RELEASE
NOTES – SENTINEL
v6.10.00
Table
of Contents
Third Party Components and
Files
Compatibility with Other
TEKLYNX Software
Software Protection Mode and Data Execution
Prevention
The
SENTINEL software protection mode requires the following configuration to run
on systems supporting Windows Data Execution Prevention (DEP) mechanisms.
All
following executable files must be added to the DEP list of exceptions.
Configuration Details
1.
In
the Start menu, right-click My Computer
and select Properties.
2.
Click
the Advanced tab, or in Windows Server
2008, the Advanced System Settings
button.
3.
In
the System Properties window, click the Settings
button in the Performance section.
4.
In
the Performance Option window, click the Data
Execution Prevention tab.
5.
Click
Add to add the following executable
files to the list of exceptions:
<windows>\<syswow64>\TkxKernel60.exe
<Program
files>\Sentinel\Sentinel.exe
<Program
files>\Sentinel\UpgradeWizard.exe
<Program
files>\Sentinel\USBWizard.exe
Operating System:
·
Windows
Server 2008 R2
·
Windows
Server 2008 x32/x64
·
Windows
Server 2003
·
Windows
7 x32/x64
·
Windows
·
Windows
XP SP3, SP2 x32/x64
Components:
·
Microsoft
.NET Framework 3.5
·
Microsoft
MDAC 2.8
Installation requires administrator’s privileges.
6.10
·
A new input plug-in called dbWatch can retrieve data from an existing
database. This feature is only available in the Data Exchange version of
SENTINEL.
The plug-in can catch either all records from a table, only newly added
records, or only some records based on a value of a dedicated Status field.
See the plug-in help for available features and configuration tips.
·
New options in the Sentinel Backup
Service (SBS) allows a notification email to be
sent on server switching.
See the SBS help for configuration procedure.
·
New options in the Sentinel Backup
Service (SBS) allows strict synchronisation of Secondary server files. I.E to:
- delete the files on the Secondary when deleted from the Primary,
- to overwrite files modified directly on the Secondary with files of the
Primary, independently of the file modification date.
See the SBS help for configuration procedure.
6.00
·
SENTINEL
is fully compatible with Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2.
·
It
is possible to specify a waiting time before the SENTINEL service actually
starts. This allows the service to wait for other applications to be ready when
experiencing long boot sequences on a server.
The
waiting period can be defined in the sentinel.xml file under the <general> node.
For example: <waitatstartup>30</waitatstartup> to wait 30s before the service starts.
·
In
the file input plug-in, a setting allows the application to check incoming
files’ signature with certificates. See the SENTINEL Plug-in Help file for more
information.
Checking for the digital signature
of the captured files ensures that the sentinel is not processing a file that
has been altered or modified since it was first generated.
This provides a high level of
security for the data printed on the labels.
·
In
the CODESOFT Printing plug-in, a parameter can be set to accommodate for
printers having trouble handling large amount of labels. It can be set by
modifying the TKXCS.xml plug-in file in
the General section by adding a MaxQuantity element with the desired label quantity. Print
jobs where the label quantity exceeds this value will be split into several print commands. For example: if MaxQuantity = 1000, a job asking
for 2500 labels will issue three printer jobs, containing 1000, 1000, and 500
labels respectively. TKXCS.xml element syntax for
this example would be …<MaxQuantity>1000</MaxQuantity>…
The default value is the maximum value for a 32-bit integer
(2 147 483 647). The minimum value is 1.
·
A new control variable @WATERMARK allows you to
automatically add a watermark to the next printed label.
The value that is set in this variable is simply used as a watermark
message printed on the label
Note: This feature is only available with CODESOFT 9.00.02.
·
A new control variable @IMAGE_MODE allows you
to dynamically change the configuration of the sentinel for the next print job.
If set to 0, the sentinel prints a label.
If set to 1, the sentinel generates a preview image of the label but
does not print it.
If set to 2, the sentinel prints the label and generates a preview image
of the label.
·
A new control variable @IMAGE_SIZE allows you
to specify the zoom factor of the image preview.
·
A new control variable @IMAGE_FORMAT allows you
to specify the format of the image preview.
The value for this variable can be one of the following: BMP, JPG, PCX,
PNG, EPS, TIF, DCX.
