Menu:
AngeliaSchedulerTM - On-Line Help - Configuring Tasks
To add a task to an AngeliaScheduler Queue, select the desired queue by clicking on it in the Remote Queue Manager Queue List, and then click on the "New Task" button on the tool bar. The "Add New Task" dialog will then appear.
At a minimum, an AngeliaScheduler Task requires the specification of an executable file. Select a command file name from the drop down list at the top of the form. The "Command File Name" drop down list contains a list of all of the executable files that are located in the selected Queue's "Task Folder". This list is built only on the first time that the "Add New Task" form is displayed for each queue. If an executable file has been added to the folder since, either restart the Remote Queue Manager to add it to the list, or type the name of the command file (including the extension) into the space indicated on the form.
All of the rest of the items on the "Add New Task" form are optional – although a Task Title of "RQM Run Of commandfilename" will be added as a default title if you do not provide one. The Title is used only for display purposes – but your task display in Remote Queue Manager will make more sense if you provided well formed titles.
Command Line Parameters can be passed to your application by entering them in the "Command Line Parameters" item in the form. If any parameter has embedded spaces, you will need to quote (") surround it for the command processor to parse it properly. Note that command line parameters are ignored if the executable file is a Windows shortcut (".Lnk") since any parameters are already included in the shortcut.
Select a Priority from 1 to 9 for your task. The lower the priority number the higher the scheduling priority that this task will have relative other tasks on the same queue. If more that one task is eligible for execution on the same queue at the same time, the one with the lower priority number (higher priority) will be executed first. If the two eligible tasks have the same priority, then the task with the lower task id number will be executed first.
Check the "Check Here If You Want Task Held" check box if you want this task to be added to the queue in "Held" status. A task that is "Held" will not be considered for execution until it is released by having its status changed to "Ready".
If you decide that you do not want a task to be executed, you can "Cancel" it by selecting it in the list of tasks and double-clicking it. Next, double-click the Task Status attribute in the Option List and select the "Cancelled" radio button and click "Apply". Once a task is cancelled it can not be returned to "Ready" status – so use "Held" status if you want to delay execution and only use "Cancel" if you want to eliminate the task from further consideration permanently. Tasks that are "Completed", "Cancelled", "Aborted", or "Failed" are all retained in the queue's task list until they are purged (see Purging Completed Tasks for more information).
If you wish your task to be executed at a specific date and time in the future you may specify a "Task Execution Date" and/or "Task Execution Time". If you do not enter a "Task Date" then AngeliaScheduler will default to today. If you do not enter a "Task Time" then AngeliaScheduler will default to the current time. Specifying a Task Execution Date and/or Time will result in your task being executed the first time that the AngeliaScheduler Service evaluates the task on or after the specified date and time assuming that the task is otherwise eligible for execution (by status, Trigger Path present, and Priority).
You may also specify a "Trigger Path". Each time your task is otherwise eligible for execution, the AngeliaScheduler Service will check for the existence of the file specified by "Trigger Path". If the file exists then the task will be executed, otherwise it will not. This feature can be particularly useful when chaining batch tasks together – the first task can create a file that will then cause the follow-on task to be executed, but only after the first task reaches some known successful point. Remember that any one AngeliaScheduler Queue can execute only one task at a time. When a task is executing, the further evaluation of that Queue is suspended until the current task is completed (or aborted). A queue may have new tasks added to it while it is executing a task if the queue’s current status otherwise allows (ie - the Queue is not "Disabled").
If you have a task that you want to execute repeatedly check the "Check here if this task is to automatically repeat" check box, and then provide the repeat criteria in the items below (they will be disabled until the check box is checked). You may select any of the three repeat options provided as follows:
- Select the "Repeat Every" radio button if you want the task to execute at consistent intervals (such as every day, or every 2 hours, or every 15 seconds). When this option is selected, specify the length of the interval in the first edit control, and then select the appropriate units (days, hours, minutes, etc) from the drop down list. Check the "Check to Repeat From Completed Date & Time" check box if you want the start time (and date) of the next iteration of the task to be calculated from the completion date and time of the current iteration. Otherwise, the new start time and date will be calculated from the Trigger Date and Time of the current task. The time of day for the first execution of the task should be provided in the "Task Time" control above.
- Select the "Repeat Weekly" radio button if you want to schedule a task to be run on a specific day(s) of the week. After selecting the "Repeat Weekly On" radio button, click on the edit area to the right and then check the days on which you want the task to run from the list displayed – then click "Okay". The time of day at which the task will be run should be provided in the "Task Time" control above.
- Select the "Repeat Monthly" radio button if you want to schedule a task to be run on a specific day(s) of the month. After selecting the "Repeat Monthly On" radio button, click on the edit area to the right and then check the days on which you want the task to run from the list displayed – then click "Okay". The numbers represent calendar days – so if you select 29, 30, or 31 it is possible that your task will not be executed in certain months. You can avoid this problem by selecting Last to have the task execute on the last day of each month. The time of day at which the task will be run should be provided in the "Task Time" control above.
Existing tasks that have not yet been executed can be modified at any time (assuming User Access Rights have been granted to do so). To modify a task, select the task in the Task List, then click "Modify" in the tool bar, and click "Current Task Configuration" (or double-click on the Task in the Task List). When the Task Configuration Options Dialog appears, double-click on the item that you want to modify (items that can not be modified will have a status value of "Read Only").