The QueueManager replaces the JobCenter of previous versions as the overview hub for all PrintQueues and Job processes across your production. Track Jobs that are currently being rastered, printed, cut, are waiting for processing or view Jobs that might have encountered errors at any point during production.
Note that the QueueManager acts as an overview over all active PrintQueues and CutQueues, as such all information in the QueueManager can also be viewed in the individual Print/CutQueues.
The QueueManager window is split into several different sections. The vertical segments represent different steps in the printing process, Done holds the finished Jobs, Print contains the Jobs that are currently printing and RIP shows the jobs that are currently in the rastering stage. Job Details shows information about the currently selected Job and Journal shows the RIP Server log relating to this particular Job. Job Preview shows a small preview of the currently selected Job for easy visual identification. The Show Preview Button in the Toolbar also lets you show a small preview next to the list item in the Jobs list.
A standard Job will first appear in the Print/Cut Queue section to wait until processing. Then move to the RIP section to be processed. After a sufficient amount of data for the Job has been processed, it moves to the Print section from where it is sent to the printer. For Jobs that are also to be cut, it will then move from Print to Contour Cut. Finally when printing and/or cutting is completed, the Job will move to Done.
Some segments also feature tabs at the bottom that let you switch between different views to conserve space in the dialog, but also give you quick access to any information you might want.
The File Menu contains settings regarding the QueueManager as a whole, it returns archived Jobs into the active queue, sets JobTicket location and accesses the production database.
Restore: Restore previously archived Jobs back into the Queue by selecting the appropriate .pja file. Jobs can be archived by right clicking on them and selecting Archive. Jobs can also be set to be archived automatically after a set amount of time using Job Processing Policies.
Job Ticket Folder: Sets the folder where Job Tickets are saved.
Production Database: Search and filter previously processed Jobs in the Production database. Jobs can be searched by creation timeframe, printed timeframe, Job Name, Comment, and many other criteria. After entering you search parameters, click View Result to show the Jobs matching your criteria.
Exit: Closes the QueueManager.
These features (Except Exit) are also available by right clicking on a Job in any of the window segments.
The Edit Menu in the Menubar and the Toolbar of the QueueManager are mostly identical, with the Toolbar providing quick access to Job specific functions as well as filtering options for the displayed Jobs.
Suspend: Pauses processing/printing of the currently selected Job and moves the Job to the Suspended queue. The Job will not be further processed or sent to the printer until the suspend status has not been lifted. Note that for Jobs that are currently printed, suspend might not work as data is usually sent out faster then the printer can print it and resuming after suspending might not be possible. As such it is recommended to only use Suspend for Jobs waiting to be processed or Jobs currently in the RIP stage.
Cancel: Stops and cancels the currently selected Job. The Job will stop processing/printing and move into the Done queue with the Canceled status. Note that when canceling while printing, it might take a while until printing stops as data is usually sent out way in advance, so the printer might still have some print data to print before the cancel command comes through.
Delete: Deletes the currently selected Job from the QueueManager and its respective Print/CutQueue.
Raise Priority / Lower Priority: Moves the selected Job up or down the Queue so it is processed sooner or later, depending on its position.
Reprint: Prints a new copy of a selected Job. Can only be used with Jobs in the Done or Error sections.
Properties: Opens the Job Properties window of the currently selected Job that displays a range of information about the Job such as Name, dimensions, Print Environment used, RIP data location, etc.
PrintQueue Setup: Allows you to set up new PrintQueues or start existing ones from directly within the QueueManager. Click the printer icon to set up a new queue, click the little down-arrow to the right of it to select one from the list of existing PrintQueues.
Search Job: Enter a search term for Jobs (E.g. a Name).
Job Filter: Specify or select a filter to only show Jobs that match that filters criteria.
These features (Except Search Job and Job Filter) are also available by right clicking on a Job in any of the window segments.
This window segment lists all the currently running RIP Engines (Formerly called RIP Servers) and Print/CutQueues respectively and displays their current status and other useful information. Use the Tabs at the bottom of the segment to switch between the RIP Engine and Print/CutQueue lists. If no items are listed in one of the windows, that likely means that no RIP Engines or Queues are currently running.
You can also change their status at any time by right clicking on one of the RIP Engines or Queues and selecting the desired new status.
Of course the QueueManager is fully customizable! Move or resize any segment through drag and drop, or remove unused segments entirely by clicking the x at the top right of segment.
To add a new information column to one of the segments (Or re-add a deleted one), simply right-click on an empty area in the title bar. You might have to drag the vertical separator bar to make the selection window wider in order to see empty space to click on. The context menu will now display an option Add Column. Place you mouse cursor over Add Column to see the list of available details and select the one you wish to add by clicking on it.
View > Show Thumbnails in Job List: Enables Thumbnail job previews in the Job list so each job has a small preview next to it to more easily identify jobs. When the feature is enabled, thumbnails can be configured as Small, Medium and Large. Thumbnails can also be enabled directly in the Queues toolbar through the button.
View > Show lets you quickly show or hide different window sections of the Queue. Hover over show and then click on the segment you wish to show/hide.
Custom Workspaces for the QueueManager can be saved in View > Save Workspace and loaded up again using View > Load Workspace. You can also reset back to the default workspace at any time by going to View > Reset Workspace.