Defining Schedule Objects

The steps for defining Schedules (JSCH) are the same as for any other Automation Engine object. This section describes the settings that are specific to Schedule objects. For general information about the purpose of a Schedule object, see Schedules (JSCH).

A Schedule definition is made up of the following pages:

Standard pages that are always available, no matter what type of object you are defining:

Pages that are always available for executable objects:
The object-specific page described here.

To Define a Schedule Object

Add a Schedule object and define the following parameters on its Attributes page:
- Period duration, which determines the periodicity with which the tasks added to the Schedule are executed
- Turnaround time, which determines the time at which the tasks start generating

Add tasks to the Schedule and define their specific time parameters on this page

The Schedule page is divided in two panels. On the upper one, you assemble the tasks and set the time definitions that govern their execution. On the lower pane, you assign Calendars and modify some of the properties of the tasks that you have added. Click the Properties button on the upper right corner of the window to display or hide the lower pane.

To Add Tasks and Define their Properties

Click the Add Row button.
To insert an object, expand the combo box in the Name column by clicking on it and type the name of the object or search for it. The combo box provides useful functions that help you with this. For more information, see Using AWI Combo Boxes.

The No. column displays 1. It indicates that this is the first object that has been inserted in the Schedule. Further tasks are assigned a number in sequential order as you insert them. When you remove a task from the Schedule, these numbers change accordingly.
Activate the task.

The Active checkbox is selected by default. If you deactivate it, the task remains as part of the Schedule object but it is not executed with it. Its status is ENDED_INACTIVE.
Define the time at which the task should be executed.

Click the Start Time cell to activate it and to be able to modify the time. The default value is the time that you have defined in the Period Turnaround Time field on the Schedule Attributes page.

You can specify here a different start time for every task in the Schedule.

Important! The task start time must always be after the Schedule period turnaround time.
In Start Offset (days), define how many days should pass between the beginning of a period turnaround and the activation of the task.

The logical date determines the period start. For more information, see Logical Date and Real Date.
Define or modify Calendar conditions for the task. A tick in the Calendar Conditions column indicates that a Calendar Event has already been assigned to the task.

The period duration and the task start offset can cause tasks to be executed on dates that you must avoid. For example, these dates could be non-working days. Or maybe you want the task to be executed only in some of the days that result from those settings. To solve these situations, you assign Calendars to the tasks.

Also, when you add tasks to the Schedule, they might already have Calendar conditions. You can remove them, attach a different one or add an extra Calendar Event here. These changes apply to the task only when it is executed from within this Schedule.
1. To make the properties panel visible, right-click the task and select Properties.
2. On the Calendar tab, activate the Set Calendar Conditions checkbox.
  - Execute if all conditions match
    
    Select this option to apply a logical AND operation between the selected Calendar Events. All the dates that are common to all selected Calendar Events will be designated and the task will run on all those dates.
  - Execute if no condition matches
    
    The task will not run on the dates designated by the selected Calendar Events. This option is useful, for example, if you have scheduled maintenance dates and you do not want the task to run on those dates.
  - Execute if one condition matches
    
    Use this option to apply a logical OR operation between the selected Calendar Events. The task will run on any date designated by the selected Calendar Events.
3. Specify when you want the task to be executed taking the Calendar definitions into account.
4. To select the Calendar Events that determine the dates on which the conditions apply, open the Task Calendar Conditions combo box. You have the following options:
  - Start entering the name of the Calendar Event. The autocomplete function helps you find it.
  - Start typing the name of the Calendar in which the Calendar Event is defined.
  - Scroll through the list to find it.
Notes: If a task is not executed due to the defined Calendar conditions, its status is ENDED_INACTIVE.

For more information about Calendars, see Calendars (CALE). For more information on Calendar Events, see Calendar Events.
On the Runtime page of executable objects, you define the parameters to calculate the maximum and minimum runtimes of tasks. If there are deviations, you specify what should happen. You can ignore these definitions when the task is executed from within the Schedule. A tick in the Override Runtime Settings column indicates that this is the case.

You can still monitor the runtime of the task when it is executed from within the Schedule. This function allows you to react quickly to runtimes that exceed the maximum runtime. When the execution has ended, you can also monitor whether it was processed within the minimum runtime. If not, you can react accordingly.

On the Runtime page in the properties pane, activate the Activate Runtime Settings checkbox to display the options.

For more information about how to set the runtime options, see Runtime Page.
Define what should happen with the task depending on its status after execution. A tick in the Result Check column indicates that these parameters have been defined.
1. On the Result tab, activate the Result Check checkbox.
2. In the OK Status drop-down list, select the status that you expect this task to have when the execution is finished.
3. In the ELSE section, define what should happen if the task ends with a different status.
  - Activate Repeat task if it ends with another status and specify how often and the frequency with which the execution should be repeated.
  - Activate Execute another object if the task ends with another status and select the alternative object. Define also when it should be executed.
If Object Variables have been assigned to the task, they are displayed in the Variables tab. If you want the object variables to behave differently when the object is executed from within this Schedule, you can override their values here. For more information, see Variables Page.

Important! Tasks can inherit the Variables that are defined in the Schedule. For more information, see Inheriting Object and PromptSet Variables.
If PromptSets have been assigned to the task, they are displayed on the Prompt Sets tab. You can populate the fields with the values to be used when the Schedule object executes the task. If you do so, no user input is required at runtime.

Important! Tasks can inherit the PromptSets defined in the Schedule.
Add as many tasks as you need.
Save your changes.

Next Steps

After you have defined the Schedule object, you must execute it manually for the first time to activate it. From that moment onward, the Schedule runs automatically. For more information, see Activating Schedule Objects.
While the schedule is running, you can follow its progress through its Last Monitor page. For more information, see Monitoring Schedules.
You can modify Schedule objects and their tasks also at runtime, provided your user profile has been granted the necessary rights and privileges. These changes apply to that specific execution. For more information, see Modifying Task Properties in an Active Schedule.
Depending on the status of the schedule and of its tasks, different functions are available. For more information, see Working with Tasks.