Job Procedures

Adding a Job or Job Group

You can add a job or group rule and have it added to the production schedule simultaneously. Adding a job to the production schedule is optional. When jobs are added to groups, many properties can be inherited from the parent group.

To add a job or job group:

  1. Click Definitions > Jobs on the Navigation pane to display the Jobs pane.

    • To add a job or job group under a job group, right-click the job group under which you want to add your job or job group.

    • To add a job or job group at the root level of the hierarchy, right-click a root-level job or on a white section of the pane.

  1. Click Add Job or Add Job Group from the context menu or click the Add Job on the TA toolbar.

    Depending on your selection, the Job Definition or the Job Group Definition dialog appears. For more information about the job or job definitions, see Job/Job Group Definition Dialog.

Adding Jobs Automatically to the Production Schedule

Jobs with associated calendars are automatically added to the production schedule through the TA automatic compilation process. Jobs with calendars are only added to the schedule for days that are in the set of days defined for the calendar. No intervention is necessary, but you can customize its operation to tailor compilation to your needs. For more information, see Defining Jobs Interface. Another way of automatically adding jobs to the production schedule is through new job actions.

Adding Jobs Manually

To add a job manually:

  1. Click Definitions > Jobs on the Navigation pane to display the Jobs pane.

  1. Right-click the job or job group to add to the production schedule and select Insert Into Schedule from the context menu.

    Or, select the job or job group to add to the production schedule, and from the Activities main menu select Insert Into Schedule.

    The Insert Job Into Schedule dialog displays. The Job/Group field should contain the name of the job or group you right-clicked, and the Date field should contain the current date. If the job or group you selected has a time window, this will be displayed in the From and Until fields. Any parameters that were set in the job’s or group’s definition will be listed in the Parameters field. If the job or group has dependencies, you may want to select the Override job’s dependencies option so that your job or group will enter the schedule without checking for its dependencies.

  1. Click Yes at the confirmation dialog.

    The job is added to today’s production schedule regardless of its calendar dates (if any). If the job is defined to repeat, only one instance of the job will be added to the schedule. Only jobs with the Unscheduled Allowed option selected (definition dialog, Options tab) can be added in this manner.

Adding a Job or Job Group Dependency

Jobs can depend on the status of other jobs and job groups. For example, you can set Job B to run when Job A completes normally using a job dependency for Job B.

To add a job or job group dependency:

  1. Click Definitions > Jobs on the Navigation pane to display the Jobs pane.

  1. Double-click the job or job group that you want to edit.

  1. Click the Dependencies tab.

  1. Click Add and select Add Job Dependency from the drop-down menu.

  1. Click the Job/Group field, and then click Browse to open the Search dialog to search for the job that this job will depend on. You can also view a drop-down list of jobs by clicking the down-arrow button. If you used the Browse button to narrow your search for jobs, the drop-down list will be that job subset.

  2. Click the Operator field, and then select whether the file dependency Equals or Does not equal the following status to satisfy the dependency. For example, you can set the job dependency to Equal the Completed Normally status.

  3. Click the Status field and select the status to use to satisfy the dependency. You can choose between Active, Completed Abnormally, Completed Normally, Error Occurred, Externally Defined and Completed.

    Note: A job group becomes active when any of its associated jobs become active. If all jobs in a job group depend on the job group becoming active, no jobs will launch.

    If the job repeats during the day, select which instance of the job will trigger the dependency from the Occurrence drop-down menu.

    • Select First Occurrence if you want the first instance of the preceding job to match the status criterion.

    • Select Last Occurrence if you want the last instance of the preceding job to match the status criterion.

    • Select Match Occurrence when both jobs repeat during the day, and the dependency should match instance numbers.

    There are two ways to apply the First/Last/Match dependency logic: by day instance or group instance.

    Note: To specify an instance offset, you can do so in the Offset field. This field only applies to First Occurrence and Last Occurrence. When applied to First Occurrence, specifies which instance after the first to use in satisfying the dependency. When applied to Last Occurrence, specifies which instance from the last.

    If you want to specify an instance of a job that occurred a certain number of days in the past, go to the Date Offset field, and type the number of days in the past for the required job dependency.

