define on which criteria the action must to be performed. The condition must be TRUE to execute the action. If the condition is not met at least once, the rule is not applied. To set up conditions, the Rule Interface is displayed, allowing to edit the condition for the given action. See the Rule Interface page for more details. On Error Tab The On Error tab is common to all tasks.
l l l l Store the message in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the message content. ID: Enter an error ID. This ID will be visible in the Windows Event Viewer. However, the ID is not visible in the PlanetPress Workflow log file. Store the ID in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the error ID. Reset to defaults: Resets all options in this tab to their default values.
where "?" represents the current page. Using this expression, if the metadata structure has 3 data pages, then the task will proceed 3 times sequentially, with ?=1 for the first data page, ?=2 for the second and ?=3 for the third and last data page index from the metadata structure. In the Metadata tab of the Data Selector, the syntax of the selection is: GetMeta(ItemDesc[?], 2, Job.Group[?].Document[?].Datapage[?]) where "?" is replaced with the current level index.
Properties General Tab l Metadata level: Select the metadata level to process. l Sequencing is based on l l l The following number of occurrences of the level: Determine a sequence based on the number of instances found for the metadata level currently processed. For example, if the Metadata level is set to Group, and this value is set to 3, each sequence contains 3 groups (except, possibly, the last one, depending on the number of groups left in the last sequence).
General Tab l Group: Sorts the metadata by group. l Document: Sorts the metadata by document. l Data page: Sorts the metadata by data page. For each parameter, three columns are available: Sort By, Then by, Then by (again). This lets you sort your document level in three different orders sequentially. Sorts are always done from left to right, top to bottom, giving you a total of 9 sorting possibilities.
l Action: In the initial input tasks, this group is disabled and defaults to Stop Process. In all other tasks where the On Error tab is present, the following options are available: l l l l l l l l l Default: By default, the task is ignored as if it did not exist and the error is logged before continuing the branch or process; the job file is passed on to the next task in the process.
Comments Tab The Comments tab is common to all tasks. It contains a text area (Task comments) that lets you write comments about the task. These comments are saved when the dialog is closed with the OK button, and are displayed in the Task Comments Pane. Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in the Process area. Metadata to PDI The Metadata to PDI task takes the active metadata and generates a PDI using the information in that metadata.
l l Filename: The file name for the PDI. This name should correspond exactly with the name of the PDF that the PDI file refers to. Index Group: l l PDI: Only generate a PDI file. PDI and XML: Generate both the PDI and an XML equivalent (not used by PlanetPress Search). On Error Tab The On Error tab is common to all tasks. Details can be found in the" Task Properties Dialog" on page 731.
l l l l l Message: Enabled only when the Log Message option is checked. Enter a message that will be logged in the PlanetPress Workflow log file. You can use any variables available in PlanetPress Workflow to customize the message. Store the message in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the message content. ID: Enter an error ID. This ID will be visible in the Windows Event Viewer. However, the ID is not visible in the PlanetPress Workflow log file.
functionality in the design tool, especially when the solution includes duplex printing with variable data on both sides. The PlanetPress Design document needs to be properly set up with the N-Up object and proper virtual pages in order to correctly use this task: l l l l All PlanetPress Design document templates must use the n-up object on both the front and the back pages of the duplex document. Each instance of the n-up object must have the “change data page with each repeat” option checked.
On Error Tab The On Error tab is common to all tasks. Details can be found in the" Task Properties Dialog" on page 731. By default, any action task, branch, splitter or condition that generates an error will simply be ignored, and the task just under it (not within a branch) will be given control of the job file without any modification. Any initial input task that generates an error will stop the process from running as a whole, and output tasks will not generate output.
l l Store the ID in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the error ID. Reset to defaults: Resets all options in this tab to their default values. When storing the message or ID, if they are stored in a jobinfo they will be available in any error handling process where errors are being forwarded.
All In One The All In One task is a combination of 4 different OL Connect tasks within a single one. This makes creating Print content faster and more easily, as the task is optimized for this specific purpose with less data exchanged with the server as well as multi-threading support. The task is build with 3 tabs that represent the 3 main steps of the creation of a Print Output: Data Mapping, Content Creation and Output Creation.
l l l Configuration Names: Select the appropriate data mapping configuration. Adding configurations is done through the Send to Workflow option in the DataMapper Module. Click the Open data model of selected configuration button to view the data model attached to the configuration in the Data Mapper module, to verify that the right one is used. Only works for configurations listed (will not work for "None" or "Dynamic" options).
l l l Rule Viewer: Displays a text-based view of the condition using operators and parentheses. Sort contents: Defines how records are sorted. l l l Export the rule: Click to open a Save dialog and save the Rules file to disk. Sort items based on: Displays the current sorting method. To modify the sorting method, click on the [...] button at the right of the box to open the Sort Parameters dialog.
By default the entire Print context is printed. Printing selected Print sections can only be achieved with a Control Script in the template (see Control Scripts in the Designer Help). Output Creation Tab The Output Creation tab generates the output for the current job, using the selected Output Creation Preset. Note that the Job Creation task normally necessary when using the individual tasks is implicitly executed before output creation.
By default, any action task, branch, splitter or condition that generates an error will simply be ignored, and the task just under it (not within a branch) will be given control of the job file without any modification. Any initial input task that generates an error will stop the process from running as a whole, and output tasks will not generate output. The On Error tab can be used to overwrite the default behaviors.
error, the contents of the variables selected in this window will be available to the rest of your process, or as long as they are not overwritten. Common Errors Though some error messages are specific to a task in particular, others may apply to any and all tasks because they are related more to the system than to PlanetPress itself. Some examples would be W3813, W3830, W3991, W4005. These correspond to issues such as not having any space to write files, permission errors on folders or files, etc.
Create Email Content The Create Email Content task generates a set of email content items from a template's Email Context, which are then sent directly to the recipient set in each record. Input This task must receive the information regarding a valid Record Set. This can be the output of the Create Record Set task, or a Record Set retrieved using the Retrieve Items task. Processing This task loops through each record in the Record Set. For each record, an HTML Email is generated using the record's data.
l Email information group: l l l l l Sender Address: Enter the email address that appears in the "From" field of the email. Mail host: Enter the address of the SMTP server through which emails should be routed. The address can include a port number. This information should be available from your IT staff. Send emails to sender (test mode): Check to ignore the email address from each record and send all emails to the address entered in the Sender Address field instead.
l OL Connect Proxy Address: Enter the machine name or IP Address where the OL Connect Server resides. l Port: Enter the port to use to communicate with the OL Connect Server. Default: 9340 l User name: Enter the user name expected by the OL Connect Server. l Password: Enter the password expected by the OL Connect Server for the above user name. On Error Tab The On Error tab is common to all tasks. Details can be found in the" Task Properties Dialog" on page 731.
l l l l l Message: Enabled only when the Log Message option is checked. Enter a message that will be logged in the PlanetPress Workflow log file. You can use any variables available in PlanetPress Workflow to customize the message. Store the message in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the message content. ID: Enter an error ID. This ID will be visible in the Windows Event Viewer. However, the ID is not visible in the PlanetPress Workflow log file.
Input The task expects to have a valid Print Content Set, output from the Create Print Content task, or the result of the Retrieve Items task set to retrieve either Content Items or Content Set. Note The result of a Retrieve Items task cannot be used with a Job Creation Preset. Use the IDs in the metadata instead (see the Properties below). Processing The task prepares the content items or content sets for printing, tagging them as printable.
Note Defaults are not used unless the configuration is sent to the Workflow service. l OL Connect Proxy Address: Enter the machine name or IP Address where the OL Connect Server resides. l Port: Enter the port to use to communicate with the OL Connect Server. Default: 9340 l User name: Enter the user name expected by the OL Connect Server. l Password: Enter the password expected by the OL Connect Server for the above user name. On Error Tab The On Error tab is common to all tasks.
l l l l l l l Stop Process: The process is stopped and no more processing is done. No further output is produced. Log Message: Check this option to enable logging a custom error message in the PlanetPress Workflow log file and in the Windows Application Events. Message: Enabled only when the Log Message option is checked. Enter a message that will be logged in the PlanetPress Workflow log file. You can use any variables available in PlanetPress Workflow to customize the message.
Create Output The Create Output task generates Print output in a format specified by a Connect Print Preset and sends this output to the appropriate target location. This task can be added as an Action task (see Action Tasks) or as an Output task. An Output task is always located at the end of a process or branch. Add it as an Action task if the process or branch should continue after this task. Note When added as an Output task, the Create Output plugin works asynchronously to the Workflow process.
l l l "%o": Select to use a dynamic preset name. Click on %o to change the expression that determines the name of the preset to use. The preset name must be available in the list below. Preset Names: Select the appropriate preset to generate output. Output Management group: l l As defined by Output Preset: Select to send the output of the job to the location set in the Print Preset (file, printer, etc). Through Workflow: Select to replace the current job file with the output produced by the server.
By default, any action task, branch, splitter or condition that generates an error will simply be ignored, and the task just under it (not within a branch) will be given control of the job file without any modification. Any initial input task that generates an error will stop the process from running as a whole, and output tasks will not generate output. The On Error tab can be used to overwrite the default behaviors.
error, the contents of the variables selected in this window will be available to the rest of your process, or as long as they are not overwritten. Common Errors Though some error messages are specific to a task in particular, others may apply to any and all tasks because they are related more to the system than to PlanetPress itself. Some examples would be W3813, W3830, W3991, W4005. These correspond to issues such as not having any space to write files, permission errors on folders or files, etc.
