Managing Devices

The Devices page is the central location for managing all multifunction printers (MFPs) and output devices connected to OptimiDoc Server. From here, administrators add new devices, edit their configuration, install or uninstall the embedded terminal application, check installation status, generate QR codes for device registration and perform bulk operations across many devices at once.

How Device Management Works

OptimiDoc Server communicates with each device over the network using its IP address. Depending on the vendor and licence, a device can host the OptimiDoc embedded terminal — the application that appears on the machine's touch panel for authentication, secure print release and scanning — and is polled over SNMP for status and supply levels. Because manufacturers expose very different capabilities, the device form adapts to the Device Type you select: fields, tabs, authentication methods and terminal layouts that a given vendor does not support are hidden automatically, so you only ever see options that are valid for that machine.

A typical device lifecycle is: add the device (name, IP, vendor, licence) → configure its terminal and advanced behaviour → install the embedded application onto the panel → monitor it under Device Monitoring.

Accessing the Devices Page

1. Sign in to the OptimiDoc Server administration interface.

2. In the left sidebar, expand Devices and select Devices.

The page displays a searchable, paginated table of all registered devices. Use the search box to find a device by name; results are paged on the server so the list stays fast even for very large fleets. The table has the following columns:

Adding a New Device

1. Click the Add Device button in the top-right corner of the page.

2. Select the Device Type from the dropdown. Supported types are Xerox, HP Enterprise, HP Pro, Konica Minolta, Develop, Lexmark, Epson, Ricoh, Canon, Kyocera, Fiery and Network Device.

3. Choose the Licence level. The available options depend on the device type — most MFPs offer No License, Full, Print Only and Capture Only; network-only devices offer Network Device. Full enables both print release and scanning, while Print Only and Capture Only restrict the device to one side of the workflow.

4. On the General tab, fill in:

   • Name — A descriptive name for the device (required).

   • Location — Physical location for reference (and for notification location filters).

   • IP Address — The network address of the device (required). A hostname is also accepted.

   • Model — Click the Auto-detect (wand) button to retrieve the model name via SNMP, or enter it manually.

   • Serial Number — Click Auto-detect to retrieve the serial number via SNMP, or enter it manually.

   • Secure Connection — Enable to use HTTPS when communicating with the device (shown where the vendor supports it; some vendors, such as Lexmark, always use a secure connection).

   • Use Accounting — Enable to track print and copy costs; a Price List selector appears when it is switched on.

5. Click Create to register the device.

If you enter an IP address that is already assigned to another device, the save is rejected with the message "A device with this IP address already exists."

Configuring Terminal Settings

The Terminal tab controls how users interact with the embedded application on the device panel. It is available for vendors that host an OptimiDoc terminal (it is hidden for Network Device and Fiery).

1. Open the device for editing and select the Terminal tab.

2. Configure the following settings:

   • Terminal Layout — Choose the panel layout: Modern, Classic, Classic (Large Display), Classic (Small Display) or Legacy. The Legacy layout is only offered on vendors that still support it.

   • Device Authentication — Enable or disable user authentication at the device panel. Some vendors require it and it cannot be turned off.

   • Authentication Method — How users identify themselves at the panel. The available methods depend on the vendor and on whether device authentication is enabled, and include Single Sign-On, User List, PIN, Login and Password, Card, Card or PIN, Card and PIN, Card or Login, Card and Login and External Authentication.

   • Card Assignment Method — Shown when a card-based method is selected; defines how an unrecognised card is handled: Device Authentication, Deny, PIN or Login and Password.

   • Localisation — The language shown on the device panel. The list is populated from the language packs installed on the server.

   • Display Settings — Which functions the panel opens on: Default: Scan, Default: Print, Print Only, Scan Only or Intelligent (available with the Full licence).

3. Click Save to apply the terminal configuration.

Advanced Settings

The Advanced tab exposes vendor-specific options (it is hidden for device types that do not need it, such as Network Device):

• Login / Password — Credentials OptimiDoc uses to reach the device's own web administration interface.

