Aleph/McGill Training Using the Print Daemon

Using the Print Daemon

Introduction...... 2

Print ID setup...... 4

Setting up and activating the Print Daemon...... 5

Introduction

This document explains how to use the ALEPH Task Manager to print and email letters to patrons and other products.

Your files on the ALEPH server

Every day, ALEPH generates several products and patron letter files for each sublibrary. For example, the Monday overdue notices for the Schulich Library of Sciences and Engineering library are stored in a file called pse.overdue.01.pse, and the Thursday recall letters for McLennan are stored in a file called mcl.recalls.04.mcl.

Seeing your files

Open the ALEPH Task Manager.

  1. Make sure you are connected to MGU50.

At the bottom of the Task Manager window, you see your user name and the library to which you are currently connected.

If you are already connected to MGU50, skip this step.

If you are connected to another library, such as MGU01, select File  Connect to . . ., choose McGill Libraries ADM 50 and click OK.

The status bar at the bottom will change to show you are connected to MGU50.

  1. Get the file list
Select File List  Get file list.

The Remote Name column in the bottom half of the File List shows which files are available on the server.

Some of them will have the Print ID for your library at the end of the filename – these are the files you can retrieve and print automatically with the Print Daemon

Print ID setup

You will need to tell the Print Daemon which files to retrieve from the ALEPH server.

The Print ID for your library appears after the last period in the filename of your files – e.g. pse, mcl, hrmg, lawse, etc.

  1. Setting up a Print ID

Select File  Print ID setup.

  1. In the Print ID Setup window, type your Print ID
  1. in the Name of print ID to add: box. Click Add.

  1. The Print ID will then appear in the Print ID list box.
  1. Click Close. Do not click on the ‘X’ at the top right, or your new Print ID will not be added to the list.

Setting up and activating the Print Daemon

Setup

The next step is to set the Print Daemon up to retrieve and print files with your library’s Print ID.

  1. Select Print Daemon  Set Up Print Daemon

  1. Adjust Print Daemon Settings

In the Set Up Print Daemon window, you will see the Print ID you just set up in the Print ID list. (If you don’t see it, you may have hit ‘X’ instead of Close when you added your Print ID.)

  • Select your new Print ID by clicking on it
  • Make sure MGU50 – McGillLibraries ADM 50 is selected
  • If the Lookup Interval is not 60, change it to 60.
  • Click OK
  1. Test your printer

To make sure your print jobs will go to the right printer, try printing some document or a piece of email – this will show you which printer is set as the Default Printer for your machine.

If the Default Printer for your machine is not a letter-size printer, change the Default Printer. In Windows, go to the Start menu and choose Settings Printers. When the Printer list comes up, choose an appropriate printer, right click and set it as the Default Printer. A checkmark will appear to indicate the Default.

You should also make sure that you have paper in your printer before starting the Print Daemon.

  1. Activate the Print Daemon

When you are ready to print your files, just select Print Daemon  Activate Print Daemon.

The Print Daemon window will open, and your files will begin to print automatically.

If they don’t, make sure you selected your Print ID in Step 2.

In Case of Problems

Once the Print Daemon has retrieved a copy of your files and printed or emailed the contents, a copy of each file is placed in a storage directory on the Aleph Server and is kept for one month. If, for any reason, you have difficulty with your Print Daemon (letters don’t print, there is a network error, etc.) contact the Aleph Support Staff in the Library Systems Office (398-8074) and ask them to restore your print products.

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