Properties The Create PDF/VT action task properties are as follows (note that the Connect Proxy tab is not present as this task does not communicate with the OL Connect Server module): General Tab l l l Documents: Select a specific PlanetPress Design document if you want all the jobs to be generated with that document. Recipient Node: Use the drop-down to select which level of the metadata is used as the "Recipient" node.
l l l l l l l l Stop Branch: If the task is in a branch of the process, the branch is stopped and the job file is returned to the process after the branch. The branch will not produce any output. If the task is not on a branch, the entire process will be stopped. Stop Process: The process is stopped and no more processing is done. No further output is produced.
Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in the Process area. Create Preview PDF The Create Preview PDF plugin generates a PDF preview for a single record as fast as possible. This preview is typically used for previews embedded in web pages. The plugin retrieves the resulting PDF from the file store and makes it available to the process as the job data file. The job file name extension is .pdf.
improve data mapping performance significantly, as well as the time required for the cleanup process. However, since the data is not written to the database, there is no way to do post-processing on the extracted data. Any post-processors defined in the data mapping configuration will be disabled. This option is unchecked by default. Note When the data mapping configuration provides multiple records, the preview is created based on the first record.
Note The Metadata option requires that entries in the metadata have matching field names in the data model of the template. When they have, the values are passed to the template and the personalization scripts of the template will have access to the values through the record's data fields. (See the Designer help: Adding Variable Data). Using JSON In web environments, it is common to send and retrieve data from a server using an AJAX request (typically invoked from within a JavaScript).
A JSON string containing a local variable and various lookups: { "jobid":"%{jobid}", "account":"lookup(OLCS_jobs, account, jobid, '%{jobid}')", "datafile_name":"lookup(OLCS_jobs, datafile_name, jobid, '% {jobid}')", "pages":"lookup(OLCS_jobs, pages, jobid, '%{jobid}')", "documents":"lookup(OLCS_jobs, documents, jobid, '%{jobid}')", "recordsetid":"lookup(OLCS_jobs, recordsetid, jobid, '%{jobid}')" } An example where the entire JSON string is provided in Job Info 1: %1 A JSON string constructed with informati
l l %o: Select to use a dynamic template name. Click on %o to change the expression that determines the name of the template to use. A template name: Select the appropriate template name from the list. Adding templates to this list is done from the Send to Workflow option in the Designer module. A preview will be displayed of the output generated by the Print context of the selected template. (Not available for a dynamic template name).
loop may log the error, terminate the current iteration and proceed with the next iteration. l l l l l l l l Stop Branch: If the task is in a branch of the process, the branch is stopped and the job file is returned to the process after the branch. The branch will not produce any output. If the task is not on a branch, the entire process will be stopped. Stop Process: The process is stopped and no more processing is done. No further output is produced.
Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in the Process area. Create Print Content The Create Print Content task generates a set of printable content items from a template's Print Context, and saves those content items in the database until output creation is requested.
l l Record ID: Enter a valid ID for a record. This record must be valid for the template used. Update Records from Metadata: If the process metadata has been modified by any Metadata related task, check to use the updated metadata. Otherwise, only the ID of the current job is sent, and the metadata on the Server is used. OL Connect Proxy Tab This tab is common to all OL Connect tasks and defines where to process the jobs sent through these tasks.
l Action: In the initial input tasks, this group is disabled and defaults to Stop Process. In all other tasks where the On Error tab is present, the following options are available: l l l l l l l l l Default: By default, the task is ignored as if it did not exist and the error is logged before continuing the branch or process; the job file is passed on to the next task in the process.
Comments Tab The Comments tab is common to all tasks. It contains a text area (Task comments) that lets you write comments about the task. These comments are saved when the dialog is closed with the OK button, and are displayed in the Task Comments Pane. Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in the Process area.
Properties General Tab l Template File: l l l l l "%o": Select to use a dynamic template name. Click on %o to change the expression that determines the name of the template to use. Template Names: Select the appropriate template. Adding template is done through the Send to Workflow option in the Designer Module. Record ID: Enter a valid ID for a record. This record must be valid for the template used.
On Error Tab The On Error tab is common to all tasks. Details can be found in the" Task Properties Dialog" on page 731. By default, any action task, branch, splitter or condition that generates an error will simply be ignored, and the task just under it (not within a branch) will be given control of the job file without any modification. Any initial input task that generates an error will stop the process from running as a whole, and output tasks will not generate output.
l l Store the ID in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the error ID. Reset to defaults: Resets all options in this tab to their default values. When storing the message or ID, if they are stored in a jobinfo they will be available in any error handling process where errors are being forwarded.
If the data mapping configuration expects a database data source, the Data Source option is ignored and the database is accessed instead. If a PDF/VT file is used, the data mapping configuration option is optional - if one is present, it must be able to read the PDF/VT. Output The output to this task is twofold. On the OL Connect Server side, a Record Set containing multiple records is created and saved. On PlanetPress Workflow side, metadata is returned with information about each record set.
OL Connect Proxy Tab This tab is common to all OL Connect tasks and defines where to process the jobs sent through these tasks. When these fields are empty, they use the defaults set in the OL Connect User Options page of the preferences. Note Defaults are not used unless the configuration is sent to the Workflow service. l OL Connect Proxy Address: Enter the machine name or IP Address where the OL Connect Server resides. l Port: Enter the port to use to communicate with the OL Connect Server.
iteration. l l l l l l l l Stop Branch: If the task is in a branch of the process, the branch is stopped and the job file is returned to the process after the branch. The branch will not produce any output. If the task is not on a branch, the entire process will be stopped. Stop Process: The process is stopped and no more processing is done. No further output is produced.
Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in the Process area. Mark Connect Sets for Deletion The Mark Connect Sets for Deletion task indicates that an item in the Connect Database should be deleted the next time the Database Cleanup runs. This means that whatever item is set for deletion will no longer be available from the database. Input The task requires a valid metadata file containing items for deletion, including Job Sets, Content Sets and Data Sets.
Note Defaults are not used unless the configuration is sent to the Workflow service. l OL Connect Proxy Address: Enter the machine name or IP Address where the OL Connect Server resides. l Port: Enter the port to use to communicate with the OL Connect Server. Default: 9340 l User name: Enter the user name expected by the OL Connect Server. l Password: Enter the password expected by the OL Connect Server for the above user name. On Error Tab The On Error tab is common to all tasks.
l l l l l l l Stop Process: The process is stopped and no more processing is done. No further output is produced. Log Message: Check this option to enable logging a custom error message in the PlanetPress Workflow log file and in the Windows Application Events. Message: Enabled only when the Log Message option is checked. Enter a message that will be logged in the PlanetPress Workflow log file. You can use any variables available in PlanetPress Workflow to customize the message.
Merge Jobs The Merge Jobs action task merges an external metadata file containing an OL Connect Job with the current job file. Input The task must receive a Job metadata file, which is output from the Create Job task. The selected metadata file must also be the output of a Create Job task. Processing The current metadata file is merged with the selected external metadata file. Output The task outputs a merged Job metadata file which can be used in the Create Output task.
l Action: In the initial input tasks, this group is disabled and defaults to Stop Process. In all other tasks where the On Error tab is present, the following options are available: l l l l l l l l l Default: By default, the task is ignored as if it did not exist and the error is logged before continuing the branch or process; the job file is passed on to the next task in the process.
Comments Tab The Comments tab is common to all tasks. It contains a text area (Task comments) that lets you write comments about the task. These comments are saved when the dialog is closed with the OK button, and are displayed in the Task Comments Pane. Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in the Process area. Retrieve Items The Retrieve Items action task locates and extracts items from the OL Connect Database so they can be used with further tasks.
l l l l l l l l l l l l Content Set: Retrieves one or more Content Sets, including all their content items. Output similar to the Create Print Content task. Job: Retrieves one or more Jobs, including all their content items ready to be printed. Output similar to the Create Job task. Condition: Select entities based on one or more conditions, the value of a metadata field for example. Record ID: Select records based on their Record ID.
l Output records in Json: Select to output the records in JSON format. This allows easy handling of the results through scripting in Workflow or in the Designer. The JSON structure includes a schema entry with information about the types of all fields at the beginning of the record, and the data set with values after the schema.
"ItemOrdered": false } }, { "id": 3678079, "fields": { "ItemTotal": "29.99", "ItemShipped": 1.0, "ItemOrdered": "false" } }], "detail2": [{ "id": 3678080, "fields": { "ItemUnitPrice": "1150.00", "ItemOrdered": 2 } }, { "id": 3678081, "fields": { "ItemUnitPrice": "29.99", "ItemOrdered": 1 } }] } } ] The values could be retrieved in JavaScript as follows: var foo = record.fields.ID; var bar = record.tables.details[0].fields.
selected in the General Tab's "Entity to retrieve" drop-down. To modify any of the following options, click in the Parameters box and then click the [...] button that appears. l Document contents: Defines the Document ("Mail Piece") level and how they are built. l l l Pick items based on: Use the [...] to open the Pick Parameters dialog and define how to pick which items will be placed in each document. Content items picked using this method will be part of the same mail piece.
On Error Tab The On Error tab is common to all tasks. Details can be found in the" Task Properties Dialog" on page 731. By default, any action task, branch, splitter or condition that generates an error will simply be ignored, and the task just under it (not within a branch) will be given control of the job file without any modification. Any initial input task that generates an error will stop the process from running as a whole, and output tasks will not generate output.
l l Store the ID in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the error ID. Reset to defaults: Resets all options in this tab to their default values. When storing the message or ID, if they are stored in a jobinfo they will be available in any error handling process where errors are being forwarded.
l Validate Names: Click to check the each of line in the list against the currently active Metadata. Metadata must be loaded in the Data Selector or through the use of the Debugging feature. Set Properties The Set Properties action task defines properties for entities saved in the OL Connect Database (Records, Content, and Jobs). These properties are applied to the entities and can then be used to retrieve them using the Retrieve Entities task.
l Remove entry: Click to delete the currently selected line in the Properties list. l Move entry up: Click to move the currently selected line up in the Properties list. l Move entry down: Click to move the currently selected line down in the Properties list. OL Connect Proxy Tab This tab is common to all OL Connect tasks and defines where to process the jobs sent through these tasks. When these fields are empty, they use the defaults set in the OL Connect User Options page of the preferences.
l l l l l l l l l Default: By default, the task is ignored as if it did not exist and the error is logged before continuing the branch or process; the job file is passed on to the next task in the process. When an error occurs in a loop (or in a plugin that acts like a loop), the loop may log the error, terminate the current iteration and proceed with the next iteration.
