Objectif Lune PlanetPress Production - 7.2 Instruction Manual

User Guide

www.objectiflune.com

Copyright Information

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Title PlanetPress Workflow Tools User Guide Revision 2011-08-01

Table of Content

Table of Content 5

Overview 13

Icons used in this guide 13 Other Documentation 13

Getting Started 15

Environment Considerations 15

Terminal Server/Service 15 VMWare/ESX 15 32-Bit or 64-Bit? 15 Antivirus Considerations 15 Backup Considerations 16 Microsoft Office Compatibility 16

Network Considerations 16

Local and Network Rights 16 Account Requirements 17 Mapped Drives 17 Network Ports used by each service 17

Activate Your Printers 18

PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Service Logon 18

Understanding PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools 21

The Nature of PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools 21 The Three Flavors of the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools 21 Terms and Definitions 21 About Configurations 22 About Processes 23 About Subprocesses 23 About Tasks 23 About Branches and Conditions 24 About Data 25 About Data Selections 25 AboutData Emulation 25

Emulations in the PlanetPress Workflow Tools: 26

About Related Programs and Services 26

Available Input Services 26 Available Output Services 26

About Documents 27 About Printing 27

The PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Configuration Program 29

Start the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Configuration Program 30 The PlanetPress Suite Button 30

Table of Content

Create a New Configuration 31 Open a PlanetPress Suite Configuration File 31 Saving and Sending a Configuration 32 Save your Configuration 32 Send your Configuration 32 Import Processes from Another Configuration File 33 Import Documents 33 Import PrintShop Mail Documents 34 Change the Interface Language 34 Exit the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Configuration Program 34

The Quick Access Toolbar 35 The PlanetPress Suite Ribbon 36

Start and Stop the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Service 37

The Configuration Components Pane 38

Add a PlanetPress Suite Process 39 Manipulate Local Variables 40 Activate or Deactivate a Process 40 Convert a Branch to a Subprocess 41 Manipulate Global Variables 41 Access Process Properties 42 View Document Properties 45 Add Resident Documents in the Configuration Components Pane 46 Associate Documents and PlanetPress Watch Printer Queues 47 Using the Clipboard and Drag & Drop 47 Rename Objects in the Configuration Components Pane 49 Reorder Objects in the Configuration Components Pane 49 Grouping Configuration Components 50 Expand and Collapse Categories and Groups in the Configuration Components Pane 50 Delete Objects and Groups from the Configuration Components Pane 51

The Process Area 51

Zoom In or Out within Process Area 51 Adding Tasks 51 Adding Branches 52 Edit a Task 52 Replacing Tasks, Conditions or Branches 52 Remove Tasks or Branches 53 Task Properties Dialog 53 Cutting, Copying and Pasting Tasks and Branches 54 Moving a Task or Branch Using Drag-and-Drop 55 Ignoring Tasks and Branches 55 Resize Rows and Columns of the Process Area 56 Selecting Documents in Tasks 56 Highlight a Task or Branch 56 Undo a Command 57 Redo a Command 57

The Plug-in Bar 57

Table of Content

The Object Inspector Pane 58

Toggle the Run on Desktop Property 59

The Debug Information Pane 59 The Message Area Pane 60 Customizing the Program Window 60

Dock and Undock Areas of the Program Window 60 Show or Hide Areas of the Program Window 61 Combine and Attach Areas 61 Resize the Program Window Areas 65

Preferences 65

General User Options 66 Object Inspector User Options 66 Configuration Components Pane User Options 67 Default Configuration User Options 67 Notification Messages Preferences 67 Sample Data User Options 69 Network User Options 69 PlanetPress Capture User Options 70 Logging User Options 73 Messenger User Options 73 HTTP Server Input User Options 74 HTTPServer Input 2 User Options 74 LPD Input Preferences 75 Serial Input Service User Options 75 Telnet Input User Options 76 PlanetPress Fax User Options 76 FTP Output Service User Options 78 PlanetPress Image User Options 78 LPR Output User Options 80 PrintShop Web Connect Service User Options 81 Editor Options 81 Advanced SQL Statement dialog 84

Access Manager 84

To open the Access Manager 85 To add a new entry in the list 85 To modify permissions 85

SOAPAccess 86

To add a new SOAPuser 86 To define or change the permissions for a SOAP User 87 Add or Delete Document Instances 87 Virtual Drive Manager 87

Working With Variables 89

Types of Variables 89 Job Info Variables 89 Standard Variables 90

Table of Content

Available Standard Variables 90

Data in PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools 91

Choosing a Sample Data File 91 Use the Data Selector 91

Use the File Viewer 92

Choose a Database Type Sample Data File 92 Using the Metadata Data Selector 92 Data Selections in PlanetPress Workflow Tools 92

Text-Based Data Selections 93 Database Data Selections 93 PDF Data Selections 94 Metadata Selections 94

Data File and Job File 95

Actual Data and Sample Data 95 Job File Names and Output File Names 95

Task Properties Reference 97

Input Tasks 99

Initial and Secondary Input Tasks 100 Create File Input Task Properties 100 Folder Capture Input Task Properties 101 Folder Listing Input Task Properties 102 Concatenate PDF Files Input Task Properties 102 Email Input Task Properties 103 Error Bin Input Task Properties 105 FTP Input Task Properties 105 HTTP Client Input Task Properties 106 WinQueue Input Task Properties 106 HTTP Server Input Task Properties 107 LPD Input Task Properties 108 Serial Input Task Properties 109 PrintShop Web Connect Input Task Properties 109 Telnet Input Task Properties 110 SOAP Input Task Properties 111