    Example: If Job A repeats daily, but you want your job to be dependent on Job A’s instance 3 days ago, specify 3 in this field.

  1. Click Ignore this dependency if Job not in schedule if the dependency only applies when the job is part of the production schedule.

  2. Click OK to add the job dependency.

Note: If your job has more than one dependency (file, job, variable or time), all dependencies must be satisfied for the job to run. It is possible for a dependency’s state to change from satisfied to unsatisfied. If this occurs, the job will only run when all dependencies have been satisfied at the same time.

Adding a File Dependency

You can have a job that depends on the status of a file on any system in your network.

Example: Job A can be defined to run only when file data.txt exists in the c:\data directory.

To add a file dependency to a job:

  1. Click Definitions > Jobs on the Navigation pane to display the Jobs pane.

  1. Double-click the job or job group that you want to edit to display the Job or Job Group Definition dialog.

  1. Click the Dependencies tab.

  1. Click Add and select Add File Dependency from the dependency context menu to display the File Dependency Definition dialog.

  1. Type the path and filename for the required file or click Browse to select a file on the local TA Web Client.

    OR

    Click the Variables button to add System or Job variables as a file name.

  1. Click the agent where the file needs to exist.

  1. Choose the dependency type for the file from these options:

    • Exists – The file exists at the path and on the agent specified.

    • Does Not Exist – The file no longer exists, or is not found at the path or on the agent specified.

    • Has Changed In DD:HH:MM – The file dependency is satisfied when the file changed within the specified time in days, hours, and minutes after the job entered the production schedule. For example, if the job entered the schedule at 1:00 PM, the period specified is 6 hours, and the file changed after 7:00 PM (or later), the dependency is met.

    • Stable For DD:HH:MM – The file dependency is satisfied when the file size has not changed for the specified time in days, hours, and minutes from the present time. For example, if the file’s modified time is 1:00 PM, the period specified is 6 hours, and the job enters the schedule at 3:00 PM, the dependency is satisfied in 4 hours, i.e., 7:00 PM.

    • Size >= – The size of the file is greater than or equal to the specified amount in bytes.

    • Size <= – The size of the file is less than or equal to the specified amount in bytes.

  1. Click OK.

    Note: If your job has more than one dependency (file, job, variable or time), all dependencies must be satisfied for the job to run. It is possible for a dependency’s state to change from satisfied to unsatisfied. If this occurs, the job will only run when all dependencies have been satisfied at the same time.

Adding a Variable Dependency

You can make a job depend on the value of a user-defined variable. For example, Job A should only run when the variable RunVar is equal to ten. For more information on variables, see Variables.

To add a variable dependency to a job:

  1. Click Definitions > Jobs on the Navigation pane to display the Jobs pane.

  1. Double-click the job or job group that you want to edit.

  1. Click the Dependencies tab from the Job Definition dialog.

  1. Click Add and select Add Variable Dependency from the drop-down menu to display the Variable Dependency Definition dialog.

    Note: If you are creating an interMaster dependency, select from the Master drop-down list a Master to manage the variable dependency. Leave the default field selection, if you are not creating an interMaster dependency.

  1. Click the Variable Name field and choose a variable from the drop-down menu that the job or job group will depend on.

  1. Click the Operator field and choose from the drop-down list an operator to make the appropriate comparison to the value of the variable.

    When text strings are used in comparison, “lower” letters of the alphabet are of greater value than “higher” letters.

    Example: Z > A. If the first letters of the string match, succeeding letters are used for comparison. For example, AZ > AA. The operation works similar to sorting strings in ascending order. Upper versus lower case is not considered (i.e., a=A, b=B, etc.).

  1. Click the Variable Value field and enter the value of the variable required for the dependency to be met. You can also select from a list of system, job, user-defined and public variables to which the variable should be compared. For example, suppose you are using a variable dependency to repeat a job a specific number of times, and this amount changes periodically. You can define how many times to repeat the job by changing its variable value instead of changing its job definition.

Adding Parameters to a Command

You can specify command parameters that are appended to the command when the command is run. Consult the author of the script or program or refer to documentation about the command you are running for specific information on the type of command parameters you can pass to it.

