User Interface Updates for RPM 6.2

The User Interface, or the "UI" as we usually call it, plays an essential role in RPM Remote Print Manager® ("RPM"). While the majority of the actual work goes on out of sight in the RPM service, the UI is where you keep an eye on things, watch jobs processing, look for errors and warnings, and do all the configuration.

Remote host connection

Not everyone knows that the UI can connect to RPM running on another host in your network. We disabled some functions which don't make sense when you are connected to a remote host, including:

  • View Job Files
  • View Contents
  • Open Containing Folder
  • Clean Spool Folders
  • Email to Support (a feature to email a job data file)
  • Dependent Services (refers to services on your computer that might depend on the RPM service running)
  • Add-on Modules (they must be configured locally)
  • Diagnostic Logging (requires modifying an XML file in the install folder)

Connected to the service icon

We updated the "service connection" icon in the status bar to a larger, more easily identifiable image and added text indicating whether the service is online or offline.

Task availability numbers

We removed the task availability numbers since they were always out of date (by the time they get to the UI) and often confusing.

Queue removal safeguard

When the user wants to remove a queue, we now check first that the queue is not used in a telnet port and is not the target of a copy queue action.

Duplicate RPC port

We now prevent the port configuration from adding a duplicate RPC port.

Telnet port update

We now require the telnet port configuration to have a job name template and a queue destination.

Job discard

We modified the wording of the "job discard option" to be more clear.

Capture

We added "capture" support to the LPD settings. If enabled, our new LPD protocol module will generate a capture file for each incoming job and place it in the "JOBS" folder in the RPM spool area. A capture file contains only the protocol exchange and no actual job data.

Queue filters on startup

We added a command line argument to the UI to pre-load the "queue filters" field. This will narrow down the list of queues automatically displayed in the UI, though you can always clear the filter at any time.

Database maintenance

If the UI is stopping the service for database maintenance, we wait a little longer for the service to stop and report an error to the user if it fails to stop completely.

Code page transform

The code page transform was missing from the transforms list. It was automatically used by some transforms, but you were unable to add one as intended.

Text banner transform

The text banner transform could not be saved unless the banner template was specified.  The banner template is now optional again.

Queue folder

The queue folder setup now requires the parent folder to be a local drive, not shared. There are several reasons for this, the most obvious being that directory notifications are not broadcast over the network to neighboring Windows systems.

Blank printer name

We suppress a blank printer name in the printer list for the Raw Print action.

Filters and standard input /standard output

The filter actions form and the filter transforms form now perform the following checks:

  • you can't select "Transfer file to filter using standard input" and include the %s parameter in the command line
  • you can't select "Save standard output (stdout) in working directory" and include the %o parameter in the command line

For users who don’t fully understand these concepts, they are diametrically opposed meaning you can use one or the other but not both.  The form now checks if the user is trying to use both and prevents it.