Comments Tab The Comments tab is common to all tasks. It contains a text area (Task comments) that lets you write comments about the task. These comments are saved when the dialog is closed with the OK button, and are displayed in the Task Comments Pane. Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in the Process area. Output Tasks Output tasks are exits from PlanetPress Workflow processes.
Input Any data file, with optional metadata. Processing The data file is either deleted directly or sent to the Windows Recycle Bin. Properties General tab l Move to recycle bin: Select to send the deleted files to the Windows recycle bin. When this option is not selected, files are deleted permanently.
l l l l l l l l l Default: By default, the task is ignored as if it did not exist and the error is logged before continuing the branch or process; the job file is passed on to the next task in the process. When an error occurs in a loop (or in a plugin that acts like a loop), the loop may log the error, terminate the current iteration and proceed with the next iteration.
Comments Tab The Comments tab is common to all tasks. It contains a text area (Task comments) that lets you write comments about the task. These comments are saved when the dialog is closed with the OK button, and are displayed in the Task Comments Pane. Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in the Process area. FTP Output FTP Output tasks send job files to other computers using the FTP protocol.
selected port is available and not being monitored by another application or PlanetPress Workflow task. l User name: Enter an FTP server user name. l Password: Enter a password associated with the FTP server user name entered above. l l l Directory: Enter the directory to which the job files are to be uploaded. If you leave this box empty, the job files are sent to the root directory of the FTP server. File name: Enter the name under which the output job file will be saved.
l l l l l l l l Stop Branch: If the task is in a branch of the process, the branch is stopped and the job file is returned to the process after the branch. The branch will not produce any output. If the task is not on a branch, the entire process will be stopped. Stop Process: The process is stopped and no more processing is done. No further output is produced.
Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in the Process area. SOAP Client plugin SOAP Client plugin tasks can be used as input, output and action tasks, although their basic function is to generate output. SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) is a light protocol that defines a standard XML format used to communicate among systems across different architectures, languages, and operating systems.
Properties General tab l WSDL address: Enter the URL address of the WSDL file, or choose a previously selected address from the drop-down list. Note The WSDL Address of a PlanetPress Workflow SOAP server is the following: http://127.0.0.1:8080/wsdl/isoapact (assuming you are on the same machine and did not change the default HTTP port). l l l l l l l l l Get: Click to get the WSDL file from the SOAP server and populate the Service box below.
l l Namespace: Displays the namespace of the arguments associated with the selected method. Use returned raw SOAP packet as new data file: Check to use the complete SOAP packet (including the passed parameters) instead of the parameters only. This option overrides any return value set to %c in the Arguments box. You should use this option when the SOAP Client plugin is not able to fully support the syntax of the response. Advanced tab l Domain: Enter the domain for the authentication on the SOAP server.
l l l l l l l l Stop Branch: If the task is in a branch of the process, the branch is stopped and the job file is returned to the process after the branch. The branch will not produce any output. If the task is not on a branch, the entire process will be stopped. Stop Process: The process is stopped and no more processing is done. No further output is produced.
Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in the Process area. Print Using a Windows Driver Printing Using a Windows Driver output tasks are used to send jobs to a local or network printer without going through a PlanetPress Workflow printer queue. Since the printer driver itself is not necessarily postscript, we cannot optimize the print file, so using a Windows Driver Output will always generate a larger and slower print job.
l l l Properties: Click to change the current printer queue properties. Note that PlanetPress Workflow generate the job file and hands it over with the available print options to the Windows print driver, which takes the relay for the actual printing part, so there is no way for your PlanetPress Workflow Tool to ensure that all the settings you make will be applied to the printed document. Job name: Enter the job’s file name. By default, the variable %f (Job File Name) is used.
On Error Tab The On Error tab is common to all tasks. Details can be found in the" Task Properties Dialog" on page 731. By default, any action task, branch, splitter or condition that generates an error will simply be ignored, and the task just under it (not within a branch) will be given control of the job file without any modification. Any initial input task that generates an error will stop the process from running as a whole, and output tasks will not generate output.
l l Store the ID in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the error ID. Reset to defaults: Resets all options in this tab to their default values. When storing the message or ID, if they are stored in a jobinfo they will be available in any error handling process where errors are being forwarded.
Processing If the data file is in a valid Emulation and a document is selected, the data file and document are merged to produce a PostScript output. The output may be an Optimized PostScript Stream or a Printer Centric stream (data file + trigger). If the data file is any file and the Pass-through option is selected, the file is sent as-is to the selected printer queue. Whether the queue will properly output depends on the capabilities of the queue and its target.
l l l l l l l Split job: Split job means that jobs will be split according to the criteria set in the Page delimiter group (see below) and that an equal share of the job file will be sent to each one of the selected printer queues. For a hundred page job, for example, if two queues were selected, each one will get 50 pages.
By default, any action task, branch, splitter or condition that generates an error will simply be ignored, and the task just under it (not within a branch) will be given control of the job file without any modification. Any initial input task that generates an error will stop the process from running as a whole, and output tasks will not generate output. The On Error tab can be used to overwrite the default behaviors.
error, the contents of the variables selected in this window will be available to the rest of your process, or as long as they are not overwritten. Common Errors Though some error messages are specific to a task in particular, others may apply to any and all tasks because they are related more to the system than to PlanetPress itself. Some examples would be W3813, W3830, W3991, W4005. These correspond to issues such as not having any space to write files, permission errors on folders or files, etc.
Processing While an email is always sent by this task (or at least attempted to be sent), the contents of the file and presence of attachments depends on the selected option. Refer to the properties' descriptions below to know what each option does. Once the contents of the file and attachments is determined, the email (and attachments) is either sent directly to the selected SMTP server, or is deposited in the "Outbox" folder of the local Microsoft Outlook account.
character). Also note that it is not currently possible to send both an HTML and plain-text version of your message. Attachments tab Use this tab to add the files received by this task (plus any other file that you may choose to attach) to the emails sent by PlanetPress. l l l l l l l Attach input job files: Select to attach the file received by this task to the emails it will generate. If this option is not selected, the recipients will not receive any of the data file.
l l l l l l l l l l Use SMTP mail: Select to use Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) to send the emails (and attachments). To use SMTP you must enter information in the Name, Email Address and Outgoing Mail (SMTP) boxes below. Name: Enter the sender’s name that will be used in emails sent by PlanetPress Workflow for this task. Organization: Enter the organization name that will be used in emails sent by PlanetPress Workflow for this task (this is optional).
l l l Send to Process: Check this option to send the job file to an error management process. Error Process drop-down: Enabled only when the Send to Process option is checked. Lists any process of which the initial input task is the Input Error Bin task. Action: In the initial input tasks, this group is disabled and defaults to Stop Process.
Common Errors Though some error messages are specific to a task in particular, others may apply to any and all tasks because they are related more to the system than to PlanetPress itself. Some examples would be W3813, W3830, W3991, W4005. These correspond to issues such as not having any space to write files, permission errors on folders or files, etc. Comments Tab The Comments tab is common to all tasks. It contains a text area (Task comments) that lets you write comments about the task.
Properties General tab l l l Folder: Enter the path of the folder to which the files are to be saved. File name: Enter the name of the output files generated by this task. To prevent each new file from overwriting the previous one, you should use variable names. As with any variable property box, you can use any combination of text, variables and data selections.
l Action: In the initial input tasks, this group is disabled and defaults to Stop Process. In all other tasks where the On Error tab is present, the following options are available: l l l l l l l l l Default: By default, the task is ignored as if it did not exist and the error is logged before continuing the branch or process; the job file is passed on to the next task in the process.
Comments Tab The Comments tab is common to all tasks. It contains a text area (Task comments) that lets you write comments about the task. These comments are saved when the dialog is closed with the OK button, and are displayed in the Task Comments Pane. Check the option Use as step description to display the text next to the icon of the plugin in the Process area. Working With Variables A Variable is basically a keyword that points to specific location in your computer's memory.
Job Info Variables Job Infos have two main uses. First, they contain information on any job file that comes out of the initial input task or any secondary input tasks. The number of job infos as well as their definition can be seen in the Other tab of any input task.
Standard Variables Standard Variables, also known as "system variables", are variables that are created and managed directly by PlanetPress Workflow. Those variables are read-only and cannot be modified. They provide information about the job, process, and PlanetPress Workflow environment. Available Standard Variables Variable Name Example value when interpreted %c Content of your job file in its original format. n/a %F Job File Path and Name C:\Program Files\PlanetPress Workflow 7\PlanetPress Watch
Variable Name Example value when interpreted (numeric) %M Current Month (text) June %L Current Month (short text) JUN %d Current Day (numeric) 16 %D Current Day (text) Monday %l Current Day (short text) MON %h Current Hour 18 %n Current Minute 03 %s Current Second 41 %v Current Millisecond 24 %u Unique 13char string (will be different every time it is used) 0ZIS4CW8U47VI00 %t Current C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Page 602
Variable Name Example value when interpreted Temporary Folder Data\Objectif Lune\PlanetPress Workflow 7\PlanetPress Watch\Spool\6.tmp\ %e Current Metadata Filename job00ZAIZ2C4FXON16CE6C566.dat.meta %E Current Metadata Path and Filename C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Objectif Lune\PlanetPress Workflow 7\PlanetPress Watch\Spool\5.tmp\job00ZAIZ2C4FXON16CE6C566.dat.meta %w Current process name.