You can enter fixed parameters, or you can use system, job, public, and user variables using the Variables button. At runtime, the current variable values will be used.

Note: Command parameters must be added to a job definition through the Command Parameters field on the of the Job Definition dialog. TA will not recognize any parameters appended to a command in the Command field. For more information about the Command Parameters field or the Command field, see Program Tab.

To add a parameter to a command:

  1. Click Definitions > Jobs on the Navigation pane to display the Jobs pane.

  1. Double-click the job you want to edit to open its Job Definition dialog.

  1. Click the Program tab.

  1. Click the Command Parameters field and type the parameter text as it should appear in the command.

    Agent Instructions:

    Note: Windows Agent: Always prepend the /c option in the Command Parameters field when running commands through cmd.exe. This is essential for the successful execution of the command.

    Example: /c del SFTP_file.iso

Adding Notes or Operator Instructions to a Job

For every job or job group that you create, you can add notes on the Notes tab to describe the job or group. You can also add instructions intended for the operator during the execution of the job on the Run Book tab. This information has no direct effect on how the job or job group runs, but is for informational purposes only. The notes or instructions can be written text or can be a web page of information displayed from the internet or a company intranet.

To add a note or operator instruction to a job:

  1. Click Definitions > Jobs on the Navigation pane to display the Jobs pane.

  1. Double-click the job or job group that you want to edit.

  1. Click either the Runbook or the Notes tab.

    • To add text, type the information in the text field. The text can contain up to 255 characters.

    • To display a web page from the internet or a company intranet with information relevant to the job, type a web URL in the text field and select the Load URL option.

Assigning an Agent or Agent List to a Job

You can select an agent or an agent list to run your jobs but be sure to choose an agent or an agent list for a platform on which your command or batch file can run.

To assign an agent or agent list to a job:

  1. Click Definitions > Jobs on the Navigation pane to display the Jobs pane.

  1. Double-click the job or job group you want to edit to open its definition. Selecting an agent or agent list for a group results in assignment of the agent to the children that inherit this property.

  2. Click the Run tab.

    The default agent is the agent specified in the System Configuration dialog, Defaults tab. To change this agent, select either:

    • An agent from the Agent Name drop-down menu to run your job on a specific agent.

    • An agent list from the Agent List Name drop-down menu to run your job on one or more agents in the agent list, depending on the type of list. Note that agent lists allow you to do workload balancing, broadcasting, and dynamic rerouting.

Note: If you select an agent list, make sure that the user has logon access to each agent in the agent list. If the job tries to run on an agent that the user cannot access the job will fail with an Error Occurred status.

Assigning Job Event(s) to a Job

You can assign predefined job events to jobs to notify the operator or take actions based on exception conditions. You can issue email, console alerts, SNMP traps, ITO messages, job control commands, or even run a new job through the job event’s associated actions.

To assign a job event to a job:

  1. Click Definitions > Jobs on the Navigation pane to display the Jobs pane.

  1. Double-click the job or job group that you want to edit.

  1. Click the Job Events tab.

  1. Click Insert and the Select Job Event dialog appears.

  1. Select the job event(s).

  1. Click OK to add the job event to the job or job group definition.

Copying Jobs or Job Groups

To create a job or job group that has many of the same properties as an existing job or job group, you can save time by copying the job or job group first, and then editing its properties.

Copying a job group will copy all the jobs and job groups belonging to that job group.

To copy a job or job group:

  1. Click Definitions > Jobs on the Navigation pane to display the Jobs pane.

  1. Right-click the job or job group to copy and click Copy Job/Group from the context menu.

    A copy of the definition of the job or job group you selected will appear. The properties will be the same except for the name, which will be prefaced with “Copy of”. Note that you should give each copy a new name.

Creating a Public Job

To allow all users access to a job or job group, make the Owner field a public workgroup. A public workgroup is a workgroup that contains all TA users.

