Configuration

How to Install and Configure a Printer on your StreamServe Host Windows Server

streamservant Configuration, Printer Output, Scenario, Server

Scenario: I am continuously being asked to set up printers so that they can communicate with StreamServe. The best way to do this is to configure a printer on the Test host server, make sure its successfully printing and then replicate in the Live host server. This tutorial shall instruct you how to add a printer to a Windows Server.

PLEASE NOTE: The printer I am adding is a ZEBRA label printer for the Goods Intake Bay of a warehouse

  1. Click Start and select Devices and Printers and select the Add a printer option (Figure 1)
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Figure 1
  1. Select Add a local or network printer as an administrator (Figure 2)
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Figure 2
  1. Select Add a local printer (Figure 3)

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    Figure 3
  2. Select the Create a new port option and make sure it is a Standard TCP/IP port (see Figure 4)
  3. Click Next

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    Figure 4
  4. Type the new IP address into the Hostname or IP address textbox (Figure 5). This will automatically input the same IP into the Port name textbox

TIP: If the IP address is already being used then the suffix _1 will be appended to the IP address in the Port name textbox e.g.  xx.xx.xx.xxx_1

  1. Click Next
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Figure 5
  1. The IP of the printer is queried and detected as long as it is online on the network
  2. Select the Generic Network Card as the Device Type (Figure 6)
  3. Click Next
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Figure 6
  1. Select the Manufacturer and Printer model you are configuring (Figure 7)

TIP: Click the Windows Update button to update the list of models / drivers from a central Microsoft repository.

  1. Click Next
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Figure 7
  1. Type the Printer name – you should make this a meaningful name. In this case the name is INTAKE_BAY (Figure 8).
  2. Click Next to install the printer
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Figure 8
  1. Select the Share this printer … option , type in a meaningful Location and type the IP address into the Comment textbox (Figure 9)
  2. Click Next
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Figure 9

IMPORTANT: The printer is now installed. I advise you to run a test page (Figure 10) to make sure it is printing OK.

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Figure 10

IMPORTANT: The printer is now visible in Devices and Printers (Figure 11)

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Figure 11

How to Simultaneously Output the Same Document via Email and via Printer

streamservant Configuration, delivery, Movex M3, PageOut, Printer Output, Scenario, Scripting

Scenario: The business have made a request for the delivery note to not only be emailed to the M3 user but also to be printed to a particular office printer.

Currently the delivery note (MMS480PF) is emailed to a particular M3 user via the following runtime configuration (Figure 1):

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Figure 1: Runtime configuration for an EMAIL-only Delivery Note
  1. Open the Message
  2. Change the name fof the Delivery_Note process to EMAIL_Delivery_Note
  3. Copy the EMAIL_Delivery_Note process
  4. Paste the copied process and rename it Printer_Delivery_Note
  5. Right click on the Printer_Delivery_Note process and select Script…
  6. Insert the following code:

setdestpath("PrinterName"); //for more info on this click here

  1. Open the Runtime
  2. Right-click on each process node and select Settings…
  3. Uncheck the Select automatically checkbox
  4. Connect the new Printer_Delivery_Note process node to your Printer output connector (mine is named PCL6
    • The EMAIL_Delivery_Note process node should be alreadyu connected to the MAIL output connector
  5. Right-click on the each process node and select Connector Selection…
  6. Select the Variable Connection Type and enter a variable name (see Figure 2)
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Figure 2
  1. Make sure that the Default Connector is the PCL6 output connector for the new Printer_Delivery_Note process node and MAIL for the EMAIL_Delivery_Note process node (see Figure 3)
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Figure 3: Runtime configuration for an Emailed AND printed document
  1. Open the Message
  2. Right-click on the message node and select Script…
  3. Insert the following code:

$SelectedOutputConnector = “MAIL”;
CallProc(“EMAIL_Delivery_Note”);
$SelectedOutputConnector = “PCL6”;
CallProc(“Printer_Delivery_Note”);

Export and deploy and test!

Troubleshoot: Control Center Producing the EOF: Fatal error: No output connector:purchase_order

streamservant Configuration, Control Center, Troubleshoot

Explanation: You are deploying an export but have forgotten to connect the process purchase_order to an output connector in the Runtime Configuration

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Figure 1: Runtime Configuration
  1. Open the Runtime
  2. Click on the x icon on the purchase_order process and drag the connection line up to the MAIL Output Connector
  3. Click on the yellow arrow on the MAIL Output Connector and click on the Edit Mail button
  4. Complete the MAIL configuration similar to Figure 2

Export, deploy and test!