Initial input tasks do not modify the value of %i. However, the following tasks do trigger the variable: l Barcode scan l Capture Field Processor l All Splitters (Including the Metadata Sequencer) l Get Capture Document l Loop l Capture PGC Splitter l PrintShop Mail Error Handling Variables The following variables are available in error-handling tasks (that start with the Error Bin Input task). Note that these are new in PlanetPress Workflow 7.4 and are not available in previous versions.
Variable Name % {error.process} Name of the process where the error was triggered % {error.tasktype} The type of task that triggered the error % {error.taskname} The name of the task that triggered the error % {error.taskindex} The position of the task in the process % {error.errormsg} The error message, as entered in the OnError tab of the task. This is the same message as appears in PlanetPress Workflow Log file. %{error.errorid} The error ID, as entered in the OnError tab of the task.
When the process ends, the local variable forgets whatever value was given to it by the process and goes back to its default value. Local variables are generally used to keep information that is useful for the process itself but not to any other process or instance of the process. For example, you could store the current order ID for the process, a name or an email. You can have as many local variables as you want in any given process.
l l Use the Set Job Info and Variable action task. See "Set Job Infos and Variables" on page 345. You can use Scripts. See the chapter "Using Scripts" on page 91. Variables may be used as variable properties in variable property boxes (see Variable Properties). Manipulate Global Variables Note For information about Local Variables see Local Variables. Global Variables are set at the level of the configuration file and are shared between all processes and tasks.
2. Click Global Variable in the Variables group. The new variable will appear as GlobalVar or GlobalVarX (the name is automatically incremented). To set the value of a global variable from the Configuration Components pane: 1. Double-click on the global variable in the Configuration Components pane. (Right-clicking then clicking Properties also works) 2. Enter the new value for your global variable. 3. Click OK to save the new value.
Variables may be used as variable properties in variable property boxes (see Variable Properties). About Configurations PlanetPress Workflow configuration files are defined as a set of processes, subprocesses, variables, documents and printer queues, that work together within PlanetPress Workflow Service. PlanetPress Workflow cannot work without a valid configuration and a PlanetPress Workflow session running on a given computer can only use one configuration at a time.
To create a new configuration, choose New from the PlanetPress button. If the active watch file is currently opened, and if it includes unsaved modifications, PlanetPress Workflow asks you whether to send the configuration to the PlanetPress Watch service before creating the new configuration. Select the Always send without prompting for confirmation option to automatically send the edited version of the configuration.
Saving and Sending Saving and Sending a Configuration The core of the PlanetPress Suite workflow tools is the PlanetPress Watch service which, once started, constantly runs in the background to perform the tasks included in its current configuration file. PlanetPress Workflow lets you create, edit and save configuration files. As you are working on your configuration, you can save that configuration file as a file on your local hard drive.
When you use the Send command, the PlanetPress Workflow Configuration program uses the currently opened configuration to overwrite PlanetPress Workflow service's current configuration. If PlanetPress Workflow service is running when you send a new configuration, it stops and restarts automatically with the new configuration. If the service is stopped, it will not start automatically. To send a PlanetPress Workflow Configuration to the local server: 1.
Exit PlanetPress Workflow Configuration Program Once you are done using PlanetPress Workflow, you can close the configuration program. It is important to note that closing PlanetPress Workflow Configuration Program does not stop any of PlanetPress Workflow services or stop processing. You may exit PlanetPress Workflow Configuration Program in any of the following ways: l From the PlanetPress Workflow button, choose Exit.
Although you can manually start and stop any service running on your computer, most of the basic services used by the system are started and stopped automatically. In the case of PlanetPress Workflow and their related services, you typically use a command included in your PlanetPress Workflow Configuration program to start and stop most services. Opening and closing your PlanetPress Workflow Configuration program has no effect on these services.
PlanetPress Workflowsend jobs to one or more of these instances. Each instance of PlanetPress Image can generate PDFs or images and dispatch them from the host on which it runs. See About Image. l l l l PlanetPress Fax: Outputs jobs as faxes. You use PlanetPress Fax as an interface to WinFax PRO or Windows Fax, to send faxes you create from documents.
Note The current PlanetPress Workflow status is always displayed in the lower-right corner of the PlanetPress Workflow Configuration program window. To start PlanetPress Workflow services via PlanetPress Workflow Configuration program: 1. Click Tools in the PlanetPress Workflow Ribbon. 2. Click Start Service in the Services Status group. A progress bar is displayed while your PlanetPress Workflow is being started. To stop your PlanetPress Workflow services via PlanetPress Workflow Configuration program: 1.
To resume your PlanetPress Workflow service after pausing it: 1. Click Tools in the PlanetPress Workflow Ribbon. 2. Click Resume in the Services Status group. The PlanetPress Workflow Tool service starts performing jobs again.
The Interface This chapter centers on the PlanetPress Workflow Configuration program, which you use to create and edit your configurations. The basic user interface elements are as follows: 1. The PlanetPress Workflow button. See "PlanetPress Workflow Button" on page 627. 2. The Quick Access Toolbar. See " The Quick Access Toolbar" on page 739. 3. The Ribbon Tabs. See "The PlanetPress Workflow Ribbon" on page 740.
4. A Group within the Ribbon 5. The Process area. See " The Process Area" on page 727. 6. A specific link (aka a "component", "button" or "link"). 7. The Dockable panels including "The Plug-in Bar" on page 683, " The Object Inspector Pane" on page 682 and "The Debug Information Pane" on page 680. 8. The status bar. This displays your current software version and status of the PlanetPress Service. 9. The Configuration Components pane. See "The Configuration Components Pane" on page 629. 10.
The Configuration Components pane, the Object Inspector and the Messages area can each be displayed inside its own window, whether docked or undocked, but they can also be displayed attached or combined inside the same window. l l l When separate areas are displayed simultaneously, they appear in different sections of the Program window. When attached areas are displayed simultaneously, they appear side-by-side or above one another inside sub-windows.
Show or Hide Areas of the Program Window You can choose to hide or display any of the customizable areas in PlanetPress Workflow program. Hidden areas will still contain the same information but will not be visible. To show or hide a Program window area: l In the PlanetPress Workflow Ribbon, click the View tab. l From the Show/Hide group, click on any area name to hide or display it. A "highlighted" (orange) button means the area is displayed somewhere on your screen(s).
button when the shape of a tab appears at the bottom of the rectangle. To switch between combined area: l At the bottom of the combined area, click the tab of the area you want to bring to the top. If all the tabs are not displayed, use the left and right arrows to navigate between them. The left and right arrows lets you show hidden tabs.
To take an area out of a combined area, do one of the following: l l Click the tab displaying the name of the area you want to take out and move the mouse pointer so as to drag the area away from the combined area. As you drag, a rectangle is displayed to show the landing position. Release the mouse button when the rectangle is away from the combined area. Double-click the tab of the area you want to take out of the combined area. The area will jump outside of the combined area. To attach areas: 1.
3. Resize each part of the new group as desired. Attaching an area to a group of combined areas. The rectangle showing the landing position is not tabbed and the area will therefore be moved next to the combined area. To maximize or restore attached areas, do one of the following: l To maximize a vertically attached area, click the upward pointing arrow on its title bar. l To restore a vertically attached area, click the downward pointing arrow on its title bar.
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A) Click to maximize this area. B) Click to restore this currently maximized area. C) Click to maximize this area. D) Click to restore this currently maximized area. To take an attached area out of a group, do one of the following: l l Click the title bar displaying the name of the attached area you want to take out and move the mouse pointer so as to drag the area away from the group. As you drag, a rectangle is displayed to show the landing position.
To change the language used by the PlanetPress Workflow Configuration program: 1. Click the PlanetPress Workflow button, then click Select Language. The Select Language dialog box appears. This box lists all the languages that can be used by PlanetPress Workflow as well as the Use System Default Locale check box. 2. Select the desired language. 3. Use System Default Locale: Select to mirror your language settings, as defined in the Regional and Language Options of the Windows Control Panel.
l l l Save: Saves the current configuration. If the file is new and has not yet been saved, or if the configuration is the loaded directly from the service, the Save As dialog is displayed instead. See "Saving and Sending" on page 611. Save As: Saves the current configuration under a new name. It does not overwrite any existing configuration file, unless an existing file is selected and overwritten manually by the user.
The Configuration Components Pane The Configuration Components pane displays processes, subprocesses, variables, documents and printer queues. It also lets you add any of these components using the rightclick menu. Components Area Sections l Processes: Displays a list of processes in your configuration. Right-click on a process to access a drop-down menu that offers these choices: l l Insert Startup Process: Inserts a new process as a Startup Process.
l l Group, Ungroup: Triggers grouping functionality. l Properties...: Displays the process' properties for error handling. Global Variables: Displays a list of variables that are shared between all your processes. Right-click on a Global Variable to access a drop-down menu that offers these choices: l Insert Global Variable: Creates a new global variable l Cut, Copy, Paste: Controls the clipboard. l Delete: Deletes the global variable from the configuration.
l PPS/PSM Documents: Displays a list of PlanetPress Connect and PrintShop Mail Design document that have been imported into PlanetPress Workflow. Right-click on a document to access a drop-down menu that offers these choices: l l l Cut, Copy, Paste: Controls the clipboard. Delete: Deletes the document from the configuration, as well as the Workflow Tools Working Folders. l Refresh: Regenerates a PostScript Cache from the original document's PTK file. l Group, Ungroup: Triggers grouping functionality.