To create a public job:

  1. Create a TA workgroup and add all users:

    1. Click Administration > Workgroup on the Navigation pane to display the Workgroups pane.

    2. Click Add on the TA toolbar to display the Workgroup Definition dialog.

    3. Click the Workgroup Name field and type Public (or whatever name you choose to use).

    4. Click the Members tab and select all TA users to join the workgroup.

    5. Click OK.

  1. To add a job or job group to the public workgroup:

    1. Click Definitions > Jobs on the Navigation pane to display the Jobs pane.

    2. Double-click the job or job group that you want to edit.

    3. In the Owner field, click the public workgroup from the drop-down menu

Job and job groups owned by the public workgroup will be available to all users of TA.

Note: The members of the public workgroup should be kept updated as TA users are added or deleted.

Deleting Jobs or Job Groups

To delete a job or job group:

  1. Click Definitions > Jobs on the Navigation pane to display the Jobs pane.

    Note: If you delete a job group, all child jobs and job groups that are under that job group are also deleted.

  2. Click the job or job group to delete and click Delete on the TA toolbar. You could also right-click the job or job group and click Delete Job/Group from the context men or click the job or job group to delete and press the DELETE key on your keyboard.

    To select multiple jobs or job groups, hold down either the Shift or the Ctrl key on your keyboard while you click your selections.

  3. Click Yes in the Confirmation dialog to delete the job or job group.

Deleting a Dependency

To delete a dependency:

  1. Click Definitions > Jobs on the Navigation pane to display the Jobs pane.

  1. Double-click the job or job group that you want to edit.

  1. Click the Dependencies tab.

  1. Choose the dependency and click Delete. If you click Delete without selecting a dependency, then the last listed dependency is deleted.

Note: Deleting a dependency from a job or job group definition does not delete the actual job, file or variable the dependency refers to. It only removes that dependency from the definition you are editing.

Deleting a Job Event From a Job

To delete a job event from a job:

  1. Click Definitions > Jobs on the Navigation pane to display the Jobs pane.

  1. Double-click the job or job group that you want to edit.

  1. Click the Job Events tab.

  1. Click the job event to remove.

  1. Click Delete. The job event is removed from the job or job group definition.

Determining the Result From the Exit Code Automatically

To determine the result from the exit code automatically:

  1. Click Definitions > Jobs on the Navigation pane to display the Jobs pane.

  2. Double-click the job you want to edit.

  3. Click the Run tab.

  4. Click the Exit Code option in the Tracking section.

The Job Activity pane displays the job’s completion status based on the job’s exit code.

Determining the Completion Status Manually

To determine the completion status manually:

  1. Click Definitions > Jobs on the Navigation pane to display the Jobs pane.

  1. Double-click the job you want to edit.

  1. Click the Run tab.

  1. Click the External option in the Tracking section.

The Job Activity pane displays the job’s completion status as Externally Defined. Note that you will need to set the job’s status manually using the set status option, or the TA command line program jobset. For more information about jobset, see the TA Command Line Reference Guide.

Disabling Automatic Job Insertion

To disable automatic job insertion:

  1. Click Definitions > Jobs on the Navigation pane to display the Jobs pane.

  1. Right-click the job and click Disable from the context menu or double-click the job that you want to edit, and remove its calendar or clear the Enabled option.

If the job is already in the schedule, but has not run yet, the job will be removed. If the job had dependents, the dependencies on the job are released. Jobs that are active or are completed cannot be removed in this fashion, and can only be removed using the normal purging process.

Editing a Job Event Assigned to a Job

To edit a job event assigned to a job:

  1. Click Definitions > Jobs on the Navigation pane to display the Jobs pane.

  1. Double-click the job or job group that you want to edit.

  1. Click the Job Events tab.

  1. Double-click the job event that you want to edit.

Editing a Dependency

Note: When you edit a job event definition, all jobs that have been assigned to the job event are affected by the change.

You can edit any existing dependencies associated with jobs or job groups. Editing dependencies is similar to adding dependencies.

To edit a dependency:

  1. Click Definitions > Jobs on the Navigation pane to display the Jobs pane.

  1. Double-click the job or job group that you want to edit.

  1. Click the Dependencies tab.

  1. Select the dependency and click Edit.

    • If you selected a job dependency, the Job Dependency Definition dialog appears.

    • If you selected a file dependency, the File Dependency Definition dialog appears.

    • If you selected a variable dependency, the Variable Dependency Definition dialog appears.

