Pcounter Popup, Pcounter Users & Client Codes User Manual
Contents
1. AIT Ltd 9 Pcounter Pcounter Popup Pcounter Users amp Client Codes User Manual For Pcounter for Windows version 2 54 and above About this Document This document is intended to give a full explanation of all available features of the Pcounter utility Pcounter Popup and the HTTP based equivalent PcounterClient To achieve this in its entirety the concepts of Client Codes and Pcounter Users are also fully explored These three concepts are separated into their own sections for ease of reference Points to Note All file locations referenced in this work refer to the drive on which Pcounter is installed on the Pcounter Data Server unless otherwise stated It is assumed that all users have read access to the contents of the Pcounter share default location C PCOUNTER Pcounter Popup and Pcounter Client have identical functionality they are only different under the hood Consequently everything detailed in this document applies to both Popup and Client Any references to Popup can be taken as referring to Popup and Client unless explicitly stated Any features which are only available in a later version of Pcounter than 2 54 will be highlighted with the earliest version number in the title for the feature 2 Hawthorn Park Coal Road Leeds LS14 1PQ UK T 0113 273 0300 FOTIS 273 0302 Company Registration Number 4380885 E solutions ait co uk W www ait co uk Section A Pcounter Popup Client Introduction to Popup Gett2. D ew Profle Add Remove Bl These two options will deactivate Popup for these users but with different effects AIT Ltd 2 Hawthorn Park Coal Road Leeds LS14 1PQ UK Company Registration Number 4380885 T 0113 273 0300 F 0113 273 0302 E solutions ait co uk W www ait co uk gt Exempt If a user is exempt from Popup their jobs will not trigger Popup and they will not be paused allowing their jobs to print through with no further user input gt Blocked This is used with the ID and Password window type only It stops Popup appearing for this user altogether however their jobs will still be paused This essentially stops users from printing to popup controlled printers altogether Both of these links lead to the following window Users exempt from popup e aixi Users usernames can be typed into Exempt Users the text box and added removed using the corresponding buttons Multiple users or groups can also be added To do this Open PAdmin via the button Open PAdmin now When PAdmin loads browse to the users or group and select them Navigate to Popup gt o eo i Add to Popup exempt list This is the global list of users who are not required to use popups These users groups will now be It is possible to add multiple users and groups by opening the User Accounting browser in present in the list Pcounter Administrator select objects and then choose Popup Add to popup exempt list Keep this wi
3. The different Window Types are discussed later first we will discuss the common controls across the different Window Types 2 x Pcounter Configuration CMP_D830 Global Settings Window tne es SCI Printers Popup Information message type Al printers Default Data Server New Profile1 Services Ports Window title Printing New Profile2 LPD Server Message Text Message Transport I Allow rules to be ignored Display sample popup Changes to the popup configuration ete do not require a service restart Edit information n Users exempt from popup Restart popup client sessions on Riera Te workstations to ai changes Users blocked from popup aie Lok caret tony H AIT Ltd 2 Hawthorn Park Coal Road Leeds LS14 1PQ UK Company Registration Number 4380885 F 0113 273 0302 W www ait co uk T 0113 273 0300 E solutions ait co uk 3 1 Edit Information Message Popup carries a fully customisable message which is edited through use of this hyperlink This method allows the setting of the global message for all Popup printers Individual printer messages can be set via the individual printer configuration see Section A 2 2 2x Information message Various substitutions representing real values from Use these substitutions for real values in the message Pcounter and the print job in question are available U User name F Free quota X Pri
4. Excel Insert two new columns at the start of the document Fill the first column with the word ACCOUNT Fill the 2 column with the word ASSOC gt Save the document ensuring it remains a csv file gt Open the document in a basic text editor such as Notepad Perform a Find and Replace on all commas to replace with a space Save the document again gt Change the file extension to a bat then copy into the same location as the Pcounter utility ACCOUNT EXE default location C Program Files Pcounter for NT NT gt Double click the file to run it which will perform the import An example of this file would be ACCOUNT ASSOC ACCOUNT ASSOC ACCOUNT ASSOC AIT Ltd AIT Ltd 5 Auto Codes An Auto code is a Client Code which does not require manual selection it is entered automatically by Pcounter for every job that a user prints As it needs no manual input auto code usage does not require usage of PPopup If however a user who has an auto code uses a manual method of code selection as well the manual method will take precedence Whereas the two types of code Auto and Client may appear similar they are in fact conceptually quite different and are therefore held in separate databases Auto code associations are stored in the database DOMAIN AUTOCODES DBF default location C PCOUNTER DATA A User s current auto code is displayed as the right most field in Pcounter Administrator s User Accounting view Please note
5. It is not currently possible to define a two tier Auto code i e no auto Sub codes 5 1 Manual Association of an Auto code 5 1 1 User In Pcounter Administrator on the User Accounting view right click a User and select Set Auto client code Sa Backup Operators Backup Operators can override Sec piepe Chris Pieper 4 30 Auto Code Example Cryptographic Ope Members are autho s a Charge AIt HC Distributed COM Us Members are allowe Set Balance Alt B Event Log Readers Members of this gro fi FOR Sctlowbalane int AH amp Guest 0 00 0 00 Guests dm Guests Guests have the sai Print History dm I15_IUSRS Built in group usedt Reports amp McAfeeMVSUser McAfeeMySUser a si dm Network Configura Members in this ap LESSEE oi Sil Wb EEI Sb PadmiriTest from Client codes from Entry form dm Performance Log U Members of this group may schedul Remove dm Performance Monit Members of this group can access im Selecting from Group membership will load a list of the AD groups of which this user is a member Double click the desired code and this will be populated into the auto code field Please note Once an auto code has been set from Group membership there is no further AD lookup performed Consequently if a user leaves a group their auto code will remain as that group unless manually changed Selecting from Client Codes will load current list of all client codes from the c