Processes and Subprocesses The Processes component displays a list of processes in your configuration while the Subprocesses component displays a list of subprocesses. Process Properties To have access to the properties of a process or subprocess: l Right-Click on the Process in the Configuration Components Area. l Select Properties. You can also double-click on the process to show its options.
l l l l l As soon as possible: Select to have the process run continuously. Clear to enable the Time Grid to fine-tune the schedule of the process. Day(s) to keep backup: Indicate the number of days to keep backups of jobs processed by input tasks. Note that backups will only be kept for those input tasks that have the Keep backup file option selected and that they are required to resubmit input files.
The Time Grid The PlanetPress Workflow Process Options dialog box includes a time grid that lets you set exactly when you want a process to run. The grid is composed of blocks that represent time periods on a given day. To activate the Time Grid, the "As soon as possible" option must be unchecked. In the Time Grid, a blue block will indicate that the process is active within that time block. While blocks mean the process will not be active.
l Click on any block to select / deselect it. l Click and drag from one block to another to toggle all blocks between the two. l Shift-click on any block to toggle all blocks from the top-left corner of the grid to the block you click.
l l l To select all of the time segments for a given day or date, click the day or date on the top grid ruler. To deselect all of the time segments for a given day or date, CTRL+click the day or date on the top grid ruler. To select all the days or dates for a given time segment, click the time segment on the left grid ruler. To deselect all the days or dates for a given time segment, CTRL+click the time segment on the left grid ruler.
Create a New Process You can create a new process in a two different ways: l l In the Ribbon, go to the Home tab and click the Process button in the Processes group. In the Configuration Components pane, right-click on any process or the Processes folder and select Insert Process. Regardless of the method, a new process is created with a default name (Process1, Process2, etc), Input Task and Output Task. The defaults are configurable in the "Default Configuration behavior preferences" on page 689 screen.
Manipulate Local Variables Note For information about Global Variables see Global Variables. Local Variables are set at the level of the Process and are not shared with any other process or instance of that process. Local variables can be used anywhere that accepts variables by using it's namee, surrounded by curly brackets and preceded by a percent sign (for example: % {myLocalVariable}).
l Type in the new name of the variable, then press Enter on your keyboard. While renaming a variable will correctly rename all references to it in task properties or wherever else it is used in a task, it will not change the references in any script within a Run Script task. Deleting a variable, on the other hand, does not delete any reference to it.
Convert a Branch to a Subprocess To allow for maximum flexibility and backward compatibility with the subprocess feature, the Convert to subprocess option lets users transform existing processes easily. This option is available whenever a Branch task is selected; right-clicking on it will display the contextual menu, which holds the Convert to subprocess option.
it's name preceded by "global." and surrounded by curly brackets (for example: % {global.myGlobalVariable}). Global variables are generally used to keep information that applies to multiple locations but need to be changed easily. For example, a lot of uses use them to set a server's IP, a printer name, or folder location that is used by multiple processes.
l Right-click on the variable name in the Configuration Components Area and click Delete. To rename a variable: l Right-click on the variable name in the Configuration Components Area. l Click Rename l Type in the new name of the variable, then press Enter on your keyboard. While renaming a variable will correctly rename all references to it in task properties or wherever else it is used in a task, it will not change the references in any script within a Run Script task.
Internet Explorer). l l l l Sample Data File(s): Displays a list of sample files that are included in the data mapping configuration. Double-click on a file to use it as a sample data file for the active process. Document Templates: Displays a list of templates that can be used in content creation tasks: "Create Email Content" on page 530, "Create Web Content" on page 552 and "Create Print Content" on page 549.
l datamapper contains archives of the data mapping configurations (.OL-datamapper) l jobcreation contains archives of the Job Presets (.OL-jobpreset) l outputcreation contains archives of the Output Presets (.OL-outputpreset) l template contains archives of the templates (.OL-template) l workflow contains archives of Workflow configurations received by the server. The archives are saved using the template named followed by a timestamp.
Document Properties Options Identification Tab The information here is read-only and gives you information on the document. l l l l l Document: The file name of the document, as entered in PlanetPress Design. This is the name of the file saved in PlanetPress Design, or the name you give it when you add a printer-resident document in your PlanetPress Workflow Configuration.
l Document location group (enabled only when using Printer-Centric mode) l l l l l On printer hard disk: Select if the PlanetPress Design document is on the printer's hard drive. In printer flash memory: Select if the PlanetPress Design document is on the printer's flash memory. RAM: Select if the PlanetPress Design document is on the printer's RAM (Random Access Memory).
Data Files When sending a PlanetPress Design Document from PlanetPress Design to PlanetPress Workflow, all data files used in the document are automatically sent to PlanetPress Workflow along with the Design Document. These data files appear under the Documents section of the Configuration Components. To set an attached data file as a sample data file in a process: 1. Make sure the Documents section is visible by clicking the 2. Expand the document (name.ptk) by clicking the button if it appears. button.
not appear in the Configuration Components but it follows the data file and can be viewed from the Metadata tab whenever the data file is viewed through the Data Selector. Use Attached Document Preview When sending a PlanetPress Design Document from PlanetPress Design to PlanetPress Workflow, a PDF Preview of the job's output is automatically sent to PlanetPress Workflow along with the Design Document. This preview appears under the Documents section of the Configuration Components.
To add a resident document in the Configuration Components pane: 1. In the PlanetPress Workflow Configuration Components pane, click the Documents button and choose Insert | Resident Document. The Add Resident Document dialog box is displayed. 2. Enter the document’s name. Note that the name you enter must exactly match the actual document name or PlanetPress Workflow will not be able to use it on the printer or remote PlanetPress Workflow server. 3. Click OK.
To modify the settings of a document assigned to a printer queue: The settings available in this window are the same as the Printer Settings dialog of a document properties in the Documents list of the Configuration Components Area, but they are specifically for this document on this printer queue. See " View Document Properties" on page 644 for more details. l Double-click on the document located within a printer queue. The Document Properties dialog appears.
Copy Mouse Pointer Prohibited Mouse Pointer Moving Configuration Components Using Drag & Drop: l Click on the component and hold the mouse button. l Move the component to the location where you want to drop it. l Let go of the mouse button. Using the clipboard buttons: l Click on the component you want to move. l Go to the Home tab of the ribbon. l Click the Cut button in the Clipboard group. l Click on the new location where you want the component.
l Click on the new location where you want the component. l Do CTRL+V (paste) on your keyboard. Copying components You can make a copy of any component in the Configuration Components pane, with the only exception being Documents (of which you can only have one copy). Copying components is done using the same methods as moving them, with the following differences: l l To move components using the clipboard buttons and contextual menu, replace "Cut" by "Copy". Otherwise the methods are the same.
Rename Objects in the Configuration Components Pane You can rename processes, groups, and printer queues in the Configuration Components pane. PlanetPress Design Documents (ptk/ptz files) are different and cannot be renamed or modified using PlanetPress Workflow. You can, on the other hand, change the name of printerresident documents. Note Names cannot begin with a number.
To reorder selected objects in the Configuration Components pane: 1. Click an object or group. 2. In the PlanetPress Workflow ribbon, go to the View tab then click Order in the Arrange group, then select one of the following: l l l l Up One Level to move the item one level up in the hierarchy. If the item is already the top object in the category, or within a group, this command has no effect. Down One Level to move the item one level down in the hierarchy.
To add a group in the Configuration Components pane: l In the Configuration Components pane, click a category and choose View | Arrange | Group. A new group is added at the end of the category. To add objects to an existing group: l Drag-and-drop the objects onto the group. The objects are added as the last objects in the group. To remove objects from a group: l Drag-and-drop the objects out of the group. The objects are removed from the group.
Delete Objects and Groups from the Configuration Components Pane To delete a process, document, or printer queue: l Click a process, document, or printer queue, then press DELETE. In the case of processes and printer queues, the object is deleted. If there is only one process in the configuration, you cannot delete it; there must be at least one process in the configuration. If you delete the last configured process, a process with two unknown tasks remains.
Note Printer activations are normally given to you by the activations department electronically, including a file that will automatically add all your printers in this dialog. To display the Activate a Printer dialog, click the button from the Help menu. The printer list displays the following information l l l License Number: Reference number of the activation, linked to your customer account. Magic Number: The magic number generated by the printer.
themselves using a local or network account. The first time you start the PlanetPress Workflow Configuration program, the application automatically asks you to choose an account (see procedure below). You can also manually start this procedure from the PlanetPress Workflow Tools by following this procedure: 1. Click on the Tools tab in PlanetPress Workflow Ribbon, then click Configure Services. 2.
l l l Password: Enter the password for the user account you specified in the user name box. Confirm password: Enter the password you entered in the Password box. Services start automatically: Select to start the required PlanetPress Workflow automatically. 3. Click OK.
Options General tab l l l l l l l l l Active: Select to make the process active. Clear to prevent this process from running when you send the configuration to PlanetPress Workflow. Startup process: Select to make this process a startup process. Self-Replicating Process: Check this if you want the process to replicate itself in the background when multiple input files are received simultaneously.
l Select Date to display dates on the grid’s top ruler. l Select any of the other options to display days on the top ruler. l Select All weeks to have the process run every week. l l l l Select First, Second, Third or Fourth to have the process run on the first, second, third or fourth week. Select Last to have the process run only on the last week. Time division: Select the duration of each daily segment in the time grid.
l Click on any block to select / deselect it. l Click and drag from one block to another to toggle all blocks between the two. l Shift-click on any block to toggle all blocks from the top-left corner of the grid to the block you click.
l l l To select all of the time segments for a given day or date, click the day or date on the top grid ruler. To deselect all of the time segments for a given day or date, CTRL+click the day or date on the top grid ruler. To select all the days or dates for a given time segment, click the time segment on the left grid ruler. To deselect all the days or dates for a given time segment, CTRL+click the time segment on the left grid ruler.
