Pharos Cloud 4.2 Release Notes - May 2025

This release represents the latest version of Pharos Cloud. This update includes several important new features including:

• Pharos Cloud Education Edition

  • New Quota Management

  • New Shared Accounts 

  • User Management Enhancements

    • Improved account balance visibility

    • Enable manual point adjustments

  • New Quota Enforcement for Copy Accounting

  • Account Management API Updates

• Print Scout Updates

  • Support for Windows on Arm devices

  • Support for Windows Protected Print (WPP)

  • Support for Quota Management

  • Support for Ubuntu 24.04

• Secure Release Mobile App Updates

  • Support for Quota Management

  • Fixed an issue with the Secure Release mobile app on iOS devices

  • Updated the Secure Release mobile app on Android devices to use the latest MAUI platform

• Sentry Print Service Updates

  • Added folder search capability for OneDrive, SharePoint and Network Folder Scan Destinations (Secure Scan)

  • IPv6 Support for Lexmark and HP devices (Secure Release)

  • Bug fixes

Pharos Cloud Education Edition New Features

With Pharos Cloud 4.2, the Account Management has been enhanced to include the following key features:

• New Quota Management

• New Shared Accounts

• User Management Enhancements

  • Improved account balance visibility

  • Manual point adjustments

• New Quota Enforcement for Copy Accounting

• Account Management API Updates

New Quota Management

Quota Management allows organizations to set, monitor, and control print and copy limits for individual users or groups. This ensures that resources are used efficiently and costs are properly allocated. By setting quotas, administrators can limit excessive printing and copying. Users receive notifications when they are approaching their quota limits. Once a user reaches their limit, they are restricted from printing further.

Key Benefits

• Cost Control - Limits excessive printing and copying, helping to reduce overall costs.

• Environmental Impact - Reduces paper and toner consumption, supporting sustainability efforts.

• User Awareness - Encourages responsible printing habits.

How Quota Management Works

1. Administrators assign quotas(limits) to users through accounts, which determine their printing and copying limits.

2. Users are notified when they are approaching or exceeding their quota limits. Notifications are sent to the following clients

• User Portal

• Print Scout

• Mobile App

Here are notifications users may receive when they are over their quota limit.

Printing Declined Notification: Appears when the user has exceeded their allocated limit or the maximum allowable limit (if Allow limit to be exceeded setting is configured).

Account Limit Warning: This warning appears when a user exceeds their allocated limit but remains within the maximum allowable limit. This only applies if the "Allow Limit to be Exceeded" checkbox is enabled and a permitted value beyond the limit is set.

Web Console Updates

Quotas are managed using the Account Management tab in the web console. With the introduction of quotas, the Pharos web console has been updated with the following:

• The Allocation per user field is now called Allocation.

• A new Type field has been introduced. Administrators can now choose between an Individual Account or Shared Account.

• A new Allow limit to be exceeded checkbox has been added. This lets administrators define an extra amount of “grace” points that users are allowed to exceed beyond the set limit displayed to the user.

• The Global Shared category has been renamed to All Users.

More Information: Quota Management

New Shared Accounts

The Account Management section now supports a new allocation Type category, allowing administrators to choose between Individual Account and Shared Account. Previously, each user received the full allocation individually. For example, if the Science Department account had 100 points, every assigned user would receive 100 points. With the new Shared Account type, the same 100 points are shared among all users assigned to the account.

More Information: Shared Accounts

User Management Enhancements

Improved Account Balance Visibility

Administrators can now easily view a user's point balances for each account. The Accounts section of the User Properties panel has been updated to provide a clearer overview of user balances.

To check an account’s balance, click the Usage icon in the Account Properties section and select the desired account. This opens the Usage slide-in which displays detailed account usage, including:

• Account balance relative to the quota limit

• Current usage

• Recent activities by the user.

• For Shared Accounts, activities by other users of the Shared Account

Enable Manual Point Adjustments

Pharos Cloud automatically updates user point usage based on activity. For example, when a user prints or copies, used points are incremented according to the job cost as set in the Rates Card. However, there may be situations where administrators need to make manual adjustments, such as refunding points for a failed print job.

This release introduces the ability for administrators to adjust user points directly from the User Management screen. Administrators can search for a user, select the user’s account they want to add, decrease, or set point value to a specific value as needed.

A new Usage icon has been added to the Accounts section in the User Properties panel.

To manually adjust points, administrators can navigate to the Adjust Usage section within the Usage slide-in and choose from the following options:

• Decrease Points – When points are decreased, the recorded usage goes down as points are returned to the user-for example, refunding points due to a failed print.