Action Tasks 113

Add Document Action Properties 113 Add/Remove Text Action Properties 114 Search and Replace Action Task Properties 114 Advanced Search and Replace Action Task Properties 115 Create PDF Action Task Properties 116 Decompress Action Task Properties 117 Change Emulation Action Task Properties 118 External Program Action Task Properties 118 Download to Printer Action Task Properties 119 Load External File Action Properties 120 Rename Action Task Property 120 Set Job Infos and Variables Action Task Properties 120

Table of Content

Windows Print Converter Action Task Properties 121 Standard Filter Action Task Properties 122 Translator Action Task Properties 123 PlanetPress Database Action Task Properties 123 XSLT Editor Action Task Properties 126 Send Images to Printer Action Task Properties 127 Send to Folder Action Task Properties 128 Run Script Action Task Properties 128 Microsoft® Word® To PDF Action Task Properties 129 Create MRDX Action Task Properties 131 PrintShop Mail Action Task Properties 131

Process Logic Tasks 133

Branch Properties 133 Comment Properties 134 Conditions 134 File Name Condition Properties 134 File Size Condition Properties 135 SNMP Condition Properties 135 Text Condition Properties 136 Time of Day Condition 138 Splitters 138 About Using Emulations with Splitters 139 Database Splitter Action Task Properties 139 Emulated Data Splitter Action Task Properties 140 In-Stream Splitter Action Task Properties 142 PDF Splitter Action Task Properties 142 XML Splitter Action Task Properties 144 Generic Splitter Action Task Properties 145 Loop Action Task Properties 148 Send to Process Task Properties 148

Metadata Tasks 151

Barcode Scan Action Task Properties 151 Create Metadata Action Task Properties 154 Embed/Extract PlanetPress Suite Metadata 154 Lookup in Microsoft® Excel® Documents Action Task Properties 154 Metadata Fields Management Task Properties 156 Metadata Filter Action Task Properties 157 Metadata Level Creation Action Task Properties 157 Metadata Sequencer Action Task Properties 158 Metadata Sorter Task Properties 158 Metadata-Based N-Up Task Properties 159 Rule Interface 160 Output Tasks 163 Delete Output Task Properties 163 FTP Output Task Properties 163 Laserfiche Repository Output Task Properties 164

Table of Content

Printer Queue Output Task Properties 166 Print Using a Windows Driver Output Task Properties 167 SOAP Client Task Properties 169 Send Email Output Task Properties 170 Send to Folder Output Task Properties 172 Output to SharePoint Action Task Properties 172 About PlanetPress Fax 175 PlanetPress Fax Output Task Properties 175 Captaris RightFax Configuration 176 About PlanetPress Image 179 PlanetPress Image Output Task Properties 179 Digital Action Task Properties 185 Overview of the PDF/A and PDF/X Standards 186

Variable Properties 187 Unknown Tasks 188 Masks 188

Date and Time Format 188

PlanetPress Capture 191

The 3 steps to a PlanetPress Capture workflow 191

1. Creating a Capture-Ready document 191

2. Generating the Capture Patterns 191

3. Capturing and Archiving 191

PlanetPress Capture Glossary 192

Anoto Digital Pen 192 Anoto Functionality Statement 192 Anoto Pattern 192 Capture Condition 192 Capture-Ready Document 192 Capture Document Manager 192 Capture Field 192 Capture Fields Generator 192 Capture Fields Processor 193 Client/Server Architecture 193 Closed Document 193 Contamination 193 Get Capture Document 193 ICR(Intelligent Character Recognition) 193 Ink Data 193 Open Document 193 Pattern Sequence 193 Pen ID 194 PGCFile 194 Pidget 194 PlanetPress Capture Database 194 Trace Code 194

General Considerations 194

Table of Content

Security Considerations 196

Anoto penDirector 197 Capture Fields Generator Action Task 197 Capture PGC Splitter Task 198

Capture Fields Processor Action Task 199 Get Capture Document Action Task 201

Capture Condition Properties 201

Printer Queues and Documents 203

PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Printer Queues 203 Printer Queue Advanced Properties 203 Windows Output Printer Queue Properties 204 LPR Output Printer Queue Properties 204 FTP Output Printer Queue Properties 205 Send to Folder Printer Queue Properties 206

PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools and PlanetPress Design Documents 207 Variable Content Document File Formats: PTZ, PTK and PS 207 PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools and Printshop Mail Documents 208

Triggers 208

Load Balancing 209 Location of Documents and Resources 211

Debugging PlanetPress Suite Processes 213

About the Debug Mode 213

Debugging your PlanetPress Suite Process 213

View Runtime Information via the PlanetPress Suite Service Console 214

Error Handling 217

About Error Handling 217 Error Handling Tools 217

Creating and Using Error Processes 217 Accessing the Logs 218

Resubmit Backed Up Input Files to a Process 219 Knowing What to Resubmit 220

Using Scripts 221

The Script Editor and XSLT Editor 221 Use the Editor 222 Import and Export Scripts 222 Find Strings in a Script 222 Find and Replace Strings in a Script 223 Go to a Line in a Script 224 Toggle Bookmarks 224 Jump to Bookmarks 225

