How Rules are Processed
There are two types of rules within Workflow:
- Custom Rules: These rules are created on the Rules tab, and are always processed first and in order (before any basic rules, that is). If a custom rule does not set the items that a basic rule covers, then the items within a basic rule are applied. If no custom rules exist, basic rules are applied automatically. See Create a Custom Rule for details.
- Basic Rules: These rules are established within Applications, User Profiles, or Printer Profiles. The options within a basic rule are always applied unless they are overridden by the custom rules.
Overlapping Options within Basic Rules
The following options set within a basic rule require explanation to understand how they are applied if there are overlapping settings within Applications, User Profiles, or Printer Profiles.
- Track Option – The most restrictive track option is always applied to the print job. Tracking is applied in the following order: Disallow, Do Not Track, Track with no Popup, Track with Popup. For example:
- Job options – Job options are Color/BW, Require Duplex, and Require N-up. There is no hierarchy for application of these options when set within Applications, User Profiles or Printer Profiles. It is therefore possible to set a User Profile to 'Allow only Color printing', but set a Printer Profile to 'Allow only B/W printing' and have the two settings cancel each other. In this case, the job will simply not print.
- Limits – You can enable printing limits based on Total Pages, Mono Pages, Color Pages, Total Cost or Base Cost, or you can elect to 'Ignore all Printing Limits' limits within Applications, User Profiles and Printer Profiles.
- If any one of the three basic rule types are set to 'Ignore all Printing Limits', no limits are processed even if limits are applied in at least one of the three rules.
- If printing limits are enabled, rules are applied in the order of Application, User Profile, and then Printer Profile. The first applicable 'Stop' limit encountered is the limit that is applied. If a 'Stop' limit is not reached in any of the rules, the largest closest applicable limit is applied. For example:
You set up a limit on an Application for 5 pages, and another for 10 pages. You also set up a User Profile with a limit of 15 pages. None of these limits are set to 'Stop Job' if the limit is exceeded.
A user then submits a 20 page print job. Workflow evaluates the rules when processing the print job, first considering the 5 page Application limit, and then the 10 page Application limit. The 10 page limit is applied. The User Profile limit of 15 pages is not be considered because it is further down in priority than the Application limits. However, if you had configured the User Profile limit as a 'Stop' limit, the limit within the User Profile is given a higher priority and is applied. - Custom Fields – Custom Fields are applied in order of Application, User Profile, and then Printer Profile. If none of these rules change the custom field settings, then all Custom Fields are applied to the popup.
- Pricing – Pricing is applied in the order of Application, User Profile and then Printer Profile. If cost modifiers are applied within Application rules, User Profiles or Printer Profiles, they are always applied based on the modifier option selected.
If the Track option in an applicable User Profile is set to 'Track with popup' but the Track option in an applicable Application profile is set to 'Do not Track', the job will not be tracked because the setting in the Application profile is the most restrictive. The Track Print to File setting in the Printer Profile is also checked, and if the job was printed to file the Track option from the Application profile is still applied, and the job therefore will not be tracked.