Attributes Page

As a developer and object designer, ou specify fundamental settings for object execution and for its behavior at runtime on its Attributes page. Here you define parameters that affect workload distribution, determine when the script is processed, specify the Automation Engine priority, and so on. Some attributes are common to all executable objects, other are object-specific. This page is available for executable objects only.

This page includes the following:

Execution Settings Section

Agent

Field available for Remote Task Manager (JOBQ) and Jobs (JOBS).

Type the name of the Agent or expand the combo box and click Select Agent to search for it.

The maximum number of Agents displayed in the list depends the value defined in the AGENT_LIST_LIMIT variable.

Exception: It is not necessary to assign Agents to Generic Jobs. If you do, and if you want to use the &$PLATFORM# system variable in a script statement, you must also define the &AGENT# variable. The &AGENT# variable can be set to an Agent, but not to an Agent Group.
Login

Field available for Jobs (JOBS).

It stores the login information that Agents need to execute the object on the target systems.

Important! For OS/400 platforms, the user profile specified in the Login object must be activated in the OS/400 platform too. Otherwise, the Job cannot be executed.
Code Table

Field available for Jobs (JOBS).

Code table that is applied to transform character sets. For more information, see Code Tables (CODE)
Queue

Field available for all objects.

Queue in which the object is going to be executed. If you do not select one, the CLIENT Queue is used.
Queue of Child Tasks

Field available for Job Groups (JOBG), Designing Workflows (JOBP) and Schedules (JSCH).

If you select Inherit from Queue (*OWN) from the combo box, the child tasks of these objects are executed in the Queue that you have just selected for their parents.

Note: In scripts you use *OWN for this purpose.
Job Group

Field available for:
If you want to include this object in a Job Groups (JOBG), select the group here. This option is ignored if the object is started by a Workflow (JOBP), a Schedule (JSCH) or a recurring task.
Period Turnaround Time

Field available for Schedules (JSCH).

Schedule objects start tasks periodically. Here you define the time at which a new period starts. This is the time at which completed tasks are removed from the Schedule and reloaded again for the next execution.

The tasks in the Schedule start at this time by default, unless you specify something different in the Start Time field on the Schedule page. For more information, see Defining Schedule Objects.

Tasks are executed only once within a period. With every turnaround they get a new RunID.

If you change this setting while the tasks are being processed, they continue running. They will start again when the new turnaround time is reached.

See Example: Scheduling Tasks with Time and Calendar Conditions.
Period Duration

Field available for Schedules (JSCH).

Time frame that determines the regularity with which the tasks in the Schedule are executed.

Default value: 1 day (the tasks in the Schedule are executed once a day), which is also the minimum valid value .

You use this setting in combination with:
- The time entered in Period Turnaround Time.
  
  For example, if the duration is one day and the turnaround time midnight, each task in the Schedule will be executed once a day (provided the Calendar conditions, if defined, allow it) and loaded again at midnight.
- The Start Time and Start Offset that you can define per task in the Schedule page.

Runtime Parameters Section

Consumption Consume <x> resources

Field available for :
Number of resources that you want to allocate to the object for its execution.

Default value: 0

Administrator users can change it in the WORDKLOAD_DEFAULT_FT key in the UC_SYSTEM_SETTINGS variable. For more information, see UC_SYSTEM_SETTINGS - Systemwide Settings.

Allowed values: 0 to 100000

See also Resources.
Automation Engine Priority

Field available for :
Objects are processed in queues based on their priority. A Client variable that can be set by administrator users defines the default priority for tasks within in a Client (TASK_PRIORITY key of the UC_CLIENT_SETTINGS variable).

Here you specify the priority you assign to this object, which overrides the default set by your administrator in the Client variable.

Allowed values: 0-255
- 1 = highest priority
- 255 = lowest priority
- 0 = the value specified in the TASK_PRIORITY key of the UC_CLIENT_SETTINGS variable applies
If no default priority is specified, or if the variable is not available in the Client, the priority is 200.
Pass on AE priority to child tasks

Field available for Designing Workflows (JOBP).

Activate this checkbox to ignore the priority assigned to the tasks included in a Workflow. They inherit the priority defined for the Workflow instead. The same applies to child Workflows. They inherit the priority defined in the parent Workflow.

This function lets you control when tasks and child Workflows are processed and, if required, to avoid that they run simultaneously.

Example

You have designed a workflow that contains two children workflows, each with two tasks:
- This checkbox is not selected
  
  Although the Workflows have different priorities, the tasks are processed with the same priority, probably simultaneously, considering the available resources only.
- This checkbox is selected for the child Workflows (Child Workflow 1 and 2) but not for the parent Workflow
  
  Their tasks inherit the respective priorities. Task 1 and 2 are processed before Task 3 and 4.
- This checkbox is selected for the parent Workflow
  
  All of them inherit priority 50 and are processed with the same priority again.
Time Zone

Field available for all executable objects.

