PitStop Server 08

[mattbeals]

Okay, not sure how much it matters to you all but I thought I'd give a
quick run down of Server 08. This is by no means a complete listing of
features; just what I can remember while I sit in the sun.

Under the hood: Well we're not in Kansas any more. PitStop Server 08 is
a real "radical" change from what we are used to. Most significantly is
the multi-processing. Yes, you can now process more than one file at a
time! Woo-hoo! I haven't tested it on a quad or octo-core machine (just
my dual laptop and server). To keep things up and running there is a
"watchdog" application. If you're familiar with how PitStop Automate
functioned you'll know what I mean. For those that don't, Watchdog keeps
track of the various pieces of PitStop Server. In the event of a crash
it restarts the respective process. Very welcome change! For you Windows
users (haven't tested it on a Mac yet folks) you'll be glad to know that
PitStop Server runs as a *service*. I've been able to process files with
no console or Terminal Services user logged in. Those two, running as a
service and multi-processing, alone are the best improvements!

We can now not only parse and process a hierarchy but we can also
reproduce or flatten the hierarchy on the output. I know that's been a
often requested feature.

Building the folder structure visually is different but functionally the
same. There are more options for more folders. Some of the folders can
be made relative to a path or absolute. Neat, but not much else...

Processing: Holy bat guano Batman! I mentioned the processing of
hierarchies but wait there's more; variables! We have variables in
naming of documents and reports! We also have more than one option for
optimized saves. It was optimized or don't optimize. Now we have three;
"file size and web download", "optimize for file size only" and "disable
optimized save". Neat!

Actions & profiles: "Same as it ever was" as the song goes. Same thing
with CertifiedPDF and Fonts.

Email notification: Oh man! This is really usable now in a very
meaningful way. Huge, huge, huge improvement! We get variables in the
email messages (a la FullSWITCH and PowerSWITCH) when sending
notifications) for each hot folder. I love it!

Summary: No, I'm not done. There's a summary window now which lists all
of the parameters which can be copied and pasted! But that's not the
only way to "document the folders".

Color management: expanded to match PitStop Pro 7 and now 8. Very
welcome change here!

Interface: Whoa! What a radical change from what we're used to. But I
kind of like it. It's been growing on me. How about importing and
exporting hot folder setups? Yes, you can now export them to other
PitStop Server 08 installations. You can view special messages now. For
those of you with PitStop Server on workstations or servers where you
have "tinkerers" you can now *LOCK* the PitStop Server Monitor
application. There is a progress window that shows all the files in
progress. And now you can keep statistics and a history of jobs
processed. If that weren't enough you can even export it!

Preflight profiles/Action lists: Same as what we're used to. But there
are some new parameters in the preflight profiles. You'll have to
download a demo to see! Or, let me know and we'll set up a demo to go
through it feature by feature. I think I can have up to 8 people join
the webinar.

So how does it perform? Fantastic (Windows XP SP3, 1GB RAM, dual core
1.6GHz Core Duo and a dual P3/733 768MB of RAM, Windows Server 2003)!
This is such a massive upgrade to our old friend. This is one update you
really should not miss. So much added *practical* functionality. I've
processed about 800 jobs and it's kept up and running. Sure, files have
crashed but it's kept up and running by recovering itself.

As best as I can tell PitStop Server 08 is 100% compatible with
Full/PowerSWITCH 08 in terms of multi-processing. By itself it is highly
functional. But joined with Full/PowerSWITCH you have an incredible
suite of functionality.

If anyone is at Drupa this year you have to stop by and see it.

Later after I recover from the sun I'll do a write up on PitStop Pro.
But I've got to get back to my Duvel...

[JohnHemsley]

Hi Matt,

I've had a look around for the extra parameters in the preflight profiles, nothing jumped out at me. Care to point us in the right direction?

Regards, John.

[mattbeals]

oh boy... That's a lot of work. I'll see what I can do.

Check out the image resolution area and see what's different. The changes are subtle, nothing stands out as "Hey I'm new!" unfortunately...

[JohnHemsley]

Thanks Matt. Will put my glasses on....

[JohnHemsley]

Ahh, I see, very handy to have.......