Automation Engine 14 is a client/server workflow software, running on Mac and Windows. It processes your files using single Tasks (for example a Trap or RIP task), or Workflows ( more powerful and flexible series of tasks that can take complete care of the file from arrival to final output). Automation Engine can integrate seamlessly with your graphical editors, RIPs, file servers, business systems... It supports the industry standards (PDF, XML, XMP, SQL queries, Web Services, JDF...).
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03 - 2015
Automation Engine ii
1. About Automation Engine........................................................................................................................................................5
1.1 Copyright Notice................................................................................................................................................................5
1.2 Getting Help.........................................................................................................................................................................7
2. What is Automation Engine.................................................................................................................................................... 8
2.1 The Automation Engine Pilot........................................................................................................................................ 9
2.1.1 The Pilot's Main Window...................................................................................................................................9
2.1.2 Views....................................................................................................................................................................... 11
2.2 Data Management in Automation Engine............................................................................................................. 13
2.2.1 Containers............................................................................................................................................................. 13
2.2.2 The Job Concept............................................................................................................................................... 13
2.3 File Processing in Automation Engine....................................................................................................................14
2.3.1 Tasks........................................................................................................................................................................14
2.3.2 Workflows.............................................................................................................................................................. 15
2.3.3 Tickets.....................................................................................................................................................................15
3. Getting Started with Automation Engine........................................................................................................................17
3.1 Starting Automation Engine........................................................................................................................................17
3.1.1 Starting the Automation Engine Server Software..................................................................................17
3.1.2 Installing Client Applications..........................................................................................................................18
3.1.3 Starting the Pilot.................................................................................................................................................21
3.2 Performing Basic Configuration................................................................................................................................ 22
3.2.1 Creating Users.....................................................................................................................................................22
3.2.2 Defining User Access Rights.........................................................................................................................22
3.2.3 Configuring Output Devices...........................................................................................................................24
3.3 Uploading Files using the Pilot................................................................................................................................. 25
3.4 Launching a Task on a File.........................................................................................................................................25
3.5 Checking the Status of the Task.............................................................................................................................. 26
3.6 Cancelling a Launched Task...................................................................................................................................... 27
3.7 Relaunching the Task.................................................................................................................................................... 27
3.8 Generating Output.......................................................................................................................................................... 27
4. Server Administration.............................................................................................................................................................. 28
4.1 Status Overview of the server................................................................................................................................... 28
4.2 Setting up the server.....................................................................................................................................................30
4.3 Backing up the server...................................................................................................................................................30
4.4 Restoring the server...................................................................................................................................................... 31
4.5 Managing databases..................................................................................................................................................... 32
4.6 Managing SQL servers................................................................................................................................................. 33
5. Uploading Files to Automation Engine............................................................................................................................35
Contents
5.1 Uploading Files using the Pilot................................................................................................................................. 35
5.2 Uploading Files from a FTP Server......................................................................................................................... 35
5.3 Using Access Points to Upload Files..................................................................................................................... 36
5.4 Using Shuttle to Upload and Process Files......................................................................................................... 37
5.4.1 The Automation Engine Shuttle....................................................................................................................37
5.4.2 Launching a Workflow from the Automation Engine Shuttle.............................................................46
5.4.3 Launching Files from ArtPro.......................................................................................................................... 51
5.4.4 Launching Files from PackEdge or Plato................................................................................................. 53
5.4.5 Launching Files from FastImpose............................................................................................................... 54
5.4.6 Launching Files from Neo...............................................................................................................................55
5.4.7 Launching Files from the Shuttle Plug-in (Adobe Illustrator).............................................................55
6. Launching Tasks on Files......................................................................................................................................................57
6.1 Creating a Task Ticket.................................................................................................................................................. 57
6.1.1 Creating a Custom Ticket from the Tickets View..................................................................................57
6.1.2 Creating a Custom Ticket when Working with Files.............................................................................57
6.1.3 Using Public Parameters.................................................................................................................................58
6.1.4 SmartNames.........................................................................................................................................................64
6.2 Launching a Task on a File.........................................................................................................................................64
6.3 Checking the Status of the Task.............................................................................................................................. 67
6.4 Relaunching the Task.................................................................................................................................................... 68
7. Launching Workflows on Files............................................................................................................................................69
8. Viewing Files in the Automation Engine Viewer..........................................................................................................70
8.1 Introduction........................................................................................................................................................................70
8.2 Comparing Files...............................................................................................................................................................72
9. Integration with Other Esko Applications...................................................................................................................... 74
9.1 Review and Approval of Page Impositions using WebCenter.......................................................................74
9.1.1 WebCenter Setup............................................................................................................................................... 74
9.1.2 WebCenter Sites.................................................................................................................................................80
9.1.3 Sending an Imposition from Automation Engine to WebCenter...................................................... 81
9.1.4 Approving the Imposition in WebCenter................................................................................................... 84
9.1.5 About Page Lists................................................................................................................................................86
9.1.6 Sending a RunList / PageList to WebCenter...........................................................................................88
9.1.7 Checking the Approval Results in Automation Engine........................................................................89
9.1.8 Overruling the WebCenter Approval........................................................................................................... 92
9.2 Integration with Nexus..................................................................................................................................................93
9.2.1 Setup on the Nexus Side............................................................................................................................... 93
9.2.2 Setup on the Automation Engine Side...................................................................................................... 94
9.2.3 Running a Nexus Workflow from the Pilot...............................................................................................94
9.3 Integration with Odystar...............................................................................................................................................96
9.3.1 Setup on the Odystar Side............................................................................................................................ 96
9.3.2 Setup on the Automation Engine Side...................................................................................................... 99 iii
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Automation Engine
9.3.3 Running an Odystar Workflow from the Pilot......................................................................................... 99
9.4 Integration with Enfocus PitStop........................................................................................................................... 100
9.5 Integration with Third Party Applications using Hot Folders.......................................................................100
10. Integrating with Third Party Imposition Systems...................................................................................................102
10.1 Workflows: The bigger picture..............................................................................................................................102
10.2 Importing and Creating Impositions................................................................................................................... 102
10.3 Exporting Impositions...............................................................................................................................................103
10.4 Workflows with Selection and the Convert Selection tasks......................................................................104
11. PDF Processing in Automation Engine...................................................................................................................... 105
11.1 PDF Normalization in Automation Engine........................................................................................................105
11.1.1 What Makes a Normalized PDF Special?........................................................................................... 105
11.1.2 Which Tasks Require PDF Normalization?..........................................................................................106
11.1.3 How do PDF Tasks Work with Normalized PDF Files?.................................................................. 107
11.1.4 How Do Normalized PDF Tasks Work With Regular PDF Files?.................................................108
11.1.5 PDF Normalization and Step and Repeat........................................................................................... 109
11.2 Retaining XMP data in PDF tasks...................................................................................................................... 111
12. Scripting....................................................................................................................................................................................113
12.1 Automation Engine Script Runner.......................................................................................................................113
12.2 Getting Started with Scripting.............................................................................................................................. 114
12.3 Use case: Scripting...................................................................................................................................................116
13. Example of Building and Using a Packaging Workflow..................................................................................... 119
13.1 Build a Workflow........................................................................................................................................................ 119
13.1.1 Preflight your file............................................................................................................................................119
13.1.2 Normalize your File.......................................................................................................................................123
13.1.3 Trap your file................................................................................................................................................... 123
13.1.4 View your file...................................................................................................................................................124
13.1.5 Generate Step & Repeat............................................................................................................................ 125
13.1.6 Create Report................................................................................................................................................. 127
13.2 Use Shuttle in the Workflow..................................................................................................................................128
13.2.1 What is Shuttle...............................................................................................................................................128
13.2.2 What are Public Parameters.....................................................................................................................129
13.2.3 Making Your Tickets Public.......................................................................................................................129
13.2.4 Using Public Parameters............................................................................................................................129
13.2.5 Public Parameters in Sample Workflow: Packaging........................................................................131
13.2.6 Launching Files into a Workflow............................................................................................................. 132
Automation Engine
1
Automation Engine doesn't only enable you to keep track of your files throughout your workflow, it also optimizes and automates this workflow to increase your productivity.
Automation Engine:
• avoids double entry and possible operator errors,
• processes files faster (through digital standardization of production procedures, hot folders automation, smart notifications...).
• frees operators from administrative tasks so they can concentrate on value-adding graphical tasks,
• allows operators to share their expertise through tickets,
• keeps jobs, related files and related customer information organized to facilitate communication and treatment of additional orders.
All this maximizes your efficiency and the quality of your deliverables, while lowering the cost of prepress-related actions.
Automation Engine can integrate seamlessly with your graphical editors, RIPs, file servers, business systems...
It supports the industry standards (PDF, XML, XMP, SQL queries, Web Services, JDF...).
The Automation Engine client application (the “Pilot”) can be installed on any Mac or Windows machine in your network, so all your operators can view files, get information or launch processing tasks as needed.
Automation Engine is very modular and can be tailored to your needs, while always offering growth possibilities.
From a background assistant to Adobe
®
Illustrator
®
to a central prepress server to a complete server platform linking to your administrative systems, Automation Engine can grow with you to let you handle larger accounts, accepting more jobs without increasing your costs.
Find more general product information on
http://www.esko.com/AutomationEngine
.
©
Copyright 2015 Esko Software BVBA, Gent, Belgium
All rights reserved. This material, information and instructions for use contained herein are the property of Esko Software BVBA. The material, information and instructions are provided on an AS IS basis without warranty of any kind. There are no warranties granted or extended by this document.
Furthermore Esko Software BVBA does not warrant, guarantee or make any representations regarding the use, or the results of the use of the software or the information contained herein. Esko
5
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Automation Engine
Software BVBA shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, consequential or incidental damages arising out of the use or inability to use the software or the information contained herein.
The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. Revisions may be issued from time to time to advise of such changes and/or additions.
No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a data base or retrieval system, or published, in any form or in any way, electronically, mechanically, by print, photoprint, microfilm or any other means without prior written permission from Esko Software BVBA.
This document supersedes all previous dated versions.
PANTONE
®
, PantoneLIVE and other Pantone trademarks are the property of Pantone LLC. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Pantone is a wholly owned subsidiary of X-Rite, Incorporated.
©
Pantone LLC, 2014. All rights reserved.
This software is based in part on the work of the Independent JPEG Group.
Portions of this software are copyright
©
1996-2002 The FreeType Project (www.freetype.org). All rights reserved.
Portions of this software are copyright 2006 Feeling Software, copyright 2005-2006 Autodesk Media
Entertainment.
Portions of this software are copyright
©
1998-2003 Daniel Veillard. All rights reserved.
Portions of this software are copyright
©
1999-2006 The Botan Project. All rights reserved.
Part of the software embedded in this product is gSOAP software. Portions created by gSOAP are
Copyright
©
2001-2004 Robert A. van Engelen, Genivia inc. All rights reserved.
Portions of this software are copyright
©
1998-2008 The OpenSSL Project and
©
1995-1998 Eric
Young ([email protected]). All rights reserved.
This product includes software developed by the Apache Software Foundation (http:// www.apache.org/).
Adobe, the Adobe logo, Acrobat, the Acrobat logo, Adobe Creative Suite, Illustrator, InDesign, PDF,
Photoshop, PostScript, XMP and the Powered by XMP logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries.
Microsoft and the Microsoft logo are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United
States and other countries.
SolidWorks is a registered trademark of SolidWorks Corporation.
Portions of this software are owned by Spatial Corp. 1986 2003. All Rights Reserved.
JDF and the JDF logo are trademarks of the CIP4 Organisation. Copyright 2001 The International
Cooperation for the Integration of Processes in Prepress, Press and Postpress (CIP4). All rights reserved.
The Esko software contains the RSA Data Security, Inc. MD5 Message-Digest Algorithm.
Java and all Java-based trademarks and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun
Microsystems in the U.S. and other countries.
Part of this software uses technology by BestTM Color Technology (EFI). EFI and Bestcolor are registered trademarks of Electronics For Imaging GmbH in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Contains PowerNest library Copyrighted and Licensed by Alma, 2005 – 2007.
All other product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
Correspondence regarding this publication should be forwarded to:
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Automation Engine
1
Esko Software BVBA
Kortrijksesteenweg 1095
B – 9051 Gent [email protected]
You can find the html version of this manual in the Automation Engine Pilot, under
Help > Contents...
To get an overview all of the keyboard shortcuts you can use in the Automation Engine Pilot, go to
Help > Keyboard Shortcuts... in the Pilot.
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Automation Engine
Automation Engine is a client/server workflow software, running on Mac and Windows. This means that one machine runs the Automation Engine server, to which you can connect from all Mac and
Windows machines in your network (using the Automation Engine Pilot).
Your Automation Engine server can connect to graphical editing software like ArtPro, PackEdge,
Adobe Illustrator (using the DeskPack plug-ins)...
It can also connect to your RIP software to ensure professional output.
You can store your files either on the Automation Engine server, on a dedicated file server, or on different machines over the network.
8
Automation Engine processes your files using single
Tasks (for example a Trap or RIP task), or
Workflows ( more powerful and flexible series of tasks that can take complete care of the file from arrival to final output).
In Automation Engine, your files can be part of Jobs (customer orders that contain files and related customer information), that are located in Containers (local or remote shared folders that Automation
Engine can access).
Depending on how you want to work with Automation Engine, you can link your jobs to customer
Products, focus on job Pages, Proofs, Plates...
Automation Engine
Automation Engine can not only connect to editing and RIP software, but also to WebCenter (Esko’s collaborative web platform) and other Esko workflow software ( Nexus and Odystar). Automation
Engine can also be integrated with external systems.
2
The Automation Engine server software runs on a Windows server. Every Automation Engine action is performed through the Automation Engine client, called the
Pilot.
The Pilot can be installed on any Mac or Windows machine on your local network.
Depending on the user access rights you will set, operators can use the Pilot to:
• organize Jobs and files,
• create and modify tickets,
• launch and monitor tasks,
• control workflows and devices,
• administrate users and perform general configuration,
• etc.
1. These icons show different modes in the Pilot:
• Containers : This shows all the data that Automation Engine can access, in the different
on page 13.
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Automation Engine
• Job Overview : This lists all jobs existing in the Automation Engine jobs database. Learn more in
Jobs
.
• Last used Job : This shows the last job you worked on, and the job's data (files and folders).
2. The Views highlight different parts of the Automation Engine functionality. Certain views are only
accessible in defined workflows. Learn more in
3. The Tools area contains tools useful to administrate Automation Engine. Learn more in
The Tools
.
4. •
The Create Job button allows you to create a job.
•
The New Task
•
button creates a new Ticket from the pilot.
You can create a new workflow from the pilot using .
•
Using the button, you can access the information regarding the files.
Note: In the Job Overview mode, only Create Job is available.
The contents of the central panes depend on the
View you are in.
In any Automation Engine view, a new tab can be created by using one of the following methods:
• Click
File > New Tab .
• Use the keyboard shortcut
Control-T (Windows) or Command-T (Mac).
• If the tab bar is visible, you can also create a new tab by clicking the plus button in the tab bar
.
• If the tab bar is visible, you can also create a new tab by right-clicking on the tab bar and choosing
New Tab.
Note: The new tab will open with the same view that was active.
An opened tab can be closed by one of the following methods:
• Click on the close button in a tab (visible by hovering over the tab).
• Use the keyboard shortcut Control-W (Windows), or Command-W (Mac).
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Automation Engine
• Click on File > Close Tab .