6. held in the database PPOPUP DBF the default location of which is C PCOUNTER PPOPUP DBF 2 Client codes 2 1 Creating a client code In Pcounter Administrator select the Client Codes button from the bottom of the application Pcounter Administrator Client codes 5 a o x Utility Accounting Popup Database Pcounter Users Help gy Domain ZA Reports 2 5 Print history gt Preferences 2 Automation Client code re n New Client Code x English Description 2 French Client code z Add new re German i Subcode Maths z PE Code fo RE D 2 Sciene oa a OK Close User Accounting A Client codes 3 Client code list assodations HEH Poounter Pro ID PIN numbers A All existing codes and descriptions will be displayed in the left hand frame To create a new code either gt Goto Popup menu gt New Code gt Right click the white space in the left hand frame and select New Code Type in the name of the new code and the description is necessary Note that the description is optional Click OK when done 2 2 Editing an Existing Client Code To change the name of an existing code right click it and select Rename To change the description select Modify description from the right click menu To delete an existing code right click and select Delete AIT Ltd 2 Hawthorn Park Coal Road Leeds LS14 1PQ UK T 0113 273 0300 FOTIS 273 0302 Company Registration Number 4380885 E solutions ait co
7. of length 15 pages printed on printer HP Color LaserJet 4600 PS will cost 1 50 A You currently have 10 00 credit and 5 00 free quota Please choose a departmental code and confirm this print Document Notepad AUTOEXEC BAT Enter dient code ClientCode05 CCO5Sub03 ClientCode01 ClientCode01 Description ClientCode02 ClientCode02 Description ClientCode03 ClientCode03 Description ClientCode04 ClientCode04 Description ClientCode05 ClientCode05 Description ClientCode06 ClientCode06 Description x ClientCode04 ClientCode04 Description ClientCode05 ClientCode05 Description ClientCode06 ClientCode06 Description ClientCode07 ClientCode07 Description ClientCode08 ClientCode08 Description ClientCode09 ClientCode09 Description Cco5Sub01 ClientCode10 ClientCode 10 Description CcO5Sub02 ClientCode11 ClientCode11 Description CCO5Sub0 1 Description CCO5Sub02 Description CC05Sub03 Description ClientCode12 ClientCode12 Description cco5Sub04 CCO5Sub04 Description ClientCode13 ClientCode 13 Description Cco5Sub05 CCO5Sub05 Description ClientCode14 ClientCode14 Description xj CcO05Sub06 CCO5Sub06 Description Chia mtf a det FC wm bd E FP Dw main d om I Billable IV Bill Billable Cancel Job Reload Client List Search Cancel Job Reload Client List Search 4 3 Entry Form The entry form Window Type allows the user free type of client code and sub code optional and does not present t
8. popup menu preload serverName PPOPUP reads its configuration from serverName and loads the client code database if necessary Normally these operations are not performed until the first print job and there may be somewhat of a delay after the first print job due to the time it takes to read the client database This option can save time by preloading large databases so that the popup response is fast for the first print job pmj The local setting Process multiple jobs is enabled matchuser The local setting Match Username on job is enabled poll X The local Poll servers setting is set to X seconds server serverName PPOPUP adds serverName to its list of servers This is useful in rare cases where PPOPUP is unable to automatically detect a server delay X PPOPUP will delay loading for X seconds This is useful if the system is not initialized when PPOPUP runs msgonly PPOPUP is used only to receive broadcast messages and will not pop up for print jobs disablemsg Disable broadcast message reception idleCancel X PPOPUP will cancel the job after X seconds if no input is made Default is 300 seconds center The popup window will always be placed in the centre of the display term Terminate PPOPUP HTTPSPort X designates the port number used by the Printer Control Service and PcounterClient A2 PcounterClient ini Options VV Y PollTime X The server poll time will be set to X seconds Default 3 seconds Bounce X PPOPUP wil
9. print T Disable print notification relea se etc ee m u st be TEL F indude banner in pagecount a aa IV Allow unknown users to print checked Workstation popup Webdient Print job release V Delete duplicate jobs T pasteiro be gt Count jobs in advance for Se m eep job paused after popup Print smallest job in bytes next display is optional but es oe recommen d ed Th IS a OWS Skip popup pause on jobs less than 0 4 pages Skip popup pause on jobs less than p cop Edit information message Pcounter to calculate values such aS pagecount and cost for display through Popup Other options which are available are gt Keep job paused after Popup This keeps the job paused so that it can be released to the printer in the future through some means of secure release such as Pcounter Station gt Skip Popup if job is not colour gt Skip Popup is job less than X pages copies gt Edit information message This allows for a custom message to be set for this specific printer This must be used in conjunction with the setting Information message type gt Individual printers These options allow for greater customisation of exactly when Popup is used on this specific printer 3 Server Configuration Popup is configured through the Pcounter server configuration accessed through Pcontrol gt Pcounter menu gt Configure Pcounter Server gt Popup All popup global settings are accessed through here such as Profiles and Window Type
10. uk W www ait co uk 2 3 Importing Client Codes from an Existing List It is possible to import a list of Client Codes into Pcounter s database which is useful if a large number of codes need to be setup in Pcounter which already exist in a database somewhere The file to import must be either a csv or a txt file It must be in one of the following formats e Client Code e Client Code Description e Client Code Description Sub code e Client Code Sub code Description Please note See Section B 3 for a description of Sub code if necessary To import select the Database menu gt Import x Comma delimited text Client code Description Subcode Client number EQT file C Matter number EQT file Match client code length of 2 characters co Select the format of your file Please note If your list contains only Client Codes or Client Code Description use the 2 option Click OK then browse to your file Be sure that the file type drop down is set to the correct file format These codes will now appear in the left hand pane 3 Sub codes Using sub codes allows for two tiers of codes A common example for this would be if multiple departments worked on the same project and you wanted users to record both their department and the project when they printed In this instance the client code 1 tier code would be the department and the sub code would be the project code for instance AIT Ltd 2 Hawt
