JDF Switch

Overview#

BOS Professional can integrate with Switch.

Work Orders#

Work Orders include a JDF Switch tab that contains the data that is uploaded to Switch and the Progress notes received back from Switch.

Input Fields#

• There are six Custom Input fields (100 characters each).
• Captions can be assigned to these fields using General Settings > JDF Switch > Caption - Custom input field 1–6.
• When a caption is assigned, the field appears in the JDF Switch tab on Work Orders.
• All the Custom Input fields are included in the standard XML Upload.

Parts#

A table of Parts, based on the estimate is created when the Work Order is created.

File Statuses#

• Waiting (Yellow): Waiting for artwork to be uploaded.
• Production (Blue): Artwork approved.
• Complete (Green): Part is printed.

Files#

• Files can be added in BOS Professional, or they can be added using a Switch integration.
• Files are linked to the Work Order and can optionally be linked to a Part by checking the Filter to selected Part checkbox when a new Part is added.
• The Filter to selected Part checkbox also serves as a filter.
• The Description field to add a note (e.g. Advertisement for Page 12).
• Multiple Artwork files can be uploaded for each Part, or one Artwork file can be uploaded for multiple Parts.
• Files can be linked to other files, for instance, a Preflight Report can be linked to its parent Artwork file.

Available File Types#

• Artwork
• Preflight Reports
• Digital Proofs

Colour codes#

• Pending (Yellow): Default for when a file is uploaded.
• Uploaded (Orange): Uploaded to Switch.
• Pre-press (Blue): Switch is processing.
• Rejected (Red): Switch rejected the artwork.
• Production (Green): Default for when the Artwork or the Digital proof is approved.

General Settings#

Downloading a Work Order to Switch#

• The information in the JDF Switch tab is converted to XML and uploaded to a local or FTP folder from where Switch uploads it.
• Open a Work Order and click the Upload button.
• You can upload a job multiple times. The Progress table is updated each time the job is uploaded.
• The file is named JOB_WONO.xml (e.g. JOB_1005.xml).
• This process can be automated using BOS Server.
• The Delivery Address (comma separated) <DELADDRESS> and Req Date <REQDATE> were added to the Header section during May 2026.

Uploading a Status update from Switch#

• The file which is downloaded from Switch is named PROGRESS_WONO.xml (e.g. PROGRESS_1005.xml).
• This file can be manually imported from the Work Order, or it can be automated using BOS Server.
• Empty tags are ignored: You only need a value in <JOBNO>, <FILENO> and <FILESTATUS> to update a file status.
• Files can be identified by <FILENO> or by <FILEURL>.

Progress XML Sample File#

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<PROGRESS>
<JOBNO></JOBNO> <!-- Work Order No. -->
<PARTNO></PARTNO> <!-- Optional -->
<JOBSTATUS></JOBSTATUS> <!-- Optional -->
<NOTE></NOTE> <!-- Text - max 255 characters -->
<FILENO></FILENO> <!-- The FileNo can be used to update the Status of a File -->
<FILETYPE></FILETYPE> <!-- 1-Artwork; 2-Preflight; 3-Proof -->
<FILESTATUS></FILESTATUS> <!-- 1-Pending; 2-Pre-press; 3-Rejected; 4-Production -->
<FILEDESC></FILEDESC> <!-- Description - eg. Artwork for Page 1-8 -->
<FILEURL></FILEURL> <!-- Optional -->
</PROGRESS>

Invalid characters in XML#

The only illegal characters are &, < and > (as well as " or ' in attributes, depending on which character is used to delimit the attribute value: attr="must use &quot; here, ' is allowed" and attr='must use &apos; here, " is allowed').

Setting up BOS Server to upload Progress files#

1. Download BOS Server using Tools.exe > Utilities > Downloads.
2. Extract the compressed file and move the extracted folder to C:\.
3. Run the application and navigate to Menu (button) > File Exchange.
4. Click New (button) and populate the fields as follows:

   Field	Description
   Type	Import XML.
   Description	Import Job Progress from Switch (Or any other relevant description).
   File Folder	Add the local or network folder from where the Progress files are uploaded.
   File Tag - Enter 'Progress'	Enter the text that must be present in the filename for the file to be automatically imported.
   Edit Connection String	Right-click and select Edit Connection String to add the connection details of the BOS Professional database.
   Edit SQL	Right-click and select Edit SQL and paste the SQL into the edit window – See SQL below.
   Edit Schedule	Right-click and select Edit Schedule to set up the import schedule – a 1 min interval is recommended (Tests indicate + - 1 second to import 100 Progress files).

SQL for BOS Server#

execute procedure SWITCH_PROGRESS
(
:JOBNO,
:PARTNO,
:JOBSTATUS,
:NOTE,
:FILENO,
:FILETYPE,
:FILESTATUS,
:FILEDESC,
:FILEURL
)