Directory Monitor
In practice it happens again and again that convert4print's services are used for applications that do not have direct printer support, but are only able to generate their output in the form of files. Or suppliers provide documents that have to be integrated into the printing process.
A special gateway is intended for such applications: the directory monitor. In principle, its task is to monitor one or more directories on a computer and, if files appear in the monitored directories, to print these files using convert4print.
There are two possible starting situations: First, the files found are spool files and can be sent directly to the printer, or the files found must first be printed using an application before they can be transferred to a converter or a gateway.
In the first case, the directory monitor only automatically forwards the found files to the converter belonging to the directory. The files in the directory must then, of course, match the input data stream expected by the converter.
A typical use case for this operation mode are, for example, programs that are unable to transfer a spool file directly to a printer due to their runtime environment. Java and Web applications are often affected. However, these programs are very well able to store files in a specific directory for output to a printer.
The directory monitor detects the new file and transfers it to a convert4print converter or gateway as soon as the file has been closed by the application.
In the second case, practically any files can be stored in the monitored directories. With the help of another external program, these files are then converted into spool files that the converter understands.
One use case for this scenario is, for example, when files come from outside - such as customers, suppliers or service providers - and are to be transferred into the own process flow. The type of files supplied is irrelevant as long as there is only one program available on the computer to print these files.
In practice, this could mean that in the first step a web or e-mail application simply copies PDF files into the monitored directory. The directory monitor detects the files and transfers them to Adobe Reader for printing, which in turn forwards the print data to a convert4print converter or gateway.
