Pharos Cloud Education Edition Release Notes - August 2024

This release represents the Pharos Cloud Education Edition.

New Account Management

Pharos Cloud introduces the new Account Management feature to monitor printing expenses and resource usage within an organization. This feature allows printing costs to be allocated to specific projects or budget centers, such as in universities or corporate settings.

In Pharos Cloud, accounts are used to allocate printing costs. For example, in a university, administrators can charge printing expenses to different budget centers, treating each budget center as a separate account. This helps in tracking and managing printing costs by budget center for accurate budgeting and job accounting.

Pharos Cloud uses a point-based billing structure where accounts receive an initial allocation of points. Points are assigned to accounts, not individual users. Each user in an account gets their own points. For example, if the Math account at a university gets 100 points, each user in that account has 100 points for printing. When a user prints, points are deducted from their balance.

Notes

• Account Management is available exclusively for OpenID authentication.

• A separate license is required for Account Management.

• Users can access multiple accounts, giving them flexibility in managing their printing resources. They can switch between accounts using the End-User portal or Secure Release mobile app.

• Direct Print jobs will be charged to the designated accounts if they are available, but users will not be able to change the account once the job has been sent.

User Access to Accounts

Users can be granted access to accounts in one of three ways: Global, Group, or User level.

• Global Shared – Global shared accounts are accessible to all users in Pharos Cloud. Any user within the system can use these accounts for their printing needs.

• Access by Users and Groups – These accounts are restricted to specific users or groups. For instance, an account can be made available only to a particular group, such as "Students," or to specified individual users. This type of account allows for more controlled and targeted allocation of printing resources.

Administration Workflow

Here’s how an administrator can configure Account Management:

1. Create Accounts

   Administrators create accounts in the Account Management tab of the web console.

2. Enable Client Setting

   Navigate to the Users> Account Management tab and enable the client setting. This will activate the accounts on user clients, including

   • End-user portal

   • Mobile app

   • Print Scout

3. Enable user portal for end users

   The User Portal allows users to view or change their active account. Navigate to the Secure > Settings tab, select User Portal Settings, and then enable User Portal for end users.

User Workflow

The following section shows how users can use the account management feature of Pharos Cloud

1. The user submits documents to a secure queue from their workstation, mobile app, or Chrome Print app.

• Print Scout: The user receives a notification indicating that the document is ready for release. A tray notification displays the Active Account that will be used for printing and copying. It will also show the Change Account option as shown below.  Clicking the Change Account option opens the End-User Portal, enabling users to select a different account to charge for the document.

  

• Mobile App: The document will be charged to the active account. Users can change the account to charge the document against before releasing the job.

• Chrome Print: The document will be charged to the active account. Users cannot change the active account from the Chrome Print extension but can use the User Portal to change the active account if needed.

Note: A user can also upload documents to print via the end-user portal. While uploading a job from the user portal, users have the option to select which account to charge the job to.

2. The user can walk up to a secure printer and release the document.

Pharos Web Console Updates

New Account Management Tab

A new Account Management sub-tab has been introduced within the Users tab interface. This is used for managing accounts within the Pharos Cloud platform.

The Account Management tab allows administrators to perform the following tasks:

• View accounts – View accounts set up for use with Pharos Cloud.

• Add accounts – Create new accounts for billing purposes.

• Archive accounts – Archive accounts that are no longer needed or relevant.

• View or update rates card – Modify the rates associated with each print attribute. Administrators can adjust printing rates as needed, allowing for flexibility in costing structures.

• View archived accounts – View accounts that have been archived.

• Enable Account Management on clients – Activate account management features on all Pharos clients such as Print Scout, User portal, and mobile app.

• Edit account properties – Allows administrators to edit account properties.

The Account Management view includes the following action buttons:

• Add – Use this action to create new accounts.

• Archive - Use this action to archive unused accounts.

• Rates Card – use this action to view or edit the costing structure for printing.

• View archived accounts – Toggle the switch to ON to view archived accounts only.

User Management Tab Update

The User Management tab now has a new Accounts section which allows administrators to:

• View Accounts Assigned to Users - Administrators can now easily see all the accounts that are assigned to each user within the system.

• Assign Accounts Directly to users - Administrators can directly assign specific accounts to individual users. This applies to accounts categorized as "Access by Groups and Users."

The Accounts section in the User Management tab is organized into two categories:

• Global and group assignments - This section displays all global accounts that have been assigned to a user, including those that the user has access to through their membership in a group. When you click on an account, it opens in the Account Management tab.

