Adding and Configuring PDF Printers
PDF printers in ScrewDrivers allow users to convert documents to PDF format. You can configure PDF printers to either print physically or save files to the ScrewDrivers Session Agent before printing. This guide walks you through creating PDF printer objects and configuring their export settings.
Adding a PDF printer
First, you'll create the PDF printer object in the ScrewDrivers database.
- Confirm that the Objects pane is set to Printer objects. (You might need to click the Printers icon on the ScrewDrivers Administration Icon bar.)
| Before continuing, you can click the Expand/Collapse icon that is displayed next to the PDF Printers folder to expand the folder and view all the PDF printer objects that have already been added, or you can search for specific PDF printer objects. See [To search for an object and view its information] |
- In the Objects pane, click Add Printer. The Add a New Printer dialog box opens. The dialog box displays icons for the types of printer objects that you can add to the ScrewDrivers database.
| Hold your mouse pointer over an icon to open a tooltip that displays the name of the object that the icon represents. |
- Click the PDF Printer icon. The New PDF Printer dialog box opens.
| You can also right-click the PDF Printers folder in the Objects pane, and on the context menu that opens, click New PDF Printer. |
- Enter the name for the new PDF Printer object, and then click Add. The New PDF Printer dialog box closes. The newly added PDF printer is displayed in the PDF Printers folder.5. Select the newly added PDF Printer object.
| You might need to click the Expand/Collapse icon that is displayed next to the PDF Printers folder to expand the folder and view the newly added PDF Printer object. |
The Information pane displays the PDF Printer object form. The form groups together related configuration parameters for the selected PDF Printer object. The General tab is the open tab.6. Do one of the following:• If the PDF file is to be physically printed from the selected PDF printer, then continue to Step 7.• If the file is to be saved on the on the ScrewDrivers Session Agent before printing, open the General tab of the PDF Printer object form, and then select and configure the export options for the PDF printer. When you configure an export option, you must specify the Deny, Force, or Suggest setting for the option. If you specify a Force or Suggest setting, then you must also provide a default value for the option. • Deny - Prevents the user from enabling the option and changing the setting or default value for the option.• Force - Prevents the user from changing the setting or default value for the option. You determine if the option is enabled or not.• Suggest - You can define a default setting and/or value for the option, but a user can always override the setting, the default value, or both at the time of printing.
| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Export PDF file to server | |
| Save Mode | Select one of two allowed values:• Display Save Dialog - If the owner is to save the PDF to an owner-specified location, then select this value.• Use Input Pathname - If the owner is to save the PDF to a pre-defined location, then select this value. |
| Destination | If Save Mode is set to Use Input Pathname, then you must specify the pre-defined location here. Tip: To open a dialog box that displays all the variables, including the Windows variables, that are supported in a path name, click Help. |
| If File Exists | If Save Mode is set to Use Input Pathname and the pre-defined location exists, then select one of four allowed values:• Overwrite: Automatically overwrite the existing file on the ScrewDrivers Session Agent with the new file.• Prompt: Prompt the user to overwrite the existing file on the ScrewDrivers Session Agent, or take other actions.• Cancel: Cancel the saving of the file. The existing file on the ScrewDrivers Session Agent Server remains unchanged and no new file is saved.• Append: Add the new file to the end of the existing file on the ScrewDrivers Session Agent. A single file is produced that contains both the existing (old) content and the new content. |
| If you do not configure any settings on the PDF Printer object form, then when the user prints to the PDF printer, the Save dialog box opens for setting the printing preferences. |
- On the Printer Naming tab, leave the printer naming scheme set to the default value of Printer Name (MACHINE:SESSION), or optionally, edit the printer naming scheme.
| Step | Action |
|---|---|
| Use a default naming scheme | Select the naming scheme. |
| Edit and use a default naming scheme | 1. Select the naming scheme.2. Do one or both of the following:• Select "Limit name component lengths," and then set the maximum value for any or all of the indicated components (Printer, Machine, and/or User.) The default value is ten.• Select which options in the printer name are to be replaced, and then leave a default replacement value as-is, or modify it as needed. For example, if you select "Replace backslashes () in the printer name with _, then, by default, an underscore replaces every backslash in the printer name. You can leave the underscore as-is, or you change it to another value such as an asterisk (*). |
| Create and use a custom naming scheme | Note: Special characters other than an exclamation point (!), backslash () or period (.) are allowed in any of the free text fields.1. Select Custom.2. Set the format of the scheme using Session ID and one or more of the following: Printer, Machine Name, and User. In addition to the Session ID, the name can have up to three components, but you can specify a single component (for example, Machine Name), two components (for example, Machine Name and Printer), or all three components (for example, Machine Name, Printer, and User). Caution: Tricerat does not support a format without a Session ID. A user could log in to multiple sessions, which can result in a naming conflict.3. Optionally, do one or both of the following:• Select "Limit name component lengths," and then set the maximum value for any or all of the indicated components (Printer, Machine, and/or User.) The default value is ten.• Select which options in the printer name are to be replaced, and then leave a default replacement value as-is, or modify it as needed. For example, if you select "Replace backslashes () in the printer name with _, then, by default, an underscore replaces every backslash in the printer name. You can leave the underscore as-is, or you change it to another value such as an asterisk (*). |
- Click Save.9. In the Objects pane, select the newly added PDF Printer object, and then drag the selected printer to the appropriate owner in the Assignments pane.
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