How to Set up a Free Copy Button

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Guest Access function

From PaperCut MF 17.0 onwards, supported devices may now have a “Guest Access” button displayed on the device screen along with the usual authentication options. This allows a user to log in to the device without providing authentication credentials, and can be used for purposes such as free copying for guests of your organisation.

At the device the user will see the the usual authentication prompts, such as username and password, identity number, or swipe card. In the bottom right corner of the device screen an additional button will appear, labeled by default “Guest Access”. The button text can be customised with any text you like.

How to enable/configure

This is a per device configuration. Using the Admin web interface, navigate to the Devices tab and select the device you wish to configure for free copying. Make sure that the device supports Guest Access!

The section under the Devices tab where authentication methods are configured is labeled “Access Methods”, allowing you to easily differentiate between traditional PaperCut MF user authentication and anonymous/guest access methods.

Select Allow guest/anonymous access. A text field labeled “Inherit settings from user” should appear allowing a user account to be selected. This will be the account that all actions taken by users pressing the button will be associated with.

Generally you would choose a user account that has its account selection configured as Automatically charge to personal account, so that copy jobs will be allocated against this username.

Once you have selected Allow guest/anonymous access and nominated a user account, the basic functionality is configured. To customise the button text, consult the PaperCut MF Embedded Manual for your type of device to determine the relevant advanced config key. On Konica Minolta devices, for example, it is ext-device.konica-minolta.guest-access.label.

That should be it. Any user pressing that button should now be taken directly the device functions screen, and any copying that they do will be tracked against the configured user account.

Which devices support Guest Access?

Modern models of MFD from almost all of the manufacturers we support can offer Guest Access. Check out the PaperCut MF Release History if you need to determine which version introduced support for your devices. If you’re unsure, or if you need assistance configuring Guest Access, reach out to your PaperCut Partner, whose contact details can be found under the Help tab in the Admin web interface.