• Right-click on the desired tab and choose
Close Tab.
Note: To close all other tabs, safe the desired one, you can also choose Close Other Tabs from this menu.
When running the Automation Engine Pilot on Mac OSX or newer, you can enter and exit the Full
Screen Mode by using one of the following methods:
•
Click on the
Full Screen button
in the top right corner of the main window
• Click on Views > Enter Full Screen .
• Use the keyboard shortcut Command + Control + F.
2
The Pilot's
Views highlight different parts of the Automation Engine functionality. You can use them to work with your data in different ways (see
Different Ways of Working with Automation Engine
).
Note:
• Depending on the Data View mode you are using ( Containers, Job Overview or Last used job), you will have access to different views. Only those that make sense are shown.
, you may not be able to see some of the views.
The Files view allows you to manage your jobs, files, favorite tickets, tasks... Learn more in
The Files
View
for more information.
The
To Do List view lists all actions that need user intervention. Learn more in
The To Do List View
and
To Do List
.
The Pages view is only used in page workflows. It is extremely useful when working with page impositions. For more information, see
Working with Pages
.
The
Products view shows the items you added to your Products database. This concept is useful to customer who have re-prints. Products represent production data that you linked to a Job. It is the Job order that has the specifications how to output the product this time, with or without many other Product items.
Products are what you keep long term, until you are sure you will not have to produce them again.
Jobs however are Work In Progress, temporary by definition. A Job should be removed when it is finished. Learn more in the dedicated chapter
Products
.
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Automation Engine
The Proof view is only used in page workflows. It shows the proof sets and the proof details. Learn more in
Working with Proofs
.
This view enables Pilot users to see what documents are inside a WebCenter project, without having to use a browser. Read more in separate chapter
Integrating with WebCenter
, in its section
The
WebCenter View in Automation Engine Pilot
.
The Plates view is only used in page workflows. It shows details about all plates associated with a job. It also includes advanced features for managing plates for jobs with multiple variants. Learn more in
Working with Plates
.
The
CDI view shows all the files sent to the Digital Flexo Suite and used to image a flexo plate on a Cyrel Digital Imager. See
The CDI View
.
The Gang Run Printing view in the Pilot shows an overview of all graphics waiting to be nested and printed on your available substrate sheets. It has two parts:
• The list of all substrates.
• The table of graphics waiting to be nested and printed on the selected substrate.
For more information, please see
The Gang Run Printing View
in the separate chapter
Working with
Gang Run Printing
.
The Tasks view shows the running tasks, the tasks waiting for execution and the finished tasks. Learn more in
The Tasks View
. This list of tasks can be automatically cleaned up by using
Task Cleanup
Rules
.
The Devices view lists all output devices connected to your Automation Engine server. It allows you to monitor, start and stop your devices and device queues.
The Milestones view shows the milestones set for your job (in Last used job mode), or shows the milestones set for all jobs (in Job Overview mode). Learn more in
Milestones: Tracking Job Status
.
The Tickets view shows a list of all tickets available on your server (both the default and your custom tickets). Learn more in
This view is only visible in Job Overview mode. It lists all or a filtered list of your jobs in the Automation
Engine job database. Learn more in
The Job Views
.
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Automation Engine
This view lists all SmartNames defined on the server. It is not visible in Job Overview mode. Learn more in
The SmartNames View
.
2
Automation Engine works with
on page 13,
Jobs
,
Products
, files and folders.
Customers with page (imposition) workflows can use the extra modes
Pages
,
Proofs
and
Plates
.
A
Container is a network data share that contains the data that Automation Engine can work with.
You can make (part of) an existing network share a Container or you can have Automation Engine create such network shares. These Containers can be located either on your Automation Engine server or another computer in the same LAN.
By default, you have an empty
ExampleJobContainer, on the disk drive that Automation Engine was installed on.
You can have many Containers. You can see and browse though them in the Pilots’
Containers mode.
To create a Container, see
Creating a Container
.
An Automation Engine Job represents an amount of work to be done for a certain order in your business system. This can be a classic order management system but it could also come from a web application that needs Automation Engine to execute some prepress tasks.
A Job is an entry in the Automation Engine Jobs database and has a unique name. In the Pilot, Jobs are represented by this blue folder icon .
In Automation Engine, a Job consists of 2 things:
• data: files and folders, stored under the Job's Job Folder, in a Container.
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Automation Engine
• metadata: the parameters of that job order, usually how the order management system describes this job. They can be general parameters like the job's name, order ID, customer and due date but can also be parameters describing what to do with the input files to get to the targeted result.
Jobs can be created manually by an Automation Engine user or automatically via some integration with an external system.
A Job represents Work In Progress (WIP). This means that you should remove Jobs that are 'done'.
Removing a Job from the Automation Engine Jobs database does not mean that you have to delete the related data files.
A lot of the automation that Automation Engine brings comes from the fact that tasks can automatically use parameters from their Job context. Job parameters automatically become
SmartNames and the (workflow) task tickets can use those SmartNames to pick up their values.
Note: Customers that do not use Jobs at all find a similar level of automation by using Workflow
Parameters. Learn more in
Using Workflow Parameters
.
Jobs can be managed manually in the Pilot, but several actions are also possible by launching tasks.
• The
Create Job task
task allows to create and modify Jobs.
• The
The Check Job Parameters Task
task allows to check and correct barcode and ink parameters used in designs.
• The
Archive Job
task and the
Restore Job
task allow to remove Jobs, store their data on a different network place and, if needed later, restore them back, including their metadata.
• The
Relocate Job
task allows to move a Job's Job Folder to a different place. For example to another Container that has more disk space.
Learn more about these tasks in
Tasks you can Launch on Jobs
.
Like all tasks, these tasks can also be triggered by an external system. Learn more in
Integrating with External Systems
.
In Automation Engine, you can process your files using single Tickets or Workflows (a sequence of Tickets).
Launching those tickets or workflow results in (a series of) Tasks.
A Ticket contains all the parameters for that task.
A task is an action executed on a file, a folder or a Job on the Automation Engine server.
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Automation Engine
There are seven types of tasks:
1. Conversion tasks such as Export to PDF, Export to PostScript...
2. File Creation tasks such as Create Wrapper File, Create PAF / JPG / XML...
3. File Editing tasks such as Contourize & Clean, Trap...
4. Verification tasks such as Check Job Parameters, Check Print Rules, Preflight...
5. Administration tasks such as Prepare to Archive, Upload via FTP, Zip...
6. RIP tasks.
7. Device Output tasks.
You can define settings for the tasks, and save these settings as
on page 15).
When a task is launched, you can monitor its progress in the Pilot. See
on page 26.
2
You can build Workflows and launch them on your files using the Workflow Editor. Learn more in
Building Workflows using the Workflow Editor
.
You can also launch them from the Pilot, from Shuttle (see
Using Shuttle to Upload and Process
on page 37) or from within most Esko Editors. They can also be launched automatically,
triggered by external signals (files arriving, commands from external systems, etc.).
Learn more in the dedicated chapter
Workflows
.
The settings used when executing a task or workflow on a file can be saved as a ticket.
The Pilot comes with a default ticket for each task type, but you can also create custom tickets. You cannot overwrite or delete default tickets.
You can see all the available tickets (default and custom) in the Pilot's
Tickets view.
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Automation Engine
16
Global tickets ( ) can be used on any file you can access through the Pilot. Job tickets ( ) are only available when you work in the Job that you saved them for.
You can make tickets public if you want to submit files to them from Shuttle. There are several ways
on page 38 in the User Guide).
Public tickets have a mark in the Public column.
Note: Depending on your
, you may only see public tickets, and public parameters inside the tickets.
Automation Engine
3
To start working with Automation Engine you need to:
• Start the Automation Engine server software, see
• Start the Automation Engine Pilot, see
Automation Engine features a new web tool for server administration. This means you can access the server administration tool from any workstation via http://servername or http://servername:9999/.
On this web server administration tool you will also find the client application(s) such as the
Automation Engine Pilot, a diagnostics tool, a back-up tool, ...
To start the Automation Engine server:
1. Open your web browser and go to http://servername or http://servername:9999/.
2. Log in with your user name and password.
3. In the Server administration > Start/Stop Server window, you have access to all admininstration tasks for the Automation Engine server.
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Automation Engine
For more information on working with the server, see
The Automation Engine Client applications like the Pilot, Shuttle and Diagnostics are available in the
Client Apps section of the Server Admin Web Tool. Access the Server Admin Web Tool via http:// servername or http://servername:9999/.
Click the Download button next to Client Applications. This download includes the Pilot, Shuttle and Diagnostics.
A shortcut for Pilot and Shuttle will be created during installation.
18
1. Go to the Client Applications page of the Server Admin Web Tool. Click the Download button next to Client Applications.
Automation Engine
3
2. Open the downloaded installation file Automation Engine Client 12.1.dmg.
3. Follow the installation instructions.
Client applications will be available in the
Applications folder.
1. Go to the Client Applications page of the Server Admin Web Tool. Click the Download button next to
Client Applications.
2. Open the downloaded installation file (Automation Engine Client 12.1.exe).
3. Follow the installation instructions.
Automation Engine Client applications will be available Start > Esko > Automation Engine Client
12.1 .
The Pilot and the Automation Engine Shuttle display automatic update alerts. This makes sure that the latest version of these applications are available.
• While starting the Automation Engine Pilot for the first time, in the Logon Information window, enter User name, Password and the Server name. Click OK.
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Automation Engine
• If the version of the Pilot matches that of the Automation Engine Server, the main Pilot window will open.
• If there is a major version mismatch among the Pilot and the Automation Engine Server, you cannot login to the Automation Engine Server. You will be alerted with a warning.
• If there is a build mismatch among the Pilot and the Server, the Software Update dialog will pop up.
• Click Install Update. The Pilot will stop and the Updating Automation Engine Pilot dialog will appear.
On Mac, you need to enter the credentials of an administrator use to update the Pilot application.
20
The Updating Automation Engine Pilot dialog indicates the download progress.
Automation Engine
• At the end of the download, this window displays
Ready to install message. Click the Install and Relaunch button to install the update.
After the update is installed, the Pilot application will be relaunched and you will be asked to enter credentials in the Logon Information window again.
Note: You can use the same procedure to update Automation Engine Shuttle.
3
On your Automation Engine client machine:
1. Do one of the following:
• double-click the Pilot desktop icon ,
• go to Start > All Programs > Esko > Automation Engine Client 10.0 > Pilot.
2. In the Logon Information dialog that opens: a) Enter a User name and Password valid for your Automation Engine server.
Note:
Before you define any user, you can log in using admin as both user name and password.
Once you have created users (see
on page 22), you can log in with one of
your users’ credentials.
b) In Server, enter either your Automation Engine server’s name or its IP address.
c) Click
OK.
Note:
If the build version of the Pilot is different from that of the Automation Engine Server or when an update for the Automation Engine Pilot is available, the Software Update dialog will pop up. To download and install the update of the Pilot, click
Install Update. You can postpone it by clicking the Remind Me Later button.
This opens the Pilot’s main window.
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Automation Engine
1. In the Pilot, go to Tools > Users .
2. In the Users window, do one of the following:
• go to
File > New User ,
• use the CTRL + N shortcut,
• click the icon.
The
New User dialog opens.
3. Enter the user's Name, Full Name, Password, Description and valid E-mail address.
4. If you want the user to be able to administer Automation Engine, check the toggle.
This will give all user access rights to that user.
5. Click OK to add your new user to the Users list.
Attention:
When creating a user, Automation Engine requests permission from the Windows OS.
Therefore, some changes (for example, changing the password) require the use of Windows
User Administration tools. These changes must also meet the existing domain policies (for example, the length and complexity of the password).
Not all users have the same responsibilities, so you can assign them different access rights in
Automation Engine.
• To give access rights to a single user: a) in the
Users window, double the user you want to give access rights to, b) in the Access Rights tab of the Properties window, check the access rights you want this user to have.
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3
Note: Automation Engine Administrators automatically have all access rights. You cannot change this.
• To give a particular access right to several users: a) in the
Users window, click the Access Rights button to switch to the Access Rights view, b) select the access right you want to give to your users, c) check the users you want to give this access right to.
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Automation Engine can output files to a variety of output devices (CDI, HP Indigo, Kodak Approval, etc.).
Automation Engine uses Esko’s FlexRip engine to RIP the file in preparation for output.
To connect Automation Engine to an output device, you need to connect it to FlexRip.
1. In the Pilot, go to Tools > Configure.
This opens the
Configure dialog.
2. Select the option corresponding to your output device in the list at left (for example, select FlexRip
- Proofer Output to output to a proofer).
3. Go to File > New or use the Insert key (on Windows).
This shows tabs with parameters at right.
4. In the General tab: a) To output to a RIP, enter the name or IP address of your RIP server in
RIP Node.
For a FlexProof output, enter the name / IP address of your proof server in Proofer Node.
b) Enter the EskoLink port number used by the Dispatcher in
EskoLink Portnr. (only for FlexRip outputs).
Note: You can find that port number by going to Info > Ports in the Dispatcher.
c) Click the Synchronize with Rip / Synchronize with ProofNode button.
After a few seconds, your RIP/proof server is connected to Automation Engine, and you can see its name in the Type field.
5. In the Queue tab: a) Give your queue a name in the Queue field.
b) Choose a
Queue Job Limit:
• choose
1 to have the RIP handle one file at a time (this ensures the files are ripped in the order they enter the RIP),
• choose
2 to have the RIP handle two files at once (the files may not be ripped in the order they enter the RIP if for example you send a big then a small file).
6. Go to File > Save to save the configuration.
You can now see the devices you are connected to in the Pilot’s
Devices view.
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In the Pilot, in the
Container mode or in the Last used Job mode, select the folder in which you want to upload your file(s).
Choose one of these methods:
• drag and drop files or folders from outside the Pilot onto a folder in the Pilot. Or use copy/paste shortcuts.
• go to
File > Upload... . In the browser dialog that opens, browse to your file and click Upload.
There are several ways to launch a task on a file (from the Pilot, from Shuttle, via Access Points or via JDF/JMF). Here is how to launch a task from the Pilot's Files View.
1. In the Pilot, select the Files view from the Views bar (or use Go > Files ).
2. In the Containers mode, browse to your chosen file.
3. Right-click it, select New Task then More Tickets...
Note: If you have launched tasks previously, the most recent task tickets you used are listed above More Tickets...
4. In the Select Ticket dialog that opens, select the task ticket you want to use.
Note: This dialog contains all the tickets suitable for the file type you selected. You can choose either a
Default ticket, or a custom ticket (saved under a different name) if you have already created one.
5. Click OK.
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3
This opens the task’s ticket. An example:
Automation Engine
6. Fill in the settings you want to use in the ticket.
Note: For a description of all of the ticket's settings for each task, see
The Tasks and Workflow
Controls
in the Reference Guide.
7. Click the Launch button.
You can monitor the tasks progress in the
Files View's Task pane or in the Tasks View. See
Checking the Status of the Task
After launching a task on one or several file(s), you can check its processing status in the Pilot’s
Tasks pane. You can see the Tasks pane in the Files, Product or Tasks views.
You can see the progress (in percentage) and the processing state. The state can be:
•
: starting
•
: success
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Automation Engine
•
: warning
•
: failure
•
: processing cancelled
You can also double-click the task entry in the Tasks pane to open your task ticket and check its parameters.
Note: Depending on your
access rights
, you may only see the public parameters.
