Executing Objects - Recurring

Schedule objects start tasks at predefined intervals in which the minimum period is one day. To process objects at intervals shorter than one day you can use the Execute Recurring option.

There are various possibilities to define recurring executions of tasks. Depending on the nature and properties of the recurrence, you may choose between the following:

Design Schedule objects (see Defining Schedule Objects

They are containers of tasks that serve to assign them well-structured, predefined intervals in which they will be executed. The minimum period is one day.
Define recursive executions for an object or task

This option allows you to execute tasks in intervals shorter than a day. You can either specify the intervals when defining the recurring execution or assign them a Period Object (PERIOD).

This topic deals with this type of scheduled executions.

Cyclical (C_PERIOD) Tasks

Objects that are executed using the Execute Recurring option are so called Runtime Objects, that is, they are only visible on the Task list of the Process Monitoring perspective as long as they are active. As soon as their executions have finished, they are no longer visible unless you use the Include deactivated tasks option when filtering. See Including or Excluding Deactivated Tasks.

You can schedule recurring tasks by right-clicking the object or task and selecting Execute > Execute Recurring (see Executing Types). Three types are available:

Executions in a particular interval
Executions with a particular time gap in between
Executions at a particular time

The Execute Recurring command is also available in client 0; this allows administrators to check when and at which intervals a task will run.

Objects executed this way are displayed as tasks of type C_PERIOD in the Process Monitoring perspective and have a container symbol that helps recognize them.

They can have the following statuses:

Active

The task is currently running.
Sleeping

The task is outside the execution cycle.
Stopped

The execution has been put on hold with the Suspend action.

To Execute Tasks Recursively

Switch to the Process Assembly perspective if you are not already there and do one of the following:
Select the object for which you want to schedule recurring executions and do one of the following.
- Right-click an select Execute > Execute Recurring.
- Expand the Execute button on the toolbar and select Execute > Execute Recurring.

The Execution of <object type> dialog is displayed:

Specify the settings:

Field	Description
Period Settings
Load Period Object	Period objects define when and how often recurring executions should run. You can assign an existing period object to this recurring execution. If you do so, the settings defined in the period object are loaded into the fields on this dialog. You can leave them as is or modify them as needed for this specific recurring execution. Type the name of the period or select it from the dropdown list.
Period Description	Text as defined in the assigned Period object. You can modify it for this definition, if necessary.
Execution Settings
Alias	If you specify an alias here, this is displayed on the Tasks window in the Process Monitoring perspective to identify this execution. You can use the same characters as for names, that is, it can contain up to 200 characters. It is not possible to use variables here.
Queue	You can assign a particular queue for this execution, which can be different to the one in the object's definition. If you leave this field empty, the object queue is used.
Time Zone	If you have defined Time Zone objects and you want this execution to consider one of them, select it here.
Period
Start Date	A period always begins on a specific calendar day. Select it here. Periods can end in different ways:
End: never	The recursive execution has no end date. You must stop it manually.
End: on	Select the calendar date on which the recurring execution should end.
End: after	Select the number of executions after which the recurring execution should end.
Frequency
Execute: at	Specify the time of day at which the execution will take place.
Execute: in intervals of every	Specify fixed time intervals (up to 504 hours= 21 days)
Execute: after the previous run ends plus	Specify a buffer time after the end of the previous run (up to 504 hours= 21 days)
Allow one overlap	Select this option when you want the next scheduled execution to start even when the previous one is still running. Without this option, the execution would be skipped until the next scheduled time according to the other settings.
Between	When you choose intervals or consecutive runs, rather than one time of day, you can also define a time window during the day that the object is started. By default, this is set to all day between 00:00 and 23:59.
Initial Start Time	The earliest start time of a task changes when you modify its frequency. Calendar definitions, whether you allow overlaps or not and changes to the time frame also affect its start time. Changing to in intervals of every If the last start plus the new interval lie in the future, the task starts at the determined point in time. If the last start plus the new interval lie in the past, the task starts immediately. Changing to after the previous run ends plus If the task is being processed, the specified time is added to the end of the task which results in a new start. If the task is not being processed, the specified time is added to its last end. If the calculated point in time is in the future, the task is scheduled. If the calculated point in time lies in the past, the task starts immediately. Changing to at If the time lies in the future, the task starts at this point in time. If the specified time lies in the past, the task is processed on the next day.
Days
Execute: daily	By default this option is activated, that is, the executions are started every day.
Execute: weekly	You can set the executions to be started only on certain days of the week, such as only on weekdays and not on weekends.
Execute: based on calendar conditions	You can select calendars and specify whether all, one or no conditions should match for the executions to be started. This allows you to define more complex and precise days for the executions, such as all days except bank holidays. The logical date is applied here. For detailed information on calendars please click here. For details on how to work with tables please click here.