11. 13 273 0300 F O113 273 0302 Company Registration Number 4380885 E solutions ait co uk W www ait co uk amp Pcounter Configuration CMP_D amp 30 2 x Global Settings n Printers Popup Frinter Control service Client IP port 7443 Test availability Data Server gas e Se Data Server service Client IP port 6443 Test availability LFD Serve The PcounterClient software for Windows and Mac should be configured to Message Text use the IP port assigned to the Printer Control service Please note If changing the port for the Printer Control Service you will also need change the port used by Client itself Use the HTTPSPort x command line switch See Section A5 and Appendix A 1 3 Pcounter Popup and Pcounter Client Comparison gt Network communication PPopup uses SMB and should not require any specific external routing or firewall configuration PcounterClient requires a configurable IP port for client server communication gt Notification messages PPopup will not receive notification messages across subnets PcounterClient receives notification messages regardless of location gt Non domain computers PcounterClient is recommended for use on non domain computers gt Terminal sessions PPopup is recommended for use in terminal sessions Each session must have a unique logon user name or else popups will occur in multiple sessions 2 Getting Started 2 1 Installing Popup on a
12. Code To restrict users to only pre defined codes use Matter Number List Window Type and the Subcode only from list option Allow non chargeable Jobs A check box Billable will be visible on the Popup This allows the users to decide whether the job is chargeable or not If the job is processed with Billable checked the cost of the job will be recorded as 0 and subsequently the user will be not be charged for this job The cost of the job will be recorded in the Features field of the Pcounter log file in the format Non Billable Cost cost Allow auto respond This feature allows users to have PPOPUP set client codes on print jobs automatically based on the most recent input made in the PPOPUP window for a specified period of time If a user wishes to cancel auto respond after it has been set then it can be disabled in PPOPUP Preferences see Section A 6 AIT Ltd 2 Hawthorn Park Coal Road Leeds LS14 1PQ UK Company Registration Number 4380885 ck i CPieper document Notepad AUTOEXEC BAT of length 15 pages printed on printer HP Color LaserJet 4600 PS will cost 1 50 A You currently have 10 00 credit and 5 00 free quota Please choose a departmental code and confirm this print Document Notepad AUTOEXEC BAT Enter dient code ClientCode01 ClientCode01 Description ClientCode02 ClientCode02 Description ClientCode03 ClientCode03 Description CPieper document Notepad AUTOEXEC BAT
13. Code Precedence Order The order of precedence for the different client code selection methods is as follows Manual code through Pcounter Popup Manual code through Pcounter embedded or release terminal Printer based auto code Auto code from AD User based auto code TANS AIT Ltd 2 Hawthorn Park Coal Road Leeds LS14 1PQ UK T 0113 273 0300 F 0113 273 0302 Company Registration Number 4380885 E solutions ait co uk W www ait co uk SECTION C PCOUNTER POPUP USERS Pcounter Popup Users or simply Popup Users are user accounts which are created and managed through Pcounter that are used solely for the accounting of print jobs Their primary function is to allow for individual user accounting when users do not have dedicated AD accounts such as when accounts are shared or if the organisation uses a Workgroup rather than a domain A common example is in a library which leaves public access workstations logged in all day however still wishes to account for printing and still wishes to be able to charge users Popup users are nothing more than a Username and Password combination coupled with the standard Pcounter balance information As well as being used by Pcounter Popup all Pcounter Embedded software Copier Control Terminals and Pcounter Station are compatible with Popup Users They are stored in a the database PRINTERPOPUPUSERS DBF default location C PCOUNTER DATA PRINTERPOPUPUSERS DBF To view existing Popup Users in
14. PAdmin either go to Domain gt Pcounter Users or Pcounter Users menu gt Show Users Pcounter Administrator Pcounter Users _ O x Utility Accounting Popup Database Pcounter Users Help ga Domain ae Reports A Filter ae Deposit harge S Set balance Set limit Print history Preferences k Aute ga Poounter Users Username 4 ExamplePopupUser Example 3 L55 0 00 0 00 ExamplePopupUseri Example 1 L55 0 00 0 00 amp ExamplePopupliser2 Example 2 LSS 0 00 nn D00 User Accounting Client codes a Client code list associations Hf Pcounter Pro ID PIN numbers A Pcounter Users will now be displayed as the domain in the left hand frame All transactions and functions which can be performed on a standard AD user can be performed in exactly the same way on a Popup User Please note If using Popup with Pcounter Users on none domain clients it is strongly recommended that you use the server switch See Appendix A for further details 2 Creating a Popup User New Pcounter User 2 1 Manually To create a new Popup User in PAdmin ensure that the view is currently set to Popup Users as described above Select Pcounter Users gt New User to see this window Enter in all the details as requested and click OK to create the user Please note Username and Password AIT Ltd 2 Hawthorn Park Coal Road Leeds LS14 1PQ UK T 0T13 2735 0300 F 0113 273 0302 Company Registration Number 4380885 E solutions a
15. be useful are gt Restricting printing to certain users Only users with a valid username and password combination can print This would need the Pcounter Users authentication type gt Restricting printing with specific attributes to certain users For instance only use popup when the job is colour so only users with a valid username and password can print colour jobs This may be useful in an educational environment where students need a teacher s authorization to print in colour gt Allowing accounting on terminal sessions In a situation where terminal sessions are used and consequently all users are logged on as the same user this can be used to authenticate to a user s AD account and charge the correct user accordingly Options available Password authentication gt Pcounter Users Only Users must authenticate using a custom created Pcounter User aka Popup User These are created through Padmin see Section 3 This option requires the Pcounter User Name and associated Pcounter User Password gt Pcounter Users and Domain Password Users may logon using either Active Directory credentials or a Pcounter User gt Job ID No job password Changes the owner name of the print job Intended for use with shared logon accounts where some other additional method of job release and identification is required such as Pcounter Station or Pcounter Embedded gt Job ID password optional As above except password is o
