Hints for using RICOH ProcessDirector data in RICOH Supervisor

After you configure data collectors and data transmitters, your challenge is to create dashboards and widgets in RICOH Supervisor to use that data. Here are some suggestions to make that process easier.

Familiarize yourself with the data that is sent to RICOH Supervisor

Before you start to work with RICOH ProcessDirector data in RICOH Supervisor dashboards, we recommend downloading the RICOH ProcessDirector CSV files that are sent to RICOH Supervisor and analyze the data that is collected. In the CSV files, you can see the column headers and data contained in the columns, how many entries are recorded, and how the data is collected overall. Download and open a CSV file for each type of data collector that you enable.

Duplicate and invalid entries

In the CSV files that you downloaded, you probably noticed that some values are recorded in each row of the table without changing. In other cases, some cells are empty for the early steps in a workflow, but filled in later. Both of these situations might require you to use formulas and filters in your widgets in RICOH Supervisor.

For example, the Job Step Progress data collector records data in the job_history table at the beginning and end of each step in the workflow. Properties do not always change from step to step, so many of those property values are identical from row to row. Look at the CSV file for the Job Step Progress data collector and follow how each column changes from row to row.

By default, the Job Step Progress data collector records values for Cumulative pages stacked and Cumulative sheets stacked. Those properties do not have values until after the PrintJobs step. But, for every step after the PrintJobs step, the values are recorded again without changing. The value only changes if the job passes through the PrintJobs step again, for example, if you have to reprint part of the job.

To include one of those values in a widget, be sure that you do not include the values from mulitple steps. RICOH Supervisor will add the values together and therefore provide incorrect results. Use a formula or filter to be sure that you only include values from one row in the database table.

If there are invalid entries, the rows might contain N\A. You can apply a widget filter to filter out these N\A rows to make the widget more easily readable and understandable.

For example, to create a report that shows how many jobs meet their SLA and how many miss their SLA each week, we can consider two factors in this report. The first factor is that not all jobs have an SLA. The second factor is that several data records are available for jobs before the SLA outcome is determined.

If you notice N\A values in the chart, you can add a widget filter to filter out the N\A values. Adding a widget filter results in a more meaningful chart that is easier to read and understand.

RICOH Supervisor dashboard filters only apply to a set of widgets

You can apply dashboard filters only to the widgets that were not configured as independent widgets. The widgets that have the Dashboard Filters option turned off are not affected by the filters applied to a dashboard. These independent widgets can be configured to use their own filter.

Time reported for collecting

The time displayed under the Data as of ... field at the top of the RICOH Supervisor dashboard is the time of the last update recorded from the internal database. It is not the latest update of the data collected by the RICOH ProcessDirector data collectors. The data collected by the RICOH ProcessDirector data collectors is updated based on the RICOH ProcessDirector transmission schedule. The RICOH ProcessDirector transmission date is always older than the time reported in RICOH Supervisor under Data as of .... To get the transmission data as transmitted by RICOH ProcessDirector, go to RICOH Supervisor Data Collectors Software Connectors and select the data transmitter from the list.

Different time zone

If you are using RICOH Supervisor in a different time zone than the RICOH ProcessDirector primary server, use Convert times to time zone from RICOH ProcessDirector. To access and change the values of the current time zone, log in to RICOH ProcessDirector, then go to Administration Settings RICOH Supervisor Convert times to time zone.

Sending jobs containing PDF and PostScript files to an InfoPrint 5000 printer

When RICOH ProcessDirector sends a job containing a PDF or PostScript file to an InfoPrint 5000 printer, the information received from the printer regarding the printing process might be different than the actual data on the printer. The data displayed in RICOH Supervisor might be different than what is reported on the actual printer.