Knowledge Base - Smart Flows
Knowledge Base - Smart Flows
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PrintNode Connector

Overview

The PrintNode connector connects Smart Flows to a PrintNode account, so that the printers of that account become available in Smart Flows.

PrintNode is a third-party cloud printing service. A client application installed on a computer in your network registers the printers that this computer can reach, and Smart Flows sends print jobs to them over the PrintNode API.

A PrintNode account is required. Experlogix supports the connector, but not the usage or the configuration of PrintNode itself.

Permissions

Connectors are available to administrators only.

Before You Start

Do the following in PrintNode:

  1. Create a PrintNode account.

  2. Install the PrintNode client on a computer that can reach your printers, and sign in with your account.

  3. Check that your printers appear in your PrintNode account.

  4. Generate an API key at API keys and copy it.

See the PrintNode documentation for more details.

Creating the PrintNode Connector

To create a new PrintNode connector:

  1. Open Control panel > Connectors.

  2. Select Add.

  3. Select PrintNode as the connector type, give the connector a name, and continue.

  4. Paste your API key (see Before You Start) into the API key field.
    The step also offers a PrintNode admin link to the page in your PrintNode account where you generate the key.

  5. Continue. Smart Flows contacts PrintNode and reads the account behind the key.

  6. Review the account that Smart Flows connected to, and select Finish.

Field

Description

Account

The PrintNode account ID

Account owner

The name of the account owner

Account email

The email address of the account owner

These fields are read-only. Use them to confirm that you connected to the account you intended to. If they are not what you expect, go back and check the API key.

The API key is stored encrypted. There is no server address to configure, because the connector always connects to the PrintNode service itself.

Testing the PrintNode Connection

To test the connector:

  1. Open Control panel > Connectors.

  2. Select the connector.

  3. Select Test.

On success, Smart Flows reports “Successfully connected With PrintNode”, followed by the version, and lists the account ID, owner, and email.

A successful test only proves that Smart Flows can reach your PrintNode account. To test an actual printer, use Print test page on the printer. See Printers.

Managing the PrintNode Connector

To manage your PrintNode Connector:

  1. Open Control panel > Connectors.

  2. Select the connector, and use one of the available actions:

Action

What it does

When to use it

Edit

Opens the connector, where you can change its name and description, and view its dependencies.

To rename the connector or to see which items depend on it.

Configure

Reopens the setup, starting at the API key step.

To replace the API key, or to point the connector at a different PrintNode account.

Test

Checks the connection.

After changing the API key, or when printers stop appearing.

Clear cache

Discards the printer information that Smart Flows has cached and retrieves it again from PrintNode.

When a printer you added or removed in PrintNode is not reflected in Smart Flows.

Delete

Removes the connector.

Deleting the connector removes access to all printers of that account.

Replacing the PrintNode API Key

An API key that is revoked in PrintNode stops working immediately, and Smart Flows can no longer reach the account.
To replace the PrintNode API key:

  1. Generate a new key at API keys, in PrintNode.

  2. In Smart Flows, go to Control Panel > Connectors.

  3. Select the connector and select Configure.

  4. Paste the new key into the API key field and complete the setup.

  5. Select Test to confirm.

You do not have to re-add your printers. They keep working, as long as the new key belongs to the same PrintNode account.

Note: If you point the connector at a different account, the printers of the old account are no longer reachable. Any Smart Flows printer based on them stops working, and a flow using one fails with “Printer with ID ... could not be located through the configured PrintNode account”.

Deleting the PrintNode Connector

To delete the connector:

  1. Open Control panel > Connectors.

  2. Select the connector.

  3. Select Delete and confirm.

Deleting the connector removes access to all printers of that account. Check the Dependencies tab of the connector first: deleting a connector also deletes the items that depend on it, and Smart Flows warns you when there are any.

Using More Than One Connector

A project can have several PrintNode connectors, for example one per account or one per site. Smart Flows combines the printers of all of them into a single Available printers list when you add a printer.

What a PrintNode Printer Supports

A printer supplied by this connector has the flavor PrintNode, which limits what Smart Flows can control. The document is always converted to PDF before it is sent.

Setting

Applies

Number of copies

Yes.

Document to print on the back side

Yes. Smart Flows merges the backside document into the PDF before sending it.

Job name

No. The job is submitted under the name of the document.

Page range

No. The whole document is sent.

Print options (duplexing, paper source, paper size, chromacity, collate, orientation)

No. The Print options tab is not shown for a PrintNode printer.

To control double-sided printing or paper trays, set them as the defaults of the physical printer, in PrintNode or on the device itself.

Troubleshooting

Situation

Cause and solution

Setup or test reports “PrinterNode API responded with unauthorized access. Please verify connector's API key and test connection”.

The API key is wrong or revoked. Generate a new key and use Configure to update the connector.

The test reports “Account not found”.

The key does not resolve to a PrintNode account. Check the key in your PrintNode account.

“Failed to load the printer definitions. Please check your printer connector or the connected printer(s)”.

Smart Flows could not retrieve the printers. Test the connector. If it is fine, check that the PrintNode client is running and the computer hosting the printers is online.

A printer is missing from Available printers.

The printer is not registered in PrintNode, or its computer is offline. If you just added it in PrintNode, use Clear cache on the connector.

A flow fails with “Printer with ID ... could not be located through the configured PrintNode account”.

The printer was removed from PrintNode, or the connector now points at a different account.

A flow fails to print, but the connector tests fine.

The problem is the printer, not the connection. Confirm with Print test page on the printer.

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