• Increase Points - When points are increased, the recorded usage goes up as points are added to the user’s account balance.

• Set to Points – This lets administrators set an account to a specific point value, useful for resetting a user's balance to zero at the start of the semester.

More Information: User Management

New Quota Management for Copy Accounting

Quota enforcement for copying works by restricting access to the Copy function based on the user's available balance.

• When a user has exceeded their allocated limit, the More Device Functions button on the printer is disabled, preventing access to features like the Copy function.

• If users have reached their Limit upon signing in, they will not be allowed to make any copies. However, users starting out within their limit will be permitted to continue copying past their limit within a single session. The system will not block the transaction. For example, a user who has used 29 points out of their 30-point limit will be allowed a copy transaction that puts them over their limit of 30 (for example, to 33 points). However, the next time the user attempt to copy, the More Device Functions will be disabled.

Limitation: When switching the copy account on the Sentry Print device, accounts over the limit are available for selection but once selected the More Device Functions will be disabled preventing users from copying.

Account Management API Updates

Restrict valid activity types

The API has been updated to support the submission of specific activity types. The allowed activity types are now restricted to Print, Copy, Credit, Debit, and Set.

“TransactionTime” is now an optional value

TransactionTime is now optional. If not specified, it will automatically be set to the current time when the transaction is received by the Cloud services. This helps prevent submitting activities with old or future timestamps.

Credit activity now requires a positive value

The Credit activity now requires a positive value to be provided for the credit amount. However, when the activity is recorded in the database, the value will be stored as a negative amount. This ensures consistency in tracking transactions, where credits reduce the balance and debits increase it. Previously, when applying a Credit, you had to enter a negative number (e.g., -120 points) to reduce a user’s usage. Now, you must enter a positive number (e.g., 120 points), and the system will automatically store it as a negative value in the database. Everything else works the same, credits still reduce usage, but you no longer need to enter a negative number manually

New Property for Credit activity

The credit function in the Accounts API now includes a new property fromUser. The fromUser property records the details of the user (or system) that performed the credit activity.

When fromUser is included in the activity POST, the transaction will appear in the web console under the user's account details (Usage section) as: "Decreased by Admin | adminusername".

New Set activity

A new Set function has been added to the Accounts API, which replicates the functionality of the Set to points option in the web console. While the Set to Points option in the web console is used to update balances for individual users, the API function supports bulk updates, allowing administrators to set specific target balances for multiple user accounts at once.

Print Scout Updates

The Print Scout component (v8.0.1.100) of Pharos Cloud has been updated with the following new features:

• Support for Microsoft Windows on Arm devices

• Support for Windows Protected Print (WPP)

• Support for Quota Management

• Support for Ubuntu 24.04

Support for Windows On Arm devices

Starting with Pharos Cloud 4.2, Print Scout has been updated to support Windows on Arm workstations. However, in this release, only the following Pharos Cloud features are supported. Other features will be made available in future updates.

• Secure Release

• Print Analytics

Note: Installing Print Scout on an Arm-based PC is the same as installing on an Intel-based PC.

Support for Windows Protected Print

Windows Protected Print (WPP) is a secure printing mode introduced by Microsoft in October 2024. It enhances print security by using the Microsoft IPP Class Driver and is designed to work with Mopria-certified printers. WPP modernizes the print infrastructure by eliminating the need for traditional print servers and vendor-specific drivers, offering simplified, secure, and driverless printing experience.

The Print Scout component of the Pharos Cloud has been updated to support the new WPP mode with Secure Release printing. Windows Protected Print mode is supported on Windows 11 24H2 (or newer).

Windows on Arm-based Devices

For Arm-based PCs, enabling or disabling WPP does not have effect on the Print Scout installation. Pharos Cloud will always use the Microsoft IPP driver.

Windows on Intel-based Devices

If WPP is enabled, Pharos Cloud uses the Microsoft IPP driver. If WPP is disabled, it defaults to the Pharos Class IPP Driver.

Below are known issues related to WPP mode on Windows 11 24H2 Intel machines.

• Make sure to enable WPP first before installing Print Scout 8.0 on Intel machines

Enabling WPP after Print Scout 8.0 is installed creates two instances of the Pharos Secure Printer because Windows restores the old Pharos Secure Printer. Users will end up with Pharos Secure Printer with the Pharos IPP Class IPP driver as well as the new Pharos Secure Printer with Microsoft Class IPP Driver. This may confuse users. Pharos recommends enabling WPP first before installing Print Scout 8.0 to prevent this issue from occurring.