SOAP Server API Reference 225

SOAP API - SubmitJob 225 SOAP API - PostJob 226 SOAP API - GetProcessList 226 SOAP API - GetProcessTaskList 227

Table of Content

SOAP API - GetSOAPProcessList 228 SOAP API - PostJobInfoStruc 228 SOAP API - SubmitJobInfStruc 229

The Watch Object 229

Watch.ShowMessage 230 Watch.ExecuteExternalProgram 231 Watch.GetJobFileName 232 Watch.GetOriginalFileName 232 Watch.GetMetadataFilename 232 Watch.InputBox 233 Watch.GetJobInfo 234 Watch.SetJobInfo 234 Watch.GetVariable 235 Watch.SetVariable 235 Watch.ExpandString 236 Watch.Log 236 Watch.Sleep 237 Script.ReturnValue 238

Stopping Execution 239

Index 241

Overview

This PDF documentation covers version 7.2. 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.

Icons used in this guide

Some icons are used throughout this guide in order to catch your attention to certain particular information.

Notes: This icon shows you something that complements the information around it. Understanding notes is not critical but may be helpful when using PlanetPress Workflow Tools.

Warnings: This icon shows information that may be critical when using PlanetPress Workflow Tools. It is important to pay attention to these warnings.

Technical: This icon shows technical information that may require some technical knowledge to understand.

Getting Started

This chapter describes how to install the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools and how to set up your working environment.

Environment Considerations

This page is intended to provide technical information about the environment in which PlanetPress Workflow is intended to run.

Terminal Server/Service

PlanetPress Suite does not support Terminal Server (or Terminal Service) environment as possible under Windows 2000, 2003 and 2008. This is to say, if Terminal Service is installed on the server where PlanetPress Suite is located, unexpected behaviours may occur and will not be supported by our company. Furthermore, using PlanetPress Suite in a Terminal Service environment is probably an infringement of our End-User License Agreement.

Terminal Service is not to be confused with "Remote Desktop" used in conjunction with the "Remote Desktop" options of all Windows operating systems. Remote Desktop, when used to connect to a PlanetPress Server in a non-simultaneous setting, is perfectly acceptable. However, it has been reported that PlanetPress may lock up when access through Remote Desktop connections.

VMWare/ESX

PlanetPress Suite supports VMWare Workstation, VMWare Server, VMWare Player and VMWare ESX infrastructure environments as software installed on the Guest operating system. However, note that only PlanetPress version 7.1.3 and higher support VMotion under ESX. Also note that copying (duplicating) your VMWare Guest Machine and using it simultaneously constitutes an infringement of our End-User License Agreement.

Furthermore, if your backup solution includes the use of virtual machine snapshots, please keep in mind that if a snapshot is taken during a time when PlanetPress Workflow Tool is processing a job, this job may process again if the snapshot is restored. It is thus recommended that you take your snapshots outside of processing hours, whenever that may be.

Note that while VMWare ESX, Workstation, Server and Player (from VMWare, Inc.) are supported, other virtual environments (such as Microsoft Virtual PC, Parallels, Xen and others) are not supported at this time.

32-Bit or 64-Bit?

PlanetPress Suite version 7.1.3 and higher support 64-Bit operating system. However, our application remains 32-bits in this environment, which means that for all intents and purposes there is no difference between those two environments as far as PlanetPress Suite is concerned.

Antivirus Considerations

PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools generates a very large amount of temporary data on your hard disk, especially when manipulating or creating PDF files. This can sometimes cause issues when any other software is trying to access the temporary files at the same time as PlanetPress Workflow and its components are trying to read, write, create or delete those files.

In this respect, any antivirus software installed on the machine should ignore the following folders in it's live scans as well as daily "deep" or "complete" scans:

Getting Started

l On Windows 2000/2003/XP:

l C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Objectif Lune\PlanetPress Suite 7\ l C:\Documents and Settings\planetpress\Local Settings\Temp\ (where planetpress is the user under which

Watch is configured)

l On Windows Vista/7/2008:

l C:\ProgramData\Objectif Lune\PlanetPress Suite 7\ l C:\Users\planetpress\AppData\Local\Temp\ (where planetpress is the user under which Watch is configured)

l On all systems:

l C:\Windows\Temp\

Note: C:\Windows\Temp\ is used by multiple software which may cause risks on your computer. However, PlanetPress Workflow may use this folder as temporary storage, especially in the case of creating PDF files. We do not recommend disabling scan on this folder, unless you notice performance issues when generating PDFs, and then only as a test.

Backup Considerations

For similar reasons, it is important to know that backup software can also access files while copying them to a remote backup location, so you should make sure that no PlanetPress Workflow process is working during your backups.

Microsoft Office Compatibility

The Microsoft Office 2010 line of products has not been certified for use with PlanetPress Suite. Some of its products may not be compatible with the connectors included in the Suite.

Network Considerations

While PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools is typically installed on a server machine that is only accessed by one single user such as an ITperson, multiple users logging on to that machine is a possibility (except with terminal servers, see "Environment Con-

siderations" (page 15)). Because each user may have different local and network rights, it may be important to consider the

implications in regards to the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools. To change the service logon information, see "PlanetPress

Suite Workflow Tools Service Logon" (page 18).

