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Configure Sendback

This use case describes how to configure distribution via the Sendback channel. PLOSSYS Distribution Engine returns the distributed files directly to the client that started the job. It does not store them on the file system or send them by e-mail. Use this channel if an external system starts jobs via DPF REST Service and processes the results itself.

Prerequisites

  • PLOSSYS Distribution Engine 2.2.0 or later.
  • An external system starts the jobs via DPF REST Service.

Activate the Sendback Channel

To activate the Sendback channel, set the parameters as follows:

  1. Set DIST_CONFIG to SENDBACK.

    PLOSSYS Distribution Engine then reads the sendback.ini file. This file sets DistChannel_n as follows:

    DistChannel_1 = dpf4distribute.DistributeSendback

    Caution - do not set DistChannel_n in the job

    Select the channel only via DIST_CONFIG. Never pass DistChannel_n as a job parameter.

  2. Set DIST_TYPE on the documents to return, refer to Configure Document Processing. For ZIP or MERGE, the Sendback channel returns the created file instead of the source documents.

  3. Optionally set DIST_FILENAME to name the returned file. Without DIST_FILENAME, PLOSSYS Distribution Engine uses the file name of the retrieved file.

    Caution - no directory path via DPF REST Service

    DPF REST Service returns only the file name part of DIST_FILENAME. It drops a directory path, for example subdir/ in subdir/invoice.pdf. The file extension comes from the distributed file, not from DIST_FILENAME.

Validate

  1. Start a test job with DIST_CONFIG set to SENDBACK and at least one file with DIST_TYPE set to NATIVE or PDF.

  2. Check that the client receives all files with DIST_TYPE NATIVE or PDF. Each file has the file name from DIST_FILENAME, or the file name of the retrieved file if DIST_FILENAME is not set.

  3. In DPF Tracker, check the job log of the sendback working unit. It contains one line File to transfer for each file.

Background Information

File Selection

The Sendback channel returns each file of the job that matches all of the following conditions:

  • IS_DIST_FILE is set to Y in its RLI line. PLOSSYS Distribution Engine sets it during Preprocess based on DIST_TYPE.
  • The file has not been selected yet. If several RLI lines refer to the same file, the channel returns it once.

If no RLI line matches, the channel ends without error. The job does not wait for the client.

Timeout

The job waits until the client has fetched the files. If the client does not fetch them, PLOSSYS Distribution Engine cancels the job after 4 hours at the earliest.

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