3
You can cancel a launched task by richt-clicking on the task and choosing
Cancel. When it was successfully cancelled, the task will show the cancelled state with this icon:
Note: Tasks that are already too far in their processing or are no longer under control of Automation
Engine (for example FlexRip tasks) can no longer be cancelled
• To relaunch the task without changing the settings: a) Select the task to relaunch in the Tasks pane.
b) Go to Tasks > Relaunch.
• To change the settings and relaunch the task: a) Select the task to relaunch in the Tasks pane.
b) Go to
Tasks > Open.
c) Change the task settings as necessary.
d) Click the Launch button.
To output a file, use a task related to the output device you have configured (see
For example, use the
Proof (FlexProof) task if you have configured a proofing device using FlexRip
- Proofer Output.
Note: The task related to your output device will only be available once you have correctly configured your output device.
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Automation Engine
Automation Engine features a new web tool for server administration. This means that you can access your server administration tool from any workstation via http://servername or http:// servername:9999/.
You can use this web tool to download the Automation Engine Client apps such as
• the Pilot
• the Script runner
• the ArtPro Action List Editor
• the Automation Engine 10 Backup Tool
The Server Admin Web Tool also includes a Server Admin section which can be used to administer the Automation Engine Server and its settings, create and restore backups and manage databases,
SQL Servers and the Application Server.
Server administration consists of :
•
•
•
•
•
•
Read detailed information in Automation Engine Reference Guide.
The
Status Overview shows an overview of the connected clients and the number of running tasks.
You also get an overview of the
Server Version, Current role and Server databases. In the Status
Overview you can:
• Start and stop the Automation Engine server.
• Activate the server after install.
• Restart the web server.
• Download the server administration log files for support purposes.
• Start, stop or activate the local application server.
• Download Application Server log files for support purposes.
• Deploy components on the application server.
• Log in to another server.
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The Status Overview page contains more information from 12.1.1 onwards. Read the following.
For each Server database, the SQL Server Instance and the SQL Server location is indicated at the Status Overview page. The Status column indicates the following statuses :
• Online : The SQL Server instance where the server database is located is running. This also implies that the user name and password used to login to the SQL Server instance are correct.
The server database is online and available for access.
• Not Accessible: The SQL Server instance where the server database is located is running. Valid credentials( user name and password) are used. But the server database on the SQL Server instance is not accessible.
• Not Found : The SQL Server instance where the server database should be located is running and the credentials used to login to the SQL Server instance are valid. But the server database could not be found on the SQL Server instance.
• Login Failed:: The SQL Server instance where the server database should be located is running.
The server database is not available because the credentials used to login to the SQL Server instance are invalid.
• Offline: The server database is not available because the SQL Server instance where it is located is currently not running.
• Unknown: The status of the server database on the SQL Server instance is unknown.
Tip: When you move your cursor over the status of a server database, a pop-over message will indicate the detailed status information.
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In the Server Setup window you can change the server role: master, assistant or idle. You can also:
• View and remove Assistant Servers.
• Change the system account and/or password.
• Change the processing capabilities.
• Redirect central resources to a central file server.
In the Server Backup window you can manage the following backup settings:
• Specify a backup folder on the server.
• Specify the number of backups to be kept in
Keep only last.
• Set a backup schedule or manage existing schedules.
• See the
Backup history and details of each backup.
Tip: Click on info to get more information about the selected backup. A Backup info window will list the server, date, time, size and composition of the backup.
• Remove a backup.
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In the Restore window you can view and restore backups. You can also:
• Restore, duplicate or migrate your server configuration
• Restore resources or databases only
Note: Take into account that the server should be stopped before you can restore a backup.
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In the
Databases window you can manage all databases that are on any accessible SQL server in your network. Depending on the permissions on the selected SQL instance, you can:
• View the SQL server status
• Login and view the properties and status for each database
• Create or remove databases
• Back-up or restore databases
• Repair or move databases
Note: Take into account that, even if you are logged in to the Server Administration, you also need to log in to the SQL Server instance separately.
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In this page, you can manage the databases on any SQL Server in the network.
In the
SQL Server window you can manage any accessible SQL server in your network. You can:
• View the SQL server status
• Stop and restart an SQL server
• Login and change the properties: modify the maximum physical memory of the SQL server
• Look at the SQL server logs
Note: Take into account that, even if you are logged in to the Server Administration, you also need to log in to the SQL Server instance separately.
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5
You can work with files that are already stored in your Containers, or upload new files to Automation
Engine. You can upload files onto the Pilot, or by using the Shuttle application and plug-in. Access
Points can also upload data but they will also already trigger a workflow task.
In the Pilot, in the Container mode or in the Last used Job mode, select the folder in which you want to upload your file(s).
Choose one of these methods:
• drag and drop files or folders from outside the Pilot onto a folder in the Pilot. Or use copy/paste shortcuts.
• go to
File > Upload... . In the browser dialog that opens, browse to your file and click Upload.
1. In Containers mode or when in a Job, right-click the folder in which you want to upload your file, and select
Upload from FTP Site...
This opens the Upload from FTP Site dialog, where you can enter the details necessary for the
FTP connection.
2. In Host, enter the name of the FTP server that hosts your files.
Tip: To use a port other than the default port, add
: and the port number after the host name.
For example: myftpserver:1085
3. Enter the User Name and Password you use to connect to the FTP server.
Make sure you use a valid User Name and Password corresponding to an account that exists on the FTP server.
4. In File Transfer, choose between Binary and ASCII.
Binary will always work, but if you have an ASCII file, the transfer will go a bit faster when selecting
ASCII.
5. By default, the transfer uses Active Connection Mode (where the FTP server opens the data connection).
If your system is behind a firewall that blocks incoming FTP server connections, select Passive to use Passive Connection Mode (where the client initiates the connection).
6. Select Secure FTP if you are connecting to a secure FTP server (over FTPS, not SSL or SSH).
Tip: If you are experiencing problems using secure FTP, try connecting over regular FTP, and ask your IT administrator to check the security settings of your FTP server.
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7. If desired, you can delete the files from the FTP site once they are uploaded to the Pilot (select
Remove remote data after transfer).
If you do this, you can choose to Backup remote data before removal. Select the Backup
Folder in which to copy the files.
8. When you are done, click Connect.
Access Points are documented in the dedicated chapter
Integrating with External Systems
.
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You can upload and process files from any Mac or Windows client computer using the Shuttle application.
The Automation Engine Shuttle is a client tool for easy submission of files to Automation Engine workflows. Shuttle also allows monitoring of the workflows.
Download Shuttle from the Main section of the Server Admin Web Tool. You can access it by browsing to http://<name of your server> or http://<name of your server>:9999. Read
Installing Client Applications
If the Shuttle application is installed on your computer, the system will check if you have the appropriate version and download updates if necessary.
As explained in
Shuttle
, you first need to configure your Shuttle in Tools > Configure > Shuttle .
Shuttle is a small stand-alone application that enables you to submit files to Automation Engine tasks or workflows, Odystar canvases, and Nexus workflows, and monitor their progress. You can use
Shuttle to connect to several servers.
The Shuttle functionality is also integrated in ArtPro, Neo, PackEdge, Plato, FastImpose and in Adobe
Illustrator as a DeskPack plug-in.
1. In the Pilot, go to Tools > Configure.
2. Select Shuttle in the left pane.
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3. Enter the Port to use for communication between your Automation Engine server and the Shuttle clients.
Note: By default this is port 5182, but if this port is already used by other processes, you should enter the next available port.
4. Choose an Upload Folder using the Browse... button.
This is where Shuttle clients will upload files that are not located in a container (except the Shuttle plug-in, that will always upload files to the
DeskPackContainer).
Note: The Upload Folder must be located on a container.
5. Select Start Shuttle server automatically when Automation Engine is started if you plan to make frequent use of the Shuttle technology.
6. Click the Start button to start Shuttle server.
Shuttle server makes Automation Engine’s workflows, tasks and files accessible to the Shuttle clients.
7. Save your settings.
Note: If you need to make changes to this Setup, you must Stop the Shuttle server first.
Making Your Ticket Public
Important: Only Public tickets or workflows can be launched from the client applications mentioned
Note: Default tickets can not be made Public.
To make a ticket Public, you can either:
• Select the Public option when creating the ticket.
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5
•
Select your ticket in the Ticket view, click and select Public.
• Right-click your ticket in the
Tickets view and select Make Public.
Note: Public tickets have a mark in the Public column.
The Automation Engine Shuttle, the Shuttle plug-in, and the Shuttle clients in ArtPro, Neo and
FastImpose Standalone can connect to a number of Odystar, Nexus and Automation Engine servers.
1. Launch your application.
2. Open the Preferences.
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In...
Illustrator go to...
• Illustrator > Preferences > Esko > Shuttle
Preferences... on Mac
• Edit > Preferences > Esko > Shuttle
Preferences... on Windows
ArtPro
Neo
ArtPro > Preferences... or use Command +
K
Neo > Preferences... or use Command + ,
(comma)
FastImpose Standalone Tools > Shuttle Preferences...
3.
In the Servers tab (Advanced tab for Neo), click the button at the bottom of the Servers list.
The following dialog will prompt.
40
4. Enter your User Name and Password.
• When connecting to an Automation Engine server, enter the
User Name and Password you use to log in to the Pilot (the password can be blank if your server is configured to accept this).
Automation Engine
You will have the same access rights (for example, the right to set processing priorities or not) in Shuttle as you have in the Pilot.
Note: If you don’t know which User Name and Password to use, contact your system administrator.
5. To connect to a server not broadcasting over the Bonjour network (Automation Engine servers or non-Bonjour-enabled Nexus servers): a) Select Manual in the Browse Method list b) Enter your server’s name or IP address in
Server Address c) Fill in the Server Port used by your server
Note:
When connecting to an Automation Engine server, enter the port you defined in Configure (see
Automation Engine Setup for Shuttle
on page 37).
6. Click the Add button.
This adds a connection to your server in the Servers list.
•
To remove the connection to a server, select it in the Servers list and click the button.
• To check or edit a server’s settings, double-click it in the
Servers list.
Note:
If you are using the Shuttle plug-in with other Deskpack plug-ins, and you have set up a server connection with the
Server Connection Assistant, you will see this connection in bold in the Shuttle plug-in’s
Servers list (after restarting Illustrator).
You will be able to change the user name and password if necessary, but you will not be able to remove this connection from the Shuttle plug-in.
See the Adobe Illustrator Client documentation for more information on the Server Connection
Assistant.
5
The Shuttle clients in PackEdge, Plato and FastImpose Server can only connect to one Automation
Engine server.
1. Launch your application.
2. Open the Preferences.
• In PackEdge or Plato, go to Edit > Preferences or use Ctrl+Alt+Shift+P.
• In FastImpose Server, go to
Tools > Options...
3. In the Server&Resources tab (the Server tab for FastImpose Server): a) Select
Connect to Automation Engine Server.
b) Enter the Automation Engine
Server Name and click Check.
You should see a message saying the server is up and running.
c) Select Login with the following user account settings, and fill in the User Name and
Password you use to login to the Pilot.
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If the connection is successful, you will see a green dot and the message Connected as user ...
Tip:
If you are running an Automation Engine Pilot on the same computer, or another Shuttle client connecting to it (either PackEdge, Plato or FastImpose Server), you can select Login automatically with user name and password from other application connected to the server.
This way, if you are already logged in to the Pilot or the other client application, you won't need to log in when starting PackEdge / Plato / FastImpose Server.
4. Restart your application.
When you launch the Shuttle application from your installed programs, a pop up window with the
Shuttle Launch panel and a Task Monitor will appear.
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• To open a new window, go to File > New Window . You can use dedicated Shuttle windows for each of your Workflows.
• Shuttle saves the settings of the open windows while closing. These settings are restored during the next launch.
• You can use View menu to hide or show the The Task Monitor, Shuttle Launch panel and the
Status Bar.
•
View > Tasks hides/shows the Task monitor.
•
View > Launch Panel hides/shows the Launch Panel.
•
View > Status Bar hides/shows the Status Bar indicating the progress.
You must login to the Automation Engine Server to use the Shuttle.
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Note: You have access to Shuttle if you have access to Pilot. But your access to Pilot may be restricted even when you are allowed to use Shuttle. This requires a user access right (Pilot: start the Pilot (in addition to Shuttle)). Read more in
Access Rights
.
The following menus are available in the Shuttle application on Mac and Windows:
• File menu: Submit one or more files and launch the selected Workflow, open new Shuttle windows and close Shuttle windows.
• Edit menu: cut, copy, paste, delete a Task or Workflow, select all Tasks and Workflows in the
Task Monitor.
•
View menu: show or hide the Task Monitor, the Shuttle Launch panel and the Status Bar.
•
Task menu: open or show the output file of the selected Task or Workflow, release or cancel the
Task or Workflow, add annotations and show detailed information.
• Window menu: minimize, zoom and switch between Shuttle windows.
• Help menu: See the About window or open the Online Help (Esko Help Center).
• On Mac, select Preferences... in the Application menu.
• On Windows, go to Edit > Preferences...
In the Preferences window, set the units for Dimension, Resolution, Ruling and the number of
Decimals to use.
You can also select the Always show launch dialog option. This will show the Public Parameter dialog upon starting a new task, even if there aren't any public parameters. This allows you to alter these types of tasks before they launch.
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When you are logged in, The Task Monitor displays your Automation Engine Workflows launched from both the Shuttle and the Pilot.
To filter the displayed Workflows, you can choose a job context filter.
• Go to the drop-down list in the toolbar and select the desired job. All recently used jobs are listed in this list.
Automation Engine
• If the desired job is not present in the list, choose Other.... The Open dialog will prompt where you can choose the desired job.
• Choose the menu item "All Jobs" to clear the current filter.
Note: You cannot view, open or edit the Tickets of the Tasks or the Workflows in the Task Monitor.
This is only possible in the Automation Engine Pilot.
You can intervene when a workflow is halted for user intervention provided the Workflow user intervention settings designate you for intervention. To intervene,
• Click on
User intervention needed link of a workflow.
• In the resulting To Do window, choose to Forward or Release.
5
Tip: You cannot hide the columns displayed in the Task Monitor. However, you can change the order and the width of the columns.
Right-click on a workflow/task to access the context menu with the following options:
•
Open Output File opens the output file of the Task or Workflow with the appropriate application.
• Show Output File in Finder/Explorer shows the folder that contains the output file in Mac Finder or in Windows Explorer.
•
Release allows you to release the Task or Workflow if it is on Hold.
• Cancel allows you to cancel the Task or Workflow.
• Delete allows you to delete the Workflow from the list of Workflows the Task Monitor.
•
Annotation... shows a dialog that allows you to add or modify an annotation.
• Details shows the Details dialog with detailed information about the Task or Workflow.
Alternatively, these options are also available via the
Task menu of the Shuttle application.
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You can drop one or more files as input files for the selected Workflow/Task through the Shuttle
Launch Panel.
• Browse to the desired workflow using the Workflow drop-down list. This will be updated when new workflow tickets are created. Shuttle launches the selected workflow when files are placed in the Shuttle Launch panel.
Attention: The drop-down list only shows the Workflow Tickets that are public.
• The selected workflows are saved when you quit Shuttle. Shuttle restores the selection of workflows during the next launch.
1. If the Launch Panel is not visible in the Shuttle window, go to View > Launch Panel .
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2. Select the desired Workflow with the drop-down menu. Shuttle will launch this Workflow when files arrive at the launch panel.