Advanced SQL Statement Dialog The Advanced SQL Statement dialog is available by clicking the Edit SQL button from the Database Query action task. You can enter a custom SQL query in this dialog, using the language supported by the database you select in the Database Query action task. The dialog is separated in two parts: l The left part displays the available tables in your database. Click the Show Tables button to display them.
jobs to the server. Technical Messenger communications (between different part of the PlanetPress Workflow) is limited to within the same Class C subnet. This means that PlanetPress Workflow on 192.168.1.23 cannot send a job to a PlanetPress Image on 192.168.100.54. This limitation has been removed in PlanetPress Workflow 7.3 and higher. To open the Access Manager 1. Open PlanetPress Design. 2. In the Ribbon, go in Tools | Managers | Access Manager. The Access Manager dialog box is displayed.
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To manually add a new entry in the list l Open the Access Manager l Make sure you are in the Messenger tab. l In the IP address box, enter the IP address of the remote machine. l Click on the l Add the necessary permissions l Click OK l Restart the Messenger service. button.
l l l l 127.0.0.1: The local computer. Typically this IP should have all the accesses checked. 255.255.255.255: Everyone on the same subnet. This is equivalent to hard-coding the current subnet, such as 192.168.1.255 or 10.0.0.255. 192.168.0.42 : A single IP address. This can be any valid address on the same subnet. 10.0.255.255: Any IP in the 10.0.X.X range. To automatically detect machines on the network and add them 1.
does not continue processing after it has found an "Allow" checkmark. There is no concept of "Deny", meaning if any "Allow" permission is given, there is no way to later remove it for certain IPs or IP ranges. l l l The configuration of the Access Manager is saved in a file on the hard drive which can be edited manually. See Access Manager hosts.allow File. HTTP, FTP and SOAP communication is not limited to the local subnet on any version where these plugins appear.
Console. SOAP Access The SOAP tab of the Access Manager controls access from SOAP clients to local processes and SOAP processes. Each user name entered in this dialog can have access to one or more processes. To add a new SOAP user 1. Click on the button. 2.
l l l User name: An alphanumerical user name for the user. Password: A password to protect the user. Note that the password will always revert to ******** (8 stars) when clicking outside of this box - that is normal and is meant to protect the length of the password as much as its contents. Administrator: Choose the permission type l l l User: Can access none, some, or all of the processes, selected individually in the Permissions section. Admin: Has access to all processes and features.
PDF Viewer The PDF Viewer, introduced in PlanetPress Tools 7.3 in some areas and expanded for use throughout the configuration tool, displays any PDF used in the configuration or process. Because this PDF viewer is integrated with the suite, it is not necessary to have any third-party tools such as Adobe Acrobat installed on the operating system. Technical The PDF Viewer is not currently standalone and cannot be used to display PDFs outside of PlanetPress Workflow.
The PDF Viewer To open the PDF Viewer: In the Documents section of the Configuration Components pane, expand a document present in the list. Then, right-click on the document's Preview, and click Open in PDF Viewer.
The PDF Viewer is accessible through one of the following methods: l l l In the Documents section of the Configuration Components pane, expand a document present in the list. Then, right-click on the document's Preview, and click Open in PDF Viewer. Click View as PDF in the Debug toolbar. This will show the current data file in the viewer (assuming it is a PDF). If the viewer is opened during debugging, the current state of the PDF will be displayed (instead of the original data file).
To open the PlanetPress Workflow Service Console via the PlanetPress Workflow Configuration program: l Choose Tools | Service Console. A) The PlanetPress Workflow services monitored by the PlanetPress Workflow Service Console. B) The run-time information provided by the console. Note The log window only displays the 1000 most recent lines. Older lines are hidden as new ones appear to replace them.
To clear the Messages area of the PlanetPress Workflow Service Console: l Click in the Messages area of the Service Console, and from the right-click menu choose Clear. To save the information from the Messages area of the PlanetPress Workflow Service Console: 1. Click in the Messages area of the Service Console, and from the right-click menu choose Save to file. The Save As dialog box appears. 2. Navigate to a location, enter a file name, then click OK. The complete content of the Messages area is saved.
Accessing the Data Repository Manager To access the Data Repository Manager: l Open PlanetPress Workflow l Go to the Tools tab. l Click the Data Repository Manager button in the Managers group. Warning Any change made within the Date Repository Manager is Immediate, and Irreversible. Deleting data from this interface may impact running processes if such processes access the data saved in the repository. This includes clearing a group, or clearing the repository.
l Update section l l l Refresh: Click to load any changes made to the repository since it was last opened or refreshed. Management section l l l l l Edit KeySet: Click to edit the currently selected KeySet. Opens a dialog which each key and their value, which can be edited. Double-clicking a row has the same effect as clicking the Edit KeySet button.
l l Press Tab to switch between the Repository Structure, Group Key Sets, Lookup Function Syntax and the Close and Help buttons. Press CTRL+N to add a new item: l If a group is selected, will create a new group. l If a key is selected, will create a new key within the selected group. l If in the Group Key Sets, will create a new keyset. l Press F2 to rename a group or a key l Press Delete to remove Group or Key from the Repository, or a KeySet.
in your computer’s virtual drive. 2. Select the images you want to delete. 3. Press the Delete key. The Debug Information Pane The Debug Information pane displays the current values of variables and other information useful in debugging processes (see "Debugging and Error Handling" on page 55). It is divided in 4 sections: l l l l Job Information: Displays the Job Info variables, as well as the job's file name, size, last edit date and presence of metadata (see "Job Info Variables" on page 600).
selected expression. l Clear Expression List: Removes all expressions. Warning Deleting an expression or clearing the expression list cannot be undone! The Message Area Pane The Messages area is used in Debug mode to indicate the status of your PlanetPress Workflow process as the sample data file is processed and used to generate output. When your PlanetPress Workflow runs in Debug mode, the Messages area displays useful processing and error information.
l Right-click anywhere in the Message Area and select Save to File to display a dialog box that lets you save a copy of the Message Area content to a text file. The Message Area will only display information while running in Debug mode. It does not display information from other running services, and will not display the log of any process running in a live configuration (submitted to PlanetPress Workflow Service).
Note When you select a group (folder), no information is displayed in the Object Inspector, because what is really selected is the group heading and not the items included in the group. The Plug-in Bar PlanetPress Workflow offers a constantly increasing number of plugins, while always allowing third party plugins to be installed and set up to be used by PlanetPress Workflow.
l OL Connect l Outputs Note An Uncategorized category is dynamically created if your PlanetPress Workflow finds any plugin that would not be part of the existing Plug-in Bar. User-defined plugins and third party application plugins falls into such a category. Settings & Customization The Plug-in Bar can be customized according to your needs and the plugins you most frequently used.
To import a plugin: 1. Click on the popup control ( ). 2. Click on Import Plugin. 3. Browse to the location of the plugin DLL file. 4. Click on Open. 5. New plugins appear in the Uncategorized category. Preferences PlanetPress Workflow Configuration program lets you configure a variety of options, from how the application itself looks or behaves, to plugin specific options.
l HTTP Server Input 2 l "LPD Input plugin preferences" on page 711 l "Serial Input plugin preferences" on page 712 l SMTP Input l "Telnet Input plugin preferences" on page 713 l "PlanetPressFax plugin preferences" on page 713 l "FTP Output Service preferences" on page 717 l "PlanetPress Image preferences" on page 718 l "LPR Output preferences" on page 721 l "PrintShop Web Connect Service preferences" on page 722 Note Preferences are saved automatically and applied immediately.
Colors l l l l Variable properties: Select a color for the labels identifying variable property boxes. Debug: Select the color applied to the PlanetPress Workflow Process area background when in debug mode. Highlighted tasks and branches: Select the background color for highlighted tasks and branches in the Process Area’s invisible grid. Disabled tasks and branches: Select the background color for disabled tasks and branches in the Process Area’s invisible grid.
l l Sunken active property: Select to use a recessed effect to display the currently selected property. Border active property: Select to display a border around the currently selected property. l Show lines: Select to display lines between elements. l Line style: Select a style for the lines. l Reset to default button: Click to reset all the Object Inspector options to their default values.
Default Configuration behavior preferences l l l l l Use default configuration: Check to use default input and output tasks when you create a new process. If this group is not selected, each new process you will add will begin and end with unknown tasks. Default input task: Select an input task to use as the default input task when you add a new process. Click the Configure button located to the right of this box to set the properties of the selected input task.
l l l l l l l l l l l Empty group deletion: Select to have PlanetPress Workflow prompt for confirmation to delete a group when you remove the last of its member objects. If you clear this option, groups are automatically deleted when their last members are removed. Invalid name: Select to have PlanetPress Workflow warn you when you try to rename an object in the Configuration Components incorrectly.
l l l l l l l l l l Prompt on no active process to send: Select to have PlanetPress Workflow prompt for confirmation when attempting to send a configuration although no processes are active. Prompt on overwrite of a document: Select to have PlanetPress Workflow prompt for confirmation when a document that is being imported using File | Import Document is about to overwrite an existing document.
be used since it can almost always be replaced by more specialized and efficient splitters. l Warn on Component Rename: Select to have PlanetPress Workflow prompt for action when configuration components, such as processes, are imported from an external configuration file. Imported components can overwrite existing components, or be renamed automatically with unique names. Sample Data behavior preferences Sample Data behavior preferences control the way theData Selectordisplays the sample data file.
l l l l Password: Enter the NetWare password corresponding to the user name you entered in the previous text box. Tree: Enter the NetWare Directory Services (NDS) tree where the user resides. This is the user you entered in the user name text box. Click Trees to navigate to the desired tree. You must enter a value for the Tree text box. Context: Enter the context on the NDS tree where the user you enter in the user name text box resides.
