Types of Plug-ins

Plug-ins perform one of three functions:

replacement
augmentation
validation

Replacement Plug-ins

These plug-ins replace some internal Pharos function, disabling or modifying the internal function. Normally the replacement performs a similar task, but in a way more suited to the local environment. An example of a replacement plug-in is the Billing plug-in. The Billing plug-in is passed details of any billing transactions and is expected to perform that billing operation and return a result. SelectPrinter and BillingName override the default selections and calculations even though these still occur.

Augmentation Plug-ins

Pharos calls these plug-ins if various events occur, and they perform some extra function. For example, the Alert plug-in allows the Administrator application to perform extra alert notifications.

Validation Plug-ins

These plug-ins validate some function and can also perform extra work, in a similar fashion to augmentation plug-ins.

Available Plug-ins

The following is a complete list of all plug-ins implemented across the Pharos product, grouped by the component they attach to. These plug-ins are all available as executables or can be scripted, with the exception of the Banner plug-in which is not supported as a scripted plug-in.

Bank Plug-ins

Plug-in Name	Function of Plug-in	Plug-in Type
Billing	Perform billing operations - debit, credit and balance request.	Replace
ChangePassword	Change password of a user.	Replace
ExternalLogon	Maps external authentication information (i.e. user details) to Uniprint. This event is called by the Pharos API whenever a third-party system (e.g. CAS) authenticates a user, and can pass back a modified list of attributes to use for that user (e.g. to replace the email address with a regular user name).	Augment
Logon	Perform validation of user credentials.	Replace
Transfer	Transfer funds from external billing systems to the Pharos internal billing system	Replace

Print Service Plug-ins

Plug-in Name	Function of Plug-in	Plug-in Type
Alert	Respond to the raising of an alert within Pharos	Augment
BillingName	Find the billing name for a print job	Replace
CopyEndJob	Act on the success or failure of a copy job	Augment
CostJob	Calculate cost of a printing job	Augment
DeleteJob	Validate a delete operation	Validate
FaxEndJob	Act on the success or failure of a fax job	Augment
ForwardJob	Forward a print job to a printer	Validate
GetFaxJobCost	Calculate the cost of a fax job	Replace
JobInformation	Provides information about a print job for displaying to the user	Replace
MoveJob	Validate moving a job from one Print Group to another	Validate
PrintStartJob	Perform pre-processing at the start of a print operation	Augment
PrintEndJob	Act on the success or failure of a print job	Augment
PrintJob	Validate a print operation	Validate
PrintJobArrive	Act on the arrival of a print job at a queue	Augment
ScanEndJob	Act on the success or failure of a scan job	Augment
SelectPrinter	Choose a printer other than that suggested by attributes of the print job if a different choice suits the circumstances better	Replace
ShutDown	Augments shutting down the Print Service	Augment
StartUp	Validate starting up a service	Validate

Print Groups Plug-ins

Plug-in Name	Function of Plug-in	Plug-in Type
Banner	Generate a banner before a job prints	Replace

MFD Plug-ins

Plug-in Name	Function of Plug-in	Plug-in Type
GetMfdStatus	Detect the status of an MFD, specifically whether it is printing	Augment

SignUp Service Plug-ins

Plug-in Name	Function of Plug-in	Plug-in Type
SelectEnvironment	Choose an Environment other than that suggested by the User logging on to a SignUp Client	Replace
SessionEnd	Act on the end of a SignUp session	Augment