Actions
Once a job has moved through whatever transforms a queue defines, one or more actions decide what actually happens to it. Actions run independently of each other — each receives its own copy of the transformed result, so a single job can be printed, archived, and emailed all at once, with no action depending on any other having run first or succeeded.
RPM supports nine kinds of actions:
Text Print
Sends the job to a Windows text printer, with RPM handling line height and character positioning automatically — this is the one case where RPM applies a transform without being explicitly configured to, since accurate text printing depends on it.
Raw Print
Sends the job’s data straight through to a Windows printer with no reformatting — the right choice when the job already arrives in the printer’s native language and doesn’t need RPM to reinterpret it.
Email the Job
Delivers the processed job as an email, with metadata available to populate fields like the subject line dynamically rather than using a fixed value for every job.
Archive to Disk
Writes the job out to a folder on disk. Metadata plays a direct role here too — it’s what determines the output filename, so archived jobs can be named meaningfully rather than with a generic or sequential label.
Run a Program (the “Filter”)
Passes the job to an external program as a command-line argument, with metadata values available to build that command line dynamically. This is the action behind RPM’s use as an integration point rather than a pure printing tool — one long-time customer uses it to inject print job data directly into a database, since their system only knows how to “print,” and RPM turns that into a real integration.
Copy to Queue
Sends a copy of the job to a different queue entirely, for further processing there. With the Dynamic Queue option, metadata pulled from the job itself can determine which queue it’s routed to — letting a single job’s own content decide its path, rather than every job on a queue following the same fixed route.
LPR Print
Forwards the job onward to another device or system over LPR — useful when RPM needs to sit in front of a printer or server that itself expects LPR input.
IP Print
Sends the job directly to a network-connected printer by IP address, outside the LPR protocol.
Upload to FTP Server
Delivers the finished job to a remote FTP server, a common pairing with PDF conversion for customers who need processed output to land somewhere other than a local disk or printer.