·
A new control variable @LAB_VARS allows you to
output in an xml file with the description of the form and free variables of
the label.
To output this file, set this control variable with the value of the
file name.
·
New control variables are available with this version that
allows you to change the object properties on the label. After printing, the
object properties automatically revert back to their initial value.
@PROP_Printable: Indicates if the object will be printed or not. The
value can be 0 (Not Printable) or 1 (Printable).
@PROP_Rotation: Sets the rotation of the object. The value can be
one of the following: 0, 900, 1800, 2700.
@PROP_BackColor: Sets the background color
of the object.
@PROP_ForeColor: Sets the foreground color
of the object.
@PROP_Width: Sets the width of the object (in millimeter
x 100 or inch x 100 depending on the designer’s configuration).
@PROP_Height: Sets the height of the object (in millimeter x 100 or inch x 100 depending on the designer’s
configuration).
@PROP_Top: Sets the distance between the top edge of the anchor
point of the object and the top edge of the document (in millimeter
x 100 or inch x 100 depending on the designer’s configuration).
@PROP_Left: Sets the distance between the left edge of the
anchor point of the object and the left edge of the document (in millimeter x 100 or inch x 100 depending on the designer’s
configuration).
@PROP_MarginLeft: Sets the internal left margin of the object.
@PROP_MarginRight: Sets the internal right margin of the object.
@PROP_MarginTop: Sets the internal top margin of the object.
@PROP_MarginBottom: Sets the internal bottom margin of the object.
@PROP_ AnchorPoint: Sets the anchor point of the object.
The
assignment to these variable use the following syntaxe:
@PROP_XXXXXX = <Object name on the label>,<Value>|<Object name
on the label>,<Value>|
…
For
example: @PROP_Printable = Address,1|MyBarcode13,1|MyBarcode128,0
The
wildcard character * can be used to modify the same property for a group of
objects:
For
example: @PROP_Printable = HRText*,0
…will
prevent printing of all objects having a naming starting with HRText for this time.
5.10
·
A
new CODESOFT Printing plug-in is introduced to accommodate for CODESOFT 9
changes.
This plug-in does not work with CODESOFT 8. That is, upgrading to SENTINEL 5.10
requires upgrading the CODESOFT Runtime application used by SENTINEL to version
9.
5.06
·
The
CODESOFT Printing plug-in will now automatically restart the print engine if it
was unloaded from memory for any reason. This feature is enabled by default. It
can be disabled by modifying the TKXCS.xml plug-in
file in the General section by setting the RestartPE node to 0 instead of 1. This
feature was introduced to avoid the propagation of an error from one failing
sentinel to the other sentinels through a defective print engine. After a print failure, the error was
correctly reported for the sentinel trying to print but after that, other sentinels
would get the hanged shared print engine and would also fail.
·
When
issuing many print commands for a single label, the printer can waste
approximately half a second in communication and memory management between
printing each label. If you are printing many labels, the overall printing time
increases greatly. A new option in the CODESOFT Print plug-in allows buffering
all the print orders of one job (same incoming file, same label on same
printer). The group of print commands is sent in one message to the printer. To
test if this option can speed up your printings, modify the TKXCS.xml plug-in file in the General section
by setting the JobBuffering node to -1
instead of 0.
·
A
new option for the File Capture plug-in allows sorting files by name instead of
sorting them by date. This is useful if file groups are created so rapidly that
they have the same creation date and time. To use this option, the generated
file names must follow a strict convention. For example, they could use a
counter on 8 digits (with padding zero) like 0000001.txt, 0000002.txt, and so
on. To activate the alphabetical sort, open the TKXINPUT.xml
file and set the SortAlpha node to -1 instead of 0.
·
New
control variable: @PAGE_BREAK. By
setting a value in the @PAGE_BREAK control variable, the next print job will be
followed by an End of Page command. It allows reproducing of the side-effect of
the @FORMFEED control variable that was part of previous versions of SENTINEL.
·
In
Sentinel Backup Server (SBS), when the communication between the two SENTINEL
servers was lost due to network failure (not server failure), the backup server
correctly switched to primary mode. But on returning to the network, it would
stay in this mode, leaving two primary servers running. Now, the backup server
continues to test the main server to detect the return of network
communications. When the main server is detected running in primary mode, the
backup server automatically returns to secondary mode. When the main server is
detected running in secondary mode, the backup server stays in primary mode
until manual action is taken. While network communication is down, the backup
server displays that it is in backup primary mode instead of primary mode.