Local and Network Rights

Programs, such as PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools and all its services, must identify themselves in order to be granted permission to perform operations on the computer on which they run as well as on other computers accessible via a network connection. On a given workstation, you can configure your PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools to use either the local system account or any specific user account. When you do this, you grant the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools and all its services the same rights associated with the selected account (except for PlanetPress Messenger Service which always runs on the Local System account).

When you are running the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Configuration program on a workstation, if it is associated with an account that is different from your account, the following icon is displayed in the lower right corner of the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Configuration program: . The icon reminds you that the logon information is different for the PlanetPress Suite services, and that some network resources may not be accessibly by PlanetPress Suite when running a live configuration.

Getting Started

Account Requirements

PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools and its services require administrator rights to run on any given computer and must therefore be associated with an account that has such rights.

We recommend creating a network or domain account specifically for the PlanetPress Suite services (typically called "planetpress"or "ppress"), which has administrator credentials on the machine where it is installed, and is given proper rights for any network resources your configuration may request.

Mapped Drives

Mapped drives (for example, drive X: leading to \\server\public\)are always user-specific and are created at logon. This means that mapped drives are typically not available by the PlanetPress Suite services when running a live configuration. Furthermore, while the mapped drives are not shared, they are still limited to one map per computer, meaning if one user maps the X: drive, a different user (or a service)will not be able to map it again.

This creates a limitation in the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools:if you create a mapped drive as a user, you will not have access to this mapped drive while running as a service unless you log off, and then have PlanetPress Workflow Tools map the drive using a Run Script action inside a Startup Process.

We strongly recommended that instead of using mapped drives, you use full UNCpaths for your network drives. PlanetPress Suite Worfklow Tools can automatically convert mapped paths to UNCpaths. For more information, please see "Network User

Options" (page 69).

Network Ports used by each service

The port configuration for each PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools component is described in the following table. The port number assignments comply with Internet standards. If the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools component is not active, the port is not used.

Component Protocol Local Port Remote Port Email Input (POP3 mode) TCP Default Email Input (Outlook mode) TCP see Remote Port See Microsoft Knowledge Base article 278339

Folder Capture TCP/UDP Default

LPD Input TCP 515 (listening port) N/A FTP Input TCP Default Telnet Input TCP Default FTP Output TCP Default Email Output (SMTP mode) TCP Default

Email Output (Outlook mode) TCP

Send to Folder Windows Queue Output

TCP Default

See Email Input (Outlook mode)

LPR Output TCP Default or 721 to 731 PlanetPress Database

TCP or

Unknown

110

Standard Windows file and printer sharing ports2:

l UDP 137, 138; TCP 139 (NetBIOS over

TCP/IP (NetBT))

l UDP 445; TCP 445 (SMB over TCP/IP)

21 9100 (configurable) 21 25

See Email Input (Outlook mode)

Standard Windows file and printer sharing ports2:

l 137, 138 and/or 139 (NetBIOS over TCP/IP

(NetBT))

l 445 (SMB Over TCP/IP)

515 Unknown

Getting Started

Component Protocol Local Port Remote Port

UDP

SNMP Condition UDP Default

161

1. Value is greater than 1024 and is assigned by Windows XP. This is the default.

2. Windows NT 4.0 uses NetBIOS over TCP/IP for file and printer sharing, while Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 may be configured to use NetBIOS over TCP/IP or SMB over TCP/IP. The operating system may use additional ports. Refer to the Windows documentation for further information.

3. If the “No source port range restriction” option is checked (recommended), see footnote a. If the option is unchecked, the local port will be chosen from a range going from 721 to 731.

4. Contact your DBMS vendor to determine which ports are used by the ODBC driver for accessing a network database.

Activate Your Printers

The Activate a Printer dialog lists the existing activated printers on the system and lets you add new activations.

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.

The printer list displays the following information

l License Number:Reference number of the activation, linked to your customer account. l Magic Number:The magic number generated by the printer. If the magic number is incorrect, your jobs will output

with a watermark on that printer.

l Activation Code:The activation code generated by your license number and magic number. If the activationcode is

incorrect, your jobs will output with a watermark on that printer.

l Printer Name (Optional):Name and/or model of the printer. l Comments (Optional):Comments about the printer.

The following buttons are available in this dialog:

l Add:Brings up the Printer Activation dialog. This dialog lets you enter the information for the printer (see previous sec-

tion), then click OKto save the new activation.

l Delete:Removes the currently selected activation from the list. l Web Activation:Click to access the online activation manager on our website. l OK:Save changes and exit. l Cancel:Exit without saving changes.

You can also double-click on any existing activation to edit it.

PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Service Logon

To be able to run and to have access to local files as well as to files available on other computers in your network, PlanetPress Suite applications and services must identify themselves using a local or network account.

The first time you start the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Configuration program, the application automatically asks you to choose an account (see procedure below).

You can also manually start this procedure from the PlanetPress SuiteWorkflow Tools by following this procedure:

Getting Started

1. Click on the Tools tab in the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Ribbon, then click Configure Services.

