DevicesCreate a Connection for a Generic Device

If your device is currently unsupported in Loftware Enterprise SP, you can define and create a basic device driver that allows sending a print stream or an image to the device. The output from a generic driver is XML that can be sent to a printer or saved to a file, and allows for writing XSLTs to create the desired print stream.

A sample generic driver XSL file is included in Loftware Enterprise SP. To see the sample XSL file, enter http://spectrum-server:8080/downloads/genericDriverSample.xsl in the address field of your browser, where spectrum-server is the name of the server hosting Loftware Enterprise SP for your organization and genericDriverSample.xsl is case sensitive.

Note: In a multi-site deploymentClosed A configuration of a Loftware environment that includes Loftware instances located at different sites within the same WAN. In a multi-site deployment, each Loftware instance acts as either a headquarters or a facility. of Loftware Enterprise SP, device connections can be created only at headquarters. They can be replicated to facilities by using synchronization, and they can be changed at facilities if allowed by the configuration. Remote Sites can be created at both headquarters and facilities to enable the use of a Loftware NiceLabel driver. For more information, see Using a Loftware NiceLabel Driver at a Facility.

To create a File connection for a Generic device, use this procedure.

  1. In Devices Devices, in the ribbon click Add > Device to create a new device.
  2. In the Device Model dialog box, do the following.
    1. For Family, select Family Driver.
    2. For Model, select Generic.
    3. Click OK.
  3. In the Connection tab, for Connection Type select File and configure settings. For more information, see File Connection Type (Print to PDF, Image, or XML).
  4. Change the File Path to the location on the server where you want the XML files stored.

    Best Practice

    Use a UNC path such as \\Server\SharedFolder. Mapped drives are not supported.

  5. In the Options, Advanced, and Custom Commands tabs, configure the options. For more information, see Generic Device Driver.
  6. In the Properties pane, enter a Description of the device.
  7. In the ribbon, click SaveSave and then enter a Device Name in the Save dialog box.

    The following characters are permitted in the name: letters, numbers, parentheses, square brackets, ampersands, plus signs, commas, semi-colons, and tildes. Additionally, the following characters are permitted but cannot begin or end the name: spaces, double quotation marks, single quotation marks, hyphens, underscores, periods, and grave accents. For letters, the case that you specify is displayed, but case is ignored when Loftware Enterprise SP interprets a name. If you will be installing the Loftware Enterprise SP application on a computer running Windows Server, and transferring data between Loftware Enterprise SP instances, see the "Transferring Data in a Compressed File" section of the Loftware Enterprise SP Data Transfer Guide.

Important! Whenever you add a new device, data service, integration, or facility, you must ensure that the service is activated on all Loftware Application Servers on which it should be available to run and started on at least one. In an environment with only one Loftware Application Server, these types of services are automatically activated and started when they are created. For more information, see High Availability with Distributed Services.