5.05
·
SENTINEL
is now certified for the Works With Windows
Server 2008 designation.
·
In
the Mapper Test window, the control variable
@JOB_NAME now has its own column. It is no longer mixed with dynamically
generated values in the column labelled *.
·
During
data mining, the control variable @JOB_NAME now always retains its value across
blocs. This overrides the Keep Value
setting.
·
The
control variables @OFFSETX and @OFFSETY now accept relative values: if the
value begins with a plus sign, the value is added to the print offset saved in
the label. Without a + sign, the offset is absolute and overrides the print
offset saved in the label. For example, if a horizontal print offset of 100 is
saved in the label:
o
a value of
20 for @OFFSETX gives a final offset of 20.
o
a value of
+20 gives a final offset of 120.
o
a value of
-20 gives a final offset of -20.
o
a value of
+-20 gives a final offset of 80.
5.04
·
SENTINEL
is now compliant with the Windows Vista security system. No user file or
setting is written in the Sentinel program file folder. All settings are stored
in the Document folder common to all users.
·
The
MAPPER conversion method "replace string" has been extended to allow
for multiple replacements. If the search string starts with ((list;))=
it defines a list of strings separated by a semi-colon. To use another
separator, modify the character following the "list" keyword. For
example, ((list+))=
uses the + sign as separator. The idea is to use a character that never appears
in the listed strings. To do multiple replace, use the list keyword in the
'search string' parameter and a plain string in the 'replace with' parameter.
o
Example
1:
- Search ((list,))=\,:,<,>
- Replace with _
> Means: characters 'back slash', 'colon', 'less than', 'greater than' are
all replaced by an underscore.
To do
parallel replace, use the list keyword in both parameters.
o
Example
2:
- Search ((list,))=à,â,ä,é,è,ê,ë,î,ï,ô,ö,û,ü,ÿ
- Replace with ((list,))=a,a,a,e,e,e,e,i,i,o,o,u,u,y
> Means: accentuated characters are replaced by their non-accentuated form.
o
Example
3:
- Search ((list:))=commande:archive:client:€:{EOF}
- Replace with ((list:))=order::customer:$:<END>
> Means: French word 'commande' and
'client' are translated to English. The 'archive' word is replaced by nothing
(dropped). The euro sign is replaced by the dollar sign. The end of file is
replaced by the string <END> (i.e. the string is appended to the end of
file).
To
achieve a string swap, you have to use a temporary string (not appearing in
your data). For example, to swap characters ‘a’ and ‘b’ use the setting:
- Search ((list,))=a,b,????
- Replace with ((list,))=????,a,b
5.03
·
The
CODESOFT printing plug-in is able to connect to LABEL ARCHIVE Server. You can
then print the labels that are stored into the central database of the LABEL
ARCHIVE Server and keep track of the printing history of your labels.
·
New
control variable: @JOB_NAME. The
@JOB_NAME control variable gives a name to the transaction or group of
transactions executed by the process plug-in.
If the variable is not explicitly assigned, the file name will be used as the
job name. This information is used for the archiving system’s print history log
to help you to quickly find and retrieve a print job.
·
New
control variable: @PRINT_IMAGE. A
new feature of the plug-in allows generating a bitmap image of your labels
using the data provided by the analyzing process. This feature can be used for
example to display the image of the label into your application before it is
printed. Warning: This feature slows
down the SENTINEL printing process and is not recommended in massive label
production environments. To activate this feature you need to assign a filename
to the @PRINT_IMAGE variable. In addition you may also modify the sentinel
settings in the TKXCS xml file to define how the image generation should work.
Here is the description of the settings:
o
<ImagePath>C:\Output
image</ImagePath>
Allows you to specify the default directory where to
store the images if the control variable @PRINT_IMAGE doesn't provide this
information.
o
<ImageName>0</ImageName>
0: The image filename uses the value in @JOB_NAME variable followed by date and
hour.
1: The image filename uses the value in @LABEL_NAME followed by date and hour.
16: The image filename uses the value in @JOB_NAME variable only (files are
overwritten if the Job Name is identical between two image output).