Click Execute.

As soon as the object starts being executed, it is available on the Process Monitoring perspective.

The task has the same name as the object you have just executed and it displays a container symbol (a blue circle with a white curved arrow) next to its name. This identifies it as a scheduled task. For example:
Switch to the Process Monitoring perspective and search for the task. You have various possibilities:
- Using the Global Search.
- Filtering the tasks in the view, see Filtering Tasks.
The task has the same name as the object you have just executed and displays the container symbol next to its name.

Important Considerations

The period container starts tasks on the basis of the specified settings. If it has ended, it waits until all tasks have finished and removes itself from the Tasks window. You can access the details on how the tasks have ended via the Executions lists (see Execution Data). "0" signals that all tasks have ended successfully, "1" indicates some of them aborted and "2" signals that no tasks have ended successfully. This error indicator is reset when the log-file is changed.

The period container's log file changes every day when the time frame starts and when the settings are changed.

Scheduling Recurring Tasks for Groups

If a group has been specified as start type in the object itself, the execution ignores this setting. Thus, the user who schedules a recurring task must have the right to change the object.

Modifying the Recurring Execution Settings

If necessary, you can permanently change the settings of these recurring executions. For this purpose, on the Tasks list in the Process Monitoring perspective, right-click the task and select Modify Execution, make your changes and execute it again.

Modifying the settings of a period-container is like giving the it a new start. Numbers of runs and number of erroneous runs are reset to 0.

The following table shows the earliest start time of a task when the settings have been changed. Calendar definitions, whether overlaps are allowed, possible adjustments to the time frame etc, also play a role.

Changing the Frequency to "In intervals of every..."	Changing the Frequency to "after the previous run ends plus"	Changing the Frequency to "at"
If the last start plus the new interval lie in the future, the task starts at the determined point in time. If the last start plus the new interval lie in the past, the task starts immediately.	If the task is being processed, the specified time is added to the end of the task which results in a new start. If the task is not being processed, the specified time is added to its last end. If the calculated point in time is in the future, the task is scheduled. If the calculated point in time lies in the past, the task starts immediately.	If the time lies in the future, the task starts at this point in time. If the specified time lies in the past, the task is processed on the next day.

The execution of cyclical tasks can also be stopped temporarily. To do so, right-click it and select

Suspend to stop the parent task only; in this case, if you are executing a Workflow with this option, the Workflow will be suspended but its child tasks could go active.
Suspend (recursive) to stop both the parent and its children.

To resume the cyclical execution of a suspended task, right-click it and select Go immediately or Go (recursive).

To stop the execution permanently and remove the C_PERIOD, right-click it and select Quit.

To Change the Recurring Settings

Switch to the Process Monitoring perspective if you are not already there and search for the task. You have various possibilities:
- Using the Global Search.
- Filtering the tasks in the view, see Filtering Tasks.
The task has the same name as the object you have just executed and displays the container symbol next to its name.
Right-click the task and select Modify Execution.
The Execution of <name of task> dialog is displayed.
Make your changes and click Execute.