If the object must be executed in different time zones, you can select a (Time Zone (TZ)) here. The definitions in this object are applied to runtime calculations. For more information, see Runtime Page.
AgentGroup Setting Assign same Agent

Field available for Designing Workflows (JOBP).

If you select this option, the tasks in a Workflow that are allocated to the same Agent Group as the Workflow will use the same Agent in the group. For information about how the Agent is determined, see Setting the Agent Group for Workflows.

If you do not select this option, the system determines an arbitrary Agent in the group and enters it in the task.
Display Attribute Dialog

Field available for File Transfers (JOBF) and Jobs (JOBS).

Select this option if you want to review the attributes of this object before it is executed. A dialog is displayed, where you can change them. These changes apply only to that execution.
Generate Task at: Activation time / Runtime

Field available for all executable objects.

Your selection here determines when the script of the object is processed. This setting can have a fundamental impact on the execution of the object, particularly if it is included in a Workflow.

For information about the implications of either option, see Generating at Activation or at Runtime. For information about what happens when a task is activated and when it is generated, see Activation and Generation.
Maximum Executions Allow <x> simultaneous executions

Field available for all executable objects.

You define here how many tasks can be processed simultaneously. You will have to consider this when you assign single objects to a group and decide whether they should be executed simultaneously or not.

If you are defining this attribute for a Job Group, this field refers to the number of Jobs that can be executed simultaneously within the group.

Default value: Unlimited

Allowed values:
- 0 to 999 for Jobs within a Job Group
- 99999 for all other object types.
Note: Changes to these settings are active only after the first generation and do not apply to Jobs that are already running.
Remaining Tasks

If you enter a value in Maximum Executions Allow <x> simultaneous executions, two additional options are displayed where you can define what happens with the tasks exceeding this limit:
- Wait: The object waits until processing is possible.
- Abort: The object ends.
Start SAP Jobs

Field available for Remote Task Manager (JOBQ).

This option is available for ALLJOBS and INTERCEPTEDJOBS, which are Remote Task Manager objects for SAP only. It allows you to start scheduled SAP jobs.
Transfer Job Report to AE

Field available for Remote Task Manager (JOBQ).

External Job Reports are stored in the Automation Engine database.

In Remote Task Manager objects for processing chains (R3>PROCESSCHAINS), either all reports (report of the chain and its steps) or no reports are transferred.
End automatically

Field available for Remote Task Manager (JOBQ).

End Job if there are no more external operations which correspond to the specified filter criteria.

If no matching tasks are found when the Remote Task Manager is activated, it will not end. At least one task which corresponds to the specified filter criteria needs to be handled for the automatically end to occur.
Filtering

Field available for Remote Task Manager (JOBQ). Exception: Not available for process chains (PROCESSCHAINS).

Configuration for monitored and controlled operations. The options are:
- Flat: Operations are displayed in vertical order.
- Hierarchical: Existing parent-child relationships are displayed.
A Remote Task Manager object cannot start intercepted child jobs without parents if hierarchical filtering has been specified. To start them, specify flat filtering.

Automatic Deactivation Section

Section is available for:

To improve the performance of your system, you can specify that tasks should be deactivated automatically after execution. Deactivated tasks are removed from the list of Tasks in the Process Monitoring perspective. They are not displayed on any list.

Never

The task remains active and is available on the list of Tasks window until you remove it.
Always

The task is available on the list of Tasks only as long as it is active. Once finished, it is removed from it.

You can still access it if you select the Include deactivate tasks option when filtering tasks. For more information, see Including or Excluding Deactivated Tasks.
After error-free execution

The task is only deactivated if it has been executed without errors and its successful status is confirmed.

Interrupted Workflows and their tasks remain on the list of Tasks until you deactivate them manually
After error-free restart

The task is automatically deactivated after a successful restart.
Deactivate after <X> minutes

You can define a time span in minutes after which the task is automatically deactivated. You can still deactivate the object manually within the given time span.

Default value: 0. This means that the value that the system administrator has defined in the UC_CLIENT_SETTINGS variable will be applied.

Considerations for Workflows (JOBP)

The automatic deactivation settings apply to the tasks that run in the Workflows. Also, the settings defined in parent Workflows do not override the settings in child Workflows. If the parent has been deactivated, whether manually or automatically, all its children are also deactivated and, therefore, removed from the Tasks list.

Task Result Evaluation Section

Section available for Remote Task Manager (JOBQ), Designing Workflows (JOBP) and Schedules (JSCH).

Return Code <=

Field available for Remote Task Manager (JOBQ).

Return code of the external operation controlled by the Remote Task Manager object.
OK Status

Field available for Schedules (JSCH) and Workflows (JOBP).

Selection field for the end status that is expected for the subordinated tasks.
If not, then execute

Field available for Remote Task Manager (JOBQ), Schedules (JSCH) and Workflows (JOBP).
- Remote Task Manager (JOBQ)
  
  Optionally browse to an executable object to run if the return code is less than the one set in the Return Code <= field.
- Schedule (JSCH), Workflow (JOBP)
  
  Optionally browse to an executable object to run if the status in the OK Status field is not returned.