16. client machine PPopup exe is installed on the server in the default location C Program Files Pcounter for NT NT Client There are 2 recommended methods of loading Popup on a client machine gt Add Popup exe to the user s Startup folder gt Include the following command in the user s login script START DRIVE PATH PPOPUP options It is recommended to copy PPopup exe to a shared network folder and push out from there via one of the two above methods Popup will appear in the user s system tray as a printer icon this can be hidden a m using hideicon see Section A 5 1 and Appendix A 2 2 Configuring a Printer for Popup Popup is printer based rather than user based That means you decide which Printers you want Popup to be active for rather than which Users To activate Popup on a printer you will need to make sure that the following settings are active by opening the Pcounter configuration of the printer AIT Ltd 2 Hawthorn Park Coal Road Leeds LS14 1PQ UK T 0113 273 0300 F O113 273 0302 Company Registration Number 4380885 E solutions ait co uk W www ait co uk gt Pause all jobs must be set 2 x Pcounter configuration Lexmark Universal v2 O Settings Prces Rules Policies to Superpause Accounting a Action if below low balance limit Deetejzb y Allow use of free quota Banner Separator template None J Divide duplex page counts in half gt Enable popup
17. d back to these servers checking for waiting print jobs for the user The default is 3 seconds This can be decreased if a faster response from Popup is required or it can be increased if network bandwidth is an issue 1 Park Coal Road Leeds LS14 1PQ UK T 0113 273 0300 F 0113 273 0302 E iotratis I i Lor IAQN VAR ay i A A i E MnaA RINAINAT i AIT Ltd Auto respond will be greyed out unless the Popup Window type is Client Code or Matter Number list and the Allow auto respond option is checked on the Popup Server Configuration see 4 2 Client Code Matter Number list Window Type This control allows the user to set how long Popup will wait before auto responding with their previously selected code The maximum setting is 1440 minutes 1 day Process multiple jobs is useful for situations where jobs are printed in bulk such as a mail merge Ordinarily each job in the merge would result in an instance of Popup which would need to be responded to This option allows bulk jobs to be dealt with by one instance of Popup If popup is set to Client Code Matter Number list all jobs in the bulk print will be assigned the same code Match username on job will send the Popup response from the server to the Username that matches the owner of the job This is as opposed to sending the response to the workstation from where the job originated This is useful in terminal services environments where multiple users can be logged into the same works
18. essages in Pcounter Hello cpieper The document Notepad AUTOEXEC BAT is 15 pages and will cost 1 50 to print to printer HP Color LaserJet 4600 PS You currently have 10 00 balance and 5 00 free quota Are you sure you want to print Print It Cancel Job Popup communicates with the Pcounter Data Server via SMB and the Remote Procedure Call RPC service Consequently Popup does not require the opening of any ports or exceptions to firewalls 1 1 1 Requirements and Limitations of Popup gt Pcounter is running on a Windows Terminal or Citrix server Each session must have a unique logon or else popups will occur in multiple sessions gt Pcounter is running on Windows 2000 or later standard workstation desktop No limitations 1 2 PcounterClient version 2 60 As stated PcounterClient PcounterClient exe has identical functionality to Pcounter Popup PcounterClient is available in Pcounter for Windows v 2 60 and above Client is HTTPS based and therefore uses TCP IP ports for communication with the server rather than SMB as does Popup If using Client over Popup the relevant port will need to be opened up on all local firewalls for servers and workstations As a default Client uses the IP port assigned to the Pcounter Printer Control service which is 7443 This can be changed through Pcontrol gt Server Configuration gt Services and Ports AIT Ltd 2 Hawthorn Park Coal Road Leeds LS14 1PQ UK T 01
19. h you wish to hard code into PPopup gt Browse to his location in a command line gt Run the command PPopup IntegrateINI Example gt A new EXE will be produced in the same location hard coded with the settings from PcounterClient ini It will be named PPopup_ Example 6 Local Options and Preferences xl status i Popup contains a number of options which can be Se E en ree configured by the end user These are accessed by PAS cw pss K right clicking the system tray icon and_ selecting Preferences ee Please note all of these options can also be Auto respond 5 minutes configured through PcounterClient ini HTTPS port a J Process multiple jobs J Match username on job Terminal session The top list box will display all print servers which the client is connected to or the ones that are listed in PcounterClient ini If the server name is checked then Popup is polling that server for jobs If it is unchecked then it is not The port used by the Printer Control Service and PcounterClient will also be listed Status shows whether the connection to that server is successful This will read OK if the connection is active or will display an error if Popup is unable to connect to the server such as The RPC server is unavailable 1722 If the status is blank then the server is not being polled for jobs Poll these servers every X seconds determines how often Popup on the client will send an RPC comman
20. he user or Cryptographic C group in question and select Associate Codes In Distributed COM osere the subsequent window double click each code you wish to associate to this object The window will remain open until closed using the Close button The codes you selected will now appear across from the user in the right hand pane in Pcounter Administrator Please note A user s association list is only refreshed when Popup is loaded therefore if they are logged on when they are granted access a new code they will not see it until next time they log off and back on or manually restart Popup through the right click menu 4 2 Deleting Associations To remove an association select the AD Object User Group right click the code in their associations list and select Delete from the popup menu Please note As stated a user s association list is only refreshed when Popup is loaded therefore if they are logged in when the association is deleted they will still have access to it until the next time they log off or manually restart Popup through the right click menu 4 3 Import of Associations There is no Import option for code associations however it is possible to construct a bat file that will perform the same function The steps involved in this are gt Obtain a CSV in format USERNAME CODE_TO_BE_ASSOCIATED Remember users who need multiple codes will need multiple entries in the CSV one per code gt Open this in
