Running on the Server (Paid Plans)

Running a workflow in the browser is free, and your file does not leave your computer. Running on the server is set aside for heavy jobs and is open only on paid plans.

Who can use it?

Accounts on the Starter, Pro and Enterprise plans. A free account and use without signing in cannot run on the server; the tool says so clearly and does not do the job silently. The message also tells you that you can do the same job in the browser for free. If your account status cannot be confirmed at that moment, the file is not processed on the server and the message says so; you can try again a little later.

How do I start a run?

If you are signed in and on a paid plan, the run panel shows a Where to run selector: On this computer or On the server. Without a paid plan the selector is hidden and you see a note saying so.

The Run button in the browser, with On this computer selected, sends nothing to the server.

Which steps run on the server today?

Step	Status
Preflight	Runs, but performs only the basic checks. Even a clean result does not give Ready.
Split	Runs, in the page ranges mode (see below).
Review	Runs; it waits for a person's decision.
Route	Runs.
Edit pages, imposition	Does not run on the server yet. The step leaves through the "unknown" exit and goes to a person.
Distribute, deliver	Does not run on the server yet.

Your original PDF is never changed under any circumstances.

If a step does not run on the server, you see this message: "This step does not run on the server yet; it runs in the browser or in the desktop app for now. Your original PDF is unchanged."

How does Split work on the server?

Split can be used in two ways:

• Page ranges. You write the ranges (at most 50). The ranges must cover every page of the file exactly once: no gaps and no overlaps. Each range becomes a separate PDF.
• Count. It produces no file; it only divides the count in the workflow into 2 to 50 parts.

There is no "every N pages" or split by size. On the server too, Split asks for your approval on every run. If the engine removes a script, action or embedded file from the parts during splitting, the parts are still produced and can be downloaded, and none of them counts as Ready. If the parts go to a Review step, a person looks at them. If the parts are connected to a step that goes straight to a machine, the run stops before the machine and says "The run on the server stopped."; nothing is sent to a machine. A stopped run still offers the cleaned parts it has for download; each one carries the labels "running content removed" and "needs a look first", and a person needs to look at it before it is used. No job ticket or customer approval is offered for these parts. If the page count of the file cannot be measured, Split does not run at all; the step leaves through the Unknown exit, and in the ready-made workflows it goes to a person. The page count is never guessed.

If the ranges do not match the pages of the file, if too many parts would come out, or if the file is signed, encrypted or damaged, the step does not run and the reason is given. It says your original PDF is unchanged.

Downloading the results

Each part is a separate PDF; the list shows its name in the form file-name-out-N.pdf, its size and its SHA-256 digest, with a Download button. There is no zip that downloads everything at once.

• Large results are sent piece by piece without being loaded into memory. So there is no longer an old limit on the download size.
• The download address is not a permanent share link: it works only with your session. The member who started the run can download in their own organisation. An organisation admin can also list and cancel someone else's run but cannot download its result.
• When you press Download, in Chromium-based browsers a save dialog opens and the file is written to the file you chose. If it is left incomplete, the page says "The file did not fully download from the server; the download was left incomplete. Try again."; the file you chose may be left empty.
• In other browsers the page first asks whether the server will hand over the file. If it cannot, it says why: "The result file could not be read on the server. Try again later." or, if too many downloads are going at the same time (at most 16), "There are too many downloads right now. Try again in a little while." If it can, it leaves the download to your browser's download list; you see a break that happens afterwards only there.

Limits

Today the server takes files of at most 200 MB for everyone. The page limit follows your account tier; confirm the current limit with support. The extended limit aimed for larger files is 500 MB and 2000 pages; that limit is not open yet. A PDF over the limit is refused before it is uploaded and the reason is given; it does not disappear. The page count is also checked once it is measured on the server. Independently of the account limit, Split can also hit the split engine's own size limit; in that case the step does not run and your original PDF is unchanged.

The server keeps a run going for at most 240 seconds in one go; if that time is exceeded, the step running at that moment and the steps after it are marked as failed and the run stops. When you cancel or when the time runs out, an attempt is also made to stop the Split job running on the server; parts left unfinished are not offered. If the server is interrupted in the middle of a run, the run is retried a few times and then stops.

Following your runs

My runs on the server shows your last 20 runs, newest first. Each row has the status (Waiting, Running, Waiting for you, Ended, Stopped or Cancelled), the number of result files, the reason for the error if there is one, and an Open button. If a step is waiting for your approval, the panel says which step it is; if you approve, the step runs on the server, and if you decline, the run is cancelled. Cancelling asks for confirmation: "Cancel this run on the server? It cannot be continued afterwards."

Limits per organisation

The number of server runs is limited per organisation, not per person.

• At most 3 active runs. A run is active while it is queued, running or paused. If your organisation already has 3, a new run is refused and nothing is started. Finish or cancel one and try again.
• Old runs stop counting. A run that has not been updated for 7 days no longer counts towards the 3. It is not deleted: it can still be cancelled. Resuming it needs a free slot.
• Members see only their own runs. A member sees, cancels and resumes only the runs they started themselves. Someone else's run looks as if it does not exist.
• Organisation admins and owners see the Active runs in the organisation list in the panel: newest first, at most 100 entries. Each entry shows the status, the times, the file size and the page count, but not who started the run. They can also cancel any run of their organisation, and only of their own organisation. Members do not see this list.
• Free accounts and use without signing in get the refusal described under "Who can use it?".

What does the result mean?

Because the server preflight performs only the basic checks, a clean result never gives Ready; the result always goes to a person. The findings it does report are shown as they are. Something that could not be measured is never counted as passed. For the detailed rules see the guide to reading results. A server run does not do work that changes the file, such as colour conversion, flattening or font embedding.

A server run does not produce a customer approval or an XJDF job ticket.