  1. Edit the values of the selected Dependency Definition dialog as described previously.

  1. Click OK to save the changes.

Managing Simultaneous Occurrences of the Same Job

You can control how your job runs if a previous instance of it is already running. You can skip the job, defer it until after the other instance completes, or run it anyway.

The concurrency setting does not apply to job groups.

To manage simultaneous occurrences of the same job:

  1. Click Definitions > Jobs on the Navigation pane to display the Jobs pane.

  1. Double-click the job you want to edit.

  1. Click the Options tab.

  1. Click the If Job is currently running section, and choose one of these:

    • Run anyway – If a previous instance of the same job is already running, the job tries to launch and run it anyway. You may have two or more instances of the same job running at the same time.

    • Skip – If a previous instance of the same job is already running, the job is assigned the Skipped status and will not run.

    • Defer until Normal – If a previous instance of the same job is already running, the job is assigned the Deferred status until the previous instance completes with a Completed Normally status, at which time TA launches the job. The job will not run if the previous job instance does not complete normally.

    • Defer until Complete – If a previous instance of the same job is already running, the job is assigned a Deferred status until the previous instance completes, at which time TA launches the job.

Overriding a Dependency

You can override one or more dependencies when running a job instance. This is useful if you need to modify the parameters of a job for just one instance. Instead of creating a new job, you can select a job that closely matches the job required and override the dependencies until the job meets your requirements. The overridden job dependency only applies to that particular job instance. The job returns to its original dependencies after the modified job instance runs.

To override a dependency:

  1. Click Definitions > Jobs on the Navigation pane to display the Jobs pane.

  1. Double-click the job or job group that you want to edit.

  1. Click the Dependencies tab.

  1. Click each dependency you wish to override and right-click to display the context menu. There is only one context menu selection called Override.

As an alternative, you can use the shortcut, Ctrl+O, to override the dependencies you selected.

Preventing a Job from Being Submitted Manually

You can prevent a job from being added manually into the production schedule.

To prevent a job from being submitted manually:

  1. Click Definitions > Jobs on the Navigation pane to display the Jobs pane.

  1. Double-click the job you want to edit.

  1. Click the Options tab.

  1. Clear the Unscheduled Allowed option.

Removing Jobs from the Production Schedule

There are several ways to remove a job and job group instances from the production schedule:

Select Create Schedule from the Activities menu.

The Create Schedule option recreates the existing production schedule for the date(s) specified and creates new instances based on qualifying jobs. All jobs that were added manually are removed as well.

If the Automatic Daily History Cleanup option on the Master tab of the System Configuration dialog is selected, the Master automatically purges history during daily maintenance at midnight. (Otherwise, the operator must manually purge the job history at regular intervals.)

Each job and job group has a retention period, after which its job instances are automatically purged from history. The default retention period is set on the Defaults tab of the System Configuration dialog, but individual jobs can customize their retention period on the Options tab of the Job Definition dialog.

Disable the job by deselecting the Enabled option in the job’s or job group’s definition or by using the Disable option from the context menu.

If the job (or job group) has a pre-launch status, disabling the job removes the job from the schedule. Job instances that are active or have completed already are not removed. If any jobs depend on the removed job, that dependency is no longer required.

Right-click a job or job group in the Job Activity pane and select Remove Job(s) from Schedule from the context menu, or, select a job or job group, then select Remove Job(s) from Schedule from the Activities menu.

If the job (or job group) has a pre-launch status, selecting Remove Job(s) from Schedule will remove the job from the schedule. You are prompted for whether you want to release the dependency from dependent jobs or job groups.

Delete the job or job group from the Jobs pane.

Select the job or job group, then click Delete on the TA toolbar or the DELETE key on your keyboard. When the job or job group definition is deleted, all instances (past, present and future) of the job or job group are removed from the production schedule.

Requiring Manual Release before a Job Can Run

You can set a job so that an operator must release it before it runs. All dependencies must be satisfied before the job is made available for release. Before releasing the job, the operator can view instructions regarding it.