21. he user with a list of pre defined codes Options available Verify entry in database gt No This allows the user complete free type of client code There are no restrictions other than the user defined length The code does not need to exist in the client code database gt Normal Any code entered will be verified against the client code database gt Display as password As Normal except any typed characters will be hidden with s in the same manner as a password entry form Entry form options cpieper document Test Page of length 1 pages printed on printer 4730 will cost 0 80 Verify entry in database A You currently have 3 05 credit and 4 80 free quota No T Please choose a departmental code and confirm this print Document Test Page Enter dient code fi Remember previous selections I Allow subcode form W Allow non chargeable jobs en C All other options available have been covered elsewhere 4 4 ID and Password The ID and Password window type forces the user to authenticate at Popup for every print job The user may be an AD user or a Pcounter Popup User See Section C Pcounter Users for detailed discussion on Pcounter Users If a username password is not entered then the job is deleted If 3 incorrect combinations are entered the job will also be deleted T 0113 273 0300 E solutions ait co uk W www ait co uk F 0113 273 0302 AIT Ltd Situations where ID and Password popup may
22. horn Park Coal Road Leeds LS14 1PQ UK T 0113 273 0300 F 0113 273 0302 ONO Company Registration Number 4380885 E solutions ait co uk W www ait co uk AIT Ltd vthorn Park Coal Road COS LO lt IF UN J1 1SO 2 95 VOUU F C s IZ y Registration Number 4380885 E solutions ait co uk W www ait co uk 2 Hav JC Noa l 3 1 Creating a Sub code To manually add a sub code to an existing client code in Pcounter Administrator right click the client code and select New Code New Client Code On the subsequent window ensure that Subcode of Code is selected then enter the sub code and description into the corresponding text boxes Press OK or hit return to enter the code The window will remain active for further code entry until it is closed via Close 3 2 Editing an Existing Sub code Editing a sub code is no different to editing a client code For full details see Section 2 2 Editing an Existing Client Code 3 3 Importing Sub Codes from an Existing List Sub codes can only be imported as part of a Client Code import To import sub codes see Section B 2 3 Please note to import sub codes the associated client code must already exist in the database It is suggested to import the client codes separately then perform a separate import for the sub codes 7a E i C 0 O oTe Vy foleir ja elal By default all users will have visibility of and will therefore be able to use all existing Client Codes It is p
23. ing Started Server Configuration Window Type PcounterClient ini amp Optional Settings in PPopup Local Options and Preferences Messaging through Popup le ee hae ok inl Section B Client Codes Introduction to Client Codes Client Codes Sub codes Client Code Associations Auto codes Client code precedence order ae se er Section C Pcounter Users Introduction to Pcounter Users Creating a Pcounter User Restrictions of Pcounter Users Other Functions re Section D FAQ Appendix A PcounterClient ini options amp command line switches AIT Ltd 2 Hawthorn Park Coal Road Leeds LS14 1PQ UK T 0113 273 0300 Company Registration Number 4380885 E solutions ait co uk F 0113 273 0302 W www ait co uk SECTION A PCOUNTER POPUP CLIENT 1 1 Popup Pcounter Popup PPOPUP EXE is a utility that is included with the core Pcounter application It is an executable which runs in the background on a client machine and is visible in the system tray The basic functionality of Popup is to allow for user confirmation of a job after they have sent it to print The job will remain paused in the queue until the user responds to Popup As well as print job confirmation other more advanced features are gt The ability to select Client department Codes gt It can force authentication before a job prints restricting printing to users who only have a Pcounter User Account gt It can be used as a receiver for broadcast m
24. inters Window tite Printing The client code list presents the user Prompt Enter dient code with either a list of pre defined client p codes and an optional entry form for free Client code name length Client code type of client codes Options available Client code only from list Client code only from list Associate dient codes with network user group names This option determines whether the user Remember previous selections has the option to free type a client code F Allow subcode form or whether they can only select one from I Allow non chargeable jobs the list Allow auto respond Associate client codes with network user group names Popup will only display codes where an association between the user and that code exists It will also display codes which are associated to AD Groups that the user is a member of Remember previous selections Popup will show a drop down box containing a list of the most recent codes used by this user They will be shown in order of most recent first with the most recent entered into the selection box as Popup loads The codes listed will be both associated codes and free entry codes if both of these options are activated Previous selections are held in the file PcounterClient ini in the user s local or roaming profile Allow subcode form Client code list Window Type only An extra text box control will be visible for the free type of a sub code to accompany a Client
