Uniprint: Restricting Device Access for MobilePrint Users

Goal

Restrict print release for some devices to specific users.

Environment

• Pharos Systems Uniprint Suite 8.3

• Pharos Systems Uniprint Suite 8.4

• Pharos Systems Uniprint Suite 9.0

• Pharos Systems MobilePrint 1.3

• Pharos Systems MobilePrint 2.0

• Pharos Systems Print Center

Why Would I Want To Do This?

Pharos MobilePrint WebRelease (version 1.3.x) and Print Center (version 2) allow users to print to devices by assigning the devices to the MobilePrint print group. As there is only one MobilePrint group defined for the system, some sites may find it necessary to assign both student-accessible and non-student accessible devices to this print group to accommodate faculty and staff use as well. This creates a situation where a student may inadvertantly release a job (or jobs) to a printer that they cannot get to, resulting in a customer service problem. Restricting devices for certain individuals makes very good sense in this situation.

Implementing Device Restriction

Device restriction is not immediately intuitive within this context, but is readily enabled using Access Times and Groups, as follows.

1. Launch Pharos Adminstrator.

2. Choose System > Access Times and click "Insert..." to create a new access time. Call it something obvious, like "No Release". Click "OK".

3. Inside the Day/Time grid, click and drag on a day and time when students are typically not using the system, like Sunday from 01:00 to 01:15.

4. Click the "Change Control" action.

Now that the Access Time has been built, on to create the Group.

1. Still within Pharos Administrator, choose Users > Groups.

2. Click "Insert..." to create a new group. Again, clarity is key, so name it "Students". Do not worry about any of the other options and click "OK".

3. Choose Users > Accounts.

4. Select the accounts to add to the group. You can select multiple contiguous users by holding down the SHIFT key on the keyboard and clicking rows, and you can select multiple non-contiguous users by holding down the CTRL key and clicking.

5. With the desired users selected, click inside the "Group" value area and choose the "Students" group from the list.

   NOTE: Pharos Uniprint will only allow a user to be part of one group at a time.

Now, to configure the Device.

1. Within Pharos Administrator, choose Output Management > Devices.

2. Select your device (or devices, using the same SHIFT+/CTRL+ click method described above).

3. Click inside the "Access Time" value area, and use the drop-down menu next to the "Students" group to select the "No Release" item from the list. Click "OK".

4. Click the "Change Control" action.

In MobilePrint WebRelease or Print Center, the student will still be able to search for and select these restricted devices, but upon attempt to release will receive a "You do not have permission to use this printer" message.