Net2Exchange requires two DLLs: Net2Exchange.dll and Paxton.Net2.OEMClientLibrary.dll. The first, a product of CardExchange® Solutions, is the data-source plug-in that needs to be called from CardExchange® Producer. The second is the Paxton Access Net2 SDK, which forms the interface between Net2 and Net2Exchange. Both DLLs are included in the installer of CardExchange® Producer and are found in the CardExchange® Producer installation folder, which is C:\Program Files (x86)\CardExchange Solutions\CardExchange Producer by default.

If CardExchange runs on a different computer than the one where Net2 is installed, it is necessary to install the Net2 runtime, which is distributed by Paxton Access as part of the Net2 SDK.

Configuration

Net2Exchange is both a data-source plug-in and an external plug-in. The data-source plug-in part manages the reading and writing of user data and the creation of new card records upon printing. The external plug-in part makes it possible to view and manage the user’s card records. Both need to be configured separately.

Creating a new card

Start CardExchange and click Configuration – New card.
Provide a template name and optionally a category.
Click Next to go to the second wizard page.
Select I want help to make my card by using this wizard and click Next.
Specify whether the card is double-sided, set its orientation and click Next.
Select Please connect my new card to my own database.
Click (add a new database…) to open the database-connection wizard.

Creating a database connection

Click Add to add a new connection.
Set the connection’s name to Net2Exchange.
Set the database type to Data-source plug-in.
Type the name or IP address of Net2 server. Use localhost if Net2 is installed locally.
Set the port used by the Net2 server. Normally, you should type 8025 as the port.
Click on the browse button to select a database, navigate to the CardExchange installation folder and select the Net2Exchange.dll.
Enable Login with username and password and supply the correct login information.
Click Next to go the second wizard page.
Enable Read data-items from this database.
Choose Users as view name and UserId as the primary key.
Click Next to go the third wizard page.
Choose Net2Exchange as the database, Surname, FirstName, MiddleName and UserId as record look-up fields.
Click Next to go the fourth wizard page.
Select Allow editing database records and allow both adding, updating and deleting.
Select Primary keys generated by the database.
Click Next to go the fifth wizard page.
Unselect the option Visible for the following database columns: AccessLevel, Department, UserGuid, and UserImage.
Unselect the option Editable for the following database columns: Global, LastAccessTime, LastArea, LastAreaId, and LastUpdated.
Select Drop-down menu with lookup table for the column AccessLevelId with AccessLevels as table name, Key as storage value and Value as display value.
Select Drop-down menu with lookup table for the column DepartmentId with Departments as table name, Key as storage value and Value as display value.
Click Next to go the last wizard page.
Click Add to create a new storage item and call it Photo.
Set the table name to Users, the primary key to UserId and the column name to UserImage.
Click the Photos/Signatures tab and select Store the cardholder’s photo.
Click Add to create a new storage item and call it CardTypeId.
Set the table name to Cards, the primary key to CardNo and the column name to CardType.
Click Add to create a new storage item and call it UserId.
Set the table name to Cards, the primary key to CardNo and the column name to UserId.
Click Advanced options… and select Supply value for primary key and Always insert (uniqueness primary key not guaranteed).
Click OK to close the storage-item properties and Finish to close the database-connection wizard.

Creating a new card (continued)

Click Next to go to the next wizard page.
Choose a background image or color and a logo and click Next.
Select Use a combined name field on my new card with FirstName UserImage (Net2Exchange) as the first name and Surname UserImage (Net2Exchange) as the last name.
Select Use a photo on my new card with UserImage (Net2Exchange) as associated database column.
Click Next.
Choose the database columns you want to show on the card layout and click Next.
Configure a barcode if desired and click Next.
Leave the option After Finish, start the Designer for modifying the layout… selected and click Finish to open the designer.

Mapping the storage items

In the designer, open the Properties window and go to the Manual entries tab.
Click Add manual entry, call it Card-type ID and set its value to 1 (or another value of choice).
Select the Data tab on the left-hand side and Storage items on the bottom of the tab.
Select CardTypeId in the Data tab and select the Content tab in the Properties window.
Map the storage item CardTypeId to the manual entry Card-type ID.
Select UserId in the Data tab and map it to the database column UserId.
Select Storage-item keys on the bottom of the Data tab.
Select Cards in the Data tab.
Choose the desired mapping in the Content tab of the Properties window. The mapping will determine the card numbers created in Net2. It is possible to use a manual entry, or a global counter to generate successive card numbers. It is also possible to use the chip-serial number as card number, in which case the storage-item key of the Cards table needs to be mapped as chip-serial number.
Finish the graphical card design according to your wishes. Them save and close the card template.

Configuring the external plug-in

Back in the main window, click Configuration – Advanced options.
Select Show advanced mappings and click OK.
Click Configuration – Card-definition wizard to open the card-definition wizard.
Select Do you want to use external functions or plug-ins? and click Edit.
Click Add to add a new plug-in definition and call it Cards.
Click on the browse button to select the Net2Exchange.dll file.
Unselect Call when printing and select Call using a button.
Click Finish to close the external-functions wizard.
Click Next to go to the mappings window.
Select Cards.UserId (no mapping) in the External-function input tab.
Select Database column in the type-of-data drop-down menu.
Select the database column UserId (Net2Exchange) and click Finish.

Usage

Back in the main CardExchange window, you should see the Net2 users listed in the name list. If you open database-edit window, you can view and edit the user details, using drop-down menus for the access level and the department.

When you click on the Cards button on the right-hand side, you enter a dialog that lists the card records for the current user, showing the card number, the card type, and the lost-card flag respectively. In this window, you can change the card type, mark a card as lost and delete cards from the database.

As soon as you print a card for a specific user, CardExchange will create a new card record in Net2 for that user, setting the new card number to whatever you have mapped for the storage-item key in the designer.

If the card number needs to be shown on the card, as text or in a barcode, you have to make sure that the corresponding text object or barcode is mapped the same way as the storage-item key.

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