Reading and Modifying Attributes

Reading and Modifying Attributes

Attribute Dialog

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Attributes

Attributes refer to the specifications and entries that can be made in the tabs of individual objects.

Some attributes are available in every executable object (such as the attributes for the archive keys of objects). Jobs contain some platform-independent attributes such as host attributes and login information, other attributes are object specific or refer to a particular platform (jobs). 

You can use the attribute dialog which is available in jobs and file transfers to set specific attributes only when the object is activated.

Objects
Notification	Cockpit	Event	FileTransfer
Group	AgentGroup	Job	RemoteTaskManager
Schedule	Script	Workflow	Variable

Attributes can be read and set at the object's runtime. This is possible in different ways:

1. Some executable objects allow user interaction and when they are activated, you can access their attributes via an attribute dialog.
2. For executable objects, you can also use script elements to access their attributes. You use the script function GET_ATT to read attributes and :PUT_ATT to set attributes. The Automation Engine Documentation provides several documents that describe the attributes that are available. All of them include an "Access via" column that informs you which script element you can use.
3. AE provides specific variables that also include values of attributes. These predefined variables can be used in attribute fields or in AE Script. To select them, you can use the variable selection dialog. Attributes whose values are accessed by using these placeholders are flagged with the term "predefined variable" in the "Access via" column.
4. Some attributes can be set directly without using :PUT_ATT. Enter a script variable in the object's relevant fields. This variable is replaced by the value that has been specified in the Process or Pre-Process tab or an object variable before the object is processed. The documents that describe the attributes which can set values in this way show the comment "via script variable" in the column "Accesses".

For example:

The working directory of a Windows job should be set using the script variable "&directory#". Enter the script variable in the field working directory of the Windows tab.



The job script fills the variable:

:SET &directory# = "C:\temp"

Alternately, you can specify the object variable "directory#" to set the attribute.

Note that attributes can have different maximum lengths. When replacing the script variable by a value, the system does not check the value's length but truncates it to the relevant attribute's maximum length.

AE.DB Change

Attribute can also be changed by using the utility AE.DB Change.

An exception applies for attributes that allow the values "Y" and "N". These two letters cannot be assigned to the utility AE DB Change. In this case, Automic recommends using the number "1" instead of "Y" and "20" instead of "N".

You cannot assign abbreviations to AE.DB Change. Always use complete attribute names (such as "GROUP" instead of " S").

This utility can also be used to modify object variables. Do so by specifying the name "VALUE" followed by a colon and the object variable's name.

You can also change folder names by using the utility AE DB Change. In this case, the corresponding attribute is FOLDER_NAME.