17: The image filename uses the value in @LABEL_NAME. The same label always
output the same image filename.
o
<ImageMode>0</ImageMode>
0 (auto): The sentinel outputs an image if a value is assigned to @PRINT_IMAGE.
If this variable is not set, then the sentinel works normally and prints a
label.
1 (image): The sentinel never prints any label but only outputs images.
2 (both): The sentinel prints a label and outputs an image according to its
settings or/and the @PRINT_IMAGE variable.
3 (print): The sentinel always prints a label and does not use image settings
or the value of @PRINT_IMAGE.
·
New
control variables: @OFFSETX and @OFFSETY. The numerical values in these
variables will introduce a print shift in tenth of millimetres (the value for
one inch would be 254). Allowed values range from -32768 to 32767. Note: These variables may not be
available depending of your label design software.
5.02
·
A
new setting can be set for the File Capture plug-in. It introduces a delay
between file detection and file opening. This is useful when several files are
dropped in the watched folder. Without this delay, the first copied file is
open before the end of the copy and then the order in which files are processed
does not follow date and time.
This setting is only accessible by edition of the TKXINPUT xml file by adding a
node called Retention in the
sentinel node. The value is in milliseconds. Example: To wait 1 second:
…<Retention>1000</Retention>…
·
A
new setting can be set for the File Capture plug-in. It uses a temporary file
naming to avoid locking the original file name. In detail, the incoming ready
file is renamed to <sentinels name>.tmp
before processing. That way, the sending application can reuse the same
filename without having to wait for the file to be deleted at the end of
processing. This setting is only accessible by edition of the TKXINPUT xml file
by adding a node called UseTemp in the sentinel node. Value is 0
for Off and 1 for On. Example: …<UseTemp>1</UseTemp>…
·
A
new setting can be set for the File Capture plug-in. It forces continuous
processing of the same file data until a new file is received (then the
printing can be remotely controlled from the printer ‘online’ button). If the
newly received file is 3 or less characters long (like the word END), the processing
stops. This setting is only accessible by edition of the TKXINPUT xml file by
adding a node called NonStop in the sentinel node. Value is 0
for Off and 1 for On. Example: …<NonStop>1</NonStop>… Note: This setting only works if the UseTemp setting is activated.
·
A
new setting can be set for the CODESOFT Print plug-in when using direct mode
printing (serial, parallel or TCP/IP). It defines a timeout delay for aborting
printing.
This setting is only accessible by edition of the TKXCS xml file by adding a
node called PrintTimeout in the sentinel node. Value is in seconds.
Example: …<PrintTimeout>30</PrintTimeout>…
·
A
new setting can be set for the CODESOFT Print plug-in. It allows for a
designated printer to override the label orientation saved in the label file.
This is useful when printing the same label on printers physically facing
different directions. This setting is available for each printer in the printer
list of the plug-in dialog box.
Change history
|
Version |
Item ID |
Description |
|
6.10 |
|
|
|
|
12870 (TFS:14493) |
In the Mapper, when selecting the same Web method target but
with modified parameters names, the Mapper would not
update its list of available variable names. As a consequence, the “rename
zone” list and the zone icons in the tree area may have shown the wrong
symbol (green/red flag). Now, even if the selected target seems the same
(same name), the Mapper asks the plug-in to
refresh their list of target variable to compute a correctly updated list. |
|
|
12869 |
In the Web
Service plug-in dialog box, the Window Close button from the window caption bar
would have unexpected result. The button has been removed. |
|
|
12578 (TFS:14483) |
In the Query
Manager, a single space could be entered as table, field, query
or task name. |
|
|
12392 |
Non valid character
could be input as spool name when creating a new spool in the Spool Capture
plug-in. Forbidden characters are: ./\!|:%<>*? |
|
|
12868 |
In the Mapper, the command Update Target for a Database Task