25. ion is not required to use the default configuration profile IdleCancel X If PPOPUP receives no response in X seconds it automatically cancels the job Default 300 seconds Preload serverName PPOPUP reads its configuration from serverName and loads the client code database if necessary Normally these operations are not performed until the first print job and there may be somewhat of a delay after the first print job due to the time it takes to read the client database This option can save time by preloading large databases so that the popup response is fast for the first print job InputLength X If the popup window type is ID and Password then this specifies the minimum length required for input to each field Default O disabled CustomDLL path If a custom DLL is being used enter the path here DocNameJobID 1 If the popup window type is ID and Password using a Job ID option then for sites that want the document name obscured at the release Station this option will set the document name to the job ID number when the user answers the popup Default 0 disabled LockUserName 1 If the popup window type is ID and Password and the Job ID option is set to Use Computer Name as ID then the username field will be set to the computer name and always locked so that it can t be changed and the keyboard focus set to the password field So instead of using the Pcounter Station Display computer names instead of user names the user name field wil
26. it co uk W www ait co uk AIT Ltd 2 Hawth orn Park Coal Road Leeds LS14 1PQ UK T 0113 27 3 0300 F 0119 273 0302 N D 4 Via Pa r q ya YONn NOO r l NANA H i a fields are mandatory The window will remain open until Close is selected to allow for quick entry of multiple users 2 2 Importing Users It is possible to import users into the Pcounter User database using a CSV file The CSV must be in the format USERNAME FULLNAME PASSWORD FULLNAME is optional If FULLNAME is not desired the syntax of the CSV is USERNAME PASSWORD note the double comma To perform the import gt Ensure that you are in the Popup Users view in Pcounter Admin gt Select Database gt Import from the menu bar gt Browse to the CSV A message will appear confirming the number of users imported If this number is not what you expected there is likely to be issues with the syntax of the CSV or the CSV may contain none standard characters which interfere with the import 3 Restrictions for Popup Users gt All fields have a maximum length of 255 characters gt All fields are alphanumeric none standard characters or symbols should not be used gt Passwords have a minimum length of 1 and no complexity requirements gt Popup Usernames can be the same as existing AD Usernames if desired Pcounter is able to distinguish between the two gt If referencing a Popup User using account exe precede the username with a 4 Other Func
27. l restart itself every X minutes Default 0 disabled HTTPSPort X Port on which popup server listens HTTP Protocol Client only Default 443 ProcessMultipleJobs 1 The local setting Process multiple jobs is enabled Default 0 See Section A 6 Local Options amp Preferences for detailed explanation MatchUserName 1 The local setting Match Username on job is enabled Default 0 See Section A 6 Local Options amp Preferences for detailed explanation HideIcon 1 PPOPUP runs hidden without an icon Default 0 NoExit 1 PPOPUP runs with the Exit option disabled on its popup menu Default 0 Center 1 The popup window will always be placed in the center of the display Default 0 Delay X PPOPUP will delay loading for X seconds This is useful if the system is not initialized when PPOPUP runs Default 0 ClearUserName 1 If the popup window type is ID and Password then the user name field will be cleared before each prompt Default 0 BroadcastOnly 1 PPopup should only receive broadcast messages no popups for print jobs Default 0 ShowPopupOnSingleCode 1 If client code associations are used and user has only one code assigned popup window will be shown Default 0 AIT Ltd MaxAutoReply X The maximum value for users to auto respond to popups will be X minutes DisableMessaging 1 Disables reception of broadcast messages Default 0 ConfigProfile profileName PPOPUP uses the configuration profile specified by profileName This opt
28. l show the computer name and print job passwords can be used Default 0 disabled
29. lient code databases Please note this does not load all pre defined Autocodes Double click the desired code and this will be populated into the auto code field Selecting from Entry Form will allow you free type of the auto code 2 Hawthorn Park Coal Road Leeds LS14 1PQ UK T 0113 273 0300 F 0113 273 0302 Q Company Registration Number 4380885 E solutions ait co uk W www ait co uk 5 1 2 Group To assign an auto code to all members of a Group in Pcounter Administrator User Accounting view right click a Group and select Set Auto client code The from Client Code and from Entry Form options are as detailed above Selecting to Group name for all members will cause the name of this group to be set as the auto code for all members of the group If this action is performed on multiple groups and a user is in more than one of these groups it is the last group which will be set as their code 5 1 3 Printer version 2 71 A Pcounter configuration Sharp MX M550N PCL 6 Autocodes can be associated to printers so that any job printed to this printer is recorded as being printed to Accounting User account balances and Logging Y this code The association is Action if below low balance limit Delete job made through Pcontrol gt Printer Configuration gt Banner Separator template None x Settings tab gt Auto client Pause all jobs o o code Delete paused jobs after X Server defaut Auto client code Prin
30. ndix A 5 1 1 PcounterClient ini Servers As a default Popup will check every print server to which it is connected for waiting print jobs In the event that Popup does not connect automatically to one of these servers or AIT Ltd 2 Hawthorn Park Coal Road Leeds LS14 1PQ UK TOTS 2 30300 F 0113 273 0302 Company Registration Number 4380885 E solutions ait co uk W www ait co uk AIT Ltd 2 Hawthor that one of the servers it has auto connected to is not necessary the list of servers can be manually defined In PcounterClient ini under the Servers heading gt Enter ServerName 1 to ensure that Popup will check that server gt Enter ServerName 0O to ensure that Popup will ignore that server 5 2 Customising PPopup Icon It is possible to change the graphic displayed on PPopup To do this rename the necessary ico file to PPOPUP ico and copy to the location that PPOPUP exe is loaded from The file must be a genuine ico file Many websites exist that will convert a standard image format into an icon file free of charge 5 3 Configuring Popup to run without PcounterClient ini version 2 71 PPopup can be configured to run without the use of PcounterClient ini which is useful when a single EXE file is needed for distribution such as making PPopup available for download or when running from a user s Startup folder To do this gt Ensure that PcounterClient ini exists in the same location as PPopup with the settings whic
