Create Ad Hoc rules

Use this procedure to create an ad hoc rule. You will configure conditions and actions.

  1. On the Output Manager Console menu bar, click Tools > Ad Hoc Rules.
  2. Under the ad hoc rules grid, click Add.
    This opens the Ad Hoc Rule dialog box.
  3. Enter the Name and Description for the rule.
  4. If you want to apply the rule to all documents, select the Always execute this rule (no conditions) check box.
    This will disable the When box as no condition statements are needed. If you select this option, skip the steps for configuring conditions.
  5. Use the When box to create and manage the rule conditions. Multiple conditions can be created and organized into groups. A blue box is used to indicate a condition group. To create a rule condition, perform the following steps.
    1. In the When box, click the <Target> link. Use the list to select the appropriate condition.
    2. Click the Operation link and select the appropriate operation.
    3. Click the Value link and select the appropriate value. This condition statement is now completed.
    4. To include additional condition statements or create groups of conditions:
      • Select a condition radio button (inside the box) to enable the Add Condition and Remove Condition buttons for adding and removing condition statements.
      • Select a group radio button (outside the box) to enable the Add Group and Remove Group buttons for adding and removing groups. This will also enable the Add Condition button for adding a condition to the selected group.
  6. Under Perform the following actions box, use the following procedures to manage actions.
    ToDo this
    Create an action Click the <Action> link and click one of the following actions.
    • Run Business Rules — Specifies if you want to run business rules against input or output documents.
    • Set Document Properties — Configures document properties.
    • Delete Document — Deletes documents.
    • Set Priority in Group — Sets the priority (print order) in a group.
    • Assign to Document Folder — Assigns documents to specific document folders.
    • Document Owner — Configures the document owner.
    • Route to Destinations — Specifies the destinations where documents should be sent.
    • Document State — Sets the document state to hold or ready.
    • Create Package — Configures a package of documents.
    • Zip Package — Zips the merged document or any other documents in Output Manager.
    • Merge Package — Configures the document properties of the merged file.

    For more information about creating actions, see Create Ad Hoc Actions.

    Create additional actions Click Add Action.
    Modify an action Click an action link or click the area next to the link, and then click Modify Action.
    Delete an action Click the area next to the link and click Remove Action.
    Reorder the actions Click the area next to the action link and click Move Up or Move Down.
  7. Move the actions to their appropriate position by clicking the area next to the action link and clicking Move Up or Move Down.

    The order of ad hoc rule actions is important, as the action behavior can depend on where it occurs in the sequence of actions. By default the actions apply to the targeted documents. For example, if your rule contains a Create Package action, the create package will act upon the targeted documents.

    In contrast, actions that follow an action that produces documents, will apply to the produced documents. Using the previous example, if following the Create Package action you have a Merge Package action followed by a Set Document Properties action, a Set Document State action, and a Route to Destination action, the merge package action will apply to the package created by the Create Package action, and the latter three actions will apply to the resultant merged documents from the Merge Package action. If you had a Set Document Properties action that preceded the Create Package action, it would apply to the original targeted documents.

  8. Click OK to save your ad hoc rule.
  9. You can run ad hoc rules using the following procedures.
    • Schedule a task to run the ad hoc rule using the Schedule Manager dialog box. For more information, see Scheduling Tasks.
    • Use the Run Now option in the Ad Hoc Rules Manager dialog box to run a selected rule.

      You can run the rule against all documents in the spool or against all newly received documents since the last time the rule was run. The rule will not be run against retained documents.

    • In the Documents grid, select one or more documents, right-click, and then click Run Ad hoc Rule. You can run any of the rules listed in the submenu.

      Only rules with the Allowed for document right click option selected in the Adhoc Rule dialog box are displayed in the menu.

    • From business rules, configure the Run Adhoc Rule action. For more information, see Working with Business Rules.