OBJECTIF LUNE PlanetPress Production 7.5 Operating instructions

User Guide

www.objectiflune.com

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Title PlanetPress Workflow User Guide

Revision 2014-09-24

Copyright Information

Table of Content

Copyright Information 3

Table of Content 5

Overview 15

Icons used in this guide 15

Other Documentation 15

Getting Started 17

Environment Considerations 17

Terminal Services 17

Virtual Environments 17

32-Bit or 64-Bit? 17

Antivirus Considerations 18

Backup Considerations 18

Microsoft Office Compatibility 18

Network Considerations 18

Local and Network Rights 19

Account Requirements 19

Mapped Drives 19

Network Ports used by each service 19

Activate Your Printers 20

PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Service Logon 21

Understanding PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools 23

The Nature of PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools 23

The Three Flavors of the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools 23

Terms and Definitions 23

About Configurations 24

About Processes 25

About Subprocesses 25

About Tasks 25

About Branches and Conditions 26

About Data 26

About Data Selections 27

AboutData Emulation 27

Emulations in the PlanetPress Workflow Tools: 27

About Related Programs and Services 28

Available Input Services 28

Available Output Services 28

About Documents 29

About Printing 29

The PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Configuration Program 31

Start the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Configuration Program 32

The PlanetPress Button 32

Table of Content

Create a New Configuration 33
Open a PlanetPress Suite Configuration File 33
Saving and Sending a Configuration 33
Save your Configuration 34
Send your Configuration 34
Import Processes from Another Configuration File 35
Import Documents 36
Import PrintShop Mail Documents 36
Change the Interface Language 36
Exit the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Configuration Program 37
The Quick Access Toolbar 37
The PlanetPress Suite Ribbon 38
Start and Stop the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Service 39
The Configuration Components Pane 40
Access Process Properties 41
Add a PlanetPress Suite Process 44
Manipulate Local Variables 45
Activate or Deactivate a Process 45
Convert a Branch to a Subprocess 46
Manipulate Global Variables 46
View Document Properties 47
Use Data and Metadata Files Attached to Documents 48
Use Attached Document Preview 49
Add Resident Documents in the Configuration Components Pane 49
Associate Documents and PlanetPress Watch Printer Queues 50
Using the Clipboard and Drag & Drop 50
Rename Objects in the Configuration Components Pane 52
Reorder Objects in the Configuration Components Pane 52
Grouping Configuration Components 53
Expand and Collapse Categories and Groups in the Configuration Components Pane 54
Delete Objects and Groups from the Configuration Components Pane 54
The Process Area 54
Zoom In or Out within Process Area 55
Adding Tasks 55
Adding Branches 55
Edit a Task 55
Replacing Tasks, Conditions or Branches 56
Remove Tasks or Branches 56
Task Properties Dialog 56
Cutting, Copying and Pasting Tasks and Branches 57
Moving a Task or Branch Using Drag-and-Drop 58
Ignoring Tasks and Branches 59
Resize Rows and Columns of the Process Area 59
Selecting Documents in Tasks 59
Highlight a Task or Branch 60
Undo a Command 60
Table of Content

Redo a Command 60
The Plug-in Bar 60
The Object Inspector Pane 61
Toggle the Run on Desktop Property 62
The Debug Information Pane 62
The Task Comments Pane 63
The Message Area Pane 63
Customizing the Program Window 64
Dock and Undock Areas of the Program Window 64
Show or Hide Areas of the Program Window 65
Combine and Attach Areas 65
Resize the Program Window Areas 69
Preferences 69
General User Options 70
Object Inspector User Options 70
Configuration Components Pane User Options 71
Default Configuration User Options 71
Notification Messages Preferences 71
Sample Data User Options 73
Network User Options 73
PlanetPress Capture User Options 74
PDF Text Extraction Tolerance Factors 79
Logging User Options 80
Messenger User Options 80
HTTP Server Input User Options 81
HTTPServer Input 2 User Options 81
LPD Input Preferences 82
Serial Input Service User Options 83
Telnet Input User Options 83
PlanetPress Fax User Options 84
FTP Output Service User Options 85
PlanetPress Image User Options 85
LPR Output User Options 87
PrintShop Web Connect Service User Options 88
Editor Options 88
Other Dialogs 91
Advanced SQL Statement dialog 91
Access Manager 92
SOAPAccess 94
PDF Viewer 95
The PlanetPress Suite Service Console 97
Add or Delete Document Instances 98
Virtual Drive Manager 99
Working With Variables 101
Types of Variables 101
Table of Content