• Direct user assignment - This section allows administrators to directly assign accounts to individual users. It also shows accounts that have been assigned to users from the Accounts Management tab.

New Accounts API

On the Analysis > API screen, administrators can connect to API endpoints that allow you to extract the Accounts data from Pharos Cloud and use them for purposes that may serve your organization.

The Accounts Application API enables administrators to create and manage accounts programmatically. This API provides the necessary endpoints and functionality for administrators to automate account creation, update account details, set limits, etc.

Click "Generate" to obtain the Client ID and Client Secret needed for interacting with Pharos Cloud account data. Ensure you save this information, as the Client ID and Client Secret cannot be retrieved later. If you lose your client application credentials, you can revoke them and generate new ones.

Support for Crediting a User Balance

The Account Management feature allows for crediting a user's balance. For example, if a user has exhausted their allocated points (e.g., 120/20 points), additional points can be added to their account through the API. When the user reaches their limit, the credit is applied by decreasing the used points and increasing the available balance.

Print Scout Updates

The Print Scout has been updated to support the new Account Management feature.

Added new Account Management functions to the Pharos Print app

The Pharos Print desktop app (previously called Secure Release desktop app) now includes two new Account Management functions accessible by right clicking the Pharos Print app icon.

• Open User Portal – Opens the End-user portal enabling users to change their active account, upload jobs, or update finishing options for their jobs.

• Active Account – Displays the active account to which the document will be charged. Clicking this option opens the user portal where users can switch to a different account.

Ability to change User Account via Notification

When a user submits a document to the Pharos Secure Printer, the notification status displays the account to which the job will be charged. There is also a "Change Account" button that allows users to select a different account for the job.

End-User Portal Updates

The End-User Portal has been updated to support the new Account Management feature. If this feature is turned on, users will see their active account displayed in the portal, making it easier to manage and track the accounts used for different print jobs/documents.

When the account feature is enabled, users can perform the following actions within the end-user portal:

• View the account assigned to the document – Users can see which specific account is assigned to each document they have submitted.

  

• Update Active Accounts – Users can update or change the active account associated with their user account. When a new document is submitted, the system will use the newly selected active account by default. Choosing the Active Account option enables users to switch the active account.

  

• Update Account for documents already submitted - Users can also update the account information for documents that have already been submitted. If the wrong account was originally selected or if there is a need to reallocate costs, users can change the account after submitting the document.

• Select the account to charge documents to during upload - While uploading a job from the user portal, users have the option to select which account to charge the job to.

  

Color-Coded Account Balance Display

The account's effective balance is shown with a color-coded system. The color changes to reflect the status of the balance, such as whether it's sufficient, low, or critically low. This visual cue helps users quickly determine the account's status and take action if necessary.

• Soft Limit Exceeded (Red Bold): If the account balance exceeds the set soft limit, it will be displayed in bold red. For example, if the soft limit is 100and the balance is 110, it will show as 110/100 in red bold text.

• 75% of Soft Limit (Orange Bold): When the account balance reaches 75% of the soft limit, it will be displayed in bold orange. For example, if the soft limit is 100 and the balance is 90, it will show as 90/100 in orange bold text.

• Below 75% of Soft Limit(Green): If the account balance is below 75% of the soft limit, it will be displayed in green. For example, if the soft limit is100 and the balance is 50, it will show as 50/100 in green text.

Secure Release Mobile App Updates

The Secure Release mobile app now displays the active account if Account Management is enabled. To change the active account, simply open the app and tap on the "Active Account" section.

In the "Set Active Account to" window that opens, select the account you want to set as the new active account.

Known Issues/Limitations

API Access: Delay in Revocation of Client ID and Secret

Even after a client ID and secret are revoked, there may be a delay of up to 15 minutes before the revocation takes full effect. During this period, JWT tokens can still be generated using the revoked credentials.

Delegate Print Limitation

If Delegate Print is enabled, delegate jobs are only accessible through the user portal and not on the mobile app, as Delegate Print support is not available on the mobile app.

Account User Selection Control

When adding users to an account (via Access by Groups and Users> Users), if the account has more than 20 users, the search function doesn't consider users who are not immediately visible (i.e., those beyond the first 20). If you search for a user who is beyond the initial 20 (let's say the21st user), the search will find the user and show the "+"icon, indicating they can be added to the list. However, this is incorrect because the user is already part of the account. If you want to see more users, you need to click "Load more" to reveal additional users.