2. Set the PlanetPress Suite applications permissions as required:

l Local System account: Select to run all the PlanetPress Suite Services (including PlanetPress Suite Workflow

Tools, PlanetPress Fax, and PlanetPress Image) under the Local System account. The Local System account is distinct from the Administrator account. It requires no username or password, and its privileges may exceed those of the user currently logged in. Running under this accountrather than a user account prevents problems thatmay arise if the user lacks a permission the service requires. If a configuration relies on any resources mapped to a particular user, such as mapped network drives or shared printers, they are unavailable. It is recommended that you create a configuration for a particular user. Clear Local System account to run all the PlanetPress Suite Services under the account you specify. Use the options that become available when you clear Local System account to enter the account information—you must enter a valid user name and password to use Microsoft Outlook as your email client for Email input and Send email output tasks.

l Display network domains and usernames: Select to have PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Con-

figuration search for existing domains and display the domains it find in the Domain box, and the usernames in those domains in the Username box. Although this is useful if you do not know the domain name and username of the account you want to specify, it can also be very time-consuming if there are many domains.

l Domain: Select the domain in which the user account resides, or enter the name of the domain manually. l Username: Enter the name of the user account. l Password: Enter the password for the user account you specified in the Username box. l Confirm password: Enter the password you entered in the Password box. l Services start automatically: Select to start the required PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools automatically.

3. Click OK.. PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools applies the user account information to all the services (PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools, PlanetPress Fax, PlanetPress Image, LPD input, Serial input, Telnet input, FTP output, LPR output), thatrun on this computer (with the exception of PlanetPress Suite Messenger, which always runs under the Local System account).

The PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Configuration program does not test usernames and passwords, but merely associates them with the services that require them. If you enter a bad username or password, these services will be denied access to the selected account.

The account you choose will be used by PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools and all its services, as well as by PlanetPress Fax and PlanetPress Image (only PlanetPress Suite Messenger is not affected, since it always uses the Local System account). If you install PlanetPress Fax or PlanetPress Image on the same computer after performing this procedure, you will have to perform it once again, so as to choose the same account for all the installed applications.

Understanding PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools

PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools are input driven applications designed to outputdata in a variety of ways through diverse means to various applications and devices. PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools can be used as simple go betweens, passing along inputdata to outputdevices, but it can also perform various types of data processing.

This chapter explains how you can combine the various PlanetPress Workflow Tools services to set up versatile automated processes to print jobs as well as generate other types of output.

The Nature of PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools

The PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools act as sorts of dispatchers. On the one hand, they retrieves data and controls plugins thatretrieve data from watched locations, and on the other hand they send data and controls plugins that send data to various devices, for printing or to generate documents that can then be emailed or faxed. PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools can also perform a variety of operations on the data using its action plugins.

In fact, the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools plugin based architecture enables almost limitless customization. You can create or purchase compatible plugins, drop them in any of the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools plugin folder and use them to perform other operations. You can even find free unsupported plugins on the Objectif Lune Web site.

PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools are service applications, or if you will, applications that continuously run on a given computer and that perform actions automatically. Those actions are defined in a PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools configuration. To create and manage PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools configurations, you use one of three possible applications called PlanetPress Watch Configuration, PlanetPress Office Configuration and PlanetPress Production Configuration. A given computer can only run one PlanetPress Suite configuration at a time. The PlanetPress Suite Service Console may be used to monitor the services running on a given computer.

The Three Flavors of the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools

The term Workflow Tools is a general name that includes all three flavors of the tools:

l PlanetPress Watch l PlanetPress Office l PlanetPress Production

To view an explanation of the Workflow Tools and their different flavors, please see the following PDFdocument:

http://www.objectiflune.com/OL/lib/en-CA/Documents/Brochure/OL-PPS-DSWORKFLOW.pdf

Throughout this document, unless we are referring to a specific version of the Workflow Tools, we will always use the term Workflow Tools.

Terms and Definitions

The following terms and definitions will be used throughout this help file. We invite you to getfamiliar with them to simplify the understanding of the documentation.

Understanding PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools

l PlanetPress Suite Workflow Configuration (or "Configuration"):The Configuration is a physical file opened by

the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools and it contains all of the elements (tasks, processes, documents and printer queues)that drive your workflow.

l Process: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.

l Task:A single block in a process (also known as a plugin). Tasks can be used for input, outputor manipulation. Some

tasks gather data, others output data in different locations.

l Trunk:The main "branch"of a process. If a process does not have any branch or condition, that process contains one

initial input and one output on a single trunk.

l Branch:A branch in a process means your workflow will stop, follow the branch up until its output, and then return to

the main trunk to continue processing. Each additional branch in your process means you will need an additional output task also.

l Condition:Acondition is a type of branch where the workflow will only go one way - either in the branch, or in the

main trunk. If a condition is true, the branch is followed. If the condition is false, the main trunk is followed.

l Job Info:Alocal variable that is called by its numbered id, from 0 to 9. There are only 10 job infos. Job infos are nor-

mally used to communicate information from the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools to a PlanetPress Design document, either in printer outputs or connectors such as Image or Fax.

l Variables:A variable is a name that refers to specific information thatis kept in the computer memory. Avariable can

be modified via programming or certain tasks, and are generally accessible anywhere in your process (except certain locations).

l Job:The processing of one or more job files, through one or more processes. l Job File:The physical file that is generated (or obtained)through a process' input task. The job file can be of multiple

formats including plain text, CSV, databases, XMLand PDFs.

l Sample File/Sample Data:Aphysical file that contains the data used to create your process, including examples of

any data that you need to rely on (such as texts for conditions, or data for variables). The sample file should be limited in size to speed up processing time while designing your process.

l Emulation:Afilter used to read the job file that is used in your process. Emulation lets you read different types of files

ranging from text-only line printer data to more complex PDFand XMLfiles, as well as database files.

