To cooperate closer in a workgroup (LAN) setting, PowerSwitch comes with a workgroup client called SwitchClient. This is standalone application (not a web-based client) that can be installed on workstations throughout the workgroup. Access rights for users and groups, configured in PowerSwitch, determine which access rights users logging in with the client have.
Submitting Jobs
In PowerSwitch the new submit point flow element is available. This flow element can be inserted in a flow to allow users using SwitchClient to submit jobs to that place in the flow. Submit points can be setup in such a way that metadata can or has to be entered before a job can be submitted.
This ensures that jobs are submitted by the right people (those who have sufficient access rights to use a submit point), to the right place in the flow (only to submit points, not to other locations in a flow) and using the right metadata (according to the metadata requirements setup in the submit point).
Making Flow Decisions for Jobs
No matter how automated a flow is, sometimes it is imperative that people interfere and take control of what happens to jobs. One example is doing a visual check of a job before it is sent of the next step in the workflow. Another example is jobs that have failed a process (creation of PDF, preflight…) and need to be examined by an expert.
For these cases PowerSwitch comes with a checkpoint tool. This can be included in a flow as any regular flow element; all files that reach the checkpoint are paused. A user with the correct access rights then needs to login using SwitchClient to make a decision on how the job is released to the rest of the flow.
The choices presented to the user in SwitchClient are determined dynamically by the different outgoing connections configured for the checkpoint in PowerSwitch. In the same manner, metadata can be shown and extra metadata can be requested of the user, depending on the configuration of the checkpoint.
Keeping Track of Jobs
As soon as jobs are submitted to a submit point or paused at a checkpoint, they are entered into a job list in the SwitchClient. A user of the client can at any time see which jobs are waiting for his feedback and which jobs have been processed. Preferences allow users to define how long jobs remain logged in the job log for the client.