The available PlanetPress Capture user options are: l Mode: Choose between Server and Client mode. Client and Server mode are used for multi-server architectures. See PlanetPress Capture Server/Client. l Port: Select the port used to connect two servers together. The default value is 5864. l Document and Pattern Database group l l l Use ODBC Database: Check to ignore the default location for the Microsoft Access database (MDB) and use an ODBC connection to your own database location instead.
processes, which may cause a slight delay for the operation depending on the connection speed and latency between the two systems. Note The Server/Client mode is only used for managing pen licenses and has no impact on the Capture Database itself. The database can be stored locally or remotely, regardless of the Server/Client mode specified.
l Operator: Select how to do the comparison l Equal: The mask and database information are exactly the same. l Not equal: The mask and database information are different. l l l l l l Less than: If the mask and database information are both numbers, the mask will be a smaller number. Greater than: If the mask and database information are both numbers, the mask will be a larger number.
Warning This will prevent the document to be further updated, may cause errors when docking any pen that signed the printed version of the document. This cannot be undone. PlanetPress Capture ODBC Settings This dialog is used to set up the connection to a PlanetPress Capture Database through an ODBC connection. To access this dialog, See "PlanetPress Capture preferences" on page 693.
l Password: If the database is secured with a user name and password, enter the password here. Note In order for the database connection to be functional, you must ensure that the database Type correspond exactly to the one used by the DSN, and is part of the supported database types.
l Microsoft Access l l l Total database size is limited to 4GB of data. l Total size of a single table is 2GB. l May be unstable in large implementations. MySQL l l l l l Database file (mdb) must be local to the PlanetPress Workflow computer. It cannot be located on a network drive or another server. Database can be in any location, but performance will depend on the speed of the connection between PlanetPress and the MySQL server.
Options and Controls Top Toolbar l l l Read PGC File: Click to display a File Open dialog. Browse to an existing PGC file, and open it. PlanetPress Capture will read the serial number from the PGC file and register the pen. Print Pen Activation File: Click to print a page containing a special pattern. Any pen that writes on this pattern and is then docked will be registered in the database.
To register a pen using the registration pattern 1. Click on the Print pen activation file button in the top toolbar of this dialog. 2. Use the Windows Print dialog to print to the desired printer. 3. Write or make a line on the printed pattern. 4. Dock the pen in its cradle. 5. Click on the Read PGC File button in the top toolbar of this dialog. 6. If necessary, enter an optional pattern sequence and User ID for each pen.
Technical To add a pen pack, PlanetPress must be activated using a PlanetPress Production license. if PlanetPress Production is in trial mode, no pen pack can be added because the Pen Pack uses the serial number. Options and Controls PlanetPress Capture Pen Licenses Group l l Import License...: Click to open the Import License dialog. Browse to a PPLIC (PlanetPress License) file on your computer and open it to import the license.
The available OL Connect user options define the default behavior of OL Connect tasks' OL Connect Proxy tab. These values are used unless they are overwritten in a task's properties: l Server Connect Settings l l l l l Connect Proxy Address: Enter the machine name or IP Address where the OL Connect Server resides. Port: Enter the port to use to communicate with the OL Connect Server. Default: 9340 user name: Enter the user name expected by the OL Connect Server.
Warning The default values are generally correct for the greatest majority of PDF data files. Only change these values if you understand what they are for. Delta Width Defines the tolerance for the distance between two text fragments, either positive (space between fragments) or negative (kerning text where letters overlap). When this value is at 0, the two fragments will need to be exactly one beside the other with no space or overlap between them.
At 0, the font size must be exactly the same between two fragments. At 1, a greater variance in font size is accepted. Accepted values range from 0 to 1. The default value is 0.65, recommended values are between 0.60 and 1.00. Gap Defines how spaces between two fragments are processed. If the space between two fragments is too small, the text extraction will sometimes eliminate that space and count the two fragments as a single word. To resolve this, the Gap setting can be changed.
l l l Add time stamp to all processes events: Adds a time stamp to each log entry for a process event. Delete log files after: Select how many days log files are kept before being deleted. Maximum numbers of replicated processes: Set the maximum number of times a process may be replicated. Messenger plugin preferences Apart from enabling communication between the various parts of PlanetPress Workflow, the PlanetPress Workflow Messenger also manages local instances of the PlanetPress Workflow Alambic.
HTTP Server Input 1 plugin preferences HTTP server input 1 plugin preferences control the server protocol aspects of the PlanetPress WorkflowHTTP Server Input tasks. This is where you enable and configure secure communication for the HTTP Server. Technical By default, the request XML also contains a CDATA section which contains the raw input data, effectively doubling the size of the incoming file.
l l Password: Enter the password (or passkey) for the Private Key File. Please note that this password is encrypted within PlanetPress Workflow server and is not saved in plain text. Encryption protocol: Choose your cryptographic protocol (SSL or TSL). This is determined by the software that generated the keys. Note When SSL is enabled and a user sends a query prefixed with https://, then this specific communication will be sent through port 443, which cannot be changed in Workflow.
Technical PHP Arrays This is an example of the new "Use PHP Arrays" option introduced in Workflow 8.5. HTML Example: PAGE 710
HTTP Server Input 2 plugin preferences The HTTP Server Input 2 plugin preferences are used to enable serving static HTTP resources, as part of an HTTP Server workflow. These resources are referred to within the HTML response file and do not pass through a process to get served so the process is very quick.
LPD Input plugin preferences LPD input plugin preferences control certain functions of the PlanetPress Workflow LPD Server service, which in turn has an impact on LDP input tasks performed by PlanetPress Workflow on a given computer. The LPD Server service receives jobs using TCP/IP from LPD servers. For information on the preferences set in individual LDP input tasks, refer to LPD Input Task Properties.
property is 7200 seconds (2 hours). On a time-out, partially received data files are not passed to the rest of the process; the LPD input resets and is ready to receive further data files. Log messages include the time-out duration. Serial Input plugin preferences Serial input plugin preferences control certain functions of the PlanetPress Serial Capture service, which in turn has a direct impact on all Serial input tasks performed by PlanetPress Workflow on a given computer.
l l l Time-out: Set the time in seconds the PlanetPress Workflow process waits for the transfer of bytes in the data file before ending the transfer of this file. On a time-out, partially received data files are not passed to the rest of the process; the Serial input resets, ready to receive further data files. Job delimiters: Enter the strings that tell PlanetPress Workflow the data file being retrieved through the Serial input is complete.
given computer, only that computer is affected. So you should consider changing the PlanetPress Fax user options on the computer that actually performs the PlanetPress Workflow Fax output tasks. The changes you make to the PlanetPress Workflow Fax plugin preferences are stored in the PlanetPress Fax configuration file. They will be applied when PlanetPress Fax is started. Preferences l l Delete log after: Enter the number of days after which to delete the PlanetPress Fax service log.
- Raster resolution: 196 dpi l Windows Fax Service l l l l l l Report Failures: Select to have PlanetPress Fax generate a report whenever the maximum number of retries for a single fax is exceeded. The error generated by the Windows Fax Service is also logged in the report. Note that when PlanetPress Fax is unable to send a fax because an empty fax number is used as the only recipient for a document, a failure will not be reported but an error will be logged.
when PlanetPress Fax is unable to send a fax because an empty fax number is used as the only recipient for a document, a failure will not be reported but an error will be logged. l l l l Report Successes: Select to have PlanetPress Fax generate a report whenever one of the faxes in the PlanetPress Fax Job reaches its destination successfully or at least as far as the Windows Fax service is concerned. Folder: Enter or select the location of the report file.
l l l Check for updates: Click to access the Objectif Lune website to search for updates to PlanetPress Image. You are guided through the updating process with the PlanetPress Workflow Update Service wizard. About: Click to display an About dialog box for PlanetPress Fax. This dialog box contains information such as the version number, whether the software is activated or the number of days remaining in the trial.
PlanetPress Image preferences PlanetPress Image user options control certain functions of the PlanetPress Image service, which in turn has a direct impact on all PlanetPress Image output tasks performed on a given computer. These include error and logging options, PlanetPress Search database options, as well as networking and email options.
of the job is created in the Error folder, which is located in the PlanetPress Workflow installation folder. l l l l l l Name or address not resolved: Select to send an email to the administrator when a name or address in the document selected to be used in PlanetPress Image cannot be resolved. Delete log after: Enter the number of days to wait before deleting the log of the generated PlanetPress Image output.
l l l l l l l l Database directory: Enter the path of the directory in which the Access database is located, or use the Browse button to navigate to, and select, the directory. This option is available only when you select Access database in the Database type box. Data source name: Enter the name of the computer on which the database runs. This option is available only when you select SQL Server database or Oracle database in the Database type box.
l Use SMTP mail group: Check to activate this group’s options and to use Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) to send the error messages to the administrators. Note that if you select this option, you will be required to enter information in the Name, Email address and Outgoing mail (SMTP) boxes. l l l l l l Name: Enter the name of the user sending the error messages to the administrators. Organization: Enter the name of the organization of the user sending the error messages to the administrators.
yyyymmdd numerical format. Note that changing this option also affects the log displayed in the PlanetPress Workflow Service Console. l l l l No source port range restriction: Select to remove any restrictions on the port PlanetPress Workflow uses to send the job file via the LPR/LPD protocol. Clear to restrict the port used to send the job to one in the range between 721 and 731. Print up to: Select the maximum number of files that can be simultaneously sent to print by the LPR output service.