About Configurations

PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools configuration files are defined as a set of processes, subprocesses, variables, documents and printer queues, that work together within the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Service.

PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools cannot work without a valid configuration and a PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools session running on a given computer can only use one configuration at a time. Once you have created a configuration, you must “send” it to the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Service. When you do this, your PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tool forgets its previous configuration and starts executing the tasks included in the new configuration.

A PlanetPress Suite configuration must be composed of at least one process, but it may include as many as 512.

For a configuration created in PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tool Configuration to actually be executed by PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tool, it must be sent to its PlanetPress Suite service.

See the following pages for information on different parts of the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Configuration:

l For information about Processes, see "About Processes" (page 23). l For information about Subprocesses, see "About Subprocesses" (page 23). l For information about Global Variables, see "Working With Variables" (page 89).

Understanding PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools

About 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 differentfolder. In most cases, though, processes are more elaborate and configurations, which may include many processes, can be extremely complex.

The available processes in your PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Configuration are listed in the "The Configuration Com-

ponents Pane" (page 38). Processes in a configuration will always run concurrently. You can schedule processes to run only at

certain times or intervals (see "Access Process Properties" (page 42)).

There are three types of processes available to you:

l A Normal process will run as soon as an input file is available through its input task or, if it is scheduled not to run at

thattime, will start processing as soon as the schedule permits it.

l Startup processes are processes that run only once before every other process in a given configuration. They can

be used to perform operations thatneed to be completed once before the configuration can actually be run, such as to map network drives. You may only have one single startup process in your configuration.

l Subprocesses are processes which can be called by any other process from any action task. They can be used to per-

form and reuse redundant operations that may need to be executed numerous times. For more information on subprocesses, see "About Subprocesses" (page 23).

Regular and startup processes can be set to be Active (process runs normally)or Inactive (process will not run at all). An inactive process will display in the Configuration components as red and strike-through. Inactive processes can be useful for designing new processes in a live configuration, since the process does not execute there is no danger is submitting it to the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Service.

About Subprocesses

Subprocesses are special processes that can be called by any other process. These act exactly as subroutines in pro-

gramming languages, allowing users to reuse existing processes 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 PlanetPress Suite 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. This means the subprocess feature is synchronous with the main process. This also means the calling process actually appends the subprocess to its own workflow.

About Tasks

A task is a plug-in or a block that is used to build PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools 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.

There are different types of tasks:

Understanding PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools

l Input Task:Will either capture data from a specific location, or wait for input from a service or other computer to

start processing.

l Action Task:Will manipulate the data in any number of ways. An action task is any task that is not an input or output

task or a branch or condition.

l Output Task:Will output data to a specific location or send to a differentservice or computer.

Some tasks have a multi purpose and can be used as either an input, action or output task or any combination. These multi purpose tasks are indicated as such in the task description and can be found in the most relevant section of the available tasks.

For more information on the tasks available to you in the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools, see the following pages:

l "Input Tasks" (page 99) l "Action Tasks" (page 113) l "Process Logic Tasks" (page 133) l "Metadata Tasks" (page 151) l "Output Tasks" (page 163) l "About PlanetPress Fax" (page 175) l "About PlanetPress Image" (page 179)

About Branches and Conditions

While some processes can simply start with an input task, manipulate the data witha few action tasks and finish withan output task, in some cases you may want to have more control over the flow of your process. For example, you may want multiple outputs, such as printing to multiple printers as well as generating a PDFand emailing it. To do this, you will need branches. You may also want to detect certain criteria in your data and act differently depending on that data, such as sending a fax only when a fax number is found, or printing to a different printer depending on who send you a print job. To do this, Conditions are used.

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 Properties" (page

133).

A branch is represented as a crossing .

Conditions

Acondition will either execute the branch it creates or the main trunk, but never both. As your job file goes down the process, when it encounters a condition it will verify whether that condition results in a "true"or "false"value. If the result is true, it goes in the branch, processes all tasks up to the output, and the process finishes. If the result is false, it goes down the main trunk and continues processing until the process finishes. For more information on conditions, see "Conditions" (page 134).

A conditional branch (or condition) is shown as a crossing with a red diamond over it

Understanding PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools

About Data

Data is what drives your business, and our software. We define data as anything that is obtained through an Input Task and used within the process itself. Once the data is obtained, it becomes the job file that is passed from one task to another and generally used to generate output.

Data can be manipulated using the tasks in the process, used as comparison for conditions and loops, complemented with data from other sources, and used to generate your output. It originates from many different sources (as many as the Input Tasks support), parts of it can be stored in variables, and is always accessible by the task that currently handles it.

Data is referred to using Data Selections either from the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools or a PlanetPress Design Document thatis being merged with the data (for example in a printed output).

For more information about Data, please see the chapter "Data in PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools" (page 91).

