Selah Tech Notes Support Center

Selah Solutions has listed a wide variety of tech notes to better support you.

Macintosh Pop-Ups for OS X Tiger MORE

Tech Note License Key Install Guide MORE

Pharos and Windows XP SP2 MORE

Tech Note Why Upgrade XP with SP2? MORE

How To Secure Pharos Release Station MORE

Which print driver should I use PCL or PS? MORE

Deep Freeze Tech Note MORE

Migrating to New Hardware MORE

Pharos and Windows Server 2003 SP1 MORE

General Information

This document outlines methods and policies for backing up Pharos components to minimize the risk of losing important data, as well as providing redundancy solutions for selected components.

With a licensed copy of Seagate Crystal Reports, it is possible to create new custom reports for Pharos. This paper documents the interfaces to the Pharos Database that allow this and suggests how clients may use them to generate their own custom reports.

Pharos products offer a range of optional gateways. This document defines the role and basic operation of Pharos gateways.

Pharos products use gateways to interact with online billing systems. This document describes the steps necessary to install and configure billing gateways.

Pharos products use gateways to interact with online authentication systems. This document describes the steps necessary to install and configure authentication gateways.

A Pharos Logon Plug-in is used to authenticate users against an online authentication system. A script can be used to add users who exist in the online system to the Pharos Database dynamically as they log on to Pharos for the first time.

Pharos does not fully support installation on Microsoft Cluster Server. However, Pharos services can be manually installed and made to function correctly on a cluster server. This document provides procedures for Pharos support of Microsoft Cluster Services.

For the most part, Pharos products have a negligible effect on network traffic, although certain events may cause a greater load. This document provides estimates for the impact on network traffic caused by the operation of the various Pharos products.

The Pharos Logon and Billing Portal consists of two 32-bit Windows NT DLLs. One allows for authentication of users, while the other is used to obtain the balance of user accounts and to credit them.

The increased security measures of Windows 2003 cause problems in certain components of the Pharos system. Workarounds are available for the problems that arise with those versions of Pharos that were available at the time of Windows 2003's release.

The Pharos Database runs on Microsoft SQL Server. Licenses are required to use SQL Server, and the number of licenses required depends on the configuration and size of your organization. This document contains information on licensing SQL Server for Pharos.

This document describes how to configure the Pharos Station to automatically start following a Windows logon, and to log the user on to the Pharos Station using the Windows logon details already supplied.

Pharos Station machines must be secured against user interference, be it deliberate or unintentional. A number of steps may be taken to ensure that Pharos Station hardware and software are as secure as possible.

Pharos products use TCP/IP for all client/server communications. This document lists the ports that the various Pharos components use by default, and discusses issues that arise when Pharos components attempt to communicate through firewalls using these ports.

Pharos software can be installed and run in an environment that makes use of Windows 2000 Terminal Services. Certain recommendations and limitations must be taken into consideration when implementing Pharos on a system that uses Terminal Services, however.

Uniprint Information

The Popup Client interface can be customized by supplying a "mapping file", which contains information on how the client should group and display different questions. This document details how to create and edit a mapping file.

Pharos Uniprint detects the attributes of all jobs printed through it, including color. Because color jobs can be detected separately from black and white jobs, it is possible to set up the Uniprint system to charge separate costs for color and black and white printing.

The BootP packet sent out by Virtual Cash devices must be received by a Pharos Print Server for the devices to work in a Pharos system. Network issues can make this difficult, but a number of solutions are available.

While the Pharos Uniprint software runs only on Windows platforms, print jobs sent from other platforms such as UNIX, Novell or Macintosh can be sent to the Uniprint system to be controlled and costed. This is achieved by using TCP/IP printing, which requires the use of an LPD Server.

While the Pharos Uniprint software runs only on Windows platforms, print jobs sent from Macintosh clients can be sent to the Uniprint system to be controlled and costed by a number of different methods.

As of Pharos 5.4, configuration information for PS20 Network Terminals is stored in the Pharos Database, and edited with Pharos Administrator. It is possible to edit the "raw" configuration information by directly editing the SQL Database, however.

Routing is the process of moving a print job from a source place to a destination place. This document describes the routing options possible with Pharos Uniprint.

As the Pharos Popup Client is installed from the Pharos CD-ROM, and printer must be set up on each client PC for Popups to use, installing Popups on all client PC can become time-consuming. It is possible, however, to automate the installation of the Popup Client using a small executable and the Create Installation Disks feature.

As the Pharos OS X Popup Client is installed from the Pharos CD-ROM, and a printer queue must also be set up on each client machine for Popup to use, installing Popups can become time-consuming. It is possible, however, to automate the installation of the OS X Popup Client by modifying the Popup Client installer.

Pharos Uniprint and Off-The-Glass integrate with two Virtual Cash control devices: the Controller and the Acceptor. This document outlines the solution for a common customer scenario combining both devices.

The Pharos Print Server does not support Windows XP in a default install. Modifications must be made to the registry to use the Print Server on Windows XP. Smaller modifications are also required to use the Print Server on Windows 2003, prior to Pharos 5.4.

Normally, Discount Rate Schedules are available for printing only; however, when using PS20 terminals, it is possible to apply Discount Rate Schedules to copying costs as well. Some modifications to the Pharos Database are required to implement this.

SignUp Vx Information

While Pharos SignUp Vx does not offer internet filtering facilities directly, filtering can be achieved through the use of one of the SignUp system components: Environments. Third-party filtering software can also be used in conjunction with SignUp.

In some cases, Pharos SignUp may straddle more than one domain. This document outlines the various possibilities for logging users on in a multi-domain environment.

This document discusses problems that arise when SignUp Vx is used in conjunction with security software such as Deep Freeze, Clean Slate and Centurion Guardian, and suggests a number of possible solutions.

This document describes the consequences of using each of the possible combinations of SignUp reservation modes (Immediate, Queued and Scheduled).

The Pharos SignUp Vx system ensures that all components are synchronized to the same clock. Microsoft Windows 2000 introduced a time synchronization feature, which can cause conflicts with SignUp in certain configurations.

It is possible to customize the operation of the SignUp Nerve Center by manually editing certain web pages. The Queue Station web application can also be customized through different means.

Pharos SignUp Vx does not include a charging component by default. However, a Pharos Script can be used to charge users on a per-session basis. This document describes how to set up a SignUp Vx system to use a script for charging.

Supplement to Charging for PC Use in SignUp Vx TechNote. User passwords are entered in the Pharos Database in an encrypted format. When writing custom scripts to alter user passwords, a special extended stored procedure must be used.

 

Legal Market Information

The iManage and Hummingbird document management systems store Clients and Matter Numbers, which can be imported into the Pharos Third Party Charging system as Cost Centers. This allows Pharos-controlled print and copy jobs to be charged to the same Clients and Matter Numbers used in the rest of the organization. These documents show how to set up the Pharos system to import data from the relevant document management system.

The Pharos Popups component can be used to automatically retrieve the Client/Matter Number information associated with a document managed by an Electronic Document Management System (EDMS). Currently the iManage and Hummingbird systems are supported. When a document is printed, Popups queries the EDMS database, and returns the relevant information to Pharos. Integrating Popups and the EDMS requires a small amount of initial configuration to activate the integration feature in Popups.

Pharos Transactions can be imported into the CMS OPEN accounting system. Pharos provides a small command line utility that allows Cost Center Transactions (i.e. Transactions that have an associated Client and Matter Number) to be exported to a CSV file suitable for importing into CMS OPEN.

If further assistance is required, e-mail Selah Solutions.