Alfresco Virtual SkyPrinter (Print directly to Alfresco as PDF, TIFF, XML) via sFTP, CMIS and WebDAV

What is Alfresco Virtual SkyPrinter?

The Alfresco Virtual SkyPrinter addon is essentially a ghost printer that sends documents from any device directly to your Alfresco document management system (DMS) within seconds. It creates a digital file of your choosing and then deposits it into the Document Library without requiring a live system connection. Think of it as a direct upload module. Alfresco Virtual SkyPrinter avoids connectivity issues and bypasses logins and portals to give you speed and reliability.

Why is Alfresco Virtual SkyPrinter so important?

• Fast – no syncing and no lag time means you avoid work stoppage
• Reliable –no login, no portal, no live system connection required whatsoever
• Secure – encrypts data as it sends
• No lost time – system glitches can’t jeopardize business-critical actions
• Dynamic – plenty of file configuration and format options, just like a real office printer
• Avoid data loss– “print” to upload critical documents in a hurry

The Benefits of Alfresco Virtual SkyPrinter

The Alfresco Virtual SkyPrinter addon is designed to offer reliable digital printing capabilities to get documents from a desktop, tablet, or mobile device into the Alfresco Document Library at record speed. Connectivity issues and company-wide system glitches can affect traditional upload methods. Logging in from an office computer or using a secure portal is crucial for employees and remote workers to access and share work documents. Dropbox-style file syncing can take too long when you are running out the door, especially large batches of 1,000+ documents. With Alfresco Virtual SkyPrinter you can be sure all your files have made it into the system. Finally, SkyPrinter does all this while encrypting the data as it sends. Document emergencies don’t need to result in careless security breaches.  In urgent situations when immediate access is important, the Alfresco Virtual SkyPrinter is a lifesaver.

How Does It Work?

The Alfresco Virtual SkyPrinter addon is essentially a ghost printer. It appears in your network of printing devices but only produces digital documents instead of paper printouts. Before implementing, system administrators install the SkyPrinter application. The system recognizes it as a new network printing option so all staff in the network can use it.

On the back end, your system administrator sets up where “printed” digital documents will be deposited into the Alfresco Document Library. It can be configured by user, by department, by location, and more.

To print to the Alfresco Document Library, users with access to the network printers can select the Alfresco Virtual SkyPrinter for any document they choose. Just like any regular printer, users have multiple options for configuring a print job such as number of pages, size, collation, colors, quality, and filetype. Beyond regular print options, SkyPrinter can also configure Document Library-specific issues from the printing properties menu. These include building title names, token of specific properties, author name, PDF parameters, and more from metadata or file properties specific to the document in question. There are further post-print actions such as syncing the print job with a CMIS client so that it appears in your company’s non-Alfresco server or cloud. To understand how SkyPrinter works alongside the Alfresco Web-Based HTML5 Client developed by Skytizens, read more at Alfresco SkyFinder.

To use Alfresco Virtual SkyPrinter, there is no need to open a web browser, log into Alfresco, log into a cloud system, or use a web-based portal of any kind. If the internet is down, SkyPrinter holds the document in queue until your internet connection is back up to send.  SkyPrinter also encrypts print jobs so that your company data stays safe. Think of it as a secure, direct link to Alfresco without worrying about system connectivity issues.

When a coworker or business partner is waiting to receive an urgent file, Alfresco Virtual SkyPrinter is the most reliable and secure way to send it within seconds.

Main Features

Administrative Controls – Admin controls setup and configuration of SkyPrinter within your company system.

Application Support – All applications with a Print function.

Device Support – All desktops, laptops, tablets, and mobile devices.

Document Print – Upload to Alfresco Document Library.

Send as Mail – Print to email queue using Alfresco mail client.

Network Print – SkyPrinter can be configured as a shared printer with company-wide access. Restrictions can be managed from within Alfresco or from the network administration side.

Batch Print – Print 1,000+ pages at once.

Profile – Save commonly used print configurations.

Add Token –

1. PrintJobAuthor

Print Configuration – Digital configuration options similar to paper printers.

1. Document – Properties of print job
   • Title – with Preview
   • Author – with Preview
   • Save
   • Stamp – Add stamp text on top of all pages
     • Text
     • Font
     • Font Color
     • Show Font as outline – outline width

2. Actions – Tick one or more box(es)
   • Add background (only for PDF)
   • Add cover
   • Add attachment
   • Print document
   • Open e-mail client
   • Send e-mail over 5MTP
   • Run script
   • Upload with FTP
   • Automatically upload to FTP
   • Automatically upload to WebDAV
   • Automatically upload to CMIS
   • Save XML
   • Address
   • Directory – Choose Alfresco path (Shared, Imp Attachments, Guest Home, User Homes, Sites, Data Dictionary, IMAP Home, etc.)
   • Add Token
   • Preview
   • Don’t Overwrite files
   • Username
   • Set Password – Upload XML, Upload images with XML, Upload fonts with XML, Compress XML, Upload PDF
3. Image Formats
4. PDF
   • Page Orientation
   • Color Model
   • Viewer Settings – Open PDF viewer after complete, Page View, Document View
5. Number of Pages
6. Size
7. Collation
8. Colors
9. Quality
10. Filetype – output format w option for default
    • PDF – including specific PDF parameters
    • PDF/A-1b
    • PDF/A-2b
    • PDF/X
    • JPEG
    • PNG
    • TIF
    • TXT
    • XML

Special Configurations – specific to Alfresco Virtual SkyPrinter

1. Token – Build tokens from file properties.

• Author
• ClientComputer
• ComputerName
• Counter
• DateTime
• DateTime(yyyyMMddHHmmss)
• Environment
• Environment:UserName
• InputFIlename
• JobID
• NumberofCopies
• NumberofPages
• PrinterName
• Author
• File name
• Save

2. Build from properties
   • Build title
   • Build name
3. Post-print actions
   • CMIS sync
   • Auto-sort – setup dynamic sort based on user, recipient folder, etc.

Permissions Control – Access to this addon is managed by Alfresco User Access Control.

Conclusions

Upload single or batch documents to Alfresco in seconds from your device’s printer settings. No need to waste time on portals, logins, or syncing. One click and your file is in the system.

The Alfresco Virtual SkyPrinter addon was developed by Skytizens to eliminate system connectivity issues and create the fastest, most secure upload method yet. This digital print module sends documents from any device directly into the Alfresco Document Library within seconds. Rest easy knowing your file is in the system, whether you have time to wait for confirmation or not.