The connection to a Switch Flow is established via HTTP or HTTPS. Using an encrypted HTTPS connection ensures that all data exchanged between the PDF Editor and the Switch server is protected and secured against unauthorized access.

To connect to a Switch Flow, follow these steps:

1. Open the PDF Editor and navigate to the tab Connect [2]. Ensure that no connection is currently active. If a connection is already displayed, disconnect it first using the corresponding button [3], before establishing a new connection.
2. Click Add Connection [1] to open the dialog Add Connection. In this dialog, you can create a new connection to a Switch Flow.

Figure 1: The tab Connect in the PDF Editor

3. In Connection Name [4], enter your desired Connection Name. You can choose any name freely. In our example, we use PPD Switch. If no name is entered, the IP address will be used automatically.
4. In the dropdown menu Type [5], select the entry Enfocus Switch.
5. In the field Server [6], enter the IP adress xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx and in the field Port [7], enter the port number 51088. Note: An existing connection can only be modified if it is currently inactive.
6. Next, select whether the connection should use HTTP or HTTPS. Für HTTPS [8], check the corresponding checkbox.
7. In User [9], enter the username for the Switch Flow. This is the same username you would use in the Switch Client. The Password [10] is optional and can be left empty.
8. Close the dialog by clicking the button Connect [11]. If you click Save Only [12], the entered connection data will be saved without establishing the connection immediately. You can start the connection manually at a later time.
9. The connection to the Switch Flow is now established. The newly created connection will be available in the dropdown menu. When the connection is active, this is indicated by a green dot.

Figure 2: The dialog Add Connection with Enfocus Switch as selected type

The PDF Editor continuously monitors the active connection to the Switch Flow in the background. If the connection is unexpectedly interrupted – due to network disruptions, server restarts, or timeouts – the PDF Editor automatically re-establishes the connection to the Switch Workflow.

This automatic reconnection ensures a stable connection to the Switch flow. Potential interruptions in the production process are minimized, providing optimal support for uninterrupted workflow operations.

Once a connection to a Switch Flow has been established, all Checkpoints are displayed in the list below. In our example Flow, various Checkpoints [14] re available, allowing files within the Switch Flow to be managed and processed in a targeted manner:

• All Checkpoints – Displays all files from all Checkpoints available in the Switch Flow. Selecting a single Checkpoint will, of course, only display the files for that specific Checkpoint.
• PDF Editor Checkpoint 1 – This standard Checkpoint is used for editing and reviewing files in the PDF Editor. Files can be opened, reviewed, and edited from this Checkpoint. Any changes made are automatically saved back to the Checkpoint, overwriting the previous version.
• PDF Editor Checkpoint 2 (multi output, view only) – This Checkpoint was created in Switch specifically for version review or an approval process without editing rights.
  • Files can only be opened and viewed in the PDF Editor – editing is not restricted in the editor itself.
  • Edited files cannot be saved back to this Checkpoint.
  • Files can be routed in the list to an Output Connection – e.g. for approval or rejection.
• read only checkpoint – This Checkpoint was set up in Switch specifically as a read-only Checkpoint, where files can only be viewed and not edited. This is ideal for review and approval steps within the Switch Flow.

To view files in other Switch Flows, select the desired flow from the connections list [13].

Figure 3: The tab Connect showing the Checkpoints available in the PPD Switch Flow

The Action Check out selected File [19] allows a file selected in a Checkpoint to be opened directly in the PDF Editor. The file is checked out from the Switch Workflow and made available for editing in the PDF Editor.

There are two ways to open the print file:

• Using the icon Check out selected File [19] in the footer of the tab Connect [20].
• By double-clicking the desired file entry in the list.

To check out a file from the Switch Flow, follow these steps:

1. Open the PDF Editor and switch to the tab Connect [20].
2. In the dropdown menu, select the desired Connection [15] and click the icon Connect [21]. The connection to the selected Switch Workflow will be established, the green indicator will appear, and all files from all Checkpoints will be displayed in the list.
3. Filter the list to select the desired file. The following options are available to reduce the number of entries:
   • Select a Checkpoint [16]
   • Enter a search term [17] – You can specify which information to include in the search via the menu More Options [25].
   • Filter [22] – Filter by checked-out or not-yet-checked-out files.
   • Refresh View [23] – Update the list to display the most current information.
4. Select the desired file in the list. The selected entry [18] will be highlighted in the list.
5. Click the icon Check out selected File [19] in the footer, or double-click the corresponding entry.