could not have the Query Manager open the right task definition file (XDB)
if it was different than default (or the last open one). |
|
|
12867 |
Database and Web
Service plug-in dialog boxes where wrongly displaying the “minimize” button on
their window caption bar. Since the function was not implemented, using the
button would generate an exception. |
|
|
12783 |
The Mapper would hang on selection of a new DB task target
if the current target file (XDB file) was not found (moved or deleted). |
|
|
12769 |
In the Query
Manage direct SQL command window, the list of available connections to
select from is now a non-editable kind. This avoids trying to execute a
query with an inconsistent connection string. |
|
|
12755 |
With the TkxDatabase plug-in, SQL queries were not correctly
computed for missing fields. The token ?<field
name>? would remain and the query would fail. Now unassigned
query tokens are replaced by the keyword NULL. Warning: the table will not
accept a NULL whatsoever if the field is designed as “no null allowed”. |
|
|
12753 |
SQL tables of
type “View” where displayed in the Query Manager even when the corresponding
option was unchecked. |
|
|
11223 |
After adding a
CODESOFT printer through the Labelling plug-in dialog box, the plug-in would
also display any spool created for the Spool input plug-in. They should
never be listed there because they do not need to be selected and must never
be used as print target or an infinite loop may occur. |
|
|
11189 |
Selecting twice
the same Label target in the Mapper would have the
background CODESOFT become visible. |
|
|
10928 |
The Manager
would hang when opening CODESOFTs’ Printer settings
from the Labelling plug-in dialog box for any Eltron
printer. |
|
|
9729 |
Control variable
values passed through the TCP/IP plug-in were not trimmed and leading/ending
padding spaces would prevent the processing plug-in to find correct values
(for label name, printer name, …etc) |
|
|
9880 |
CODESOFT user
interface font was modified by SENTINELs’ after
adding a printer through the Labelling plug-in dialog box. |
|
|
20030 and 20565 (TFS:14498) |
In the Miner, a
zone B depending of another zone A location is now marked as “found” even if
zone A has no data (as long as zone A start location can be evaluated). Truth table (newly
changed rule in bold): Start
of A is… B
searched ? - not
found NO -
found, no data (end location=start) YES -
found, explicit empty (through pair of quotes) YES -
found, data YES |
|
|
19671 |
Secondary SBS will
now filter out from configuration file sent by the Primary SBS all
parameters pertaining only to the Primary. |
|
6.00 |
|
|
|
|
|
In the Miner, the
search method ‘Cascading string’ has been secured for missing string cases. |
|
5.10 |
|
|
|
|
17680 |
The SENTINEL User
Manager (S-Admin.Exe) allowing to define users and rights for the WEBMANAGER
site was missing from some installation configurations. |
|
|
16850 |
When the
Microsoft system file MSSTDFMT.dll was missing from the system the Report plug-in
would not display its settings dialog box. The reference to the library has
been removed from the Report plug-in. It is now able to run without
MSSTDFMT.dll. |
|
5.06 |
|
|
|
|
16304 |
In the Manager, after
validating one sentinel’s settings, clicking New Sentinel, then closing the
dialog box from the control box (X button), an Evaluation Mode message was
displayed. |
|
|
|
Activation of the
newly installed software protected SENTINEL is now possible from a remote
console. The console must be started with the command that get the already
open server session (not creating a new session). To do this, run: Mstsc
/console, or Mstsc /admin (under Windows XP SP2 and later) |
|
|
16272 |
In the Mapper, when switching language with a map already open,
some global settings like input file conversions were lost. |
|
|
16240 |
When SENTINEL is
uninstalled and reinstalled to a different path, plug-ins are
unavailable. |
|
|
16230 |
In the Web
Manager, it is possible to set the same alias to more than one printer. |
|
|
16194 |
When starting the
service from the tray icon and quitting right away, the executable
sentinel.exe stays locked in memory. It cannot be restarted without
terminating the task or closing the Windows session. |
|
|
16155 |
It is possible to
input a negative value in the Interval
