Release Notes: Capturx Print Utility 1.6.3Release Notes: Capturx Print Utility 1.6.3

Welcome to Capturx Print Utility 1.6.3! Written for customers and partners, this document may be updated periodically as more information becomes available.

System Requirements / Language Support
For current Capturx system requirements and language support, visit http://adapx.com/support/kb/article/119.

Versions of Capturx Print Utility
Adapx recommends that all customers and partners on supported systems update to the most recent version of Capturx software.

Exception: Customers using pre-1.6.1 versions of Capturx Forms Service or Capturx for SharePoint solutions software should not upgrade to Capturx Print Utility 1.6.3.

Installation and Uninstallation
Capturx Print Utility 1.6.3 can be installed over these previous versions: 1.6, 1.6.1, and 1.6.2. There is no need to first uninstall the previous version.

Exception: If you are using a version prior to Capturx Print Utility 1.6, you need to first uninstall the previous version before installing Capturx Print Utility 1.6.3.

New Features and Enhancements in Capturx Print Utility 1.6.3

  • Faster printing
  • Ability to print multiple forms as a single print job (Form A and Form B and Form C come out of the printer together as one Windows print job).
  • Embedded login credentials for 3rd-party outsourced printing companies

Expanded descriptions about the changes are below:

Faster printing
The time between when a print job is requested, and when it starts on the printer, has been reduced through optimization:

  • Multiple copies or multiple requests will submit existing SharePoint items (forms that are populated with data) more quickly to the spooler
  • Dot pattern is now reserved for only a single form (or copy of a form) at a time.
  • As pages are ready, they are immediately spooled to the printer queue.

Enhanced user interface for print jobs containing multiple forms
When printing multiple forms, each form’s URL will be displayed in the Capturx Print Utility’s user interface. For SharePoint List Items (forms that are populated with data), the Item IDs will be displayed.

Adapx Print Job (XPJ) Schema Definition
Available upon request through Adapx Sales Engineering, the recommended schema should be used by customers generating XPJ documents (XML documents describing the items stored in Capturx to be printed and the options used to print them) for creating print jobs. The Capturx Print Utility will validate all XPJ documents against this schema to ensure proper syntax of incoming print job requests. The schema itself is self-documenting; however, at a high-level, it supports the following specifications of the tune-time behavior for the Capturx Print Utility:

  • A list of form(s) to be printed in a single job on the printer. Note: If a template, then only a single set of template copies can be specified for each job.
  • An optional list of SharePoint List Items to support pre-population of SharePoint Items and their subsequent printing. If no items exist, then the Capturx Print Utility assumes that the user has requested to print blank template documents.
  • An optional SharePoint date-time column, where the printing time can be stored (empty by default).
  • An optional set of encrypted login credentials to allow third-party printers to have access to the server for printing empty by default).
  • An optional request to start the Capturx Print Utility minimized (False by default).
  • An optional printer name, specifying the designated printer to which to spool (empty by default).

Note: Schema validation - Any organization developing their own XPJ generation mechanism must take care to utilize the Adapx-provided schema to generate properly formed XPJ documents. Otherwise, the Capturx Print Utility will provide a validation failure when it loads the document.

Embedded Credentials for Outsourced Printing
Customers developing a printing solution that will be run by a third-party outsourced printer can request an RSA Public Key from Adapx. The RSA Public Key can be used to programmatically encrypt login credentials for any XPJ. When the Capturx Print Utility opens the XPJ, it will attempt to utilize those login credentials to access the SharePoint list specified in the XPJ in order to print the items. Alternatively, customers that require only printing templates can use the Capturx Print Utility itself to create the single template that they need.

There are two methods for embedding credentials within an XPJ for use by third-party printers. One is programmatic and will be described in a separate article outlining how developers can utilize the RSA Public Key available to encrypt the username and password contents within an XPJ that they are creating within their code. The other method is to launch the Print Utility itself providing it an existing XPJ. In this alternative, the XPJ will be updated with the encoded credentials add to the XML.

The Capturx Print Utility 1.6.3 allows the following command-line uses:

  • If any of the following three flags are used: -credentials, -username, or -password, rather than perform a print action, the Capturx Print Utility will start in a “credentials processing” mode, adding credentials to the XPJ when complete. These credentials are always validated with the server specified in the XPJ before they are written to the file.
    - capturx for sharepoint print utility.exe <xpjfilename> - credentials
       -When this flag is used, the end user is prompted to enter a username and password. 
    - capturx for sharepoint print utility.exe <xpjfilename> - username:<username> -password:<password>
       -encrypted creds are saved after validation. This set of parameters allows the IT administrators to batch process multiple XPJs and credentials.
  • If only the username or the password flag individually is set, then the user is once again prompted to enter the missing information.
  • capturx for sharepoint print utility.exe <xpjfilename>
    - This is the traditional way that the Capturx Print Utility launches for XPJ processing and printing (see the description of the various options in the schema for additional information.) 

Running Minimized
Customers have the option of starting the Capturx Print Utility in a minimized state. This is especially helpful if a custom batch printing input or pre-population tool has been built and the necessary print options for the job are being captured in their custom user interface (e.g., printer name, items for assembly into job, etc.).

Known limitations and issues

  • The XPJ cannot print more than a single template copy in minimized mode. There is no item for specifying the number of copies for any form template. Instead, these customers’ XPJs will need to leave the “minimize” attribute unspecified (or False).
  • Concurrency - only a limited number (approximately 10) of Capturx Print Utilities can be launched on a single machine at any single moment in time.

Reporting Bugs
Found a bug? Please send the detailed bug information via the online Support form: http://adapx.com/support/contact.

Note: Due to the high volume of email we receive, we are unable to respond to every request.
Thank you for using Capturx Pen Manager and for taking the time to send us your feedback!

Last updated: 
2011-03-25

Products affected:
Capturx for SharePoint 1.6.1, Capturx Forms Service 1.6.1