31. ndow open Open PAdmin now 4 Window Types 4 1 Confirmation Hello cpieper Confirmation options A The document Notepad AUTOEXEC BAT is 15 pages and will cost 1 50 to print to printer HP Color LaserJet 4600 PS E All nep l tobei ed You currently have 10 00 balance and 5 00 free quota Are you sure you want to print m Confirmation is the most basic window type available to Popup This allows only for the user to confirm that they do want to print the job No further Input is available or necessary Options available Allow rules to be ignored This option will include Yes and No buttons on Popup as well as the Cancel Print button is removed Clicking Yes causes the job to be processed as normal No will ignore all rules when printing the job 4 2 Client code list Matter Number List These two Windows Types are very similar and as such are described together in the following section The differences are also highlighted AIT Ltd 2 Hawthorn Park Coal Road Leeds LS14 1PQ UK T 01S 275 0300 F 0113 273 0302 Company Registration Number 4380885 E solutions ait co uk W www ait co uk AIT Ltd 2 Hawth orn Park Coal Road Leeds LS14 1PQ UK T 0113 273 0300 F 0113 i ipany Registration Number 4380885 E solutions ait co uk W www ait co uk See Section B Client Codes for Window type Client code ist detailed discussion on Client Codes EE pnts and Subcodes nformaton message type All pr
32. nter name B Accountbalance D Document name The following values require Count jobs in advance enabled in the printer configuration for inclusion in the message These are If the option Count jobs in advance for display is active on the printer these are also available C Cost gt U Username P Number of Pages gt X Printer Name gt D Document Name gt B Account Balance gt AF Free Quota zl A To use a custom icon place PPopup ico in the same directory as PPopup exe gt BWC Job cost The length of the message is limited to 512 characters 3 2 Popup Profiles Popup Profiles allow for different users or groups of users to use different Popup configurations An example of this would be simple confirmation for students and client code selection for teachers staff If no profile is specified for a user then the default profile is used In order to set a different profile for the user the following Switch needs to be used when Popup is loaded profile ProfileName See Section A 5 and Appendix A for more on command line switches To create a new profile simply press Add Changes made to the configuration will apply to the profile selected in the list Be sure to click Apply to save any changes To rename the profile click it whilst already selected To delete a profile click Remove 3 3 Users Exempt Blocked from Popup gt P Number of Pages Default New Profilel
33. ons e ID and password options Password authentication Password authentication i Job ID Job password required W Allow dient code form Display username as password Iv Allow document name change M Allow document name change M Show confirmation after login Job ID options M Local login username only Use computer name as ID cpieper document Notepad AUTOEXEC BAT of length 15 pages printed on printer HP Color LaserJet 4600 PS will cost A 1 50 You currently have 10 00 credit and 5 00 free quota Document Notepad AUTOEXEC BAT 5 PcounterClient ini amp Optional Settings in PPopup 5 1 PcounterClient ini Preferences and command line options Please note The file PcounterClient ini contains the necessary settings for both PPopup and PcounterClient There is no PPopup ini There are a wide variety of options which can be utilised with Popup which are activated in one of two ways gt Including them in the ini file PcounterClient ini under the Preferences heading and pushing file this out to the client machines along with Popup gt Using them as switches when referencing the path back to Popup on the server For instance START DRIVE PATH PPOPUP hideicon will activate the hideicon switch when loading Popup from the server Including the option hideicon 1 in PcounterClient ini under Preferences will also invoke the option For a detailed list and explanation of each option see Appe
34. ossible to associate codes to users then in conjunction with the PPopup option Associate Client Codes with network user group names the user will only be able to see and select codes to which they have an association See section A 4 2 for further details The advantage of this option is that users are now unable to print to a department that they are not a member of Client Code Associations are visible in Pcounter Administrator through the Client Code list associations button at the bottom of the application Please note only the active Organisational Unit on the User Accounting view will be displayed The list of code associations is held in the file PASSOC DBF default location C PCOUNTER PASSOC DBF This file can be opened in Excel if necessary Codes can be associated to either a User or an AD Security Group All members of the group will receive the association The association is dynamic meaning that an association is not entered into the association database for each member of the group A user s group membership is checked when Popup is loaded on the workstation and all codes for their groups are loaded along with any direct associations Consequently if a user is removed from a group they will automatically lose all codes from that group the next time Popup is reloaded 4 1 Manual Associations m Backup Operators Backu To manually associate a code select Client code CJE M r a i E list associations in PAdmin right click t
35. ptional If used this password must be used to release the job at secondary release device gt Job ID password required As above password mandatory Allow document name change The user may change the file name of the job before printing Local login username only This locks down the username box on Popup to only the currently logged in AD user This is not available on Pcounter User Only password type Show confirmation after login This option will show a second Popup after the Username Password entry form The second Popup displays the custom information message If this is not used then any parameters used in the message will be obtained from the locally logged in user This method allows the message to be customised to the user who has authenticated into Popup Allow client code form The Popup will include the facility to enter a client code This is free type and will not be verified against the client code database Job ID Options available on all Job ID authentication types gt Clear ID each time The entry form will be blank every time it loads gt Remember last ID The entry form will be auto populated with the previous entered ID gt Use computer name as ID The name of the workstation printed form will be auto populated into the entry form but can be edited by the user gt Use computer name as ID Read only See above however cannot be edited by the user ID and password opti