Figure 4: The tab Connect with the file selection to perform the Action Check out selected File

6. The file is now checked out from the Switch Flow and opened directly in the PDF Editor. It is now available for editing.
7. You can view the associated Preflight Results via the menu item Window > Show Preflight Results or by using the keyboard shortcut Strg + Shift + P.
8. After completing the editing, you can return the modified file to the Checkpoint. Whether and how this is done depends on the configuration of the Checkpoint in Switch.

Starting from version 1.14 of the PDF Editor, the Action Check in current File [31] is available. This Action allows a file previously checked out from a Checkpoint in the PDF Editor to be returned to the Switch Flow after editing.

To check in a file that was previously checked out in the PDF Editor, follow these steps:

1. Open the PDF Editor and switch to the tab Connect [27].
2. In the dropdown menu, select the desired connection [28] and click the icon Connect [29]. The connection to the selected Switch Flow will be established, the green indicator will appear, and all files from all Checkpoints will be displayed in the list.
3. Select the desired Checkpoint [29].
4. Open the file you want to edit by double-clicking it.
5. Make the required changes to the PDF file.
6. After completing the editing, click Check in current File [31].
7. A confirmation dialog [26] will appear for the check-in process. Confirm the dialog by clicking OK.

Figure 5: The tab Connect with an active connection to the Server PPD Switch

8. The file is normally checked back into the Checkpoint. However, if the file was checked out from a Checkpoint with multiple Outgoing Connections, the dialog Select Outgoing Connection will appear.
9. In the dropdown menu, select the desired Outgoing Connection [32] and click OK to complete the check-in process.
10. If Metadata needs to be modified beforehand, click the button Metadata [33] to edit the information for the currently opened file.

Figure 6: The dialog Select Outgoing Connection

11. In the dialog Metadata for "Filename", all fields highlightedd in white can be edited. Required fields – e.g., Name of Job* [35] – are marked with an asterisk (*) and must be completed. You can optionally select entries from a Pulldown menu [36].
12. Confirm your entries by clicking OK. You will then return to the dialog Select Outgoing Connection (Figure 6).
13. Finally, select the desired Submit Point and confirm again by clicking OK [34].

Figure 7: The dialog Metadata for "Filename" of the currently displayed document in the PDF Editor, to be checked into the Switch Flow

1. The file is now checked into the selected Switch Flow and will be routed for further processing according to the logic configured in Switch.

The Action Route selected File to Outgoing Connection [37] allows you to forward a file directly to an Output Connection defined on the Switch Server for the respective Checkpoint without opening the file in the PDF Editor first.

The PDF Editor automatically retrieves the Outgoing Connections configured for the Checkpoint via the Switch API and makes them available for selection. After selecting the desired connection, the file is transferred server-side to the corresponding destination connection. Since the routing is performed without locally opening or re-saving the file, it remains unchanged and is passed directly to the next processing step within the Switch Flow.

The routing can be performed in two ways:

• Using the icon Route selected File to Outgoing Connection [37] in the footer of the tab Connect [38].
• Via the context menu by selecting the desired file in the list and then right-clicking to choose the option Route....

To forward a selected file to an outgoing connection, follow these steps:

1. Open the PDF Editor and switch to the tab Connect [38].
2. In the dropdown menu, select the desired connection [34] and click the icon Connect [39]. The connection to the selected Switch Flow will be established, the green indicator will appear, and all files from all Checkpoints will be displayed in the list.
3. Select the desired Checkpoint [35].
4. In the file list, highlight the file you want to route. The selected entry [36] will be highlighted in the list.
5. Click the icon Route selected File to Outgoing Connection [37] in the footer. Alternatively, you can select the corresponding Action Route… from the context menu by right-clicking the file entry.

