Shared Account Synchronization

The shared account synchronization feature allows the administrator to define an external source for shared accounts. This is useful for situations where shared accounts are managed by an external system, and allows PaperCut MF to mirror the accounts without any additional administration.

To enable shared account synchronization:

  1. Navigate to the Accounts section.

  2. Click the Account Sync tab.

  3. Choose appropriate settings. The available settings are discussed in the section called “Synchronization Options”.

  4. Press Test Settings

  5. The window shown will tell you how shared accounts were processed, and how many shared accounts will be imported, updated or deleted when Synchronize Now is pressed.

  6. If you are happy with the results of the test, press the Synchronize Now button. This will trigger a shared account synchronization, and synchronization will continue to occur at the chosen interval.

Synchronization Options

Shared Accounts can be synchronized against two possible sources: a text file or a directory structure. This is configured in the first option on the Account Sync tab: Sync source.

  • Text file - Synchronize shared accounts against a text file. The format of this text file is discussed in the section called “Batch Account Import File Format”.

  • File System Directory Scan - Synchronize shared accounts against a directory structure. Many organizations will have a 'Customers' folder or similar in their file system which will contain one folder per customer. For example, given Customers/Client 1 and Customers/Client 2, synchronizing against the Customers directory will import Client 1 and Client 2 as shared accounts.

Tip

The location of the text file or directory (the sync source) is relative to the system where PaperCut MF is installed, not the system being used to access the admin interface. The sync source should either be physically on that system, or accessible via a mapped / mounted drive. Additionally, the source should have permissions to be readable by the Local System account on Windows, or the papercut account on Mac or Linux.

The other options include:

  • File location / directory location - The location of the file or directory to sync against. The location is relative to the server.

  • Perform sync - How often the account sync should take place. The available options are Hourly and Overnight. If new accounts are being added regularly throughout the day, Hourly is probably the best choice. The Overnight sync occurs nightly at approximately 1:15am.

  • Treat subdirectories as sub-accounts - This option is only available with directory synchronizing against a directory. When checked, subdirectories will be treated as sub-accounts. For example, a directory structure of Customers/Client 1/Project 1 will produce a top level account called Client 1 and a sub-account of Client 1 called Project 1.

  • Delete accounts that do not exist in the selected source - This option will delete accounts that exist in PaperCut MF but not in the sync source. Use this option to clean out 'old' accounts. This option is not 'remembered' for the automatic synchronization, so accounts can only be deleted by checking this box and pressing Synchronize Now. Deleting is a destructive operation. Don't forget to perform a test first and a backup is also advised!