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Figure 2: MAIL Configuration

Troubleshoot: Control Center producing the error: Connect time-out

streamservant Configuration, Control Center, Server, Services, Troubleshoot

Explanation: You are trying to connect to your site ‘Test’ but you received a connecting message for a while and then the Control Center produces the Connect time-out error (see Figure 1). This is happening because the Management Gateway Service has been stopped. You must restart this service.

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Figure 1: The Connecting to message turns into the a Connect time-out error

Solution: Restart the Stopped Service

  1. Open the Services application on your host server and check the status of the StreamServe Management Gateway service – it has been stopped (see Figure 2)
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Figure 2: the stopped service
  1. To restart the service, right click on it and select Start and the service will be restarted (see Figure 3)
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Figure 3: The restarted service
  1. Re-connect to the site and it should connect OK

Troubleshoot: Control Center producing the error: ‘Fatal error: portx spool=connector (port/printserver)’

streamservant Configuration, Control Center, Printer Output, Troubleshoot

Explanation: You are probably trying to create a new output connector in the Platform and you are using the connector type Spool and you are encountering this error. This is because you have not entered % into the To property – see Figure 1

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Figure 1: Missing To property value

 

  1. Open the Platform
  2. Right-click on the new Output Connector and select Settings…
  3. From the Selected layer dropdown select Production (Physical)
  4. Make sure your Connector Type is Spool
  5. Enter % as the To property value
  6. Click OK

Export, deploy and test!

Troubleshoot: Control Center producing an ‘Fatal error: args start.arg(2:No such file or directory)’ error

streamservant Configuration, Control Center, Server, Troubleshoot

Explanation: The first time you deployed an exported project in Control Center you did not check the Include argument file in export checkbox

The very first time you export a project you must check the Include argument file in export checkbox so that the start.arg file is created in the Working Directory

Figure 1 displays the checkbox to check:

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Figure 1

Export, deploy and test!

Troubleshoot: Control Center producing the ** UNLICENSED ** warning

streamservant Configuration, Control Center, Server, Troubleshoot

Explanation: The application license is not present in your Working Directory folder structure

  1. Obtain the strs.lic file

TIP: Copy an existing / valid file from the same path as another application of another licensed project

  1. Open the Working Directory by accessing the Platform folder on the host server:

..\ManagementGateway\5.6.1\root\applications\Application_Name\Platform

  1. Paste the file into the Platform folder

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Export, deploy and test! The ** UNLICENSED ** will now disappear.

 

 

How to control/restrict user access to a particular PageOut process

streamservant Configuration, Movex M3, PageOut, Scenario

Scenario: You have been tasked to make several amendments to the Invoice however, all users must still have uninterrupted access to the original Invoice.

Prerequisite: Create a copy of the Invoice PageOut process (name it WIP_Invoice) and configure its output settings.

  1. Open the runtime and uncheck the Select automatically checkbox for both/all processes.
  2. Open the message and right-click on the message icon and select Script…
  3. Insert the following code:

If ($mvx_USER = “<movexusername>”) { // <movexusername> is your username

callproc(“WIP_Invoice”);

}

else {

callproc(“Invoice”);

}

The above code only allows you to run the WIP_Invoice process as the condition is based on your username from the spool file. Everyone else will run the Invoice process

FYI: $mvx_ is the prefix used for global variables e.g. $mvx_USER, $mvx_tomail etc.

Export, deploy and test!

How to troubleshoot network printer issues on the StreamServe host Server

streamservant Configuration, Printer Output, Troubleshoot

Prerequisite: This troubleshooting tutorial is based upon the Windows server series.

Issue 1: I don’t know if the printer is on the network?

  • Action: Ping the printer IP address to see if your server is successfully sending (to) and receiving from the printer.

Issue 2: I cannot find my printer model / driver in the Add Printer configuration

  • Action: Click on the Windows Update button to update the list of models / drivers from a central Microsoft repository.

Figure 1 displays the Add Printer configuration

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Figure 1: Add printer configuration

Issue 3: The printer set up but is not printing a test page

  • Action 1: Check the server is still pinging the printer.
  • Action 2: Check that you have the correct driver (follow the steps below).
  1. Right-click on the printer and select Printer properties and click on the Advanced tab.
  2. Click on the Driver: dropdown and select a different driver – see Figure 2.
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Figure 2: Printer properties – advanced configuration
  1. Right-click on the printer and select Printer properties and click on the General tab.
  2. Click on the Print Test Page button – see Figure 3.
  3. Right-click on the printer and select See what’s printing.
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Figure 3: Printer properties – general configuration

If a job is visible here for more than 1 or 2 seconds then it will probably have an error status however, if the interface is empty then it should have successfully been sent to the printer.