3. Submit one or more files in one of the following ways.
• Drag and drop the desired file(s) into Drop Files Here area.
• Go to File > Launch... and select the files.
• Use the keyboard shortcut
Command-L on Mac or Ctrl-L on Windows and select the file(s).
Note:
• The selected file(s) will be uploaded to the root folder of the job.
• If a file was previously launched on the chosen workflow, a dialog will prompt to give you the option to reuse the public parameter values from the previous launch. If you choose to reuse these public parameter values, they will be used as default parameter values. You can still edit these values if necessary.
• If a file with the same name is already present in the root folder of the job, a dialog is prompted warning you of overwriting the file. You can then choose to either Replace the existing file, or
Cancel the launch to rename the file.
4. If your workflow has Public Parameters, you can fill them in the New Task window which will prompt. Learn more in
Using Public Parameters in Workflows
. It also possible to set the Task
Options in this window.
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48 a) You can set Task OptionsIn the New Task window, click the Task Options button.
In the resulting window, you can:
• set the Priority of the Task or Workflow as Low, Normal, High or Immediate by selecting from the drop-down.
• select Hold if you want to hold the launch of the Workflow. The Workflow will not be launched until you
Release via the right-click menu in the Task Monitor or via the Task menu.
Alternatively, hold the workflow until a set period of time after which it will be automatically released. To do this, select Release at and specify the period or date and time.
Note: You can bypass the automatic release setting by selecting Release via the rightclick menu in the Task Monitor or via the Task menu.
• Select Launch a separate Task per input file for launching a separate Task or Workflow for each input file.
• You can also set an Annotation for the Task or Workflow in this window.
5. Click the Launch button to launch the workflow.
The task will immediately appear in the Task Monitor.
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Note:
You can upload multiple files for multiple workflows. Click on the Plus button drop zone slots.
To remove these slots, proceed as follows:
•
Click on the Minus button
to add extra
. This will place the user interface in Editing mode
• Click on the desired Delete button on the top left corner of the drop zone.
• To leave the Editing mode, click on the Minus button, or press Escape.
If you have setup a
Wait for Action step in the workflow, the process halts for user intervention (for a
To Do action). User intervention needed link will appear in the Task monitor when the workflow is halted.
1. Click on the User intervention needed link.
The
To Do dialog will prompt.
50
2. You can select I am currently handling this to do item to mark that you are handling this To Do.
3. You can choose to Forward, Release or Delete the To Do.
Automation Engine
• You can let the workflow continue by clicking Release. Select the output state that you require in the release. The To Do window will close and the Workflow will continue processing.
• You can forward the To Do to another user. Click Forward and the workflow will not continue until the other user handles the To Do.
• You can also delete the To Do by clicking on Delete. This will end the processing of the workflow.
5
1. To launch your current file to Shuttle, go to File > Launch Workflow...
This opens the
Launch Workflow window.
2. Choose what file type you want to launch your file as.
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If your workflow is...
you can launch the file as...
with...
an Automation Engine workflow accepting
Normalized PDF files as input an Automation Engine workflow accepting PDF files as input
Normalized PDF
PDF either or any of the available PDF flavors
Normalized PDF
Normalized PDF
(embedded) an Automation Engine workflow accepting ArtPro files as input
ArtPro with the included images
(TIFF, EPS...) or without
(only the ArtPro and the
ArtPro CT file)
3. If you want to add your file to an Automation Engine job, select it in the Job list or fill in the Job
ID and/or Job Part ID.
Note: Use the Search... button to see a list of your server's jobs, with job information and a filter.
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4. If you want to add your file to an Automation Engine product, select it in the Product list or fill in the Job ID and/or Job Part ID.
Automation Engine
5
Note: Use the Search... button to see a list of your server's products.
5. Select the workflow you want to launch your file to.
6. If your workflow has public parameters, you can fill them in in the same window.
7. Click the Launch button.
Attention: You must save your file on an Automation Engine container before you can launch it into a workflow from PackEdge or Plato.
1. Go to File > Launch Workflow...
This opens the
Launch Workflow window.
2. Select the workflow you want to launch on your file in the workflow list.
3. If your workflow has public parameters, you can fill them in in the same window.
Note: For more information on public parameters, see
4. Click Launch to launch the workflow on your file.
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Tip:
To access Shuttle easily in the future (without using the menus):
1.
Go to
Window > Toolbars > Shuttle to open the Shuttle palette.
2. Drag it into your application's toolbar.
3.
Click to open the Launch Workflow window, or to open the Shuttle window.
When working with FastImpose Server, you must save your file on an Automation Engine container before you can launch it.
1. Go to File > Launch Workflow...
This opens the
Launch Workflow window.
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2. Choose what file type you want to launch your file as.
• When working with FastImpose Server, you can only launch your file as an IMP file.
• When working with FastImpose Standalone, you can launch your file either as a JDF or a PDF file.
Automation Engine
Click the Settings... button to set JDF or PDF Export Preferences (see the FastImpose manual for more information).
3. Select the workflow you want to launch on your file in the workflow list.
4. If your workflow has public parameters, you can fill them in in the same window.
5. Click Launch to launch the workflow on your file.
5
1. Go to File > Launch Workflow...
This opens the
Launch Workflow window.
2. Select the workflow you want to launch on your file in the workflow list.
3. If your workflow has public parameters, you can fill them in the same window.
For more information on public parameters, see:
•
on page 58,
Note: If you want to go back to the default parameters values after changing them, use the Reset
To Defaults button.
4. Click Launch to launch the workflow on your file.
To launch a file into a workflow through the Shuttle plug-in, it needs to be the current file in Adobe
Illustrator (open and at the front).
1. Go to File > Launch Workflow... or use Option + Command + Z.
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This opens the Launch window.
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56
2. When launching to Automation Engine, choose Normalized PDF in Launch As.
This copies the Normalized PDF version of your file onto the DeskPack Container.
Note: This uses the PDF Export plug-in to convert your Illustrator file to Normalized PDF. To refine the conversion, click
Settings... and edit the PDF Export Preferences.
3. If you want to link your file to an existing Automation Engine job, fill in the Job ID and/or Job
Sub ID.
Note:
• You must enter a Job ID / Job Sub ID that already exists on your Automation Engine server.
The Shuttle plug-in cannot create jobs.
• The Normalized PDF that you launch with a Job ID / Job Sub ID will be linked to that job, so that tasks and workflows processing that file can use the job parameters.
• If you are launching a file that was already in an Automation Engine job, the Job ID and/or
Job Sub ID will be filled automatically.
4. Select the workflow you want to launch your file to in Launch To Workflow.
5. If your workflow has public parameters, you can fill them in, in the same window.
6. Click Launch to launch your file.
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6
To create a ticket with your own parameters, that you will be able to reuse:
1. Open the Default ticket of your chosen task.
Note: To create a custom workflow ticket, see
Workflows
.
2. Fill in your parameters.
3. Go to File > Save As... or use Ctrl + Shift + S (Windows) / Shift + Command + S (Mac).
4. In the Save As pop-up: a) Enter the name to give your custom ticket b) Add the ticket to your Favorites if you like c) Make the ticket Public if you want to be able to use it from Shuttle (send files to that task using your ticket's parameters)
Note: The Scope is always Global when creating a custom ticket from the Tickets view.
You can create a custom ticket when launching a task on a file too:
1. Right-click your file, select New Task then More Tickets...
2. In the Select Ticket dialog that opens, select the Default ticket for the task you want to use.
3. Fill in the settings you want to use in the ticket.
4. Go to File > Save As... or use Ctrl + Shift + S (Windows) / Shift + Command + S (Mac).
5. In the Save As pop-up: a) Enter the name to give your custom ticket b) Add the ticket to your favorites if you like c) Make the ticket public if you want to be able to use it from Shuttle (send files to that task using your ticket's parameters)
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Note:
• If you are not in a job context, the
Scope is always Global.
• If you are in a job context, you can choose between Job and Global Scope.
When choosing the job scope (called after your job), you cannot make the ticket public.
Public Parameters are Ticket parameters that users can define when launching files from these client applications connected with the Automation Engine server:
• Automation Engine Shuttle
• Automation Engine Pilot
• ArtPro, Neo
• PackEdge, Plato, FastImpose
• DeskPack (Adobe Illustrator)
Note: Only Public Tickets can be launched from these client applications.
For each public parameter, you can either:
• enter a list of predefined values that the user must choose from,
• let the user enter a value himself.
Note: You need to define which parameters are public before files are submitted to your workflow.
Note: Not all parameters of all tickets can be made public.
In the ticket containing the parameter to make public:
1. Right-click the parameter and select Make Parameter Public.
2. Right-click it again and select Modify Public Parameter...
3. In the Modify Public Parameter dialog that opens: a) If necessary, change the way the parameter will be called in the client application in Prompt as.
b) Choose either:
• Allow the user to set the value if you want client application users to be able to freely enter a value for that parameter.
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• Let the user select a predefined value if you want client application users to choose from a list of values that you define.
If that parameter already offers a list of values to choose from in the ticket, they will be displayed here. You can Add or Remove values.
Note: client application users will see (and choose from) the Predefined Settings. They will not see the associated Values.
c) If you have chosen
Let the user select a predefined value: in Default Predefined Setting, choose the setting that will be selected by default. If the user doesn’t select another setting, this one will be used for processing.
4. Save your ticket to also save all settings related to public parameters.
This is how your public parameter will look like when it prompts to the users of the client application:
If you chose
Allow the user to set the value
If you chose
Let the user select a predefined value
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Once you have made parameters public in your ticket, you can have an overview of your public parameters and edit them at the ticket level.
1. In your ticket, go to Advanced > Manage Public Parameters...
The Manage Public Parameters dialog that opens contains all of your ticket’s public parameters.
The left pane shows all parameters that can be made public for that ticket (the ones you have made public are greyed out).
The right pane shows the parameters you have made public, with their settings (predefined values, etc.).
2. You can:
• drag parameters from left to right to make them public;
• click a public parameter’s cross if you don’t want it to be public anymore;
• rearrange the order of your public parameters (drag them up or down);
• change public parameters’ settings (
Prompt as, Predefined Settings, etc.);
• group public parameters under a custom header (click Add Group, click to edit the header, and drag parameters from the left);
• use presets to simplify users’ choices (see
Making Presets to Simplify the Users’ Choices
on page 60).
Presets are custom combinations of parameters. They simplify the choice users have to make. They limit the amount of decisions that users have to make.
Example
For example, you want users to use different trapping settings when printing offset versus dry offset.
You can define those trapping settings in a preset, so that users will only have to choose between
'offset' and 'dry offset'.
We start from a
Manage Public Parameters dialog where the trapping step has 3 public parameters:
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1. Click on to remove the (default) Group named "Trap with PowerTrapper"
2. Press the Add Group button.
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6
A new
"Untitled Group" is created. Click on to change the name.
3. Press the Add Preset button.
A new
"Preset" is created. Click on to change the name.
By default, two example values will appear. the preset was renamed to
'Choosing Process to Decide Traps'.
4. Define what the users will see: a) in Prompt as, enter the text that users will see in the client application (replacing '
Type the name of the preset here (e.g. “Paper Size”)').
b) enter the values that the users will choose from (replacing '
Type a value here (e.g.
A4)'). We here added 'Offset' and 'Dry Offset'.
Click
Add if you want to add extra values (not the case in our example).
5. Drag the parameters from the dialog’s middle pane onto one preset item. This will make them automatically appear under each preset item (here both under
Offset and Dry Offset).
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6. Define the parameters values for each preset item.
See the above screenshot for a good example.
7. Click OK to confirm and close the dialog.
8. Save your ticket.
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Result: this is how the resulting dialog will look like to the users of the client applications:
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Important: Only Public tickets or workflows can be launched from the client applications mentioned
Note: Default tickets can not be made Public.
To make a ticket Public, you can either:
• Select the Public option when creating the ticket.
•
Select your ticket in the
Ticket view, click
and select
Public.
• Right-click your ticket in the Tickets view and select Make Public.
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Note: Public tickets have a mark in the Public column.
Automation Engine
SmartNames are documented as a separate chapter in the "Complete Manual". Find it here:
SmartNames
.
There are several ways to launch a task on a file (from the Pilot, from Shuttle, via Access Points or via JDF/JMF). Here is how to launch a task from the Pilot's Files View.
1. In the Pilot, select the Files view from the Views bar (or use Go > Files).
2. In the Containers mode, browse to your chosen file.
3. Right-click it, and select either:
•
New Task to fill in the ticket's settings before launching the task.
• Launch with to launch the task without changing the ticket's settings.
Note:
If you don't have the
Tickets: Show All Tickets and their Parameters (Public and other) access right (see
Access Rights
in the Reference Guide), you will only see Launch with.
In this case, you can only select public tickets, and only fill in public parameters in the ticket.
4. Select the ticket to use.
• If you have launched tasks previously, the most recent task tickets you used are listed.
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• If you didn't, or if you need a different ticket, select More Tickets...
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In the Select Ticket dialog that opens, select the task ticket you want to use and click OK.
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Note: This dialog contains all the tickets suitable for the file type you selected. You can choose either a Default ticket, or a custom ticket (saved under a different name) if you have already created one.
5.
• If you chose
New Task, the task ticket opens. Fill in the settings you want to use in the ticket and click the Launch button.
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• If you chose Launch with and you have the Tickets: Show All Tickets and their Parameters
(Public and other) access right, the task is launched on the file as soon as you selected the ticket. You don't need to fill in any settings.
• If you chose Launch with and you don't have the Tickets: Show All Tickets and their
Parameters (Public and other) access right, the task is launched on the file as soon as you selected the ticket if there are no public parameters.
If the ticket contains public parameters, it will open for you to fill them in (you will only see the public parameters). Click Launch when you are done.
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Note: For a description of all of the ticket's settings for each task, see
The Tasks and Workflow
Controls
in the Reference Guide.
You can monitor the task's progress in the Files View's Task pane or in the Tasks View. See
Check the Status of the Task
.
After launching a task on one or several file(s), you can check its processing status in the Pilot’s
Tasks pane. You can see the Tasks pane in the Files, Product or Tasks views.
You can see the progress (in percentage) and the processing state. The state can be:
•
: starting
•
: success
•
: warning
•
: failure
•
: processing cancelled
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You can also double-click the task entry in the Tasks pane to open your task ticket and check its parameters.
Note: Depending on your
access rights
, you may only see the public parameters.
• To relaunch the task without changing the settings: a) Select the task to relaunch in the Tasks pane.
b) Go to
Tasks > Relaunch.
• To change the settings and relaunch the task: a) Select the task to relaunch in the
Tasks pane.
b) Go to Tasks > Open.
c) Change the task settings as necessary.
d) Click the
Launch button.
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Workflows are documented in a separate dedicated chapter
Workflows
.
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The Automation Engine Viewer is a comprehensive, powerful and integrated Viewer and QA tool. It can easily be integrated in your Automation Engine workflow, to view, check and compare graphic production data. It can be launched directly from within the Automation Engine Pilot, on any Mac or
Windows computer in your network. Anywhere you can install and log on to an Automation Engine
Pilot you can start the Automation Engine Viewer (DTP, prepress, QA department, CSR desk...).
You can use as many Automation Engine Viewers as you have Pilot connections. Opening the
Automation Engine Viewer does not allocate an extra Pilot connection. It is even possible to have two or more Automation Engine Viewers on one workstation by opening a second Automation Engine
Pilot (Pilot - File menu - New window) and opening a file in the Automation Engine Viewer from there.
