cab Network Manager

Table of Contents

  1. General
  2. Add printer
  3. Adding a single printer
  4. Network search
  5. Removing a printer
  6. Managing printer groups
  7. Retrieving printer information
  8. Printer interaction
  9. Export overview table
  10. Export Orbiter
  11. Lock program
  12. Saving printer information


General

General information and a first introduction to cab Network Manager. Please read our introduction first.

You have to update the printer overview manually by pressing the F5-Key or going to the menu bar /Device/Update view. All information will be displayed in the language the printer is set up.

The overview shows the main content of the application windows. In the main window you see all registered printers. To get more information about a printer go to menu bar /Device. In the Device menu you might call status, fonts and device list. Each are shown in their own windows. To update a window's content you may click the "Update" button. To close a dialogue to go on, press "OK". Error information of prints can be found at the status dialogue.

To access a selected printer's status dialogue you can also use the pop-up menu, which appears when clicking the right mouse key. To configure a printer and its Email Alert refer to Setup and E-mail Alert. To update a printer's firmware and administrate it's CompactFlash card refer to CompactFlash tool.


Add printer

You can add a printer to the overview list in two different ways. One way is to add a single printer. The other way is starting a network search.


Adding a single printer

To add a single printer go to the menu bar /Device/New. A dialogue, see Picture 1, will be displayed to enter the printer's IP address. Press "Cancel" to abort the action, press "Add" to add the printer. After passing "Add" cab Network Manager will release the printer in the network. If it cannot be found a message will be shown whether you want to add it anyway. When the printer is added its symbolic name, type etc. will be shown.

Other possibilities to add a single printer are to use the "New" button (Toolbar button to add a new printer ...) in the toolbar or you could access this dialogue with the pop-up menu from your overview list.

Adding a single ...

Picture 1: Dialogue to add a single printer


Network search

To start a network search for cab printers go to menu bar /Device/Find. A dialogue (Picture 2) will be displayed to enter the IP address range to search. The basic IP address for the subnet has to be entered in the program's preferences. Press "Cancel" to abort this action. Press "Find" to start.

The progress is visualised in the progress bar. The number of cab printers, which are found will be shown above the progress bar (the first number is number of new printers, the second number is the total number of cab printers). To stop the search, press "Cancel", "OK" button will be disabled during the search.

By pressing "Cancel" no printer will be added.

Network Search ...

Picture 2: Network search dialogue

After the search is done the dialogue will display a table of the printers found with their type and IP address (Picture 3). Now you can add all printers you want by selecting its OK check box. These printers are then added to the overview table.

Other possibilities to start a network search are to use the "Find" button (Toolbar button - Network search ...) in the toolbar or you could access the dialogue with the pop-up menu from your overview list.

Results of the network search ...

Picture 3: Network search dialogue - Results


Predefined address ranges

Predefined network address ranges can be used to narrow a search down. By selecting a range in the list-box, in the network search dialogue, the start and end IP address will be overtaken from its definition. A range is defined by a unique name, a start and end IP. To add, remove or change range press "Edit". The appearing dialogue, picture 4, is divided into three parts. The upper right side locates button where ranges can be added, removed, renamed or changed. The listing in the upper left corner displays all available ranges. In the lower part of the dialogue the internals of a ranges are being shown. A range consists of a name, a start and an end IP address. The name of a range has to be unique.

To set up a new range fill out its internal information. An already existing range can be used as a template by selecting it in the list. If a ranges needs to be deleted select it in the listing and press "Remove". To change a ranges name select it in the list and change its name text field. Then press "Rename".

Changing the IP setting, start or end address, of a range can be achieved by renaming or adding a range with the same. The range name stays constant. When the name of a selected range changes, the range only its name will be changed, but the start and end will stay the same as of the selected range.

Results of the network search ...

Picture 4: Predefined network search ranges

The address range named "---" is a default address range which cannot really removed or renamed. It covers the covers the entire address range specified in the network preferences.


Removing a printer

To remove a printer from your overview table select a printer and go to menu bar /Device/Remove or use the pop-up menu. A printer can only be removed if it is selected. Otherwise this feature is disabled in the menu.

With "Remove printer" you can delete your selected printer; this feature is also available in a selected printer's pop-up menu. "Remove selected ..." will remove all selected printer which were highlighted. "Removing all" will remove every printer in the list.


Managing printer groups

Printers can also grouped together into printer groups. The navigation tree on the left hand side displays the printer group. Printer groups can be expanded or collapsed by doppel clicking on it. This is also possibile by using the printer groups popup menu. A printer in the overview table can be selected by doppel clicking on the according printer in the navigation tree. A new printer group can be created by using a groups popup menu.

Moving a printer from on group to an other drag and drop is used by moving it to an other group. A selected printer in the overview table can also be used for grouping, too. A printer can also be move to an other printer group by selecting a printer group in the printers popup menu.


Retrieving printer information

The Device menu offers three special items to retrieve information about a printer:

A list right be opened in the background, several printers right be selected at once. To update a panel press its "Update" button. All reports right be printed on a local printer.

Printer Information Dialogue ...

Picture 5: Printer information dialogue

!Warning! Note: To view a printers display press the "Display" button in its status dialogue. The update interval for the display can be adjusted by moving the control slider below the display image. See the printer display dialogue. The base time for the update interval is in seconds. !Warning!

Export Overview

Picture 6: Printer display dialogue; Update interval is measured in seconds


Printer interaction

Beside gathering information about a printer it is possible to interact with it. cab Network Manager helps you with

via the network interface.

To reset or print a self-test go to the Device menu. You could find the items in the lower part of that menu. Selection of several printers is also supported.

!Warning! Note: For security reasons the use of this service is protected by pin verification. !Warning!


Export overview table

Export overview copies your printer list into a csv (comma separate value) file format.

In the export dialogue you can select the data fields you need and a separator of your choice between a comma, semicolon or tabulator, which are the common separator for this file format (see Picture 6). With the "Select" button you can choose a preferred folder and name for your file. Otherwise you will save it to a file named "overview.csv" in your cab Network Manager home directory. The file extension will be automatically set so you do not have to take care about this.

Export Overview

Picture 7: Export overview table


Export Orbiter

"Export Orbiter" supports you to setup cab Orbiter with printers. A dialogue offers you to exports only in the synoptical table selected printers or all printers - see Picture 7.

Export Orbiter dialogue ...

Picture 8: Export Orbiter dialogue

To export the printer press "Export". The generated file, "orbiter.ini", may be transferred into the same folder of the cab Orbiter application. After a restart of cab Orbiter the exported printer will be used.

!Warning! Note: Do not change the file otherwise cab Orbiter would not recognise it. !Warning!


Lock program

Using this feature will lock your account and the tool. To log in you have to enter your account password. If a login failed it will show you the number of tries until you have entered the correct password.


Saving printer information

After exiting cab Network Manager all information about displayed printers will be lost ... To reuse them you could save the information to file. If you want to do this go to menu bar /Device/Save_.ini.