System Settings
Overview
System settings are divided into 5 sections. Global, Email Settings, Workflow, Archiving, and Other.
Global
To access Global settings, click on the configuration button at the top to the far right and select “System Settings”. Global is the default section.
In the Global Search there are several parameters which will set the system-wide behavior of tFLOW:
- Instance company name – the string entered here will be used in descriptive text of email communications.
- Page title – this string defines the name which will appear in browser window tab
- Alert email subject prefix – starting phrase which is placed at the beginning of the subject line of email alerts
- Default time zone – sets the clock for the system. Users may be in other time zones, but events will be recorded according to the time zone defined here
- Default language – sets the default system language for any new user. Users may define their own language in their user profile which will override this value
- Dimension units – sets the default to metric or imperial. Preflight, proofing, etc. will use the value defined here
- Customer link to support – all site owners will always go to support.aleyant.com when they click the “Help” button, but you may define your own support page for your customers (non-site owners) here.
- pdfToolbox Report Language – sets the default language for the PDF preflight information. Unlike the tFLOW UI language which can be defined by each user, the PDF report can only be shown in one language
- pdfToolbox Report Type – sets the default basic or advanced type for the PDF preflight information.
- Color Theme – sets the default theme for the tFLOW instance.
- Comments: Make Comments Private by default - set the visibility of each comment to “private” by default..
- Max attempts – defines the max number of failed login attempts before the user is locked out
- Time Window (minutes) – defines the amount of time in which the user can make the failed login attempts before being locked out
- Lockout Period (minutes) – defines how long the user account will be locked out after making too many failed attempts
- Note: the system admin can go to a locked user account and unlock it manually independently of the Lockout Period
- Footer parameters
- Show footer text – shows the tFLOW version and revision number (bottom left) as well as the terms of service (bottom right). This can be toggled on and off
- Disclaimer parameters
- Show disclaimer – places the disclaimer text at the bottom of the proof window for jobs which are awaiting approval
- Text color – defines the color of the disclaimer text
- Background color – defines the color of the disclaimer text box
- Disclaimer text – defines the text message that will appear in the disclaimer.
- Self-signup users
- Enable self-signup – places a registration button on the main login screen that permits new users to create accounts for themselves
- Require admin to enable accounts of self-signed-up users – places any self-signed up account to Disabled by default until an admin has enabled it by clicking the “Enabled” checkbox
- Notification email address – defines the email account where self-signup notifications will be sent
- Notification name – defines the title of the self-signup notification/alert email
- New user defaults
- Auto assign to new orders – defines the default setting for new user accounts to be automatically assigned to new orders. This parameter can be changed individually in the user profile
- Auto assign to new companies - defines the default setting for new user accounts to be automatically assigned to new companies. This parameter can be changed individually in the user profile
- Terms of Service
- Show Terms of Service – defines if terms of service will be visible for your customers (site owners will always see Terms of Service)
- Login Screen Text – allows you to define the terms of service notification your customers will see on the login screen (you will always see Aleyant Terms of Service)
- Terms of Service Text – allows you to define the terms of service text your customers will (you will always see Aleyant Terms of Service)
- Inventory Sheet
- Jobs per page – sets how many jobs will be listed on each page of the inventory sheet by default. Dynamic will choose automatically to fit the largest number possible, or you may choose from any fixed number listed for that to be the default no matter how many jobs could fit on the page.
Email Settings
tFLOW is configured to use the Sendgrid emailing service by default for all email alerts and notifications. You should change this, however, to assure that your users will receive your notifications, since they may have set SPAM filters with your domain whitelisted. If you are unsure of any of the settings in the SMTP section – host internet address, host IP port, security protocol, etc. consult with your IT administrator or email service provider.