Null characters present in the data may not be displayed properly when using the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Configuration program, and that they may also be printed differently by different printers. To ensure consistency, you should consider filtering out such characters.

About Data Selections

A data selection could be compared to an address. It indicates a location within a data file using coordinates. The PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Configuration program includes a tool called the Data Selector that helps you make data selections. The Data Selector does two things:

l It uses the current 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.

l It displays the formatted data to let you make selections easily using the mouse pointer.

The Data Selector is essentially the same as the one used in PlanetPress Design.

AboutData Emulation

Emulations are like filters that can be used to read the data. When you create a document in PlanetPress Design, you choose a sample data file and specify the emulation to use for the chosen data. The emulation setting you choose will typically always be associated with that document. If you choose a CSV (comma separated values) file and specify the corresponding emulation, for instance, commas encountered in the data will typically be considered as value separators.

Within the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools, the same emulation tools as PlanetPress Design are available throughout your process, using the Data Selector. One notable exception however is that User-Defined Emulation is not available because it uses PlanetPress Talk code, which is not available within the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Configuration Program.

The emulation that is used in your process can change during the process, and can be different than the one used in any PlanetPress Design document used in your process. PlanetPress Design documents use their own emulations, as defined in the document itself from PlanetPress Design.

Understanding PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools

Emulations in the PlanetPress Workflow Tools:

l Line Printer l ASCII l CSV l Channel Skip l Database l XML l PDF

PDFEmulation, also called Document Input, is only available in PlanetPress Production and PlanetPress Office. If used in PlanetPress Watch, it will cause a watermark to appear in any output.

For more information about each emulation and how to use them, please consult the PlanetPress Design User Guide.

About Related Programs and Services

Services are programs that run in the background and automatically perform tasks that often do not require any user interaction. With the exception of PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Configuration, all the programs used by PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools are run as service applications. PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools can thus use them as required without the need for any user interaction.

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 Suite Workflow Tools and their related services, you typically use a command included in your PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Configuration program to start and stop most services. Opening and closing your PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Configuration program has no effect on these services.

Available Input Services

Input services are used to pull in data files. The input services used by PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools are:

l LPD (Line Printer Daemon) Input service: Inputs data sent from an LPR client. The LPD/LPR printing protocol

is a common way to send print jobs that, in turn, use the TCP/IP protocol to communicate through the network.

l PrintShop Mail Web Capture service: Monitors printrequests from a PrintShop Web server. l Serial Input service: Monitors a single serial port for incoming data. Note that all Serial input tasks use the same

serial port (set in the user options of the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Configuration program).

l Telnet Input service: Monitors multiple telnet ports for incoming data. Note that each Telnet input task has its own

telnet port number (set in each task).

l HTTP/SOAP Server service: Monitors web pages and web sites as well as SOAP servers.

Available Output Services

Output services are used to output jobs. The output services used by PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools are:

l FTP Output service: Places output jobs on a server via the FTP protocol. l LPR (Line Printer Requester) Output service: Sends jobs to an LPD server or LPD compatible printers. The

LPD/LPR printing protocol is a common way to send print jobs that, in turn, use the TCP/IP protocol to communicate through the network.

l PlanetPress Image: Outputs jobs as PDF files or in a variety of image formats. You can also use PlanetPress Image

to archive and/or email the files it creates. You can use PlanetPress Search to search the PDF files PlanetPress Image

Understanding PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools

creates. You can install multiple instances of the PlanetPress Image service on your network, and have PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools send 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 PlanetPress Image" (page 179).

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. You can install multiple instances of the PlanetPress Fax service on your network, and have PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools send jobs to one or more of these instances. Each instance of PlanetPress Fax can generate faxes and dispatch them from the host on which it runs, using a local faxing program, such as WinFax PRO, Captaris RightFax or Windows Fax. See "About PlanetPress Fax" (page 175).

l PrintShop Mail:Used to generate documents using PrintShop Mail databases and documents. Communicate with it

through the PrintShop Mail and PrintShop Mail 7 Connector Tasks. See "PrintShop Mail Action Task Properties" (page

131).

l Laserfiche:Used as a repository for electronic documents. Communicate with it through the Laserfiche Repository

Output Task. See "Laserfiche Repository Output Task Properties" (page 164).

l PlanetPress Capture:Used to generate and process files using Anoto patterns. Communicate with it through the

PlanetPress Capture tasks such as the Anoto Ink Processor and the Anoto Pattern plugins.

Services must use an account to be granted the permission to use the system’s resources and objects. This information is included in the service's configuration and most services use the Local System Account, which is granted access to all the system’s resources. All input and output services used by PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools run under the same account. For more information on services and system permissions, refer to Windows documentation. For more information on how to configure the account used by the services, see "PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Service Logon" (page 18).

The PlanetPress Suite Service Console, included in the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Configuration program, can be used to monitor, start and stop PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools services (see "About Processes" (page 23), "Users and Con-

figurations" (page n) and "View Runtime Information via the PlanetPress Suite Service Console" (page 214)).

About Documents

A Document is a file sent to the PlanetPress Workflow Tools by PlanetPress Design and is used to produce an output when merged with data. ADocument can be an invoice, a report, a receipt or anything else, but by itself it is empty and without any variable data.

Document are typically selected in Output Tasks, but can also appear in other tasks that produce formatted data such as the Digital Action task and the Add Document task.