Job Info Variables 101

Standard Variables 102

Available Standard Variables 102

The %i Loop Count Variable 103

Data in PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools 105

Choosing a Sample Data File 105

The Data Selector 105

Metadata tab 107

Metadata 108

Using the Metadata Data Selector 113

Using the File Viewer 114

Choosing a Database Type Sample Data File 114

Data Selections in PlanetPress Workflow Tools 114

Text-Based Data Selections 114

Database Data Selections 115

PDF Data Selections 115

Metadata Selections 116

Data File and Job File 116

Actual Data and Sample Data 117

Job File Names and Output File Names 117

Task Properties Reference 119

Input Tasks 121

Initial Input Tasks 121

Secondary Input Tasks 121

Merge PDF Files 122

Create File 124

Email Input 125

Folder Capture 127

Folder Listing 129

FTP Input 131

HTTP Client Input 132

HTTP Server Input 133

Input Error Bin 135

Input SOAP 137

LPD Input 138

Serial Input 139

PrintShop Web Connect 140

Telnet Input 142

WinQueue Input 143

Action Tasks 145

Add Document 145

Add/Remove Text 146

Advanced Search and Replace 147

Barcode Scan 149

Change Emulation 153

Table of Content

Create PDF 154

Decompress File(s) 156

Digital Action 157

Download to Printer 161

External Program 163

Load External File 164

Mathematical Operations 165

Open XSLT 166

PlanetPress Database 167

Rename 170

Run Script 171

Send Images to Printer 173

Search and Replace 174

Send to Folder 175

Set Job Infos and Variables 176

SOAP Client Plug-in 177

Standard Filter 179

Translator 180

Windows Print Converter 181

Data Splitters 183

About Using Emulations with Splitters 183

Database Splitter 184

Emulated Data Splitter 185

In-Stream Splitter 187

Generic Splitter 188

PDF Splitter 192

XML Splitter 194

Process Logic Tasks 197

Branch 197

Comment 198

File Name Condition 198

File Size Condition 199

Go Sub 200

Loop 200

Run Script 201

Send to Process 203

SNMP Condition 204

Text Condition 205

Time of Day Condition 207

Connector Tasks 208

Create MRDX 208

Input from SharePoint 209

Laserfiche Repository Output 211

Lookup in Microsoft® Excel® Documents 214

Microsoft® Word® Documents To PDF Conversion 216

Output to SharePoint 218

Table of Content

About PlanetPress Fax 221

PlanetPress Fax 221

Captaris RightFax Configuration 222

About PlanetPress Image 225

PlanetPress Image 225

Overview of the PDF/A and PDF/X Standards 231

PrintShop Mail 232

PlanetPress Capture 234

Capture Condition 234

Capture Fields Generator 237

Capture Fields Processor 239

Capture PGC Splitter 241

Find Capture Documents 242

Get Capture Document 245

PGC to PDF Converter 246

Extract ICRData 247

Metadata Tasks 249

Create Metadata 249

Embed/Extract PlanetPress Suite Metadata 250

Metadata Fields Management 251

Metadata File Management 253

Metadata Filter 254

Metadata Level Creation 255

Metadata Sequencer 256

Metadata Sorter 256

Metadata to PDI 257

Metadata-Based N-Up 258

Rule Interface 259

Sort Parameters 261

Pick Parameters 261

All In One 262

Output Tasks 265

Delete 265

FTP Output 266

Print Using a Windows Driver 267

Printer Queue Output 268

Send Email 270

Send to Folder 272

SOAP Client Plug-in 273

Variable Properties 275

Unknown Tasks 276

Masks 276

Date and Time Format 277

Special Workflow Types 279

Special Workflows 279

Table of Content

PDFWorkflow 279

PlanetPress Capture Workflow 279

HTTPServer workflow 279

PlanetPress Capture Workflow 279

The PlanetPress Capture workflow 280

The Examples 281

PlanetPress Capture Glossary 281