field of the File Watch input plug-in. |
|
|
16150 |
It is possible to
input only separators ( ; ) in the Filter
field of the File Watch input plug-in. |
|
|
15423, 15577, 15578, 15579 |
See new feature:
Restart Print Engine. |
|
|
15250 |
Mapper freezes when opening an XML map without a
work file. |
|
|
15253 |
SBS runs with two
primary servers when a network issue happens. |
|
|
15254 |
Execution error
N°5 with Mapper. |
|
|
15266 |
Mapper and field selection after modifying a
parameter is lost. |
|
|
15380 |
Execution error
N°11 with Mapper. |
|
|
15383 |
Execution error
N°9 with Mapper. |
|
|
|
The control
variable @FORMFEED is no longer supported in Sentinel 5. See new feature:
@PAGE_BREAK. |
|
|
|
When using the
TCP/IP plug-in as input and report with several clients connected to receive
reports, the plug-in would enter an infinite loop and keep processing the
same data over and over again. |
|
5.05 |
|
|
|
|
|
CODESOFT Printing plug-in:
Having two labels with the same name in two different folders would give
unpredictable results if they also had different variables (one could be
re-used instead of loading the other). |
|
|
|
The print offset was set to
zero when no value was passed to control variables @OFFSETX and @OFFSETY
(overriding offset saved in the label). |
|
5.04 |
|
|
|
|
|
If the assistant is
cancelled during a substructure definition, the zone containing the current
substructure will be removed. |
|
|
|
An empty zone name is no
longer allowed in the New Zone Assistant. |
|
|
|
In the New Map Assistant, the
filename is checked. It cannot be empty, point to a folder instead of a file,
contain invalid characters, or be located in an unreachable/read only folder. |
|
|
|
Under some rare occasions,
while creating a new sentinel, the Print
Image option introduced in version 5.03 would be set by default and then
image files would generate during prints. |
|
|
|
In some case, a new
incoming job would not be detected. It was processed only when another job
would trigger the job detection mechanism. |
|
|
|
In some case, the plug-in
was using 100% of the CPU time while waiting for new jobs. It was resuming
normal wait state after a new job was processed. |
|
5.03 |
|
|
|
|
|
Some memory leak has been detected
on the 5.02 version that could lead to the instability of the label printing
system in the long term. |
The installation of SENTINEL may
update your system with third-party components and files.
These third-party files are not yet
Windows Server 2008 compliant and might lack information such as company name
or version number, or they may be missing a digital signature. These files are
produced by Macromedia (InstallShield items), and
Microsoft (Visual C++ items).
InstallShield Files:
C:\Windows\Installer\{40C1E969-D0FD-4E01-A782-8E282A47E591}\ARPPRODUCTICON.exe
Microsoft Files (‘…’ stands for a 50 characters long serial number):
C:\Windows\WinSXS\x86_microsoft.vc80.atl_...\ATL80.dll
C:\Windows\WinSXS\x86_microsoft.vc80.crt_...\msvcm80.dll
C:\Windows\WinSXS\x86_microsoft.vc80.crt_...\msvcp80.dll
C:\Windows\WinSXS\x86_microsoft.vc80.crt_...\msvcr80.dll
C:\Windows\WinSXS\x86_microsoft.vc80.mfc_...\mfc80.dll
C:\Windows\WinSXS\x86_microsoft.vc80.mfc_...\mfc80u.dll
C:\Windows\WinSXS\x86_microsoft.vc80.mfc_...\mfcm80.dll
C:\Windows\WinSXS\x86_microsoft.vc80.mfc_...\mfcm80u.dll
C:\Windows\WinSXS\x86_microsoft.vc80.mfcloc_...\mfc80CHS.dll
C:\Windows\WinSXS\x86_microsoft.vc80.mfcloc_...\mfc80CHT.dll
C:\Windows\WinSXS\x86_microsoft.vc80.mfcloc_...\mfc80DEU.dll
C:\Windows\WinSXS\x86_microsoft.vc80.mfcloc_...\mfc80ENU.dll
C:\Windows\WinSXS\x86_microsoft.vc80.mfcloc_...\mfc80ESP.dll
C:\Windows\WinSXS\x86_microsoft.vc80.mfcloc_...\mfc80FRA.dll
C:\Windows\WinSXS\x86_microsoft.vc80.mfcloc_...\mfc80ITA.dll
C:\Windows\WinSXS\x86_microsoft.vc80.mfcloc_...\mfc80JPN.dll
C:\Windows\WinSXS\x86_microsoft.vc80.mfcloc_...\mfc80KOR.dll
It has been validated with the
following product versions:
·
CODESOFT
9.10
·
LABEL
ARCHIVE 3.30
Copyright 2011
Teklynx Newco SAS. All rights reserved. TEKLYNX and its products are trademarks or
registered trademarks of Teklynx Newco SAS or its affiliated companies. All other brands and product names are the trademarks
of their respective owners.
This release notes document is for
informational purposes only. Product specifications are likely to change.