Rules & Routing Details

Create and oversee rule-based automation, enhancing efficiency, precision, and dependability for your PrinterLogic SaaS environment. Here are some important details about Rules & Routing.

Preparation

To use Rules & Routing, you need the following:

• Output Automation add-on configured for your Print environment.
• Every rule consists of a trigger, one or more conditions, and one or more actions. See below for more details.
• Triggers are events identified by the system that initiates a rule. Triggers are predefined and available from a drop-down list.
• Rules are applied in the order in which they appear in the Rules & Routing tab. You can reorder them as needed.

Important Things to Know

A rule consists of the following components:

• Trigger — A specific event the system identifies to initiate the defined process and perform the necessary action(s).
• Condition(s) — The criteria or requirements for applying the rule. The condition(s) can encompass various components or events.
• Action(s) — The action is the intended outcome executed when the rule is acknowledged.

All three components are required to create a rule. You can easily create a rule using our intuitive interface that walks you through the configuration of each component.

Triggers

Triggers are events that initiate the rules engine to assess if further action is needed. Available triggers are:

• An Output Automation job failed — The system detects a job failure.
• An Output Automation job started — The start of a file handling process is detected.
• An Output Automation job completed — A document was successfully sent to a printer.
• An Output Automation job was held — A print job is held for secure release.

Conditions

Conditions based on the job characteristics and metadata. Available conditions are:

• Printer — The printer associated with the document when Output Automation receives the file. An option to select a specific printer is provided.
• Print Job Title — The title of the file received. An option to enter text for an Exact match, Contains, or Advanced which can use regular expressions for more advanced matching is provided.
• No Condition — No condition is used. This allows the Trigger to initiate the Action directly.
• User — The user who sent or provided the document to Output Automation. An option to select specific user(s) is provided.
• User not found— The user printing the file could not be found in the identity provider being used.
• Number of Pages — The total number of pages in the document. An option to enter Less than, Greater than, or Equal to as a number is provided.
• Time of day—- The time of day a file is received. An option to select a Start and End time is provided.
• Type of document — Detect the document file type to perform a specific action. An option to enter in the file extension is provided.

Actions

Automated action performed when the event and conditions are met. Available actions are:

• Redirect print job— Redirects a document from the printer selected initially to a new one. An option to choose a printer to redirect to is provided.
• Send redirection notification email — Sends a template message to the user associated with the file if a print job is redirected, telling them which printer completed the job.
• Do not print job — Don’t print the document.
• Assign to user — Assign the user associated with the print job to a newly selected user so the new user can release the job(s). Print job reporting will automatically adjust to associate the new user with the job.
• Print to all selected printers — Allows a print job to print at all selected printers within the rule. An option to choose specific printers is provided.
• Redirect print job to a random printer in the pool — Redirects a document from the printer originally selected to any printer(s) designated. An option to choose specific printers to be in the pool is provided.

Rule Order

When that trigger occurs, the system reviews the list of rules and condition(s) set for the rule as they apply to the particular file. The rules are applied in the order displayed in the rules table. If any of those conditions match the file's attributes, then the system performs the corresponding action associated with that rule to complete the process.

You can reorder the rules so they are evaluated in the best order to fit your business needs to ensure precision and dependability. Learn how to reorder rules here.

Trigger Fallback

The trigger fallback is a protective measure that applies to all the rules set for the trigger when there are connectivity issues between the Client or Service Client and the rules engine. This safety mechanism ensures that print jobs are handled appropriately, even when the connection is unavailable. By implementing a fallback, the system ensures that print jobs are not left unattended or neglected, thereby maintaining a reliable and consistent workflow. The Fallback options are:

• Continue — the print jobs are sent to the printer as requested by the user. They remain available and accessible even if the rules cannot be enforced immediately. This action prioritizes productivity by ensuring uninterrupted access to print jobs. However, if print jobs could potentially contain sensitive information, consider the Stop rule.
• Stop — print jobs are temporarily paused until a connection with the rules engine is restored. The aim is to mitigate potential security concerns by ensuring that print jobs are processed with rule enforcement. However, be aware that this temporary pause may impact productivity during the rule unavailability period.

Delete Rules

It's a good practice to regularly review the rules configured for each trigger to prevent unintended rule enforcement. Remove any obsolete rules to ensure they are not accidentally applied or enforced, thus avoiding undesired consequences. View instructions on how to delete rules here.

To get started, see Create a New Rule.