Pcounter Pro ID Numbers
User Manual
For Pcounter for Windows version 2.54 and above
About this Document
This document is intended to give a full explanation of all aspects of Pcounter Pro ID
numbers which can be used by Pcounter for authentication to print release and copy
accounting applications.
Points to Note
All file locations referenced in this work refer to the drive on which Pcounter is installed
on the Pcounter Data Server unless otherwise stated. It is assumed that all users have
read access to the contents of the Pcounter share, default location C:\PCOUNTER.
Pcounter Pro ID numbers can be used for authentication Pcounter Pro application.
Typically this will be MFD “embedded” software or a hardware print release terminal.
Contents
Section
Page
1. Introduction
2. Setting ID numbers in Pcounter Database
2.1. Manual Creation of ID/PIN Numbers
2.1.1. Mass Import of ID/PIN Numbers
2.2. Manual Deletion/Modification of ID/PIN
2.3. Manual Deletion of IDs when user no longer exists
2.4. Restrictions on Manual Entry
3. ID Numbers in Active Directory
4. Maintenance and Troubleshooting
4.1. Backing up CARDPIN.dbf
4.2. Database Reindex
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Appendix
5
1. Introduction
Every user in Pcounter (AD user or Pcounter User) has two distinct ID numbers fields
which are used for authentication to Pcounter Pro apps. Each ID number can be assigned
an optional PIN for extra security. If PINs are used a user would need to input both their
ID number and their PIN in order to authenticate.
The ID field in Pcounter is most commonly used to store a user’s ID Card Number so that
a user can authenticate with a swipe of a card rather than having to type in credentials
manually.
ID numbers can contain alphanumerical characters and “none-standard” characters,
although it is strongly recommended to only use alphanumerical characters. PINs can
only contain numerical characters 0-9.
All IDs and PINs are stored in the ID database, CARDPIN.DBF. Default location of this file
is C:\PCOUNTER\DATA. The contents of this file are encrypted and can only be viewed
with PAdmin.
2. Setting ID Numbers
Pro ID numbers are managed via Pcounter Administrator (“PAdmin”), default
location Start > Programs > Pcounter for Windows. Select the Pcounter Pro ID/PIN
numbers database button at the bottom of PAdmin.
The list of users displayed here will be the users in the OU which was selected in the
User Accounting database when PAdmin was first opened.
2.1 MANUAL CREATION OF ID/PIN NUMBERS
To set an ID number for a single user, right-click the user and select either Set ID
number or Set ID number 2.
You can either:


Type in the desired number for the user into
the Enter ID number control
Select Generate random ID number
Then click OK to assign the number. This will be
reflected back in the main window of PAdmin.
Remember: The ID number should only contain
alphanumerical characters.
It is also possible to assign numbers to multiple
users by selecting all of the relevant users, rightclicking one of the users and selecting either Set ID
option again. The same window will appear. Selecting User Sequential Numbering will
allow you to enter an ID for the first selected user and all remaining users will have their
ID set sequentially from this starting point. Generate random ID numbers will also work
for multiple users.
Once users have an ID set, it is then possible to
set their PIN by right-clicking the user and
selecting Set PIN number or Set PIN number
2. Remember: The PIN field is numeric only.
2.1.1 MASS IMPORT OF ID/PIN NUMBERS
IDs and PINs can both be imported using a csv or txt file. To do this, select the
Database menu > Import in PAdmin (when the Pcounter Pro ID/PIN numbers
database button is selected).
The format of the file must be in either
of the forms listed here:


Username,ID
Username,ID,PIN
Click OK and browse to your file.
Ensure the correct file format is
selected in the Browse dialogue (TXT
is selected by default).
2.2 MANUAL DELETION/MODIFCATION OF ID/PINS
To delete an ID or PIN right-click the user in question and select the relevant option,
Delete ID number and Clear PIN number respectively. The option Delete record will
delete both ID and PIN.
To modify an existing ID/PIN select Set ID/PIN number again and enter the new
value.
2.3 MANUAL DELETION OF IDs WHEN THE USER NO LONGER EXISTS
Pcounter Administrator always provides a live view of the Windows domain. As such, if
an AD user account has been deleted they will no longer be visible in Pcounter
Administrator.
However there is no automatic direct link between the CARDPIN database and the
domain, meaning that if a user account is deleted the user’s ID/PIN association will still
be present in the database. This can cause issues if you wish to assign the card to a new
user.
To delete a user from the CARDPIN DB when the account no longer exists:




Open PAdmin
Select Pro ID/PIN numbers
Select the Pro menu > View database.
 This will open the whole database in PAdmin
Find the user in question > right-click > Delete ID Number
2.4 RESTRICTIONS ON MANUAL ENTRY
It is possible to restrict the format of ID numbers which will be accepted for manual
entry. In order to do this:



In ~\PcounterShare\PCOUNTER.ini create a new heading [PAdmin] if it does not
already exist
Under this heading create a new key ProIDRestrictions=X where X is one of
the following digits
 1: Only numeric entries will be allowed
 2: Convert all text to uppercase
 3: Convert all text to lowercase
Restart the Pcounter Printer Control service
3. ID Numbers in Active Directory
Instead of using its own ID database file (CARDPIN.DBF) Pcounter can be configured to
lookup to AD for a user’s ID and PIN. Please note: There is no method within Pcounter
import ID/PIN numbers into AD, this must be completed through another method.
This option is set via the Pcounter Pro DLL. This will be accessible through your print
release or copy control application gateway, there is no method to open this through
Pcounter Server.
If ID/PINs are in AD, simply enter the
necessary fields into the ID number
attribute and PIN number attribute
fields on here. Important: the names
entered here need to be the Attribute
LDAP name, not the Attribute display
name. For example: sAMAccountName
instead of Username.
For a full list of LDAP Attribute names see
Appendix 1.
The Test button will ask for an ID
number value it would expect to find in
the field you have entered into ID
number attribute. If the test is
successful the username of the account
with this value in this attribute will be
returned.
If you would like to use both AD and the
Pcounter database to store ID numbers,
check the box Check database if directory lookup fails. This is especially useful if
you would like to use AD for the ID/PINs of existing users and allow new users to selfassociate their ID cards.
4. Maintenance & Troubleshooting
4.1 BACKING UP CARDPIN.DBF
The contents of the ID database, CARDPIN.dbf, can be exported into a .bat file which can
then be run in the eventuality that there is a problem with the database, which will
repopulate it. This command uses the Pcounter command line utlity ACCOUNT.EXE.
To perform this backup



At a command line browse to ~\PcounterInstallDirectory\NT\ (default C:\Program
files\Pcounter for NT\NT)
Type the command
 account dumpids > filename.bat
A file named filename.bat will now be created in this location
In the unlikely event that the database needs restoring from such a backup, it is
recommended that you first rename the existing CARDPIN.dbf and CARDPIN.cdx files
before running the .bat, which will cause the creation of a new database.
4.2 DATABASE REINDEX
If the database appears corrupted, it is possible to create a new index file which may
resolve the problem. To do this:



Take a copy of the existing CARDPIN.cdx file from C:\PCOUNTER\DATA
In Padmin ensure the Pcounter Pro ID/PIN numbers option is selected
Select Database menu > Reindex and confirm the prompt
Appendix
A list of all Active Directory Attribute
www.kouti.com/tables/userattributes.htm.
LDAP
Names
can
be
found
at