Gathering information about my printers

You can use MarkVision Professional to gather and store information about the devices in your organization. You can then view the collected information (printer inventory) using a database tool or an application, such as MarkTrack*, specifically designed to interpret and display the information.

Use the information gathered by the printer inventory process to answer questions such as:

Enable printer inventory

  1. Select Printer Inventory from the All Tasks list.
  2. Select the database you want to use.
  3. Enter the username, password, and connection path (URL**) for the database you plan to use.
  4. Add the printer(s) from which you would like to collect printer inventory to the Selected Printers box. You can select printers from folders or perform a quick find to locate the printers you need. (Select multiple printers by using the Ctrl or Shift key.)
  5. Click Apply.

If you would like printer inventory to run at a specific time, select Scheduling from the All Tasks list.


*If you are using a MarkTrack database, MarkTrack version 2.0 or later is required.

** The URL is the path to the database used to monitor this server. MarkVision currently supports the following databases: Access, Oracle, and SQL Server, as well as CSV format (Comma Separated Variables). The examples below show the path styles used for each type of database.

Oracle The default is the path to the MarkVision server. If the database is installed on a different server, change the URL field appropriately, using the path style below:

<database driver>@<database server's IP address>:<database port>:<database instance (memory area)>

For example: jdbc:oracle:thin:@127.117.46.113:1521:orcl

Access,
SQL Server
<database driver>:<DSN>

For example: jdbc:odbc:yourdsn

DSN is a Data Source Name, which must be created prior to using Job Accounting or Printer Inventory. Use your ODBC configuration in Windows' Control Panel to create a DSN.

Note: Exporting this information through an ODBC interface is only supported in a Windows environment.

CSV CSV format provides you the option to export your printer data into a text file formated to accommodate database fields. Enter the directory address where you want the text file to be created on your network or computer.

For example: C:\temp\printerinventory\home

Note: Database insertion (including CSV file manipulation) is handled by a separate thread to reduce the impact of such insertions on the rest of the system. This thread, by default, has a 2 minute time-out, so database insertions and CSV file manipulation will not occur immediately after task completion. Please reference the appropriate MarkVision Server documentation for detailed information.


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