Figure 8: The tab Connect with the selected option Route selected File to Outgoing Connection

6. In both cases, the dialog Select Outgoing Connection will appear. If multiple Outgoing Connections are available, select the desired target connection [40] from the dropdown menu in the dialog.
7. Confirm your selection by clicking OK. The file will then be forwarded to the selected Outgoing Connection and processed further within the Switch Flow.

Figure 8: The dialog Select Outgoing Connection

Starting from version 1.14, the PDF Editor allows you to view Metadata provided by a Checkpoint in the Switch Flow for the selected file. his gives you direct access to all relevant information without leaving the current processing step.

Which metadata is displayed and the dependencies involved are defined in the configuration of the respective Checkpoint in the Switch Flow. Only fields relevant to the current process step are passed to the PDF Editor. When opening a file from the Switch Flow, the Metadata released by the Checkpoint is automatically transferred to the PDF Editor and displayed in a structured manner.

You can view the Metadata of a file – without making any changes – using the following methods:

• Using the icon View Metadata [44] in the footer of the tab Connect [45].
• Via the context menu by selecting the desired file in the list and right-clicking to choose Edit Metadata....

To view the Metadata of a file, follow these steps:

1. Open the PDF Editor and switch to the tab Connect [45].
2. In the dropdown menu, select the desired connection [41] and click the icon Connect [46]. The connection to the selected Switch Flow will be established, the green indicator will appear, and all files from all Checkpoints will be displayed in the list.
3. Select the desired Checkpoint [42].
4. In the file list, highlight the file whose Metadata you want to view. Availability of Metadata for the file is indicated by the icon Metadata [47]. The selected entry will be highlighted in the list.
5. Open the dialog Metadata for "Filename" by clicking View Metadata [44], or alternatively, select the command from the context menu by right-clicking the file.

Figure 9: The tab Connect with the option View Metadata

6. In both cases, a dialog will open displaying the Metadata fields released by the Checkpoint. No changes can be made in this dialog.
7. Click OK to close the dialog.

Figure 10: The dialog Metadata for "Filename" displaying the Metadata

Starting from version 1.1, files can be locked or unlocked directly in the tab Connect [51] of the PDF Editor. Using the Action Lock selected File [54], you can temporarily lock a file at a Checkpoint in the Switch Flow. While the file is locked, only you can make changes to it. Other users can still open the file but will have Read-Only access and cannot edit it. Changes by other users are not possible until the lock is released. Only the user who locked the file can unlock it.

Files can be locked in the following ways:

• Using the icon Lock selected File [54] in the footer of the tab Connect [51].
• Via the context menu by selecting the desired file in the list and choosing Lock File.

To lock a file, follow these steps:

1. Open the PDF Editor and switch to the tab Connect [51].
2. In the dropdown menu, select the desired connection [48] and click the icon Connect [52]. The connection to the selected Switch Flow will be established, the green indicator will appear, and all files from all Checkpoints will be displayed in the list.
3. Select the desired Checkpoint [49].
4. Click the file you want to lock in the list.
5. Activate the lock by clicking the icon Lock selected File [54] in the footer of the tab Connect [51], or via the context menu by selecting the option Lock File.
6. Once the lock is activated, a lock icon [50] will immediately appear to the right of the preview of the file.
7. The file can now only be edited by you. Other users can still view the file but will have Read-Only access until the lock is released.

Locking a file prevents multiple users from making changes to the same file simultaneously, reliably avoiding parallel edits.

Figure 11: The tab Connect showing options to Lock and Unlock File

A file locked in the Switch Flow can be released when needed. The Action Unlock selected File [53] (Figure 11) is available in two ways:

• Via the icon Unlock selected File [54] in the footer of the tab Connect [54] (both shown in Figure 11).
• Via the context menu by selecting the desired file in the list and right-clicking to choose Unlock File.