The available preferences are as follows: l l User name: Enter the user name of a valid PrintShop Web user, mostly operators. Password: Enter the password associated with the user name on the PrintShop Web server. Note It is also mandatory to send your configuration to your PlanetPress Workflow service since the PrintShop Web credentials are included in the *.
l l l l l l l l l l Optimal fill: Select to optimize the indent of every auto-indented line by minimizing the number of space and/or tab characters it uses. You must select both Auto indent mode and use tab character to use this option. Backspace unindents: Select to move the insertion pointer to the previous indentation level when you press BACKSPACE.
portion of code, or by double-clicking to highlight the word or line under the pointer (the Double click line option determines whether a word or line highlights). You can cut, copy, paste, and print selections. If you also select Enable dragging, you can drag selections to reposition them in the code. l l l l l l l Enable dragging: Select to permit dragging and dropping a selection to reposition it in the program. This option works only if you also select Enable selection.
l l l l Use monospace fonts only: Select to display only fixed width fonts in the Editor font drop-down list. Every character in a fixed width font occupies the same amount of space. Sample: Displays a preview of the font selected in the Editor font option, at the size selected in the Size option. Margin and Gutter Group l l l l l l l Size: Use to select the font size the Editor uses to display the program code. A preview of the selected font, at the selected size, appears in the Sample box.
includes pre-set color values and attributes for each script element as listed in the Elements list box. After selecting a mapping, you can edit individual elements to change their pre-sets by selecting them in the Element list box and editing their values. l l l l Element list box: Select a script element in the Element list box, then edit the background and foreground color with which it is displayed, and/or its formatting attributes.
l " Adding Branches" on the facing page l " Edit a Task" on the facing page l " Replacing Tasks, Conditions or Branches" on page 730 l " Remove Tasks or Branches" on page 730 l " Task Properties Dialog" on page 731 l " Cutting, Copying and Pasting Tasks and Branches" on page 732 l " Moving a Task or Branch Using Drag-and-Drop" on page 735 l " Ignoring Tasks and Branches" on page 736 l " Resize Rows and Columns of the Process Area" on page 736 l " Selecting Documents in Tasks Links" on pag
2. Locate the task you want to add to your process. You can navigate between the different task categories by clicking the icons at the bottom of the Plug-in Bar. 3. Using your mouse, click and drag the task in your process at the place you want to insert it. 4. Depending on where you place your mouse, you may see that you can replace or insert existing tasks, or not place it at that location at all. 5.
To edit a task: 1. In the PlanetPress Workflow Process area, double-click the Task icon. A dialog box containing the available task properties is displayed. 2. Edit the task properties as required. Click specific tabs to see all the properties associated with the task. 3. Click OK to close the dialog box and save the new properties. Replacing Tasks, Conditions or Branches You can replace existing tasks either by dropping a new task on it, or by pasting another task over it.
l l Click on the task or branch you want to delete, and press the Delete (or "Del") key on your keyboard. Right-click on the task or branch you want to delete, and select Delete from the menu. When you remove a branch, all the tasks located in that branch are also deleted. When you delete a task, only that task is deleted. Note You cannot use the Delete option to remove an input or output task, but you can rightclick on them and click Cut instead.
The "On Error" tab that is common to almost all tasks contain the following options: l l l Send to Process: Check this option to send the job file to an error management process. Error Process drop-down: Enabled only when the Send to Process option is checked. Lists any process of which the initial input task is the Input Error Bin task. Action Group: This group is disabled in the initial input tasks and defaults to Stop Process.
To cut and paste tasks or branches: 1. In PlanetPress Workflow Process area, select the task or branch you want to cut and paste. 2. From the Home tab in the Ribbon, choose Cut (or right-click and select Cut from the drop-down menu). 3. To paste the task or branch to a different process, select that process. 4. Select the task or branch crossing above which you want the task or branch to be pasted. 5. From the Home tab in the Ribbon, choose Paste (or right-click and select Paste from the drop-down menu).
l Tasks and branches will always appear on top (in other words, before) the task or branch where you paste it. The only exceptions are input and output tasks which can only be pasted on top of Unknown Task. Note Instead of pasting the actual task or branch, you can simply paste the properties of the task or branch. To copy and paste Properties of a task or branch: 1. Copy or Cut a task or branch of which you want to have the properties. 2.
Moving a Task or Branch Using Drag-and-Drop When you want to move a given task or branch, the simplest way is to use drag-and-drop. Using the mouse, you can drag and drop tasks and branches only within a given process. To move tasks and branches between different processes, see Cutting, Copying and Pasting Tasks and Branches. When you move a task or branch using drag and drop, it typically moves from its original location to a position immediately preceding the target onto which you dropped it.
dropped over an unknown initial input task will replace it. The same is true of an output task that is dragged and dropped over an unknown output task. Ignoring Tasks and Branches PlanetPress Workflow lets you ignore individual tasks, branches or conditions. l l When a task is disabled, it is not executed when the process is run in debug mode (see About the Debug Mode) or by PlanetPress Workflow Service.
Selecting Documents in Tasks Links The Properties dialog box of some action and output tasks let you select documents. Depending on where the document selection list appears you will have access to all the documents or only the documents installed on a printer queue. In most cases, you have three options: l l l You can choose not to use any document (only in certain cases). This means no document is merged with the data and the job file is sent as is.
Highlight a Task or Branch The Highlight command lets you toggle the background color of selected tasks and branches. Note that the highlight color may be changed via the PlanetPress Workflow Configuration preferences. To highlight a Process Area square: l Use the mouse pointer to select a given square. l In the PlanetPress Workflow button, click the View tab. l Select Highlight from the Navigate group. To remove the highlight, repeat the procedure.
The Quick Access Toolbar PlanetPress Workflow Quick Access Toolbar is displayed, by default, on the right side of the PlanetPress Workflow button and provides one-click shortcuts to commonly used functions and features. You can add as many buttons as you want to the Quick Access Toolbar and remove them at will. To add a new button to the Quick Access Toolbar: 1. Locate the button you want to add in one of the tabs of the Ribbon. 2. Right-Click on the button. 3. Select Add to Quick Access toolbar.
The PlanetPress Workflow Ribbon The PlanetPress Workflow Ribbon centralizes commands, organizing them into a set of Tabs, each tab containing groups of controls. Each tab on the Ribbon displays the commands that are most relevant to a given feature set. The built-in Ribbon and Quick Access Toolbar contain commands that are frequently used and convenient to keep close at hand. You can minimize the Ribbon, and choose the position of the Quick Access Toolbar, as well as the commands it displays.
l l l The Show/Hide group contains four controls to display or hide any of the four panes; the Configuration Components pane, the Object Inspector pane, the Message pane, the Debug Info pane and the Plug-in Bar. The Debug tab includes the Data, Debug and Debug Messages groups.
l l l l The Document Manager button opens the PlanetPress Capture Document Manager. The Pen Manager button opens the PlanetPress Capture Pen Management Tool. The Test Page group contains: l l l The Service Console button opens the The PlanetPress Workflow Service Console, allowing to monitor real-time information on the configuration execution.
Additional Information You can find additional information that complement the user manual about PlanetPress Workflow in the knowledge base.
Copyright Information Copyright © 1994-2018 Objectif Lune Inc. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any other language or computer language in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, whether it be electronic, mechanical, magnetic, optical, manual or otherwise, without prior written consent of Objectif Lune Inc. Objectif Lune Inc.
Legal Notices and Acknowledgements PlanetPress Workflow, Copyright © 2018, Objectif Lune Inc. All rights reserved. The license agreements for the associated open source third party components can be downloaded here. This application uses the following third party components: l l l l l l Adobe PDF Library which is either a registered trademark or trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and\or other countries. Adobe XMP Core Copyright © 1999 - 2010, Adobe Systems Incorporated.
l l l l l l l l l l l l Jacob Java Com Bridge which is licensed under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License Version 2. The source code for this can be obtained from the following location: http://sourceforge.net/projects/jacob-project/files/jacob-project/ JavaCraft JSch Copyright © 2002 - 2012 Atsuhiko Yamanaka, JCraft Inc. All rights reserved. JavaSysMon Copyright © 2009 ThoughtWorks, Inc. All rights reserved.
l l l l l l l l l l l Relique CSV Driver which is licensed under the terms of the Lesser General Public License Version 2.0. This can be obtained from the following location: http://sourceforge.net/p/csvjdbc/code/ci/master/tree/ Rhino 1.6R7 and 1.7R2 which are licensed under the terms of the Mozilla License Version 1.1. The source code for this can be obtained from the following location: https://developer.mozilla.
Portions of certain libraries included in this application which are distributed under the terms of the Mozilla Public License have been modified. To obtain copies of the modified libraries please contact your local Objective Lune Support team. This application also uses the following components which are distributed under the terms of the Apache Software License Version 2.
l Apache OpenCMIS l Apache POI l Apache ServiceMix l Apache Tomcat l Apache WSS4J l Apache Xalan l Apache Xerces2 Java Parser l Apache XMLGraphics l Apache XML-RPC l Barcode4j l Google Collections l Google GSON l Jetty l LMAX Disruptor l OPS4J Pax Web l org.json.simple l Spring Dynamic Modules l StAX l XMLBeans Eclipse Technology: This Software includes unmodified Eclipse redistributables, which are available at www.eclipse.org.
l freemarker/ext/jsp/web-app_2_2.dtd l freemarker/ext/jsp/web-app_2_3.dtd l freemarker/ext/jsp/web-app_2_4.xsd l freemarker/ext/jsp/web-app_2_5.xsd l freemarker/ext/jsp/web-jsptaglibrary_1_1.dtd l freemarker/ext/jsp/web-jsptaglibrary_1_2.dtd l freemarker/ext/jsp/web-jsptaglibrary_2_0.xsd l freemarker/ext/jsp/web-jsptaglibrary_2_1.