• Separate Application Registration — Register OptimiDoc as a separate application on the device.

• OptimiDoc as Default Application — Set the OptimiDoc terminal as the default screen shown after login.

• Print All — Enable the "Print All" button on the device panel (hidden for the Capture Only licence).

• Use Pre-Authorisation — Require pre-authorisation before releasing print jobs.

• Delivery Type — The protocol used to deliver print jobs to the device: Auto, Web Services, IPP, IPP (No Chunked), IPPS (Secure), JetDirect or LPR. Leave it on Auto unless a specific transport is required.

• SNMP Configuration — The SNMP profile used to communicate with and monitor the device. New devices are pre-filled with the default profile, so monitoring works out of the box; see SNMP Configuration.

Assigning Tags

1. Open the device for editing and select the Tags tab.

2. Click the colour-coded tag buttons to assign or remove tags.

3. Click Save.

Tags organise devices into logical groups for filtering, bulk operations and quota scoping. See Tags for details.

Auto-Detecting Model and Serial Number

Rather than typing the model and serial number by hand, OptimiDoc can read them straight from the device over SNMP:

1. Enter the device's IP Address first.

2. Click the Auto-detect (wand) button next to the Model or Serial Number field.

3. OptimiDoc queries the device using the selected SNMP configuration and fills in the field if the device responds. If it cannot be read, a message says so and you can enter the value manually.

For auto-detection to work, a working SNMP configuration must be selected for the device (see the SNMP Configuration article).

Installing the Embedded Application

For vendors with an embedded terminal, the OptimiDoc application must be installed onto the device panel before users can authenticate and release jobs there. The install, uninstall and status actions are available from each device's actions menu (and in bulk):

• Install deploys the OptimiDoc embedded application to the device and registers it according to the terminal and advanced settings you configured. The device's SNMP configuration is applied as part of the same operation, so monitoring is active immediately after installation.

• Uninstall removes the embedded application from the device panel.

• Check Status verifies that the application is present and responding, and updates the Installed column to OK or Error.

Installing to some panels legitimately takes a while, so these operations run with no client-side timeout and are not retried automatically — this avoids interrupting a long-running install and leaving the device half-configured. If an operation fails, the error message returned by the device explains why. Install, Uninstall and Check Status are hidden for device types that have no embedded terminal (Network Device, Fiery and local/TWAIN scanners).

QR Code Registration

The Download QR Code action generates a QR code that encodes the device's address, letting users point a mobile device or the panel at it to jump straight to the right device. The code is produced directly in your browser and downloaded as a PNG named after the device. It is available for all device types except purely local devices.

Device Actions

Each device row has an actions menu (the three-dot button) offering:

Bulk Operations

OptimiDoc can apply the same action to many devices at once — invaluable for large fleets.

1. Select devices by ticking the checkboxes in the left column (or the header checkbox to select the page).

2. A selection toolbar appears in the page header. Its primary button runs Check Status on the selection; the adjoining dropdown offers the full set of bulk actions:

   • Install — Install the embedded application on all selected devices.

   • Uninstall — Remove the embedded application from all selected devices.

   • Set Tags — Assign a chosen set of tags to the selection. This replaces the devices' existing tags.

   • Set Price List — Assign a price list to the selection, or choose None (remove) to clear it.

   • Delete — Delete all selected devices (with confirmation).

3. While a bulk action runs, the toolbar button shows a spinner and a progress label. When it finishes, a summary reports how many devices succeeded and how many failed, so partial failures across a large batch are never hidden.

In Summary

The Devices page takes a machine from "on the network" to "fully managed": add it with the right vendor and licence, let the form guide you through only the settings that vendor supports, auto-detect its model and serial, install the embedded terminal, and confirm it with a status check. Tags, bulk operations and the per-device actions menu then keep day-to-day administration quick, whether you manage five devices or five hundred.