If you also use the Esko Bitmap Viewer, you will notice that the interface and shortcuts are nearly identical.
The Viewer offers you
• Reliability: Showing the data in a correct way. At best in the same way the RIP / Proofer will see them.
• Detail: Unlimited zoom, high detail measuring, measuring traps and exact distances (die objects).
• Speed: Opening files swiftly, even when it concerns large files. Fast zooming.
The Viewer supports many different file types: PDF, AI, ArtPro, images and even bitmap RIP data.
For a full list, see
Supported File Types
.
You can even compare with other files, even when they are a different file type and even when they have a different size! Learn more in
To open files in the Viewer,
• click the word View next to your file.
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• right-click your file and select View...
• select your file and go to
File > View .
Here 's a first look at the Viewer:
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You can zoom in on the file, measure distances and densities, view separations individually or together, etc.
Note: The Viewer has its own local On Line Help. Start it from the question mark icon in the top bar.
Reliability is a must. Detail can also not be compromised, it is always offered. The challenge lies in opening very large files quickly. That is why the Automation Engine Viewer offers 2 view modes: with or without Prepared View Data.
• In case you do not prepare View Data, the server will stream the data to the Automation Engine
Viewer. When a large file has to be opened or compared or when the server is very busy, a delay can be noticed. Deep zoom detail mode is immediately available.
• In case you do opt to prepare View Data in advance, then the Viewer will show you the prepared
View Data instantly. Zooming in will of course require object data streaming from the server, but then for a smaller area. For more information about creating View Data, see the task
Prepare for
Viewer
in the Reference Guide.
Attention: If the User Access Right for deep zoom is not enabled (read more in
• you can only view 'prepared' files.
• your zoom is restricted.
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The
Viewer is also a powerful compare tool. It allows to compare two files and have a close look at the differences, if needed per separation, including changes in images (internal or referenced images).
Various tools help you analyse those differences.
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1: The names of the two files that you are comparing
2: Enable difference view - to activate the Compare tool
3: View both - highlight the difference: the differences between the two files is highlighted in red.
Right-click this button to see the other options for compare that are available.
While comparing you can also use other tools like for example "view separations in separate windows", measure, (de)select, rotate, etc...
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1: Show channels (Automatic tiling) - Right-click this button to see the other options that are available to see the different channels.
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Note: Integrating Automation Engine with WebCenter is documented in
Integrating with WebCenter
, a dedicated chapter in the Complete documentation of Automation Engine.
This chapter is specific on publishing page impositions to WebCenter. For all other generic documentation on integrating Automation Engine and WebCenter, we refer to
Integrating with
WebCenter
.
In
WebCenter, you need to set up a Project Template with Approvers.
You will use this template in
Automation Engine when sending impositions: it will allow you to create new WebCenter
Projects (already containing your Approvers) as needed, directly from Automation
Engine.
Note: Alternatively, you can set up a WebCenter Project with Approvers in WebCenter, and send your impositions to it from Automation Engine. But then you will only be able to create new Projects from WebCenter and not from Automation Engine.
1. Create a new Project.
2. Add Members to the project.
3. Choose Approvers from within the Project’s members.
4. Save the Project as a Template.
1. Log in to WebCenter as a user who is a Project Manager.
2. Click Projects.
The Favorite Projects page is shown.
3. Click Create New Project at the top right of the page.
4. Choose Start from a Blank Project and click Continue.
5. Enter the name for the Project in the Project Name field.
• To make another user or user group the Project Manager for this project, select his or her name, or the group name, from the Project Manager list.
• If desired, enter a description in the
Description field.
• To make the Project active, set the Status as Active.
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• To specify an optional due date, click the calendar control at the end of the Due On field and select the desired due date. To set the due time, click the drop-down list box to the right of the calendar control.
Note: This is not the Approval Due Date. You will set the Approval Due Date when setting the
Approval Cycle.
• To use a custom thumbnail, click Change and enter the complete path and filename in the associated field or
Browse for it. To use the default thumbnail, leave that choice selected.
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6. Click Create Project.
The Project is created.
1. Once the project is created, click Members > Add Members .
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This shows a list of the current WebCenter members.
2. Select the users or groups to add as members and click Continue.
3. Set the members’ permissions as desired. For Approval tasks, members need at least View permissions (selected by default).
Note: The permissions you set here apply to all members you have just added.
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4. Click Finish.
5. Once the members are added, click Go back to the project.
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Approvers can be either regular users or they can be user groups.
When you add a group as an approver, you must indicate whether:
• all the members of the group (select the group entry labeled as whole group) must approve the document before it gets the approved status, or
• whether the approval of a single group member (select the group entry labeled as one of group) will set the document to approved status.
Note: You can only change (add or remove) Approvers when the Approval Cycle is stopped.
1. In the Project Page, click Approval.
2. Click Setup Approval.
3. Open the Add approver list, and select the individual users or the groups you want to add.
Tip: Use Ctrl+Click to select multiple members.
Note: The Project Manager is not automatically made an Approval User and must be explicitly added to the list of Approvers.
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Note: To save a Project as a Template, you need have Administrator permissions.
1. If the user you are logged in with is not an Administrator: a) Log out.
b) Log back in with an Administrator user.
c) Go back to your Project page.
2. In the More actions menu on the left, click Save as Template.
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3. Enter the Template Name (different from your Project Name) and a Description.
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To use a custom thumbnail, click Specify New Thumbnail and enter the complete path and filename in the associated field or Browse for it. To use the default thumbnail, leave that choice selected.
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4. Click Finish.
The Template is created.
When and a compatible workflow approval server (such as Automation Engine, Nexus, or Odystar) are not on the same LAN and communicate over a large network, the workflow approval client (for example the Automation Engine Pilot) needs to have an account in so that its messages are secure.
This is configured through Admin > Configuration > Workflow Approval Clients in , and, in the case of Automation Engine, in Tools > Configuration > Web Sites in the Automation Engine Pilot.
Attention:
Configure the account first so that it can be tested from within the workflow approval server.
and the workflow approval server must use the same user name and password!
This is completely separate from a normal user. Workflow approval clients may not log in to .
Two manual configuration steps must also be performed outside of to ensure proper communication between the workflow approval client and systems that are not on the same LAN.
1. Click Admin > Configuration > Workflow Approval Clients.
2. Click New Workflow Approval Client.
3. Enter the User Name and Password for the workflow approval client user.
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4. Click Create.
Note: If you have several Automation Engine, Nexus, or Odystar sites communicating with , you need to create a separate Workflow Approval Client for each site.
To configure links from Automation Engine to WebCenter sites, go to the item
WebCenter sites in the Configure tool ( Pilot > Tools > Configure ).
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Website:
Specify the web address of the WebCenter site. After you entered the WebCenter address, click
Open... to check if the WebCenter site is up and running. If you are redirected to the login page, it means that the address is correct and that the site is up and running.
Tip: Be aware that this address is also the address that will be included in the notification e-mails when adding links to documents (approval cycle start e-mail). You should therefore make sure that the address can be accessed from the outside. Make sure to not use an internal address, but one that you want your users to use when they use WebCenter.
WebCenter and Automation Engine are in the same LAN
Check this toggle if this is true. This will most likely be the case. Un-check this toggle if WebCenter and Automation Engine are remote.
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Note: How can you verify that WebCenter and Automation Engine are in the same LAN? WebCenter and Automation Engine are in the same LAN when you can connect from WebCenter’s application server, this is the system where JBOSS is installed, to an Automation Engine Job Folder with the credentials of the user ‘BGSystem’.
WebCenter's Approval Client:
If WebCenter and Automation Engine are not in the same LAN, you first need to create an Automation
Engine Approval Client in WebCenter. This is necessary to give Automation Engine permissions to listen to the approval messages that are stored in WebCenter.
Tip: If the Approval Client does not exist yet, follow these steps:
1. In WebCenter, log in as
Administrator.
2. Go to the Admin section. In Configurations, select Workflow Approval Clients.
3. Click the link “New Workflow Approval Client".
4. Enter a User name and a Password for the Automation Engine client. Mind that this is also the user name and password that have to be entered when configuring the WebCenter site in
Automation Engine.
Fill out the client Name and Password and click the 'Check Connection' button. This will check if that user can log on successfully.
The Info button displays the following information: ”In case Automation Engine and WebCenter are
not in the same local area network (LAN), the retrieval of the approval results is secured by a name and password. The name and password specified in Automation Engine must match the name and password specified in WebCenter by the WebCenter administrator. When clicking the 'Check' button, the WebCenter version will be checked and the name and password will be validated by WebCenter.”
Check Connection
When you click this button, you should, after a few seconds, get a window saying “ Check OK". The software version of that WebCenter will also be mentioned.
Note: The button will check the validity of the user name or password to connect to that WebCenter but not of your WebCenter’s Approval Client.
Note: When you connect to a secured WebCenter site (for example one that uses HTTPS://), then you have to export its security certificate and import it on the Automation Engine server. If this is not done, publishing from Automation Engine to WebCenter will result in an error. Read more on how to do this in the chapter Install SSL Certificates on the Workflow Production Server of the
WebCenter documentation.
Tip: After configuring a new WebCenter site, it is recommended to close your Pilot and start it again in order to see the updated list of WebCenter sites in your tickets.
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1. In the Files view, browse to the FastImpose imposition file (
*.imp) you want to upload.
Note: The imposition file must be part of a job.
2. Right-click it and select Add to Imposition Gallery from the context menu.
When you switch to the Pages view, you can see your file in the Imposition Gallery.
3. If the imposition doesn't show the pages preview (as in the previous example), add them as follows: a) Click on the first page's file name in the Page Gallery. This shows the page's preview in the
Details area at right.
b) Drag this preview onto the first page of the imposition in the
Page list area.
c) Repeat this for the other pages of your imposition.
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If your imposition contains several books, you must send the books one by one to WebCenter. Each book will be shown as a Page List in WebCenter.
1. In the Imposition Gallery, right-click the imposition (or the book) and select New Task > Prepare
Imposition for WebCenter Workflow.
If the Prepare Imposition for WebCenter Workflow task does not appear in the context menu, choose More Tickets and select the task in the Select Ticket dialog.
2. Modify the settings of the Prepare Imposition for WebCenter step (the first step in the workflow) if needed.
3. In the Send Imposition to WebCenter step, modify the settings of the Destination tab (you can use SmartNames where indicated by the SmartNames button): a) Select your WebCenter Site from the list.
b) Enter the name to give to your Project. Automation Engine will create this project in
WebCenter, from the
Project Template you specify below.
Note: You can also send your imposition to a Project already existing in WebCenter. In that case, you don’t need to enter a Project Template. Note that this Project must have Approvers defined in WebCenter.
c) If you want to send your imposition to a subfolder in the project, enter that Folder’s name. If this folder doesn’t exist in the template (or project), Automation Engine will create it.
d) Enter the name to give to your imposition
Document. This is the name that will be shown in
WebCenter. For example you can use
[ImpositionName]_[BookName]_[LayerName].
e) Enter the Project Template to use to create your WebCenter project.
Important: This Project Template must be defined in WebCenter. See
page 74.
f) Enter the User Name and Password used to connect to your WebCenter site. You can use an
Encrypted password or SmartNames.
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4. Modify the settings of the Approval tab: a) Enable
Start the Approval Cycle.
b) Select a
Due date and time.
5. Click the Launch button in the top left corner to upload the imposition to WebCenter.
Note:
If you don't start the Approval Cycle from Automation Engine, you will still be able to start it from
WebCenter, and view the approval results in Automation Engine.
For more information, see the WebCenter manual.
In WebCenter 7.1, you can:
• Approve / reject documents sent from
Odystar, Nexus or Automation Engine as regular
• Approve / reject documents
FastImpose impositions added to the Pages View in Automation
Engine as regular documents or Page Lists (see
on page 86 and
on page 86).
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When approving a Page List, you can:
• Approve / reject not only the whole multipage imposition but each individual page.
• Update and have version control not only on the whole multipage imposition but on each individual page.
Note: Only FastImpose impositions that have been added to the Pages View in Automation Engine are recognized as
Page Lists in WebCenter. Multipage files uploaded from within WebCenter, or from
Odystar, Nexus, or even other Automation Engine documents will never be treated as Page Lists.
Instead, they are considered regular multipage PDF documents.
• If you are an
Approval User: Approve the document, Reject it, or leave it Pending to approve / reject it in the future.
• If you are a Project Manager:
Approve or Reject the document, leave it Pending, or Force
Approve / Force Reject it if you need to overrule the approval status granted by the approval users.
Note:
For more information about Forced Approval or Rejection, see the WebCenter manual.
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Documents waiting for your approval are shown on My To Do List under My Work. If you are an
Approval User, do the following to Approve or Reject a document:
Note:
You can also approve or reject documents in the Viewer.
1. Click Approve/Reject at the end of the Approval field in the document header.
2. Choose the desired Approval Status from the drop-down list: Approved indicates approval;
Pending indicates future Approval or Rejection, and Rejected indicates disapproval.
3. Once you choose Approved or Rejected, you may not change the status later; a view-only version of the page will be shown showing the choice you picked. Only a
Pending status allows future changes.
If desired, you can add a comment in the
Comment field. Submitted approvals and comments are shown on the Action History page.
4. Click Finish to change the status of the document.
To cancel the changes, navigate to another page without clicking Finish.
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Page Lists are a special type of multipage PDF documents in WebCenter that represent imposed books or magazines. As such they are an important tool for commercial printers.
Page Lists are uploaded from a Automation Engine production server using the
Pages View in the
Automation Engine Pilot.
Note: Only FastImpose impositions that have been added to the Pages View in Automation Engine are recognized as
Page Lists in WebCenter. Multipage files uploaded from within WebCenter, or from
Odystar, Nexus, or even other Automation Engine documents will never be treated as Page Lists.
Instead, they are considered regular multipage PDF documents.
Page List documents have two major advantages over other multipage PDF files:
• You can upload either the complete document, or specific pages only (for example, pages
6-12);
• individual pages can be approved or rejected in WebCenter (for example, you can approve pages 3, 5 and 7-16 of a 16-page Page List).
Note: A multipage PDF file can only be approved or rejected as a whole.
Page List documents are displayed as a single document in document lists. Click the Page List name to view its pages and details in the dedicated Page List views.
Note: Page Lists cannot be downloaded.
In order to approve your imposition as a Page List in WebCenter, you need to first login to WebCenter as an approver, then navigate to the document (Page List) to approve, in the project created from
Automation Engine.
You can also access this Page List from the link in the approval notification email, if you received one.
Make sure you have the correct permissions to approve documents in WebCenter. For more information, please see your WebCenter manual.
You can choose from a number of different methods to approve the pages in a Page List:
• Use the WebCenter Viewer: a) In the Project, click on the Page List's thumbnail image. The Viewer opens, displaying the
Page List.
b) In the Approval area in the sidebar on the right of the Viewer window, select the appropriate approval state (Approved, Rejected, Pending) from the list.
The Approval dialog opens in which you can add approval comments.
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9 c) Enter your comments, provide your password if required and click Commit.
Note: You can approve / reject one page at a time, or all of the document’s pages (using
Apply to all pages).
• Use the Page Gallery view: a) In the Project, click on the Page List's name.
The Document Details page appears.
b) Select
Page Gallery from the menu.
c) Select the pages you want to approve and then click Approve/Reject. You can also use
Approve/Reject all Pages.
d) Enter your comments, provide your password if required and click
Commit.
