Restricting users (restricted vs unrestricted users)

What is the difference between a Restricted user and an Unrestricted user?

Users who are unrestricted will be able to accumulate a negative balance, e.g. their balance can go below zero, or if they have an overdraft, they can go beyond that.

By default, Filters & Restrictions on Print Queues are also not enforced for Unrestricted Users. You can override this by toggling the tick box found under the PaperCut admin interface, under Printers → [printer] → Filters & Restrictions → Restriction Scope.

Filters & Restrictions will still allow an Unrestricted user to accumulate a negative balance.

What determines whether a user is Restricted or Unrestricted?

To configure a user as restricted or unrestricted simply toggle the tick box found under the PaperCut admin interface, under Users → [username] → Account Details

Why would I want to restrict (or not restrict) users?

In educational organisations it might be determined that students have a monthly quota and can not use more than that unless they TopUp. Teachers and Staff however require unrestricted printing.

In this scenario students would be restricted with a monthly quota and staff would be unrestricted and accumulate a negative balance. The PaperCut Administrator would then use Scheduled Reports to keep an eye on staff usage.

How do I change user restriction settings if I already have my users set up?

PaperCut’s Bulk User Actions enables you to select a Group of Users (or a list) and modify their Restricted status. This is accessed via the PaperCut Admin interface, under Users → Bulk User Actions.

How do I set user restrictions for new users?

New users will inherit a Restricted or Unrestricted attribute based on the New User Settings for any groups they’re in. If a user is in multiple groups and there is a combination of Restricted and Unrestricted settings they will be Unrestricted as a result - see Set new user creation rules (Handling multiple group membership).