Documents contain static data such as logos, addresses and graphic formatting, as well as placeholders for data. Documents can also contain conditions and programming logic. For more information about PlanetPress Design documents, please see the

PlanetPress Design User Guide.

About Printing

To print a document using the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools, you can either use the Print using a Windows Driver output task, or use a combination of a printer queue and a Printer Queue output task. These tasks are created and defined using Plan- etPress Suite Workflow Tool Configurationprogram.

The following types of printer outputs are available in the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Configuration program:

Understanding PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools

l Local printing:

l Windows output queues let you send jobs to a local printer. See "Windows Output Printer Queue Properties"

(page 204).

l Send to Folder output queues let you save jobs to a local or network folder from which they can be picked up

and printed. See "Send to Folder Printer Queue Properties" (page 206).

l Remote printing:

l FTP output queues let you upload jobs to an FTP site from whichthey can be picked up and printed. See "FTP

Output Printer Queue Properties" (page 205).

l LPR output queues let you send print jobs to remote printers via TCP/IP using the LPR/LPD protocol. See "LPR

Output Printer Queue Properties" (page 204).

l Windows Driver Printing:

l The Print using a Windows Driver output task lets you send a job to any printer installed on the com-

puter, using its own drivers. In this particular case, the printer does not need to be a PostScript printer. See

"Print Using a Windows Driver Output Task Properties" (page 167).

PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools provides you with three main printing scenarios:

1. Send output data to be printed as is: PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools sends a file containing only the data to the selected queue.

2. Send output data to be merged with a document on the printer: PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools sends one of two things:

l A file that contains only the data to the selected printer queue. The document with which the data must be

merged must be present on the printer’s hard disk, otherwise printing will fail.

l A file that contains the data and the document to the selected printer queue. Since the data and the document

with which it must be merged are both sent to the printer, printing should never fail.

l In both cases, the document+data merging process takes place inside the printer.

3. Send output data already merged with a document:PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools sends a file that contains the document already merged with the data to the selected printer queue. The document+data merging process therefore never takes place inside the printer.

In PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Configuration, you may associate a single Printer Queue output task with multiple Printer Queues. If you do so, you have the option of using load balancing or not (see "Load Balancing" (page

209)).

The PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Configuration Program

This chapter centers on the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Configuration program, which you use to create and edit your configurations.

The basic user interface elements are as follows:

1. The PlanetPress Suite Button. See "The PlanetPress Suite Button" (page 30).

2. The Quick Access Toolbar. See "The Quick Access Toolbar" (page 35).

3. The Ribbon Tabs. See "The PlanetPress Suite Ribbon" (page 36).

4. A Group within the Ribbon

5. The Process area. See "The Process Area" (page 51).

6. A specific link (aka a "component", "button"or "link").

7. The Dockable panels including "The Plug-in Bar" (page 57), "The Object Inspector Pane" (page 58) and "The Debug

Information Pane" (page 59).

8. The Configuration Components Pane. See "The Configuration Components Pane" (page 38).

9. The Messages area Pane. See "The Message Area Pane" (page 60).

10. The status bar. This displays your current software version and status of the PlanetPress Service.

The PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Configuration Program

You can customize the appearance of the PlanetPress Workflow Tools Configuration programs to your needs. See "Cus-

tomizing the Program Window" (page 60).

Start the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Configuration Program

This procedure explains how to start the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Configuration program, which is different from starting PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools service itself (see "Start and Stop the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Service"

(page 37)).

To start the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Configuration program:

l In the Windows Start menu, choose Programs | PlanetPress Suite N | PlanetPress Watch/Of-

fice/Production N Configuration. (Where N represents the current PlanetPress Suite installation version

number.) The PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Configuration Program window appears and the default configuration (ppwatch.cfg) is opened. If this is the first time you open your PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Configuration after installation, the PlanetPress Suite Services configuration dialog box appears, where you enter the username and corresponding password under which your configuration’s services run.

The PlanetPress Suite Button

The PlanetPress Suite Button replaces the File menu from previous versions, and provides access to the File menu options. The color of the button itself can show you at a glance what flavor of the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools is currently installed or activated:Light Orange for Watch, Yellow for Office, Dark Orange for Production.

The available menu options of the PlanetPress Suite Button are:

l New:Closes the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Configuration that is currently opened and creates a new Plan-

etPress Suite Workflow Tools Configuration, with a single example process and no printer queues. See "Create a New

Configuration" (page 31).

l Open: Displays the dialog to open an existing PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Configuration. l Save: Saves the current PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Configuration under the same name. If the file is new and

has not been saved, or if the configuration is the on loaded directly from the service, the Save As dialog is displayed instead. See "Save your Configuration" (page 32).

l Save As: Saves the current PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools 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.

l Import:

l Configuration Components:Displays the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Configuration Import dialog, let-

ting you import processes and other components from other existing configurations. See "Import Processes

from Another Configuration File" (page 33).

l PlanetPress Document:Displays the dialog to import a PlanetPressDesign document to be added to the list

in the components area.

l PrintShop Mail Document:Displays the dialog to import a PrintShop Mail document to be added to the list in

the components area.

l Send Configuration: Sends the current PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Configuration to the PlanetPress Suite

Workflow Tools service. See "Send your Configuration" (page 32).

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