• Use the Page List view: a) In the Project, click on the Page List's name.
The Document Details page appears.
b) Select
Page List from the menu.
c) Select the pages you want to approve and then select Approve/Reject from the gearbox menu. You can also use Approve/Reject all Pages.
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• Use the Approve/Reject link on the Document properties page to approve all the pages at once.
a) Enter your comments, provide your password if required and click
Commit.
You can send a RunList from Automation Engine to WebCenter without having to create an
Imposition. The resulting
PageList will have pages in the right order. These pages are sent to
Automation Engine after approval.
In PageLists, information such as Sheet info is not available.
Use this workflow if you want to send pages to WebCenter in the right order to get them approved.
Note: Unlike sending impositions, you still need to position them afterwards.
The uploaded PageList in WebCenter takes the Sheet Name NoImposition. The Sheet Name and the Sheet Side will always be 0.
Context for the current task
Run the Create RunList task on a multipage PDF file. Remember to enter a name for your RunList.
If the
Name field is left blank, the task uses the file name.
Read more about the task settine in
Create RunList from PDF
.
A RunList is created and shown in the
Imposition Gallery. Switch to the Pages view to see the
RunList and its pages.
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1. In the Pages View, right-click the RunList and select New Task > Publish Imposition on
WebCenter .
2. Modify the settings of the Publish Imposition on WebCenter chain task.
Read more in
Publish Imposition on WebCenter Chain
3. Click the Launch button in the top left corner to upload the RunList to WebCenter.
Note:
If you don’t start the Approval Cycle from Automation Engine, you will still be able to start it from
WebCenter, and view the approval results in Automation Engine.
For more information, see the WebCenter manual.
The RunList will be uploaded to WebCenter. If approval is required the approval feedback is visible in page and proofs views.
Note: In the pages view, the approval status is indicated in a color on top of the page. When you hoover over the page, the details of the approval becomes visible.
• To view the status of documents in a WebCenter Approval Cycle in Automation Engine, you can use either:
• the
Pages View,
• the Proofs View,
• the WebCenter View.
• Go to the
Pages or Proofs View to view the approval status of each page of the imposition.
• In the
Pages View:
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• In the Proofs View:
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Note:
When you try to expose a sheet that contains a rejected page, you will get an error in the
Expose task and an error status in the Plates View.
If you really need to expose the sheet anyway, you can overrule the WebCenter approval status
Overruling the WebCenter Approval
In the
WebCenter View, you can view the approval status of the whole imposition.
Important: You need to first set up the WebCenter View before you can view all the approved / rejected documents in the WebCenter project you created.
1. Right click the WebCenter View’s background and choose Configure.
2. Enter the URL of your WebCenter site.
3. Enter the User name and Password used to connect to your WebCenter site.
4. In Project Name, enter the name of the WebCenter project you sent your imposition to. You can use SmartNames.
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Important: Make sure this matches the Project Name of the project you created (or used) when sending your imposition from Automation Engine to WebCenter. See
5. To check that the information you entered is correct and that the WebCenter server is running, click the Retry Connection button at the bottom of the view.
You can also use the link at the top of the view to open the web page of the WebCenter project.
6. Once you have checked that your configuration is correct, use the Save to Configuration button to save it.
Once it is saved, you will be able to return to this configuration using the
Load from Configuration button after any unwanted change.
7. Click the Show Documents button to view the documents in your WebCenter project.
Note: If at least one page of the imposition is rejected, the status of the whole imposition is Rejected.
This icon...
means that...
the page and the original imposition layout have been approved by all approvers.
Note: The imposition layout can be approved even if some of its pages are rejected.
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This icon...
means that...
the page has been approved by all approvers, but it may have changed the imposition layout, which needs to be checked (for example for a new page replacing a rejected one).
the page or the whole imposition has been rejected by at least one approver.
the page or the whole imposition has yet to be approved or rejected by at least one approver.
When you hover on the top of a page in the Pages or Proofs View, you can see:
• the approval status,
• any comment entered,
• the date and time of the approval,
• the WebCenter user who approved/rejected the page.
After your imposition has been approved or rejected in WebCenter, you can still overrule the approval status of some of the pages in Automation Engine, if necessary.
1. In Automation Engine Pilot, go to either the Pages or the Proofs View and locate your imposition document.
2. You can either:
• Select a page of your document and use the and buttons in the View’s toolbar to approve/ reject the document without entering a comment.
• Right-click on a page of your document and choose
Approve/Reject... to open the Approve/
Reject dialog where you can enter a comment.
3. In the Approve/Reject dialog, select Manual as Approval Type.
4. Choose to either:
• Approve,
•
Approve with warning,
•
Reject the document.
5. Enter a Comment if you wish and click OK.
Note: You can hover on the top of a page to view approval information, whether it has been approved/ rejected automatically in WebCenter, or manually in Automation Engine.
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You can use all the power of Nexus workflows from within a Automation Engine Job. This allows you to bring both Automation Engine and Nexus workflows in line, running them from within a single controlling environment: the Automation Engine Pilot.
The
Send to Nexus ticket gives you access to the workflows that are available on a specific Nexus server.
Any public parameters that have been defined in the Nexus workflow (NeXML) will show up on the
Send to Nexus ticket in Automation Engine. In addition, these public parameters are SmartNameenabled, so you can use Job metadata to drive the Nexus workflows.
On the Nexus side the
Copy to BackStage activity allows you to set up workflows that send their resulting files back to Automation Engine.
Behind the scenes, Automation Engine and Nexus communicate via the SOAP protocol, exchanging files and notifying each of other of their progress.
Setting up public parameters in Nexus requires knowledge of NeXML. Please refer to the NeXML
Manual for more information.
To enable the Automation Engine Pilot to launch Nexus workflows, you must perform a number of setup tasks on the Nexus server.
The Automation Engine containers have to be mounted on the Nexus server.
• If the Nexus server runs on a Windows OS, the container should be mapped to a drive letter on the operating system.
• If the Nexus server runs on a Mac OS, the container has to be mounted over the SMB protocol.
1. In the Modules list, double-click the NexusSoapServer module.
2. Enter a port number in the Listening Port field of the NexusSoapServer Module Defaults dialog, and click
OK.
The Nexus SOAP server is now active.
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Note:
The option User Management, which determines the workflows that a particular user can access, is ignored by the Automation Engine Pilot. As a result, Automation Engine Pilot operators automatically have access to all Nexus workflows.
3. Create valid Nexus workflows with the Input Type: Hot Folder.
4. Configure the Hot Folder queues for the workflows. Make sure the option Show in Shuttle is selected.
Only Hot Folders that have Show in Shuttle enabled are published to the Nexus SOAP server and become accessible to the Automation Engine Pilot.
5. Create the workflows with the Nexus Workflow Editor.
6. Make sure you add the Copy to BackStage activity at the end of the workflow.
Your Nexus workflow is now available for use with the Automation Engine Pilot.
1. In the Pilot, go to Tools > Configure and select the Nexus category.
2. Click File > New .
3. Enter the name of the Nexus server in the Host field.
4. Enter the Port on which the Nexus server is accessible.
5. Click Test Connection to verify the settings you entered.
Note: You can also test whether the Nexus SoapServer is online by browsing to the following url in your favorite web browser: http://NexusServerName:5182.
To run a Nexus workflow from within the Automation Engine Pilot, you can use the Send to Nexus ticket.
Additional integration features allow you to check the progress of the workflow in the Automation
Engine Task Monitor, to jump to the workflow in Nexus Manager, and more.
The
Send to Nexus ticket consists of two parts:
• the top section of the ticket dialog is always the same, and allows you to:
• select a particular Nexus workflow from the
Workflow list;
• indicate whether you want to launch a new, separate workflow in Nexus for every file you select in the Pilot (
Separate Tasks), or whether you want to send all the selected files to one Nexus workflow (
One Single Task).
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• the bottom section of the ticket dialog contains fields for the public parameters for the workflow you selected. These parameters can be different for every Nexus workflow (they are defined using
NeXML).
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Note: You can also manage your Nexus workflow's public parameters (not one by one but as a group) in your task ticket. See
Managing Public Parameters in Your Ticket
on page 60.
1. In the Pilot, select the file(s) you want to process with your Nexus workflow.
2. Launch the Send to Nexus task.
3. Select the Workflow you want to run.
4. If you selected multiple files:
• select One Single Task to send all the files to a single workflow in Nexus.
• select Separate Tasks to launch a separate Nexus workflow for every selected file.
5. Provide the required public parameters for the different activities in the workflow.
Note: You can use SmartNames in all the public parameter fields.
6. Click Launch to send the files to the Nexus workflow.
The Send to Nexus task appears in the Task List, where you can see the progress of the Nexus workflow. Note that progress is not displayed in real time.
The processed files from Nexus are returned to Automation Engine as the output of the Send to
Nexus task. In other words, you can include Send to Nexus as a step into a more complete workflow.
• In the Automation Engine Pilot: in the Task List, right-click on the Send to Nexus task and choose
Go To Job in Nexus Manager to view the job in Nexus Manager (this command is only available on Mac OS).
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• In Nexus Manager, double-click the Copy to BackStage activity to view the job in the
Automation Engine Pilot.
Note: In order to jump from the Nexus Manager 9.0 to the Automation Engine Pilot, you must connect to Nexus Manager with a blank user name and the password awsnexus.
You can use all the power of Odystar workflows from within a Automation Engine Job. This allows you to bring both Automation Engine and Odystar workflows in line, running them from within a single controlling environment: the Automation Engine Pilot.
The Send to Odystar ticket gives you access to the workflows that are available on a specific Odystar server. You can use the Send to Odystar ticket as a single task or as part of a more complete
Automation Engine workflow.
Any public parameters that have been defined in the Odystar workflow will show up in the Send to
Odystar ticket in Automation Engine. In addition, these public parameters are SmartName-enabled, so you can use Job metadata to drive the Odystar workflows.
On the Odystar side the Copy File gateway allows you to set up workflows that send their resulting files back to Automation Engine.
Behind the scenes, Automation Engine and Odystar exchange files and notify each of other of their progress.
• The Automation Engine workflow (top) sends the files to Odystar for additional processing before outputting them to a proofer.
• The Odystar workflow (bottom) applies PrePress changes to the files before copying them back to Automation Engine, where they go through the rest of the workflow (Proof step).
Note:
Odystar accepts Normalized PDF files as input, but its changes may render the files non-Normalized.
We suggest that you do either (or both) of the following:
• send regular (not Normalized) PDFs to Odystar (add an Export to PDF File step before Send to Odystar),
• re-normalize the files you get back from Odystar (add a Normalize PostScript / PDF / Illustrator
8.0 File step after Send to Odystar).
To enable the Automation Engine Pilot to launch Odystar workflows, you must perform a number of setup tasks on the Odystar server.
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• Mount the Automation Engine containers on your Odystar server using the SMB protocol.
Note: Make sure you have Read and Write permissions for those mounted volumes from your
Odystar server machine.
1. On your Odystar server, launch the Hub application. You can find it in Odystar’s Server Software folder.
2. Go to Hub > Preferences.
You can also use the shortcut Command + , (comma).
3. In the Shuttle tab, enter the IP Address of the server running your Hub, and the port to use for communication between Automation Engine and the Hub (in
Shuttle Port).
Note: By default this is port 5182, but if this port is already used by other processes, you should enter the next available port.
4. Create your Odystar workflow using the Inspector.
5. Double-click the Receive Process Folder of your Odystar workflow to open its parameters.
6. In the Shuttle tab, click Enable Shuttle Queue.
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7. Make sure you add a Copy File gateway, with the Copy Back To Automation Engine mode selected, at the end of your workflow.
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Your Odystar workflow is now available for use from the Automation Engine Pilot.
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1. In the Pilot, go to Tools > Configure and select the Odystar category.
2. Click File > New.
3. Enter the name or IP address of the Odystar server in the Host field.
4. Enter the Port on which the Odystar server is accessible.
5. Click Test Connection to verify the settings you entered.
Note: You can also test whether the Odystar Hub is online by browsing to the following url in your favorite web browser: http://OdystarServerNameorAddress:5182.
To run an Odystar workflow from within the Automation Engine Pilot, you can use the Send to
Odystar ticket. You can use it as a single task or as part of a more complete Automation Engine workflow.
You can also check the progress of the Odystar workflow in the Automation Engine Task Monitor.
The
Send to Odystar ticket consists of two parts:
• the top section of the ticket dialog is always the same, and allows you to:
• select a particular Odystar workflow from the
Workflow list;
Tip: If you can’t see the workflow you are looking for, use the refresh button .
• indicate whether you want to launch a new, separate workflow in Odystar for every file you select in the Pilot ( Separate Tasks), or whether you want to send all the selected files to one
Odystar workflow ( One Single Task).
• the bottom section of the ticket dialog contains fields for the public parameters for the workflow you selected. These parameters can be different for every Odystar workflow (they are defined in the Inspector).
Note: You can also manage your Odystar workflow’s public parameters (not one by one but as
a group) in your task ticket. See
Managing Public Parameters in Your Ticket
1. In the Pilot, select the file(s) you want to process with your Odystar workflow.
2. Launch the Send to Odystar task.
3. Select the Workflow you want to run.
4. If you selected multiple files:
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• select One Single Task to send all the files to a single workflow in Odystar.
• select
Separate Tasks to launch a separate Odystar workflow for every selected file.
5. Provide the required public parameters for the different gateways in the workflow.
Note: You can use SmartNames in all the public parameter fields.
6. Click Launch to send the files to the Odystar workflow.
The Send to Odystar task appears in the Task List, where you can see the progress of the Odystar workflow. Note that progress is not displayed in real time.
Note: The files processed by Odystar are returned to Automation Engine as the output of the Send to Odystar task (or as the output of the Send to Odystar workflow step when including the Send
to Odystar ticket in an Automation Engine workflow - see the workflow
).
You can integrate a separate install of Enfocus PitStop with Automation Engine, to be able to preflight
PDF files from the Pilot using the task Preflight via External Application.
Caution: Depending on your licenses, check if your Automation Engine already has the
PitStop software built in. This then enables the
Preflight with PitStop task.
To preflight a file using a separate software install of Enfocus PitStop:
1. Go to Tools > Configure and set up the connection to PitStop (see Preflight Tools in the
Reference Guide for more details).
2. Launch the Preflight via External Application task on your file. Learn more in
Preflight via
External Application
.
The
Integrate via External Hot Folder task allows you to integrate external prepress applications into your workflow tickets. The only requirement is that the external system works with hot folders.
1. In the Integrate via External Hot Folder ticket, you define the location of the hot folder used by the external application, as well as the Result subfolders in which the external application will output processed jobs (the OK Folder), failed jobs (Error Folder) or jobs that produced warnings
( Warnings Folder).
2. When you process a job with this ticket, Automation Engine copies the files to the external hot folder.
3. The external application picks up the files in its hot folder and processes them. The processed files are saved in the subfolder that matches the processing result: OK, Warning or Error.
4. Automation Engine monitors the OK, Warning and Error folders for any files that have been processed.
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5. If it detects a file in the OK folder, Automation Engine copies it to the Output folder defined in the
Integrate via External Hot Folder ticket, and continues its workflow. Depending on your settings,
Error or Warning files might also be copied into the Output folder, or they might be deleted.
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Note: In the Error area of the ticket, you can define an amount of time after which the external processing should be considered as failed. To do this, enable the option Error when no result after ...
and define a time period (for example, you could enter one hour, a number of days, or even a specific date).
