How to build one-touch buttons on your MFP for repeat office workflows
One-touch buttons collapse multi-step scan, copy, or print workflows into a single tap on the MFP touchscreen. This guide walks through the configuration pattern and identifies the four highest-value buttons for typical office deployments.
One-touch buttons sit on the MFP's home touchscreen alongside the standard Copy, Scan, Print, and Fax tiles. Each button is a pre-configured workflow that runs the chosen sequence with a single tap rather than requiring the user to navigate through configuration menus each time. The pattern delivers measurable time savings on repeating workflows — typically 45 to 90 seconds per use, multiplied across hundreds of uses monthly — and reduces the configuration-error rate that produces misrouted scans and reprint cycles.
Modern A3 office MFPs support one-touch buttons through their built-in workflow editor or through the print-management platform layered on top. The configuration takes 15 to 30 minutes per button once the underlying workflow is clear; deploying a small set of 4 to 8 buttons covering the office's most-repeated workflows produces compound value across the device's service life.
Five-step button-configuration walkthrough
Identify the target workflow
Pick a workflow that the office repeats frequently — accounts-payable invoice scanning, HR document filing, legal discovery production, expense receipt capture. The workflow should be stable (same destination, format, settings each time) for one-touch to deliver value.
Document the manual workflow sequence
Walk through the workflow at the device today and note every setting selection: file format, resolution, colour/mono, destination folder, filename pattern, secure-print flag. This becomes the configuration script for the one-touch button.
Build the button in the device admin console
Open the MFP web admin, navigate to home-screen customisation or workflow editor, and create a new button. Set the workflow type (Scan, Copy, Print) and configure each setting to match the documented sequence. Name the button in plain language so users recognise it.
Position the button on the home screen
Place the new button alongside the standard tiles. Pin the most-used buttons to the primary home screen and place secondary buttons on a secondary tile. Layout consistency across the office's fleet improves user adoption.
Test and document for users
Run the button end-to-end and confirm the output lands as expected. Add a brief description to the office's IT handbook describing what each button does and which users should use it.
The compounding value of a small button set
Offices that deploy 5 to 10 well-chosen one-touch buttons across their MFP fleet typically save 8 to 14 hours of staff time monthly compared to manual workflow navigation. The savings come from eliminating the repeated configuration sequence each time a workflow runs — 60 seconds saved per invocation, multiplied across hundreds of invocations per month, compounds to meaningful operational benefit. The deployment effort is modest: a few hours to design and configure the initial button set, plus 15-minute updates as workflows evolve.
The companion cluster G4 article on print-management platforms covers the workflow-editor capabilities of PaperCut, uniFLOW, and YSoft SafeQ for offices wanting deeper customisation beyond the MFP's built-in editor. The H6 cluster's other articles cover the broader automation patterns that build on one-touch buttons as their entry point: RPA integration with MFP scanning and full invoice-processing automation.