General Considerations 283

Security Considerations 284

20,000 Patterns 285

THE NUMBERS 285

EXAMPLE 286

EXTENDING 286

CONTAMINATION 287

SAFEGUARDS 288

CONCLUSION 288

Anoto penDirector 288

PlanetPress Mobile Application 289

PlanetPress Capture Implementation Restrictions 290

Printer limitations 290

Black ink close to patterns 290

Paper quality 291

Pattern sizes 291

Distance between patterns 292

PlanetPress Capture ICR 292

PlanetPress Capture ICR Best Practices 293

1- Using the most restrictive mask 293

2- Guidelines for Capture-ready fields 295

3- Writing in a legible way 296

4- Selecting the correct language when using the Capture Field processor task 296

5- Possibility of interpretation error in an automated process 297

Basic Functional Capture Workflow 298

Capture Post Processing Workflow 298

Capture Web Manager Workflow 300

Installation 301

Explanation 301

Considerations 301

HTTP Server Workflow 301

Important Configuration, Setup and Options 302

Request/Process/Response cycle 303

Example HTTPWorkflows 304

HTTP PDF Invoice Request 304

Breakdown of this URL: 304

Process Illustration 304

Task Breakdown 305

Table of Content

HTTP Brochure Request 305
Resources 305
Installation 305
Task Breakdown 305
PDF Workflow 306
Examples 307
Daily Sales Report from PDF Files 307
Resources 307
Task Breakdown 307
Printer Queues and Documents 309
PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools Printer Queues 309
Shared Printer Queue Properties 309
Windows Output Printer Queue 310
LPR Output Printer Queue 310
FTP Output Printer Queue 311
Send to Folder Printer Queue 312
PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools and PlanetPress Design Documents 313
Variable Content Document File Formats: PTZ, PTK and PS 313
PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools and Printshop Mail Documents 314
Triggers 314
Load Balancing 315
Location of Documents and Resources 317
Debugging and Error Handling 319
Debugging your PlanetPress Suite Process 319
Debugging and Emulation changes 320
About Error Handling 321
Using the On Error tab 321
Creating and Using Error Processes 322
Accessing the Logs 322
Resubmit Backed Up Input Files to a Process 323
Knowing What to Resubmit 324
Using Scripts 327
The Script Editor and XSLT Editor 327
Use the Editor 328
Import and Export Scripts 328
Find Strings in a Script 328
Find and Replace Strings in a Script 329
Go to a Line in a Script 330
Toggle Bookmarks 330
Jump to Bookmarks 331
SOAP Server API Reference 331
SOAP API - SubmitJob 331
SOAP API - PostJob 332
SOAP API - GetProcessList 332
Table of Content

SOAP API - GetProcessTaskList 333

SOAP API - GetSOAPProcessList 334

SOAP API - PostJobInfoStruc 334

SOAP API - SubmitJobInfStruc 335

The Watch Object 335

Watch.ShowMessage 336

Watch.ExecuteExternalProgram 337

Watch.GetJobFileName 337

Watch.GetOriginalFileName 338

Watch.GetMetadataFilename 338

Watch.InputBox 339

Watch.GetJobInfo 340

Watch.SetJobInfo 340

Watch.GetVariable 341

Watch.SetVariable 341

Watch.ExpandString 342

Watch.Log 342

Watch.Sleep 343

Script.ReturnValue 344

Stopping Execution 345

Index 347

Table of Content

Overview

This PDF documentation covers version 7.5. 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 crit-

ical but may be helpful when using PlanetPress Workflow.

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

attention to these warnings.

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

Other Documentation

For other related documentation , please see the drop-down menu at the top-right corner of this page.