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Automation Engine enables working with non-Esko imposition systems. These tasks import or export industry standard file types to or from the Impositions in the
Pages and Plates views.
You can check or change (approval) statuses, assign pages and select elements for further processing or output in the
Pages and Plates views in Automation Engine.
You can find a schematic overview of how impositions can be created, processed and exported below. The tasks highlighted in green are new in Automation Engine 12.
You can import populated or unpopulated impositions from applications that produces JDF layout file as its output. Some of the applications that can write a JDF Layout file are Kodak Preps, Litho
Technics Metrix, Ultimate ImpoStrip , Dynagram Inpo2 , Dynagram Dynastrip, Plato and Pandora.
You can import the JDF Layout and use the Create Imposition from JDF Layout task to bring the
Imposition to the Pages and Plates views in Automation Engine.
If you start with a PDF file or a JDF Runlist, you can use the Create RunList task to create a Runlist in
Automation Engine. Subsequently, you can use the Create Imposition from RunList task to create
Imposition from this RunList.
It is possible to separate the creation of a RunList and the creation of an Imposition from that Runlist in time. In some cases printers prefer to let the RunList be approved and corrected before they select the layout and create the Imposition.
You can achieve this by using two workflows.
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1. Assemble the RunList and send it for approval.
2. Create the Imposition from the RunList and export it:
Read more about the new importing and creating tasks in the Reference Guide:
Create Imposition from JDF Layout
Create RunList from PDF
Create Imposition from RunList
Note: File Compatibility
• JDF layout files: tests have been done with Preps, Metrix, ImpoStrip, InpO2, DynaStrip, Plato and
Pandora.
• PDF files: Normalized as well as non Normalized files can be used in the Imposition workflows.
However, third party rips and workflows do not support external images.
Note: Thumbnails in the Pages and Plates views are only shown when the pages in the files contain thumbnails. If you have no thumbnails in your PDF files, you can speed up the system.You can also save some screen space by hiding the details pane and by switching to
list mode.
You can use
Export Imposition to JDF Layout task to send an Imposition or part of an Imposition to another workflow system or to a Rip that is compatible with JDF layout.
• The output is JDF layout containing a JDF runlist.
• You can create a runlist for the Join Pages task using this output. This allows you to create a multipage PDF file to send to your customer for approval.
• It can be used to drive the FlexRip when followed by the
Import JDF Layout task.
You can send an Imposition or part of an Imposition to a PDF Rip (for example Nexus Rip) using
Export Imposition to PDF task. The output will be a PDF file containing the Imposition.
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More info regarding these exporting tasks in:
Export Imposition to JDF Layout
Export Imposition to PDF File
Page, RunList, Layer, PageSlot, Imposition and Plate are abstract file types that do not correspond directly to a file. They can be used as entities in a workflow to route the elements you want to process through the workflow. For example, you can import an Imposition and preflight all the PDF files referred from that Imposition. The workflow below accepts a JDF Layout as its input, selects the
PDF files referred in the JDF file and waits until all of them pass the preflight check before producing outputs as sheets to a PDF file. You need to convert the Selection to a PDF before Preflight.
Read more about Convert Selection task in
Convert Selection
the Reference Guide.
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In Automation Engine 10 and older versions, PDF files had to be normalized at the start of a workflow before any further processing could take place.
With the release of Automation Engine, 10.1 new PDF processing tasks were introduced that can handle incoming PDF files without the need for normalization. However, these tasks could not process normalized PDF files. On top of this the PDFs produced by these tasks needed to be normalized before they can be handled by other tasks. As a consequence, it was not straightforward to build workflows that used a combination of these tasks.
From Automation Engine 12 onwards, the collection of PDF processing tasks that do not require normalization was extended. To avoid that the user needs to carefully consider which tasks require normalized PDF as input when building workflows 2 features were introduced in Automation Engine
12:
• Tasks that do not require normalized PDF (the new ones added in Automation Engine 12 and the ones that were added in Automation Engine 10.1) can now also handle normalized PDF, and keep the files normalized.
• Tasks that require PDF files to be normalized will now do this automatically without the need to introduce explicit normalization tasks in a workflow.
Normalized PDF differs from regular PDF 1.6 in the following areas:
• External references
• Color space
• Document level metadata
• Object level metadata
A Normalized PDF is not always self-contained. It can refer to images or other PDFs that are not embedded in the PDF itself. Making use of references instead of embedding images and/or graphics can have several advantages in the workflow. The main advantage is that it allows for “late binding” for example an image can be color corrected. After the color correction all PDFs that refer to this image will automatically contain the corrected version of the image without the need to open and rewrite all those PDFs. Working with Normalized PDFs with external referenced can also lead to faster processing especially when the Normalized PDF refers to large amounts of external image data.
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Although referring to external files is a standard PDF feature (for example used in the PDF/X-5), most PDF applications do not support this. To guarantee that a PDF can be processed correctly by
PDF application (like Adobe Acrobat) it has to be made self-contained (embedding all the referred components like images). A self-contained Normalized PDF is 100% PDF compatible.
A Normalized PDF can only contain objects in the final printing color space. This final printing color space can have any number of separations but in most cases this will be CMYK and some spot colors. The PDF object model allows objects to be defined in RGB and CIE based color spaces. This is not possible in Normalized PDF. During normalization such objects are color converted to CMYK.
The fact that Normalized PDF can’t contain objects in RGB or CIE based color spaces its biggest limitation. On the positive side it makes the workflow more predictable. It avoids late and often somewhat hidden color conversions for example in the RIP that can lead to problems in printing.
A Normalized PDF contains XMP metadata. The schema of the XMP data is Esko specific, but the specification is public. The XMP metadata serves 2 purposes. It contains info about the file that can be extracted by 3th party applications and used for example for quality control or asset management.
The XMP metadata are also used by Esko applications like Automation Engine to retrieve information from a PDF in an efficient way (for example the number of separations).
A Normalized PDF contains metadata for specific objects like barcodes. Object level metadata are added to allow modification of those objects using an Esko application. Object level metadata are stored using a proprietary mechanism and format.
The table below lists the Automation Engine tasks...
• that require normalization and will
normalize regular PDFs automatically
Normalized PDF Tasks),
• that do not require normalization and work natively with regular PDFs ( PDF tasks).
Note: The exact list of tasks available on your Automation Engine Server depends on the licenses you have, so some tasks in the list below may not be visible in your Pilot.
Normalized PDF Tasks
Add Ink Eaters
Check Job Parameters
Check Print Rules (PRC)
Convert CMYK Colors
Convert Colors with Equinox
Create Design (DesignWizard)
Create PAF/JPG/XML (LinkEdge)
Create Report (ReportMaker)
Enrich Black
Export to 3D
Export to ArtPro File
PDF Tasks
Adjust PDF Screening
Compare PDF
Create PDF File from RunList
Extract Inks
Optimize PDF Document
Optimize PDF Separations
Preflight with PitStop
Process PDF Spreads
Resize PDF for Output
Resolve OPI
Split Pages
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Normalized PDF Tasks
Export to EPS/DCS File
Export to PDF File
Export to PostScript File
Export to VRML File
FastVariants (all tasks)
Manage Colors
Optimize and Clean (PSFix)
Outline Fonts
PowerTrapper
Prepare Station
RIP (all tasks)
Step & Repeat (all tasks)
Trap (all tasks)
PDF Tasks
Version PDF
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Task
Optimize PDF
Separations
Task Type
PDF task
Description
The task checks whether the Normalized PDF input file contains any external references to images or other
Normalized PDFs:
• if there are external references, the Optimize PDF
Separations task checks if the modifications it is instructed to make will affect the external references. If any of the external references are affected, the task will first make the Normalized PDF input file self-contained
(by embedding all the external references).
• if there are no external references, or if the external references are not affected by the Optimize PDF
Separations task will process the Normalized PDF directly.
The task also updates the XMP document metadata.
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Task
Trap - Prepare
Trap Layer
Task Type
Normalized PDF task
Description
The task traps the Normalized PDF file.
Task
Optimize PDF
Separations
Trap - Prepare
Trap Layer
Task Type
PDF task
Normalized PDF task
Description
The PDF is processed directly, because Optimize PDF
Separations is a PDF task.
The task detects that the input file is a regular PDF document, and automatically normalizes it. After that, the file is trapped and a self-contained Normalized PDF is produced.
The ticket used for Automatic Normalization can be configured using the Configure window in the
Automation Engine Pilot (choose Tools > Configure and navigate to Processing Preferences >
Automatic Normalization ).
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Automation Engine is pre-configured to use the “Normalize PostScript/PDF/Illustrator 8.0 File” ticket called “OnDemand”. From this ticket only the settings in the “Color Management” tab are taken into account. All other settings of the auto normalization are forced to fixed default settings. For example, automatic normalization will always embed all images.
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Depending on your choice in the Output Format list of the Step & Repeat ticket, the format of the resulting document can be:
• PDFPLA
• a self-contained Normalized PDF
• a regular PDF
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When you choose this option, the output of the step and repeat task will be a PDFPLA file. A PDFPLA is a Normalized PDF with external references to the 1-ups. It can be loaded and modified in Plato.
It can be RIP'ed directly by FlexRip. To send it to a non-Esko system, the PDFPLA needs to be exported to a PDF using the Export PDF task.
Note:
PDFPLA output can only be generated if all the inputs are Normalized PDFs. The task will fail if a 1up at the input is not normalized on beforehand.
This format is the recommended output format when the primary purpose of the step and repeat file is to send it to FlexRip.
When you choose this option, the output of the step and repeat task is a self-contained Normalized
PDF. The 1-ups are embedded in the PDF using PDF forms so that the file size remains compact.
The file can not be modified in Plato. It can be RIP'ed directly by the FlexRip. It can also be sent to a non-Esko system.
Normalized PDF inputs will be embedded in the output. PDF inputs will be auto normalized and then embedded in the output.
This format is recommended when further processing is needed on the output, for example by the Optimize PDF Separations task before sending it to FlexRip.
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When you choose this option, the output of the step and repeat task is a PDF. The 1-ups are embedded in the PDF using PDF forms so that the file size remains compact. The file can not be modified in Plato. FlexRip can not RIP this file directly: it will first automatically normalize the step and repeat file. The file can be sent to a non Esko system.
Normalized PDF inputs will be embedded in the output. PDF inputs will be embedded in the PDF
“as is”.
This format is recommended when the primary purpose of the step and repeat file is to send it to a third-party, non-Esko RIP.
It is possible to retain XMP metadata from third party software while processing native and normalized
PDF files in the following tasks (with PDF as input or output):
• Optimize PDF Separations
• Optimize PDF Document
• Adjust PDF Screening
• Resize PDF for Output
• Process PDF Spreads
• Resolve OPI
• Extract Inks
• Prepare Graphics for Nesting
• Preflight with PitStop (changes to XMP metadata are possible through specific PitStop Actions)
• Normalize PDF File
• Normalize PostScript / PDF / Illustrator 8.0 File
• Export to PDF File
• Trap with PowerTrapper
• Prepare Station
• Check Job Parameters
• Convert CMYK Colors
• Convert Colors
• Create PAF / JPG / XML (LinkEdge)
• Enrich Black
• Export to Normalized PDF (Embed All)
• Trap - Prepare and Create Trap Layer
• Outline Fonts
• Check Print Rules (PRC)
• FastVariants - Split (Deprecated)
• FastVariants - Remove White Boxes (Deprecated)
Following tasks can retain XMP data when specific settings are enabled.
• Split Pages: when the option Keep XMP Data is switched on, all XMP metadata is copied to each and every output file.
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• Version PDF: when the "Combine Base with Version Files" action is chosen, only the XMP metadata of the base file is kept.
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You can write Scripts (small programs) to automate the execution of certain tasks during a workflow.
Writing and using such scripts is called scripting. You need the Script Runner application to link scripting with your Automation Engine workflows. You can automate actions from Adobe applications
(e.g. Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign) and third party tools (for example Alwan) using Scripts.
Some of the instances where scripting is useful are given below:
• to ensure file format integrity (standardization) for workflow inputs.
• to use standardized PDF as input during the Preflight process.
• to automate Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign and InDesign Server via ExtendScript on Mac
Os and Windows.
Supported Script Types
• AppleScript (on Mac OS)
• ShellScript (on Mac OS)
• Batch files (on Windows)
• Windows Script (VBScript, JScript) (on Windows)
• ExtendScript (on Mac OS and Windows)
Getting Started with Scripting
on page 114
More info on Scripting in workflows:
The Automation Engine(AE) Script Runner is a standalone AE server component which runs scripts on behalf of AE. You can add customization to your workflow by adding a Run Script task. This task will run on the Automation Engine server while the execution of the script will be done on the
Script Runner application which can be installed on Windows or Macintosh. When you launch the workflow, the following will take place:
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1. The Run Script task sends a request to run the specified script.
2. The Script Runner processes the request accordingly and runs the script.
3. The Script Runner sends the results back to the server.
4. The workflow will continue with the outputs from this task.
Scripting helps you customize some steps in your work flows. You can achieve this by adding a Run
Script task to the work flow where you want customization. The Automation Engine will use Script
Runner to run scripts which are stored either locally or on a server. When you launch the workflow in
Automation Engine, the Script Runner runs the script which contains the main function incorporating the inputs from the Run Script task, output folder and some optional script parameters from the Run
Script ticket. The workflow in Automation Engine continues with the contents of the output folder which contains the outputs from the script. To achieve this, you need to do the following steps :
1. Download Automation Engine Script runner. You can download it via the web access to the
Automation Engine Server.
Client Apps > Tools .
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• On Mac OS, open the ‘dmg’ file after downloading the Script Runner which contains the installer package. Double-click to start the installation.
• On Windows, double-click the downloaded installer to start the installation.
2. Install the Script Runner by following the instructions in the Installshield Wizard/Assistant and make sure it is running in your computer.
• On Windows, open Start > All Programs > Esko > Automation Engine Script Runner >
Preferences .
• On Mac OS, open Applications > Automation Engine Script Runner > Esko > Automation
Engine Script Runner > Script Runner Preferences .
In the Script Runner Preferences window, you can:
• check if the Script Runner is actually running
• start / stop the Script Runner
• enable(disable) Start at login
• view and change the port the Script Runner is communicating with
• view and change the default folders for scripts
3. Configure the Script Runner on your computer. Read more in
Scripts
.
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4. Write and save scripts. You can find sample scripts in the subfolders of /Library/Scripts/Esko on
Mac OS and C:\Esko\bg_data_fastserverscrrunnt_v100\Scripts on Windows.
• You can store the scripts on your computer on a default folder(specific for script type). This is ideal when you are developing and testing a script or when you do not intend to give access to other Script Runners on the network.
Note: The default location : on Mac OS : /Library/Scripts/Esko.
on Windows : C:\Esko\bg_data_fastserverscrrunnt_v100\Scripts.
Automation Engine does not back up these scripts.
• Alternatively, you can store your scripts in the Automation Engine data folder. This option is suitable when you want to make your scripts available to all configured Script Runners.
Note: The default location :
C:\Esko\bg_data_fastserver_v100\Scripts.
Automation Engine backs up these scripts.
5. Run the Script using Run Script task in a workflow. Read more about this in
Run Script
.
Note: Refer to the Reference Guide for more on Scripting
Note:
Sample scripts are solely intended to demonstrate techniques for accomplishing common tasks.