Pharos recommends the following steps in Windows 11 when recreating the Pharos Secure Printer after WPP is turned on.

1. Uninstall Print Scout.

2. Reboot the workstation.

3. Setup Windows Protected Print (WPP) mode.

4. Install the latest Print Scout.

Note: We are partnering with Microsoft to address the issue. Stay tuned for updates.

• Upgrading to Print Scout 8.0 is not recommended if WPP is enabled

Upgrading from older versions of Print Scout to Print Scout 8.0 or later is discouraged when WPP is enabled. We recommend a fresh installation of the Print Scout 8.0 to avoid potential issues.

Known Issues and Limitations

• Fresh install: It’s advisable to start with a fresh install of Windows 11 24H2 machines. Enabling WPP first before installing Print Scout can help avoid issues such as the reappearance of the 'Pharos Secure Printer' queue

• Multi-Tenant Package Setup: Queue removal and re-adding of queues may not work when switching regions on Arm-based devices or on machines with Windows Protected Print mode enabled.

More Information: Windows Protected Print, Windows Protected Print Mode (WPP): Am I Secure Without It?

Quota Management

Print Scout has been updated to support Quota Management. It will display notifications when a user exceeds their allocated limit. Below are notifications users will see on their workstations:

Printing Declined Notification: Appears when the user has exceeded their allocated limit or the maximum allowable limit (if set).

Account Limit Warning: This warning appears when a user exceeds their allocated limit but remains within the maximum allowable limit. This only applies if the Allow Limit to be Exceeded checkbox is enabled and a permitted value beyond the limit is set.

Support for Ubuntu 24.04

A new version (v2.2.0) of the Linux Print Scout is now available. This adds support for Ubuntu 24.04.

Secure Release Mobile App Updates

Added support for Quota Management

The Secure Release Mobile App has been updated with the quota management feature. Just like the Print Scout and User Portal, users will receive notifications when a user exceeds their allocated limit. It also shows a notification when an account limit warning when a user has exceeded their allocated limit but is still within the maximum allowable limit if the Allow Limit to be Exceeded checkbox is enabled and a permitted value beyond the limit is set.

Bugfix: Resolved unresponsive screen issue on iOS devices

The latest version of the Secure Release mobile app (iOS) resolved an issue on certain models where the screen became unresponsive, preventing users from proceeding.

Update: Secure Release mobile app on Android devices

Updated the Secure Release mobile app (Android) to use the latest MAUI platform.

Sentry Print Service Updates

This section includes the updates to the Pharos Sentry Print Service.

Added search capability for OneDrive, SharePoint and Network Folder Scan Destinations (Secure Scan)

Users can now search for specific folders by name when selecting OneDrive, SharePoint, or Network Folder as a scan destination. This feature is useful for users with many folders, making the selection process faster and more efficient.

The Up One Folder option found at the bottom of the screen allows users to navigate through folders.

Notes:

• The initial screen of Scan to SharePoint is case-sensitive.

• Searches using the search icon are based on the first letter or word of the folder or file name.

• When searching within a folder, results are limited to that folder and its contents.

• If no matches are found, a blank screen is shown, meaning no folders or files are listed.

• Clicking the search icon again reloads the default list of folders and files.

• Special characters are supported in search queries, meaning you can include them when searching for folders or file names that contain these characters.

More Information: Configuring Secure Scan

IPV6 Support for Lexmark and HP devices (Secure Release)

Pharos Cloud 3.5 introduced IPv6 support for Insights and Direct Print, providing an expanded IP address space. With Cloud 4.2, Secure Release now supports IPv6 Lexmark and HP devices. This enables secure print job releases on IPv6 networks.

Note: A new version of the Lexmark Device Discovery Utility (DDU) is now available, which is required to secure IPV6 Lexmark devices.

More Information: IPv6 Support

Bugfixes

• Addressed an issue with the "Oops! secure print is currently unavailable" message persisting on printers even after toggling offline print settings.

• Addressed login issues when accessing Xerox VersaLink devices. The problem was due to email addresses exceeding 32 characters.

• Addressed a scan error related to paper size settings on a Toshiba eStudio 400ac device.

• Fixed an issue with securing the Xerox Versalink C505S.

Component Release Versions

This release includes the following software components and release versions.

*Note: Secure Release mobile apps and the Chrome extension are published after the Cloud Services are updated.