Connecting BarTender to Benchling

Remember: Your browser communicates with the BarTender server over your local network

After installing BarTender on your local network, you must connect it to your Benchling tenant.

Configure servers

To ensure communication between Benchling and the BarTender server is not blocked by users’ web browsers, you must configure Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) settings. Your BarTender server(s) must also be assigned URLs with SSL certificates.

SSL certificate requirements

Before installing and configuring the CORS module, ensure your server uses a valid Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate. This security protocol authenticates communication between the server and the browser and allows it to be encrypted. Benchling is secured with SSL, so if your server doesn't use a URL with a valid SSL certificate, your browser will block the requests.

For the certificate to be valid, it must be accepted by your browser. The certificate must:

• Match the server's hostname

• Be issued by a browser-accepted certificate authority (CA)

Certificates issued by internal CA's are acceptable, however in most cases, a certificate is issued by a commercial CA that's automatically accepted by most browsers, like DigiCert, Entrust, or Verisign. This typically means you own the domain assigned to the server, but the hostname doesn't need to be publicly accessible. This will most likely depend on your hosting setup.

Install and configure the IIS CORS module

To install the Microsoft IIS CORS module:

1. Go to https://www.iis.net/downloads/microsoft/iis-cors-module.

2. At the bottom of the install page under Download IIS CORS 1.0, click x64 installer (AMD) or x86 installer (Intel). Don’t click Install this extension at the top of the page.

3. Complete the installation process.

To configure the IIS CORS module:

1. Open the Windows IIS Configuration Editor on the BarTender server.

2. In section system.webServer/cors:

   • Set Enabled=True.

   • Right-click (Collection) and Edit Items.

3. Click Add.

4. Open the allowHeaders property and set allowAllRequestedHeaders to True.

5. Set origin to your full Benchling tenant URL. For example, https://benchling.example.com.

6. In the Properties section, click the allowMethods row, then click Add in the right-side Actions menu.

7. Set two allowMethods with OPTIONS and POST values.

   • Enter OPTIONS as the value of the method property, then click Add.

   • Enter POST as the value of the method property, then click Add.

8. Click X in the top-right corner to close the window.

9. Click Apply.

Set your printing method

To select the printing method in Benching:

1. In Feature Settings under the Label Printing section, click Label Printing.

2. In the Print method drop-down menu, select BarTender.

Note: If you’re using a discontinued printing method and need to switch back after selecting BarTender, contact Benchling support.

Add BarTender servers in Benchling

To make your BarTender servers available on the network to anyone needing to print labels, you must point Benchling to the servers by adding their URLs on the Label Printing settings page.

To add the servers in Benchling:

1. In Feature Settings under the Label Printing section, click Label Printing.

2. Click + next to BarTender servers.

3. Enter the server URL and display name.

4. Click Save.

Printer statuses

Navigating to the Label Printing settings page triggers Benchling to check the configured servers. The status it displays reflects the connection between your browser and the BarTender’s server. When a check is successful, Benchling displays the number of printers and label templates managed by each server.

If the server status displays an error, ensure your browser can access the BarTender server.