Additional script logic and error-handling may need to be added to achieve the desired results in your specific environment.
It is up to the user to verify that his intended use of the offered automation functionality is compliant with any third party license agreement and/or other restrictions applicable to any non-Esko products.
Please read
Getting Started with Scripting
on page 114 before conducting the steps below.
In this example, we are demonstrating a script which will perform a Photoshop action and produce a JPEG output. The script 'EskoPSDoActionAndSaveasJPG.jsx' is available from the sample scripts subfolder (ExtendScript) in /Library/Scripts/Esko on Mac or C:\Esko
\bg_data_fastserverscrrunnt_v100\Scripts on Windows.
1. You have to save the Set and Action in Photoshop . In this example we are using Default Actions as
Set and Molten Lead as Action.
2. You can open the script with ExtendScript Toolkit to edit the script if required. However, in this sample, we do not need to edit the script.
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3. Edit the settings of the Run Script task as follows: a) Run on: is the name of the computer where your Automation Engine ScriptRunner is installed. The name in this example is
ShaletMac. You can read more about configuring and naming Script Runner in
Scripts
b) Script Type: choose
ExtendScript.
c) Script File: choose
EskoPSDoActionAndSaveasJPG.jsx.
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Molten Lead; Default Actions e) Save the task.
4. Launch the task: a) Select the Photoshop file.
b) Right-click the file and browse for the ticket.
c) Click
Launch.
You will see that while the script starts to run on the Automation Engine Server, PhotoShop opens, performs the actions, closes and continues the script. The result of this sample script is finally an adjusted jpeg.
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Note: Working with Workflows is documented in this dedicated chapter
Workflows
.
You can build workflows from zero or by using custom tickets and you create nested workflows.
You can use
SmartNames
to use predefined values. You can also choose to have the prepress manager build workflows that daily users will use, or let the daily users build workflows on the fly while processing files. See
Workflows
.
The following steps will help you build this example workflow:
The
Preflight via External Application step allows you to preflight a PDF file by integrating external
(non- Automation Engine) preflight software into Automation Engine.
Attention: To define the preflight settings for Automation Engine go to Tools > Configure and select
Preflight Tools
1. From Start connect to the Preflight via External Application workflow step.
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2. Double-click on the workflow step to edit its parameters. For more information go to
Preflight via
External Application
.
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When Preflighting in a workflow, the Preflight via External Application workflow step has four output pins:
Note:
•
Preflight OK: your files will go through this pin if the preflight gave an OK status.
• Preflight with Warnings: your files will go through this pin if the preflight gave a warning.
•
Preflight with Errors: your files will go through this pin if the preflight gave an error.
• Error: your files will go through this pin in case of a processing error unrelated to the preflight status.
3. Connect each pin to the appropriate workflow step (for example, files which are “OK” or “Warning” can be normalized depending on your preflight setup, while files with “Error” need to be checked by an operator).
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Use the
Wait for Action (Checkpoint) task to make your workflow stop at certain predefined points so that you have time to check and possibly correct something. See
Wait for Action
.
This Workflow is built so that you can route files based on your expertise. You will get a notification
(
To Do List
), when the Preflight detects an error. The processing will be paused until you decide whether to approve the file or not, based on the preflight error report.
1. Add the Wait for Action (Checkpoint) step to your workflow.
2. Double-click the step to open its settings.
3. Create the notification that will be sent: a) choose which user you want to send it to, b) enter a
Subject, c) add a
Message if desired.
4. Choose a Due date. Either:
• choose one of the predefined due dates (from
Immediate to Next Sunday),
• choose Other... in the Due date list and pick the due date yourself.
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5. In Output states, define the output possibilities you want for your checkpoint.
By default, this step has two outputs: Completed and Aborted.
To add an output: a) click
Add, b) enter the output’s name.
Add as many outputs as you like.
6. If necessary, use the Move Up and Move Down buttons to display your outputs in a different order.
Note: You can Remove the default outputs if you don’t need them.
7. Click OK to apply your settings.
Tip: After connecting the Output states you can:
• Add an extra Output state to the checkpoint and connect it to the“Preflight via External
Application”step, to preflight your file again.
•
the file from the Task pane or directly in the canvas. Right click and choose Relaunch
This task copies or moves the input file or the marked files to a new location. To mark a file, please insert the
file task in your workflow chain. If you don't want to evaluate an existing file, select
Automation Engine
13 the "Fail" task when the file that is to be copied or moved already exists in the output folder. See
Copy Move File
The Normalize PostScript / PDF / Illustrator 8.0 File generates a Normalized PDF file based on the preflighted file. See
Normalize PostScript / PDF / Illustrator 8.0 File
•
Transparencies and Layers check the box to import PDF files as in Scope 3 (and lower). All transparencies and layers will be flattened. If not checked, a normalized PDF file will be created that contains all typical PDF features (like transparencies and layers).
Workflow overview
Note: This example still used the older trapping technology that pre-dated the more recent task
Trap with PowerTrapper.
The trapping process is a safeguard against possible (even likely) fluctuations in the printing process.
Minor discrepancies in registration, slight paper shifting can cause inks to mis-register. See
What is Trapping?
There are three different Trap tasks;
Trap – Create Trap Layer
: This task traps the input file according to the settings specified in the Trap
Color Pairs file associated with the input file. The output of this task is a trapped Normalized PDF file.
This task contains only the output options of the Trap task. All other trapping parameters are stored in the TCP file located in the same folder as the input file.
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Trap – Prepare and Create Trap Layer
: this step selects candidate trap color pairs and executes the trapping. The trapping areas are added in a separate layer on top of the original job.
Trap – Prepare Trap Pairs
: This scans through the job and suggests a list of candidate trap color pairs.
Export your Normalized PDF to generic PDF for storage or approval. See
Export to PDF File
Tip:
• To define the name and location of the output file that will be generated, use SmartNames.
• You can send the output file via mail.
• You can use PDF as SoftProof.
Workflow Overview
The Prepare for Viewer task prepares view data for the Automation Engine Viewer. This view data will help the Viewer to quickly open the file (the Viewer will use the prepared View Data instead of asking the server to make or stream it). See
Prepare for Viewer.
Choose a decision maker with experience to approve the trapped file. See
Wait for Action
. The
Automation Engine Viewer is a powerful integrated Viewer and QA tool. The Automation Engine
Viewer offers:
• Reliability: Showing the data in a correct way. At best in the same way the RIP/ Proofer will see them.
• Detail: Unlimited zoom, high detail measuring, measuring traps and exact distances (die objects).
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• Speed: Opening files swiftly, even when it concerns large files. Fast zooming.
• See
Automation Engine Viewer.
Workflow Overview
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Tip: You could add an extra Output state, ”Send to Proof” to the checkpoint, connecting to
Proof(FlexProof)
to print HardProof.
Use this to tag files that you will need to select later in the workflow (with the Select workflow control). The file will be tagged as "Label" and after approved in Hold for Viewing, the Select will pickup the original file.
• Give the tag a name.
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Use this ticket to select files that you have tagged earlier in the workflow (with the Mark workflow control).
• Enter the tag of the file.
For an example see
Mark and Select.
This Workflow Step executes all Step and Repeat parameters (number of one-ups vertically and horizontally, gap between one-ups, alignment, SmartMarks...) after which the server will output the sheet layout. The ticket's input fields also accept SQL queries, so that information stored in a database can be used to drive the sheet layout creation. See
Step & Repeat Tabular.
Workflow Overview
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The
ReportMaker
task is used to automate the creation of design print cards (in French: fiche technique, in German: Drueck Karten).
The idea is that you generate reports containing all kind of information: file name, used inks, name of the operator, an image of the file. All this information is defined in a report template, then this template is used to generate a specific report. For more information about templates, see
ReportMaker
Templates
.
Note: You need PackEdge 3.0 or higher to make a ReportMaker template.
Export to PDF
makes it possible to specify different settings, for example PDF version, Color
Management…
Tip: You can define the File Name and the, Output location, of the report file that will be generated, by using SmartNames.
Upload via FTP is an administration task which allows you to send files to a server. You need an FTP account on that server. For details or how to connect to an FTP server, see
Upload via FTP
.
Tip: To interact with customers you can also use steps like Publish on Web and Create WebCenter
Project.
Workflow Overview
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Shuttle is a small stand-alone application that enables you to submit files to Automation Engine tasks or workflows, and monitor their progress. You can use Shuttle to connect to several servers. The
Shuttle functionality is also integrated in ArtPro, Neo, PackEdge, Plato, FastImpose and in Adobe
Illustrator as a DeskPack plug-in. You can download Shuttle from Esko's Download Center (
https:// mysoftware.esko.com/
). For more information about Shuttle see the
Shuttle User Guide.
To use Shuttle and submit files to your Automation Engine workflow, you need to set up your server, your Shuttle client, and make sure they can exchange files via a shared folder.
Automation Engine’s Configure tool. See Automation Engine Setup for Shuttle, Automation
Engine User Guide.
Set up your Shuttle client in the applications you use. See Shuttle Clients Setup, Automation
Engine User Guide.
You also need to make sure that the relevant servers shared folders are mounted on the Shuttle clients machines, with the appropriate Read and Write permissions. For Automation Engine, the
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See Automation Engine Setup for Shuttle, Automation Engine User Guide.
Learn more about Public Parameters in
Using Public Parameters in Workflows
.
With Shuttle, you can submit files to any Automation Engine task, task chain or workflow that has a custom ticket. To do this, you need to make the ticket public. You can either:
• Select the
Public option when creating the ticket.
• In the
Ticket view, right-click your ticket and select Public Ticket.
Note: Public Tickets have a mark in the Public column.
Public Parameters are ticket parameters that users can define when they launch tasks using Shuttle
(applications).
For each public parameter, you can either:
• enter a list of predefined values that the user needs to choose from,
• let the user enter a value himself.
Attention: You need to define which parameters are public before files are submitted to your workflow.
In the ticket containing the parameter to make public:
1. Right-click the parameter and select Make Parameter Public.
2. Right-click it again and select Modify Public Parameter...
3. In the Modify Public Parameter dialog that opens: a) If necessary, change the way the parameter will be called in Shuttle in Prompt as.
b) Choose either:
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• Allow the user to set the value if you want Shuttle users to be able to freely enter a value for that parameter.
• Let the user select a predefined value if you want Shuttle users to choose from a list of values that you define.
If that parameter already has a list of values to choose from in the Ticket, they will be displayed here. You can Add or Remove values.
Note: Shuttle operators will see (and choose from) the Predefined Settings but not the associated Values.
c) If you have chosen
Let the user select a predefined value: in Default Predefined Setting, choose the setting that will be selected by default when submitting files from Shuttle (if the operator doesn’t select another setting, this one will be used for processing).
4. Don’t forget to save your ticket.
This is how your public parameter will look to Shuttle operators:
If you chose
Allow the user to set the value
If you chose
Let the user select a predefined value
Once you have made parameters public in your ticket, you can have an overview of your public parameters and edit them at the ticket level.
1. In your ticket, go to Advanced > Manage Public Parameters...
The
Manage Public Parameters dialog that opens contains all of your ticket’s public parameters.
The left pane shows all parameters that can be made public for that ticket (the ones you have made public are greyed out).
The right pane shows the parameters you have made public, with their settings (predefined values, etc.).
2. You can:
• drag parameters from left to right to make them public;
• click a public parameter’s cross if you don’t want it to be public anymore;
• rearrange the order of your public parameters (drag them up or down);
• change public parameters’ settings ( Prompt as, Predefined Settings, etc.);
• group public parameters under a header (click
Add Group, click to edit the header, and drag parameters from the left);
You can use presets to minimize the amount of public parameters your operators have to choose from, and make it simpler for them.
For example, you want operators to use different trapping settings for printing with offset or dry offset. You can define those trapping settings in a preset, so that operators will only have to choose between offset and dry offset.
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In the Manage Public Parameters dialog:
1. Click the Add Preset button.
2. Enter what your operators will see: a) in Prompt as, enter the name to give the preset parameter in Shuttle, b) enter the values that operators will choose from (replacing
Type a value here).
Click
Add if you need to add extra values.
3. Drag parameters from the dialog’s left pane into the preset.
You can drag as many parameters as you want. They will appear under each value (here both under
Offset and Dry Offset).
4. Define the parameters values for each preset value.
For example, define normal trapping, 50% opacity and object dependant end caps for Offset, and reverse trapping, 100% opacity and round end caps for Dry Offset.
5. Don’t forget to save your ticket.
This is how your preset will look to Shuttle operators:
When choosing which parameters to make public you can keep have in mind end production, different customers, workflow capability etc. Define the parameters so that you can change the production file without having to change the workflow ticket.
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1. To assign a Job ID and / or Job Part ID to the files to process in your workflow, go to Window
> Context and fill in the Job ID and / or Job Part ID.
Do this when:
• you want to add your file(s) to an Automation Engine job,
Note: If the file you are launching is already located in an Automation Engine job, it will automatically be processed within that job’s context (you don’t need to enter the Job ID).
2. Open the Launch window using:
• File > New Launch Window... ,
• Option + Command + N (Mac) or Alt + Control + N (Windows).
3. Select the Workflow you want to launch on your file.
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• For Automation Engine workflows, you will see public tickets.
Note:
You can open several Launch windows, and select a different workflow in each.
If you quit and restart Shuttle, your Launch windows will be remembered.
4. Launch your file in one of the following ways:
• Drag and drop your file on the Drop Files Here arrow.
• Click the Launch... button and browse to the file you want to launch.
• Go to File > Launch... and browse to the file you want to launch.
• Use
Command + S (Mac).
5. If your workflow has public parameters, you will see a pop-up where you can fill them in.
Note:
For more information on public parameters, see:
•
on page 58,
Attention: You must save your file on an Automation Engine Container before you can launch it into a workflow from PackEdge.
1. Go to File > Launch Workflow...
This opens the Launch Workflow window.
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2. Select the workflow you want to launch on your file in the workflow list.
3. If your workflow has public parameters, you can fill them in in the same window.
Note: For more information on public parameters, see
on page 58.
4. Click Launch to launch the workflow on your file.
Tip:
To access Shuttle easily in the future (without using the menus):
1. Go to Window > Toolbars > Shuttle to open the Shuttle palette.
2. Drag it into your application’s toolbar.
3. Click to open the Launch Workflow window, or to open the Shuttle window.
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Client/server workflow software
Runs on Mac and Windows
Connects to graphical editing software
Connects to RIP software
Processes files using tasks or workflows
Automation Engine is a client/server workflow software that runs on Mac and Windows. It can connect to graphical editing software, RIP software, file servers, business systems, and other Esko workflow software.
Automation Engine can help you streamline your workflow, avoid errors, process files faster, and free up your operators to focus on value-adding tasks.
Automation Engine processes your files using single tasks or workflows. Tasks are individual actions, such as trapping or ripping a file. Workflows are a series of tasks that can take complete care of a file from arrival to final output.
To get started with Automation Engine, you will need to install the server software and the Pilot client application. The Pilot can be installed on any Mac or Windows machine on your local network.
Some of the key features of Automation Engine include the ability to connect to graphical editing software, RIP software, file servers, business systems, and other Esko workflow software. It also supports industry standards such as PDF, XML, XMP, SQL queries, Web Services, and JDF.
What do HTTPS settings typically involve in systems like Automation Engine?
In systems like Automation Engine, HTTPS settings typically involve securing communication between clients and the server using SSL/TLS protocols, configuring certificates, and ensuring secure data transmission over the network.
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