To unlock a file, follow these steps:

1. Open the PDF Editor and switch to the tab Connect [51] (Figure 11).
2. In the dropdown menu, select the desired connection [48] (Figure 11) and click the icon Connect [52] (Figure 11). The connection to the selected Switch Flow will be established, the green indicator will appear, and all files from all Checkpoints will be displayed in the list.
3. Select the desired Checkpoint [49] (Figure 11).
4. Click the file you want to unlock in the list.
5. Activate the unlock by clicking the icon Unlock selected File [53] (Figure 11) in the footer of the tab Connect [51] (Figure 11), or via the context menu by selecting the option option Unlock File.
6. After unlocking, the lock icon will be removed.
7. The file is now available for editing by other users in the Switch workflow.

Uploading a locally opened file to a Submit Point in a connected Switch Workflow is done via the icon Aktuelle Datei einchecken [16] in the footer of the tab Connect [2] (Figure 1). This function is available as soon as an active connection to a Switch Workflow exists.

To upload a locally opened file to the Switch Workflow, follow these steps:

1. Open the PDF editor and load the desired local file.
2. Switch to the tab Connect [56].
3. In the dropdown menu, select the desired connection [57]  and click the icon Connect [58]. The connection to the selected Switch Flow will be established, the green indicator will appear, and all files from all Checkpoints will be displayed in the list.
4. The connection to the Switch Workflow is now active.
5. Click the icon Check in current File [59] in the footer.
6. A confirmation dialog [55] will appear with a warning icon, asking whether you want to upload the file to the selected Switch Flow. Confirm the Action by clicking OK.

Figure 12: The tab Connect with the confirmation dialog in the PDF Editor after clicking the icon Check in current File

7. The dialog Select Submit Point will then appear. In this dialog, select the designated Submit Point [60] and confirm the submission by clicking OK.
8. If required in the Switch Flow, you may need to provide Metadata for the file. To enter Metadata, click the button Metadata [61].

Figure 13: The dialog Select Submit Point

1. Complete or edit the required fields. Mandatory fields are marked with an asterisk (*) and must be filled in.
2. Confirm your entries with OK. The file will now be uploaded to the Switch Flow. What happens to the file afterward depends on the logic defined at the submit point in Switch.

Figure 14: The dialog Metadata for "Filename"

Starting from version 1.14, the PDF Editor provides a structured selection of all Submit Points [60] (Figure 13) available in the connected Switch Workflow. The dropdown menu displays only those Submit Points that are authorised for the user to submit files and Metadata.

The following types of Submit Points may be encountered:

• Submit with Metadata – A Submit Point for sending files along with Metadata to the selected Switch Flow. The button Metadata [61] (Figure 13) is therefore active.
• Typical use cases include:
  • Submitting a print file with the required information so that it can be processed appropriately within the Flow based on this data.
  • Submitting a print file to another system  such as an Approval Portal, ERP system, or similar – with the corresponding Metadata.
• Simple Submit – A submit point for submitting files to the selected Switch Flow without Metadata. The button Metadata [61] (Figure 13) is inactive. Metadata can still be passed in another form – for example, via the file name. Typical use cases include:
  • Uploading files for customers or projects
  • Moving files to other Flows
  • Submitting files to a Preflight Engine to receive a validation report
  • Distributing files to separate responsibilities or departments.

Using different Submit Points allows files to be routed to specific process paths without changing the existing Workflow structure.

For each entry in the list within the tab Connect, additional icons are displayed to provide relevant information about the file. These icons appear to the right of the preview image and allow for a quick overview of the files status and properties.

The following icons are available:

• Item has Metadata [62] – Indicates that Metadata is available for this file in the Switch Flow and can be viewed or edited.
• Item is checked out [63] – Indicates that the file has been checked out by you and is currently being edited.
• Item is read only [64] – Indicates that the permissions for the Checkpoint are set to read-only. Files can be opened but not overwritten.
• Item is locked [65] – Indicates, via a lock icon, that the item is currently locked by another user and therefore cannot be modified.

