What to Do When Users Don't Get the Argos Desktop Client Popup

The Argos “pop-up” dialog (officially called the Argos Desktop Client) pops up on users’ desktops and asks them to enter a project code after they print.  

The "pop-up" is triggered when our software encounters a match between the username/domain of a tracked print job and the username/domain of an Argos desktop client connected to our Communication Service and both the user and device are in "interactive" Argos groups.  

The desktop client and print/copy tracking components can be functioning properly independently of each other, but a popup will not appear if that matching condition is not satisfied.

You can tell instantly which clients are connected and what prints have tracked recently by visiting the Communication Service Health Page on the server.  We will rely heavily on this health page in order to complete the troubleshooting steps listed below.  

Before getting started please bring up http://YOURARGOSSERVER:7080/cs/health in a browser, or just http://localhost:7080/cs/health on the server itself.

Now that you've got that up in a browser, here are the four important questions to investigate whenever a user isn’t getting a popup.  It’s often useful to have the user send a fresh test print if possible just so that you’re dealing with recent information, but in Argos 7.7 we include up to 200 recent jobs on the health page for your troubleshooting pleasure.

 

Is the desktop client installed on the user’s workstation and connected to the server?

This can be viewed either on the CS health page or by looking for a grey "A" icon in the system tray of the user’s workstation.  Installing the desktop client is very simple, but you may want to check with your IT department if they use some of our other deployment methods such as our Deployment Center or through Group Policy.  

If you see a red "A" icon in the system tray, this means that the desktop client cannot reach the Argos Communication Service.  You may need to start/restart Argos Communication Service on your server or open port 7080 on your server's firewall to restore the connection.

 

Is the affected user in an Argos user group set to track interactively?

If the user is not in an Argos Manager group set to produce pop-ups, you’ll see “automatic based on user settings” in the last xx jobs section of the CS Health Page (must be expanded out by hitting the "+" sign): 

autobilled.JPG

In these cases you'll need to make sure the user group settings are "interactive" rather than "silent" for the user that is making the print job within Argos Manager’s Users section.  

You can also check the recycled section of Reports and Data in Manager to look for the test page with “Auto-billed based on User Settings”



Does the username/domain for the tracked job match the desktop client login information on the CS Health Page for the affected user?

 This is especially important to investigate in Macintosh environments.  Additional steps may need to be taken if the username and domain of the tracked job don’t match what the user is logging into their machine with.  

Below you see the fields that must match in order to produce a popup highlighted in an example from the Communication Service Health Page:

matching.JPG

User merging followed by a communication service restart is the most common way to address situations where these fields aren't an exact match, but print driver user settings can also come into play in some cases.  If you’re not sure what’s causing the username mismatch, include screenshots of the CS health page along with your Argos support ticket and we may be able to help shed some light on what’s going on upstream.

 

Is the printer tracked in Argos and placed in an interactive device group?

 

If there are no prints appearing for the test page in the last 25 tracked jobs section of the health page, you may need to install the print tracking server component wherever the print job is spooling.  This can be on the print server or a workstation depending on the configuration of your environment.  You will also want to make sure that Argos Agent Service is in a "started" state on that server or workstation.

 If you’re using device integration (including onboard solutions)  for the printer in question, this issue is slightly more complex.

 Here is some additional information on the difference between windows queue tracking and direct device integration.

If you are certain that you wish to track your device through the windows queue tracking and you see "automatic based on device settings" posting on the Communication Service Health Page (as shown below), you'll need to move the device into an Argos Manager device group that is set for interactive billing.

deviceautobilled.JPG

If you do intend to track through integration, the windows queues (\\server\printer naming convention) will either not have tracking enabled or their records will be listed as “automatic based on device settings” in the CS Health Page’s recently posted jobs.  This is because they have been properly placed in an Argos device group set to bill silently to the recycling bin to avoid double billing.  Integration or onboard prints will show “service id xx” for the "device service info" in the last 25 tracked jobs.

If the device is listed in your “Advanced Tracking” catch-all group in Argos Manager, this is a good indication that the device should be tracked through integration.  If you don’t see the “service id xx” jobs for your onboard or integration device, you’ll want to make sure that your Argos Integration service (or brand specific "Argos Onboard for XXXX" service for onboard MFPs)  is started/restarted and properly mapped in the device settings.

If you still aren’t sure of why the user isn’t being prompted, please open a ticket with Sepialine Support to have a technician assist with your issue. Screenshots of the health page, along with any steps you've tried and info you've found should be included with your ticket so that we can assist you more efficiently.

 

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