Options

Use settings in this dialog box to customize the application. Select a group from the left-hand panels and configure its settings.

Folders

This panel allows you to select the default storage folders for labels, forms, databases, and picture files. The default folder location is current user's Documents folder. These are also the default folders in which Loftware Automation searches for files if you provide file names without their full path. For more information about the file search order, see Search Order for Requested Files.

Folder-related changes propagate to Loftware Automation Service within a minute. To apply changes immediately, restart the service.

Language

Language panel allows selecting the Loftware Automation interface language. Select the appropriate language and click OK.

Global Variables

Global Variables panel defines which location with stored global variables should be used:

• Use global variables stored on the server (Loftware Control Center): Sets the global variable storage location to be on the Loftware Control Center.

  

• Use global variables stored in a file (local or shared): Sets the global variable storage location in a local or shared folder. Enter the exact path or click Open to locate the file.

Licensed Printers

Licensed Printers panel provides logged information about the number of printers that have been used in your printing environment.

Details on Licensed Printers group displays how many of the permitted printer seats are in use after printing on multiple printers.

• Number of printers allowed by license: Number of permitted printers to be used with the current Loftware license.

• Number of used printers in the last 7 days: Number of printers that have been used with Loftware during the last 7 days.

  Tip

  During a 7-day period, Loftware license allows only the specified number of different printers to be used.

See printing statuses in multiple columns:

• Printer: Name or model of the printer that was selected for the print job.

  Note

  If the connected printer is shared, only printer model is displayed.

• Location: Name of the computer from which the print job has been sent.

• Port: Port used by the printer.

• Last Used: Time passed since the last print job.

• Reserved: Prevents the printer from being removed after idling for more that 7 days.

Permissions panel allows you to lock printer usage on local workstation.

• This workstation can only use reserved printers: With this option enabled, only reserved printers are allowed for label editing and printing in Loftware.

  Tip

  Use this option to avoid exceeding the number of available licensed printer seats by printing on unwanted printers or print-to-file applications. Reserve dedicated thermal or laser labeling printers and limit printing only to them. This ensures continuous printing of labels with a multi-user license.

  This option can also be enabled using the product.config file:

  1. Navigate to the System folder.

     %PROGRAMDATA%\Loftware\Loftware

  2. Make a backup copy of the product.config file.

  3. Open product.config in a text editor. The file has an XML structure.

  4. Add the following lines:

     <Configuration>
       <Activation>
         <ReservePrinters>Example Printer Name</ReservePrinters>
       </Activation>
       <Common>
         <General>
           <ShowOnlyReservedPrinters>True</ShowOnlyReservedPrinters>
         </General>
       </Common>
     </Configuration>

  5. Save the file. The Example Printer is reserved.

Control Center

Control Center panel allows you to enable and configure the monitoring of events and print jobs. Loftware Control Center enables centralized event and print job reporting, and centralized storage of global variables.

Address group defines which Loftware Control Center server should be used.

• Control Center server address: URL of the connected Loftware Control Center server. You can select from the list of automatically discovered servers on the network, or enter a server address manually.

Event Monitoring group defines what types of events should be logged by the connected Loftware Control Center.

• Print Events: Logs the print related events from the workstation.

• Error Events: Logs all reported errors.

• Trigger Activity: Logs all fired triggers.

• Trigger Status Change Events: Logs the trigger status changes which have been caused by the fired triggers.

Print Job Monitoring group enables you to log the completed and ongoing print jobs to Loftware Control Center.

• Enable Print Job Logging to Server: Activates print job logging.

• Detailed printing control: Enables monitoring of statuses that are reported by the connected printer.

Automation

These settings define the application's advanced features.

Service Communication

• Service communication port: Automation Manager controls the service using TCP/IP protocol on the selected port. If the default port is not suitable for you to be used on the computer, select another port number. Be careful not to select a port number that is already in use by another application.

Log

• Clear log entries daily at: Defines the start of the housekeeping process. Old events are erased from the log database.

• Clear log entries when older than (days): Specifies event retention in the log database. All events older than the specified number of days are erased from the database at each housekeeping event.

• Log messages: Specifies the scope of event recording in the log. During the development and testing phases, you might want to enable verbose logging. In this case, enable all messages to improve the tracing of trigger execution. Later on, while in production phase, minimize the amount of logging and enable logging of errors only.

Performance

• 

  Cache files from document storage and network shares: To improve the time-to-first label and to increase performance in general, Loftware Automation supports file caching. After you load the labels, images, and database data from network shares, all required files must be fetched before the printing process can begin.

  Tip

  If you enable local caching, the effect of network latency is reduced as label and picture files are loaded from your local disk.

  Automation service uses the following local folder to cache the remote files: %PROGRAMDATA%\Loftware\Loftware\FileCache.

  • Refresh intervals (minutes): Defines the time interval within which the files in the cache are synchronized with files in the original folder. This is the time limit for the system to use a version that may not be the latest.

  • Delete unused cached files after (days): Defines the time interval after which all files are removed from cache.

  Note

  File caching supports label and picture file formats. After you enable file caching, restart Automation service to make the changes take effect.

• Precache folders from document storage allows you to locally cache the files from Control Center document storage folders on your computer. With enabled precaching, the content of local cache keeps synchronizing with the selected document storage folders.

  Note

  In comparison with Caching Files, precaching reduces the printing time for your first printed label.

  Add each document storage folder in a separate line.

  /Labels/Folder1

  /Labels/Folder2

  Note

  Your Automation Builder must be connected to the Control Center to enable the offline synchronization of cached files.

Cluster Support

This setting enables support for high-availability (failover) type of cluster in Loftware Automation. Select the folder which both nodes in the cluster will use to share information about real-time trigger statuses.

Designer

Designer panel enables you to configure the opening behavior of Loftware.

• Display each document in its own window: If enabled, additionally opened documents appear in separate windows of Loftware. This applies to both – newly created and existing documents.

  If you decide to disable this option, additionally opened documents appear within the currently active instance of Loftware.

• Printer Settings Source allows you to choose the source of printer settings.

  • Use printer settings from the printer driver: Select this option if you prefer printing using the printer driver settings. This option allows you to standardize the printer settings in your working environment.

  • Use custom printer settings saved in the label: Each label may have its own printer settings defined and saved by the user. Select this option to use custom settings for your labels while printing.