Figure 17: Left: The tab Connect with the individual icons; Right: The dialog window showing a warning that the file cannot be replaced at the Checkpoint

When hovering the mouse pointer over an entry in the list, additional information is displayed in a tooltip. This allows users to quickly and conveniently access relevant details without opening the item. The following information is shown:

• File Name – Displays the name of the file as stored in the Switch Flow.
• Pages– Shows the total number of pages contained in the current PDF file.
• File Size – Indicates the current file size in megabytes (MB).
• Checkpoint – Indicates at which checkpoint in the Switch Flow the file is currently located.
• State – Represents the current processing status of the file within the Switch Flow – e.g., Preflight Error, View only, Check Multioutput.
• Flow Stage – Describes the current processing stage of the file within the connected Switch Flow, indicating which part of the Workflow the file is in and which steps have already been completed – e.g., Preflight, Approval, Check and Delete.
• Switch Flow Name – The name of the Switch Flow as configured in the system.
• Expected User Interaction – Indicates how long the system has been waiting for user interaction.
• Locked – Indicates whether the file is currently locked. The value can be either "true" or "false".
• Allowing replacing – Indicates whether the file can be replaced within the Switch Flow. The value can be either "true" or "false".
• Has Metadata – Indicates whether the file contains Metadata. The value can be either "true" or "false".

Figure 18: Detailed Information for a Switch Job in the Switch Workflow

The PDF Editor provides standard Filtering [67], Search, and Sorting options for files within the Switch Flow. With version 1.14, this functionality has been extended to allow targeted filtering for locked or checked-out files.

Starting from this version, the following Sorting options [66] are available in the PDF Editor:

• Checkpoint Name – Sorts files by their current Checkpoint in the Switch Flow in ascending or descending order.
• Username – Sorts files by username in the Switch Flow in ascending or descending order.
• Flow Stage – Sorts files by flow stage in the Switch Flow in ascending or descending order.
• State – Sorts files by state in the Switch Flow in ascending or descending order.

Figure 19: The tab Connect with the available filter and search options in the Switch Workflow

Starting with version 1.14, the dialog Set PageBoxes is displayed as a modal dialog. Modal dialogs are used when actions need to be immediately visible in the background, while still allowing the user to close the dialog at any time without applying changes. Additionally, modal dialogs can be freely moved and positioned, including next to the application window.

In the dialog Set PageBoxes, you can easily adjust the size of the selected PageBox or adopt the values from other Boxes [68]. The available options are:

• Derive from TrimBox – Adopts the dimensions of the current TrimBox. Use this option if you want to align the selected PageBox – e.g., BleedBox, CropBox, MediaBox– with the TrimBox.
• Derive from BleedBox – Adopts the dimensions of the current BleedBox. Use this option if you want to align the selected PageBox  – e.g., CropBox, MediaBox – with the BleedBox.
• Derive from CropBox – Adopts the dimensions of the current CropBox. Use this option if you want to align the selected PageBox  – e.g., MediaBox – with the CropBox.
• Derive from MediaBox – Adopts the dimensions of the current document page size. Use this option if you want to align the selected PageBox – e.g., TrimBox, CropBox – with the MediaBox.
• Set to Bounding Box of selected Objects – Automatically sets the PageBox so that it encloses all selected objects. Use this option if you want to set the selected PageBox – e.g., TrimBox – to the bounding rectangle of the selected objects.

If a warning icon (yellow triangle) [69] is displayed, it indicates that the PageBoxes are not correctly nested.

Figure 20: The dialog Set PageBoxes in the PDF Editor

For PDF files where the MediaBox is not positioned at the Origin when saved, opening the dialog Set PageBoxes automatically sets the MediaBox to the Origin (0/0) in the PDF coordinate system.

Starting with this version, the redesigned dialog Set PageBoxes is clearly divided into three sections – the Overview Section [70], Settings Section [71] and Apply to [72].

Figure 21: The dialog Set PageBoxes with its sections

Neben der Möglichkeit die Prüfergebnisse über den Menüpunkt Fenster > Prüfergebnisse anzeigen steht Ihnen mit Version 1.14 ein zusätzliches Tastenkürzel zur Verfügung. Den Dialog Prüfergebnisse anzeigen können Sie nun bequem über das Tastenkürzel STRG + SHIFT + P (Windows) und cmd + Shift + P (macOS) öffnen und auch wieder schließen.