36. r but it still shows the global message defined in the server configuration First ensure that you have restarted the client on the workstation since making the change If the problem still occurs ensure that you have Information message type on the Server Configuration set to Individual Printers I have enabled Popup for messaging however my users are still not receiving messages Why AIT Ltd 2 Hawthorn Park Coal Road Leeds LS14 1PQ UK T 0113 273 0300 F 0119 273 0302 Company Registration Number 43880885 E solutions ait co uk W www ait co uk AIT Ltd Pcounter uses Windows Messaging to send these messages which as a default are blocked by many local firewalls including Windows Firewall The necessary exceptions for the firewall are gt NetBIOS session traffic over TCP port 139 gt NetBIOS name management traffic over UDP port 137 gt NetBIOS datagram traffic over UDP port 138 If these are not successful it may be necessary to add Windows File and Print Sharing to the exceptions list AIT Ltd Appendix A PcounterClient ini options amp command line switches See Section A 5 for usage of both option sets A1 Command Line Switches gt VV Y YYYY VV V profile profileName PPOPUP uses the configuration profile specified by profileName This option is not required to use the default configuration profile hideicon PPOPUP runs hidden without an icon noexit PPOPUP runs with the Exit option disabled on its
37. rs My job then prints successfully If using client code associations and a user has only one code associated then this code will be automatically selected and Popup will not wait for a user response To disable this option use the switch ini setting ShowPopupOnSingleCode see Appendix A I have made changes to the Popup configuration but they do not appear to have replicated to the users Any changes made to Popup require a restart of PPOPUP exe on the workstations This can be achieved using the Restart option in the system tray icon gt right click menu see A 6 Local Options and Preferences but it is recommended to simply make any changes out of hours so they apply the next working day Changes which require a restart include but are not limited to gt Any configuration changes made through Pcontrol gt Any changes to the list of available client codes gt Any changes to a user s client code associations I have just activated Popup on a printer but it is not appearing when I print The Pcounter Printer Control Service must be restarted whenever Popup is activated on a new printer Restart this through Pcontrol gt Services and Ports or services msc I have tried to use the substitutions C or P in my message but they do not load the respected values for the user Ensure that the option Count jobs in advance for display is active on the print queue See section A 2 2 I have changed the information message for one printe
38. tation It should not be used in an environment that allows shared user accounts with concurrent logon Also available through right clicking the system tray icon gt Exit Popup this can be disabled using noexit see Appendix A gt Restart Popup Useful for applying configuration changes without the need for the user to log off on gt About Popup Please note To disable the end user s ability to edit any of these settings use the hideicon switch or hideicon 1 PcounterClient ini option 7 Messaging though Popup Popup can be used as a receiver for broadcast messages in the event that the Windows Messenger service is disabled on the client machines To use Popup as a message receiver ensure that the option Broadcast messages to workstation name is enabled through Pcontrol gt Server Configuration gt Message Transport To use Popup in this way does not require it to also be used to confirm printing If using solely for messaging use the command line option msgonly see Section A 6 and Appendix A SECTION B CLIENT CODES A Client Code is a plain text field which is recorded in the Pcounter log as part of a print record which can be used for reporting purposes to assist with client or departmental charge back Codes can be either manually selected using PPopup or embedded software from a list of codes or they can be automatically entered for the user every time they print Auto codes The codes themselves are
39. ter Auto Code Settings Prices Rules Policies 5 2 Removing a User s Auto code association To remove an association simply select Remove in the right click menu 5 3 From AD Field Pcounter can be configured to perform a look up to AD each time a user prints and to take the contents of a pre determined field to be the user s auto code This can be any field such as Department To do this In Pcontrol open the Server Configuration right click server name gt Pcounter gt Configuration Select the Data Server tab Enter the AD field into the text box AD attribute for auto client code L2 hS Pcounter share path C PCOUNTER Greate cy Services Ports LFD Server Message Text Message Transport Tf balance goes below 1 00 Every month a Send account balance notification message Create new log and rename old log OU your print account balance is B e AD attribute for auto dient code The lookup to this field is performed every time a user prints Consequently changes to this field will replicate in real time Important If using an AD attribute or a Group Name for an auto code ensure that the code does not contain any none standard characters particularly AIT Ltd 2 Hawthorn Park Coal Road Leeds LS14 1PQ UK T 0113 273 0300 F 0113 273 0302 Company Registration Number 43880885 E solutions ait co ukK W www ait co uk 6 Client
40. tions When a user is selected in Pcounter Administrator go to wo the Pcounter Users menu to view the functions which oa atabase Poounter Users Help can be performed on an existing user New user Ins gt To delete a user select Delete User from the Delete user Del menu and confirm when prompted Rename user gt To rename the user select Rename User Please Change fullname note you will not be able to rename an account So Exa Set Password so that the name is the same as an existing Popup User gt Change Fullname allows you to change the user s full name gt Set Password allows you to change a user s password Show users SECTION D FAQ Popup is running on my user s workstations however it does not appear when they print to a Popup enabled queue and their job does not print Try activating the option Match Username on Job through Popup Preferences Depending on the configuration of your AD this may be necessary for Popup to work Also ensure that the user is not listed under Users blocked from Popup see section A 3 3 Popup Preferences displays the message The RPC Server is unavailable 1722 This means that Popup cannot contact the print server in question This is invariably down to a communications issue on the network Ensure that the server will ping from the workstation in question I am using Client Code list Window Type and Popup flashes up for an instant then disappea
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