Uploader

The Uploader tool is a versatile tool to upload files and XML jobs to the PrintFactory Cloud. The tool can be used for:

  • Manual submitting files (Drag & Drop) to Nesting Queues
  • Connecting file-based workflows to Nesting Queues using hot folders. (For a tight integration with a MIS/ERP the REST API is recommended)
  • Letting your customers delivering files to your queues.
  • Uploading assets to the Asset library, that can be used to define articles.

The Uploader has 2 modes of operating:

  1. Drag & Drop of files on the progress window
  2. Monitored folders (hotfolders) with option XSLT transformations.

Set-up connection

After installing Uploader or when clicking the sprocket button on the progress window the preferences window appears:

There are 3 authentication options:

  1. Company account : This will connect to the LicenseServer proxy and automatically authenticate. Useful when used on premises.
  2. Personal account : This is the email address and password of a user set-up in PrintFactory Cloud. This can be useful for external users.
  3. MIS Key : This is the MIS key as generated in PrintFactory Cloud and is automatically filled in when using the “Personal account” option. Choose this option if you want to pass a key but do not want to reveal the account.

The Region option needs to be set to China when being used inside of PRC, so the China cloud infrastructure is used.

Two modes are available:

  1. Nest Document or XML upload : Uploader will send the files and XMLs to the selected Nesting Queue(s).
    By selecting Upload images the actual files will be send to the cloud and stored temporarily (30 days) in the PrintFactory asset manager. If this is not checked then the path to the files is send to the cloud and the actual file is left on-site. Make sure that the files are accessible by the RIP in that case else the jobs will fail.
  2. Asset upload : Uploader will send the files to the cloud and stored permanently in the PrintFactory asset manager. These assets will be visible in the Assets page in the cloud.

Open at Login will make Uploader to start when your computer starts. The Uploader will be added as a tray icon (Windows/Linux) or menu item (MacOS) and the UI can be accessed from there.

Manual submitting

Manually adding jobs is done by dragging the files (PDF/TIFF/JPEG/PNG) or XML job tickets onto the progress window (see picture above).

In the bottom of the window the queue to which the files or jobs need to be added can be selected. These are the Nest Groups as set-up in the Automation section of PrintFactory Cloud.

Hotfolders

Uploader can be set-up to monitor a set of folders and pick up any files or XML job tickets that are written / copied there. For each hotfolder another queue can be specified and optionally a XSLT transformation to transform the received XML into the PrintFactory XML format.

In the preferences to go to the Hotfolders tab to manage the list of hotfolders.

Click on the + button to create a new Hotfolder.

For each hotfolder you can define:

  • Name : A name that describes the hotfolder
  • Path: The path to the folder being monitored
  • Input Queue : The Nest Group or queue to which the jobs need to be delivered
  • Time-out : Time to wait before starting the upload process.

FTP

Uploader has a simple build-in FTP server that shows the defined hotfolders as folders in a FTP server. This allows to upload the artwork (PDFs/TIFF/etc) and the XML using FTP protocol.

At the moment the XML and the files referred to by the XML are all received the job is submitted to the cloud. Progress of the pairing up and any issues are shown in the Event Log window at “Info” level.

The FTP server can be configured in the FTP tab of the preferences. Allowing to define the user/password for access and the port to listen on. The FTP server supports unencrypted communication protocols only.

Updated on May 19, 2022

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