Printing Based on External Codes
Overview
This page describes how to configure printing based on external codes in Inextor.
External code-based printing is used when the codes printed during production are not generated internally by Inextor, but are provided by an external source, authority, issuer, repository, or regulatory system.
External codes can be used for scenarios such as:
- Regulatory codes
- Codes downloaded from external issuers
- Codes imported into Gate
- Market-specific serialization requirements
- Product or packaging-level specific code application
Purpose
The purpose of this configuration is to allow Gate and Liz to consume and print externally provided codes during production.
The configuration defines:
- Which external code source is used
- Which product or production order properties identify the correct code set
- Which packaging level receives the code
- Which Vault role provides the external codes
- How the code is formatted before being printed
- Which layout implementation uses the external-code content
Basic configuration principle
To print external codes, a dynamic content must be created and associated with the External code issuer.
Typical configuration:
| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Content type | Dynamic |
| Code issuer | External |
| Code source | External authority, external repository, or imported code stock |
| Usage | Printing and/or serialization depending on the layout |
The external code issuer retrieves the next available code matching the production context and provides it to Liz for printing.
Required configuration areas
External code printing requires configuration in several areas:
- External code import or availability
- Dynamic content configuration
- External code issuer arguments
- Production order properties
- Layout configuration
- Layout implementation mapping
- Gate and Liz production preparation
External code issuer
The External code issuer is used to consume codes that already exist in the system.
The issuer does not generate new codes internally. Instead, it selects a code from an existing external code pool according to configuration and production context.
The selected code can then be:
- Printed directly
- Transformed through a format argument
- Split into specific parts
- Used in human-readable or machine-readable representation
- Used for serialization and reporting purposes
External code arguments
The External code issuer uses arguments to determine which external code must be consumed and how it must be formatted.
| Argument | Description | Example / Notes |
|---|---|---|
ExternalCodeReferencePropertyName | Name of the production order property used to segregate sub-types of external codes | For TPD scenarios, this is often ExternalCodeReference |
MachineReferencePropertyName | Name of the production order property representing the machine ID | For TPD scenarios, this is often MID |
ProductReferencePropertyName | Name of the production order property representing the product reference as defined by the external authority | For TPD scenarios, this is often ProductReference |
ROLE | Indicates which Vault provides the external codes | Examples: Owner, Secondary |
SerializationLevelReference | Indicates the unit type or packaging level where the code is applied | Example: Pack |
SOURCE | Indicates the source or type of external codes | Examples: MEXICO, TPD |
FORMAT | Defines how the external code is rendered before printing | Full code, human-readable code, machine-readable code, serial number, substring, Application Identifier extraction |
CodeTypeId | Indicates the external code type | Depends on the external code source and scenario |
ExternalCodeReferencePropertyName
ExternalCodeReferencePropertyName defines the name of the production order property used to segregate sub-types of external codes.
This property allows Gate to identify which external code reference must be used for the production order.
Example:
ExternalCodeReferencePropertyName=ExternalCodeReference