Overview

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 Services

PlanetPress Suite does not support Terminal Services environment as possible under Windows 2000, 2003 and 2008. This is to

say, if Terminal Services is installed on the server where PlanetPress Suite is located, unexpected behaviors 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 Services may also be referred to as Terminal Server or Remote Administration Mode (Windows Server 2003 and

2008).

Single-User Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP)(where only one person can use RDPat a time) is supported for PlanetPress Suite

version 6.2 and higher, however it is only supported in Windows XP or Windows 2003. While later versions of Windows may

not cause issues when accessing PlanetPress Suite through RDP, these combinations are no longer tested and may not be func-

tional.

Virtual Environments

Both PlanetPress Suite 6 and PlanetPress Suite 7 officially support VMWare Environment. This includes VMWare Player,

VMWare Workstation as well as an ESXVMWare Installation.

PlanetPress Suite 7.1 and higher also support VMotion, which means the virtual machine hosting PlanetPress Suite can be

automatically moved from one ESXserver to another in a clustered installation.

PlanetPressSuite 7.5.1 and higher started supporting Hyper-V virtualization in addition to the previous environments.

PlanetPress Suite is not officially supported on any other virtual machines such as Virtual PC, Parallels, Bochs, Xen, etc. While

running PlanetPress on these virtual machines may work, and they are properly detected by PlanetPress Suite 7.5.1 and

higher, we have not tested them and cannot offer support for them.

The PlanetPress Suite End-User License Agreement (EULA) specifies that a PlanetPress Suite software license may

only be used on a single virtual or physical PC at a time. While copying a virtual machine for backup purposes is

acceptable, running two instances of the same machine, using the same serial number, is strictly prohibited.

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.

Getting Started

Antivirus Considerations

PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools generates a very large amount of temporary data on your hard disk, especially when manip-

ulating 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.

If you experience these issues you may want to temporarily disable your antivirus "live", "daily"or "deep"scans for the fol-

lowing folders and processes:

Disabling any antivirus scanning permanently on any folder or program is not recommended, and ObjectifLune can-

not be held reliable for any consequence of disabling your antivirus or whitelisting the folders or executables listed

here, or any other change in your antivirus protection setup!

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\

l Processes:

l PPAlmbic.exe

l PPWatchService.exe

l PPImage.exe

l PPMessenger.exe

Note: C:\Windows\Temp\ is used by multiple software which may cause risks on your computer. However, PlanetPress Work-

flow 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). 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.

Getting Started

Local and Network Rights

Programs, such as PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools and all its services, must identify themselves in order to be granted per-

mission to perform operations on the computer on which they run as well as on other computers accessible via a network con-

nection. 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 con-

figuration.

Account Requirements

PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools and its services require administrator rights to run on any given computer and must there-

fore 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. Fur-

thermore, 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.

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

1

110

Email Input (Outlook mode) TCP see Remote Port See Microsoft Knowledge Base article 278339

Folder Capture TCP/UDP Default

1

Standard Windows file and printer sharing ports

2

:

l UDP 137, 138; TCP 139 (NetBIOS over

TCP/IP (NetBT))

Getting Started

Component Protocol Local Port Remote Port

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

LPD Input TCP 515 (listening port) N/A

FTP Input TCP Default

1

21

Telnet Input TCP Default

1

9100 (configurable)

FTP Output TCP Default

1

21

Email Output (SMTP mode) TCP Default

1

25

Email Output (Outlook mode) TCP

See Email Input (Outlook

mode)

See Email Input (Outlook mode)

Send to Folder Windows Queue

Output

TCP Default

1

Standard Windows file and printer sharing ports

2

:

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

(NetBT))

l 445 (SMB Over TCP/IP)

LPR Output TCP Default or 721 to 731

3

515

PlanetPress Database

TCP or

UDP

Unknown

4

Unknown

4

SNMP Condition UDP Default

1

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 Win-

dows 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 auto-

matically 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 activation code 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.

Getting Started

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OBJECTIF LUNE PlanetPress Production 7.5 Operating instructions

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