Pharos Cloud Platform Update March 2023 Release Notes

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

• Pharos Direct Print enhancements

  • Location-based printing support for Chrome Direct Print

  • Support for multiple Wi-Fi SSIDs and multiple gateways for a location

  • Enhanced Direct Print section on the Pharos web console

• MFP New features and enhancements

  • Secure Scan support for Canon, HP, KM, and Toshiba (in addition to Ricoh)

  • Improved Secure Scan error messages

• Print Scout Improvements and bug fixes

• Pharos Cloud Status Page

Direct Print Enhancements

This release includes improvements to Direct Print that drive efficiency and improve user experience.

Location-based printing support for Chrome Direct Print

The latest release of Chrome Direct Print includes support for location-based printing, which enables users to easily select printers based on their current location. Users also have the option to search for printers using their printer label, hostname, or IP address.

The process of adding a printer through the Chrome extension has undergone significant changes. The steps below outline how to add a printer by location.

Adding a printer using the Chrome extension

1. The user launches the Pharos Chrome Print extension.

2. The user clicks the “My Printers” option.

   

3. In the Manage Printers screen, the user clicks the “Add Printer” option.

4. The user selects their current location. If no locations have been configured, the user can select the "All Printers" option.

   

5. The user selects a printer from the selected location add and then clicks the + Add button.

   

6. The message “Printer has been saved successfully!” is displayed after a printer is added.

7. The user can begin submitting print jobs to the printer.

Changes to Direct Print to support the Pharos Chrome extension

The following changes have been made to Direct Print to support the Chrome extension.

• Chrome Direct Print does not support the print queue model in Direct Print.

  • The names of printers displayed on Chrome Print are based on the Printer Label values specified on the web console, while Print Scout relies on the Print Queue Name to identify printers.

  • Auto-install queues are not supported on Chrome Print.

• Each printer intended for use with Chrome Direct Print must meet all the following conditions:

  • Associated with at least one enabled IPP queue (i.e., queue is set to use Pharos Class IPP driver, and the Status is set to either Manual-Install or Auto-Install). A printer associated solely with a Windows queue cannot be used for Chrome Direct Print.  

  • IPP Support is enabled on the web console

  • IPP Url or Discovered Ipp Url is configured.

Support for multiple Wi-Fi SSIDs and multiple gateways for a location

Direct Print now supports multiple Wi-Fi SSIDs and multiple gateway values (separated by a comma). Previously, only a single Wi-Fi SSID and a single Gateway were allowed. The Workstation Location section (under Direct > Direct Printers tab) has been updated to accept multiple SSID and gateway values.

Enhanced Direct Print section in the web console

The Direct Print section of the Pharos Cloud web console has been significantly improved to enhance the experience of configuring Direct Print. The following lists the improvements made to the web console.

• Locations: The icon used to indicate the action of adding a location was modified to enhance its visibility and ensure that it accurately reflects its intended function.

  

• Editing Direct Print properties: The web console no longer features an autosave capability for editing properties. Instead, a new Apply button has been added to enable users to save any changes they make. A new Discard button has been introduced to allow users to discard any unwanted changes.

  

• Print Queues: Administrators are now able to edit multiple print queues simultaneously and modify the properties of several print queues at once. When multiple print queues are selected from the list, only the relevant property fields that can be edited for all of the chosen print queues will be displayed.

• Pharos Class IPP Everywhere Driver: After adding and configuring the default finishing options for an IPP Everywhere driver, the button label changes from "Set" to "Edit".

  

Direct Print Limitations

• Direct Print cannot be used on 32-bit machines. If you have a 32-bit machine and require Direct Print, please contact Pharos Support to obtain an earlier version of Print Scout supporting Pharos’ earlier version of Direct Print. It's important to note that the Direct Print supported by the earlier Print Scouts lack some functionalities, including print driver management and location-based printing.

• In this release, macOS Print Scout does not support the newer Direct Print features such as location-based printing and driver management.

• While Chrome Direct Print now offers support for location-based printing, it does not currently provide automatic queue installation.

MFP New Features and improvements

Secure Scan Updates

The Secure Scan feature of Pharos Cloud (introduced in September 2022) enables IT administrators to easily manage printing and MFP scanning across an organization and provides users with a simplified and consistent user experience across all the supported manufacturers.  

New manufacturer support

The initial release of Secure Scan supported Ricoh devices only. Secure Scan is now supported by the following printer manufacturers:

• Canon

• HP

• Konica Minolta (KM)

• Toshiba

Scan destination updates

This release adds support for scanning to a network folder, in addition to Email and OneDrive. The Scan to Network Folder feature allows a user to save a scanned document to a shared folder on their internal network.   

Important notes:

• KM, Canon, and Ricoh printers need to be re-secured to initialize scan.

• Toshiba: For Secure Scan to work on Toshiba MFPs, the following needs to be configured via the Toshiba printer’s TopAccess web interface:

  • Enable the SSL/TLS setting under the Network > WSD section

  • Disable User Authentication for Scan under Security > Authentication > User Authentication

• KM: For Secure Scan to function properly, the latest firmware must be installed on KM printers.

• Scan to Network Folder: To enable the Scan to Network Folder destination, you will need to contact the Pharos Operations team.

Limitations and known issues

• Pharos Cloud currently does not support Scan to SharePoint temporarily because of the deprecation of a previously used API by Microsoft. We are actively working on an alternative approach.

• Toshiba:  Multi-page scanning from platen glass is not supported.

• Canon: Users will not be able to open scanned documents in PDF format.

Improved Secure Scan error messages

Pharos Cloud has made improvements to user error messaging when using the Secure Scan feature to help users understand the status of their scan jobs when they are unsuccessful. Additionally, error messages have been added for additional scenarios, including:

• When SMTP settings are not configured.

• The printer is unable to fetch scanner capabilities

• The network is disconnected or slow.

• Office 365 settings are incorrect or not configured.

• When a scanned file exceeds the maximum file size allowed by an email server.

Print Scout improvements and bug fixes

This release includes the following improvements and bug fixes.

• Driver Capture Tool:

  • Once the driver and configuration are uploaded to the cloud, the temporary queue created during the upload process is removed.

  • Modified the driver capture tool to display a message that 32-bit operating systems are not supported.

• Workstation Location user interface: Changed the placement of the Save button within the Workstation Location dialog box.

• Various other improvements and bug fixes, including:

  • A bug causing an exception when trying to refresh the job list has been resolved.

  • A bug that prevented the policy dialog from appearing in case of a policy violation has been fixed.

  • When the installation of the Pharos Secure Printer driver is interrupted before completion, attempting to print to it may cause a dialog box to appear and become stuck. A fix has been added where on restart of the workstation, the Print Scout detects the incomplete installation, removes the queue, and recreates it.

pharos cloud status page

The new Pharos Cloud Status page (status.pharos.com) presents a quick overview of the general health of the Pharos Cloud system. This enables you to promptly detect any issues with its functions and make the necessary corrective measures.

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.