User Welcome Alerts
In the Email Settings section, you can also define the look and feel of many of the email notifications which are sent to users. The User Creation Welcome Alerts has several configurations because tFLOW can create users in a variety of ways. In all cases, you can turn the alert on and off, define an email subject, and email body (including formatting). User Creation options:
- UI User Creation Alerts – this email is sent when a user is created from the tFLOW UI, i.e. Settings/Users/Create User
- CSV User Creation Alerts – batches of users can be imported into tFLOW by using the CSV import option. This setting addressed users created in that manner
- Anonymous User Creation Alerts – email confirmation that is only sent to users who have signed up using the anonymous upload page. See Anonymous Upload for more information
- External User Creation Alerts – refers to users created by external applications through the tFLOW UI, such as an MIS, or W2P application
- Self-signup – alert which is sent to users who have created their own account through the self-signup option on the main login screen
- Adding User for Order Welcome Alerts – alert which is sent to users when they are created by adding them to an existing order
- Adding User for Job Welcome Alerts - alert which is sent to users when they are created by adding them to an existing job
Order Review Alerts – defines the default text and format for Order review emails. See section Order Review Alerts for more information
Workflow
- Use globally unique job names – when checked, this option assures that all jobs in the system have a unique job number. When unchecked, two or more jobs may have the same number as long as they are in different orders
- Mandatory job size – requires the user to define width and height of the artwork during job creation. This option disables drag and drop to the order window since the width and height must be input before the job can be created
- Preflight Warnings – shows a preflight warning badge on the job (similar to the On hold warning), and changes the option from “Approve” to “Approve Anyway”
- Clear RUSH on job state change – when checked any job which is marked as a RUSH will go back to normal state upon reaching the next stage, ex. Awaiting artwork to Awaiting Approval. When unchecked, the RUSH status will stay on the job throughout its passage through tFLOW, regardless of how many state changes it undergoes
- Allow batch transitions for different orders – when in the jobs page, you can select jobs from different orders. When this is checked, you can enact state changes on multiple jobs as long as they are in the same current state. If unchecked, multiple state changes will only be available when jobs are from the same order.
- Maximum preview dimensions – defines the size of previews used in tFLOW. The larger the size, the more MB the file will occupy in the disk, and the longer it will take to load on screen. Large, which is the default, is usually the best option
- Splitting Scheme – defines the default splitting scheme for any new order. This can be changed individually on each order
- Default Customer Workflow – defines the workflow default for each new order. This can be changed on each order during order creation. See the section Workflow for more information
- Default Internal Workflow – defines the workflow default for each new order created for your company only. This can be changed on each order during order creation. See the section Workflow for more information
- Thumbnail source – determines how job thumbnails will be generated:
- Default - the traditional tFLOW behavior which takes a square section out of the center of the artwork.
- Original – uses the original artwork file
- Preflight – uses the preflighted artwork
- Finished – uses the completely processed artwork
- Ship Date Default – sets the default ship date for all new orders. This can be changed individually on each order
- Names autogeneration – allows tFLOW to automatically create Order and Job numbers for any which are left blank during creation. Prefix allows you to define any characters you would like to append to the front of the order and job numbers
- HotFolder parameter – defines the input path for XML workflows. This path needs to match the output path of the application generating the XML files
- External systems, connected output queues – legacy parameter that only affects tFLOW Production users. tFLOW Production has been replaced by tBOT.
Approval
- Make comment mandatory on reject – when checked, this option assures that the reject command is requiring the user to enter the reason
- HTML Text for "Approval message" – when a text is entered here then it will be displayed on the approval popup. Also, the add comments will be disabled for approved jobs.
Archiving
To save space, tFLOW can archive hi-res data of older orders and jobs. You may archive manually using the archive menu option on any order or job, or setup automated archiving in the system settings. Any archived order or job saves all information, previews and low-res files online and can be searched and viewed normally, but while archived, no state changed can be made nor can the production file be sent to production. If you need to make the order or job live again, you may do so by selecting it in the UI and choosing the “Unarchive” option from the menu.
Automation Archive Settings
- Archiving Scheme – defines the rule for which orders should be archived. Choices include: Any, Only approved, Only completed
- Maximum number of jobs to archive – defines a limit of how many jobs will be archived
- Start with months ago – defines from how far back in time the jobs will be archived. The default is 24 months, so if left at this setting, any job created more than 2 years ago will not be archived
Archiving Settings – defines where the archived files will be stored. Current choices include Local (on the local machine or a networked drive) and Amazon S3. For local, you will need to contact Aleyant Tech Support to define the archival drive and folder. It is not possible to configure through the web browser. For Amazon S3, you will need to know your Access ID, Secret key, and URL.
Other
File renaming – tFLOW creates a series of files when an artwork is uploaded. In file renaming, you can determine if the file name will stay as is with a suffix applied or create a new file name using variables and text strings. File renaming can be applied to the original artwork, the converted file, low resolution file, proof, preflight report, and production file. The most common application is to rename the production file with variables such as quantity, company, and job name so that the production personnel can relate print files to their job tickets easily. There are several examples in the UI, but you can also consult the full list of available variables here:
http://support.aleyant.com/kb/a1348/tflow-substitution-variables.aspx.
Approval Invitation Settings – defines the number of days the link to a job will remain valid. This applies to the Invite option only, and does not affect normal approval links. For more information on the Invite function, see the section Order and Job Management – Jobs.