Siebel Correspondence, Proposals, and Presentations Guide > Batch Printing >

About Batch Printing

Batch printing simplifies the task of printing multiple correspondence items. The user first selects one or more correspondence items, and then selects the Print option from the menu button. The documents are then printed on the appropriate printer.

Siebel applications support two types of batch printing, server-based and client-based. Initially, the print menu item appearing in the Correspondence and Fulfillment screens is configured to perform client-based batch printing. However, the administrator can use Siebel Tools to reconfigure these menus to use server-based batch printing, either in addition to, or instead of, client-based batch printing.

NOTE:  If you experience issues with batch printing, you can set up WebDAV (Web-based Distribution Authoring and Versioning) for the IIS (Internet Information Server) to enable collaboration between the Siebel Server in a UNIX computer with the Document Server in a Windows computer.

Client-Based Batch Printing

When a user prints a document using client-based batch printing, the Siebel application launches Microsoft Word on the user's client. It then retrieves the document from the Siebel File System and prints it to the default printer configured for the user's desktop session.

For this feature to work correctly, the end user must configure the browser to enable the Siebel application to launch Microsoft Word by changing the following security option: Initialize and script ActiveX controls not marked safe. Change this option to either Enable or Prompt for the security zone containing the Siebel application URL. Typically, this zone is either the local intranet zone or the trusted zone. Users must verify that any other URL in this zone can be trusted with this security privilege.

Server-Based Batch Printing

When a user prints a document using server-based batch printing, a request is sent to the DocServer server component. This component then prints the document to the printer the user specifies in the User Preferences screen. If the user does not specify a preference, the document is printed on the default printer the system administrator configures on the Document Server computer.

When a user initiates server-based batch printing for a correspondence document, a request is sent to the DocServer component. This request contains the values for the Default Printer and Printer Driver preferences the user selects in the Correspondence view of the User Preferences screen. After receiving the request, the Document Server uses Microsoft Word to convert the document into a PostScript file. The value for the Printer Driver user preference determines the style of generated PostScript. This parameter specifies the name of a network printer. The PostScript file is suitable for this printer and all other printers of the same model. After the PostScript file is generated, the Document Server sends the file to the printer specified in the Default Printer user preference.