To set a job so that an operator must release it before it runs:

  1. Click Definitions > Jobs on the Navigation pane to display the Jobs pane.

  1. Double-click the job you want to edit.

  1. Click the Options tab.

  1. Choose the Require operator release option.

  1. Click the Notes tab. Type any information and instructions the operator might need to see before releasing the job.

Running a Job for Another User

You can run a job using a specific user logon account by selecting the Runtime User in the Job or Job Group Definition dialog. When you specify a Runtime User, you must be authorized to do so. Your job has access to that user’s environment on the agent. This may be required for your job to run successfully.

To run a job for another user:

  1. Click Definitions > Jobs on the Navigation pane to display the Jobs pane.

  1. Double-click the job or job group you want to edit.

  1. Click the Run tab.

  1. Click the Agent Information section and select the user name from the Runtime User drop-down menu. If the user name you need doesn’t appear, it must be added to your list of Runtime Users. For more information, see Users.

    If you select an agent list and a runtime user, make sure that the runtime user has logon access to each agent in the agent list. Otherwise, the job might fail with an Error Occurred status.

    You also need to select the Use Passwords to Run Windows Jobs option on the Master tab of the System Configuration dialog.

Scheduling Jobs According to a Calendar

To schedule a job according to a calendar:

  1. Click Definitions > Jobs on the Navigation pane to display the Jobs pane.

  1. Double-click the job or job group you want to edit.

  1. Click the Schedule tab.

  1. If the job or job group has a parent job group:

    • To use a calendar other than the parent’s calendar, clear the Inherited option in the Calendar section.

      From the Calendar Name drop-down menu, select the Calendar for the job.

    • To use the calendar assigned to the parent job group, select the Inherited option in the Calendar section.

      A child job must use a calendar that is a subset of the parent job’s calendar. Any job assigned a run date that is outside of the date range of the parent job’s calendar cannot be scheduled.

    You can view the specific dates of the selected calendar by clicking Forecast.

    If you want to offset the dates specified in the calendar, you can type the offset in days next to the Calendar drop-down menu.

    Example: If the job is using the Fiscal Month End calendar with an offset of 2, the job will be inserted into the schedule 2 days from every date in the Fiscal Month End calendar.

  1. To specify the date pane during which the job should run, type dates in the from and to fields. You can leave either field blank. If you leave the from field blank, the Calendar takes effect immediately. When you leave the to field blank, the Calendar is effective indefinitely.

    You can use the built-in calendar context dialog to help you select dates. To use the calendar function, click the down-arrow button next to the from and to fields.

    For more information about TA Calendars, see Controlling Production.

Scheduling Jobs to Repeat within a Day

You can repeat your job or job group as many times as you like within the day that it is scheduled.

To schedule a job to repeat within a day:

  1. Click Definitions > Jobs on the Navigation pane to display the Jobs pane.

  1. Double-click the job or job group you want to edit.

  1. Click the Schedule tab.

  1. Click the Repeats section, there are three options to choose from:

    • Do not Repeat – Only one instance of the job will be compiled for each production day that the job is scheduled to run.

    • Run new occurrence – Runs a new occurrence of the job after the number of minutes specified in the minutes field passes. In the up to field, specify the number of times to repeat the job. If this field is left blank, the job repeats until the end of the time window or until the end of the day, whichever occurs first.

    • Rerun same occurrence – Run the same job instance after the number of minutes specified in the Repeat every field elapses. In the up to field, select the number of times to repeat this job instance. If this field is left blank, the job repeats until the end of the time window or until the end of the day, whichever occurs first.

      These rules govern this function:

      The interval always begins at the start of the time window (12:00 AM if blank).

      Example: If a job’s time window begins at 12:00 PM, and the job is defined to run every hour up to four times, the job will run 12:00 PM, 1:00PM, 2:00PM and 3:00PM. If the create schedule command occurs at 1:30PM, this job will run twice, once at 2:00 PM and once at 3:00 PM, unless you choose to start repeating the jobs ASAP within the Create Schedule dialog, in which case the job would run at 1:30, 2:30, 3:30 and 4:30.

      If you change the job definition while one of the repeat jobs is running, and the repeat count is changed, all job instances that have not run yet will be removed from the Production Schedule. The number of job instances added will equal the total number of instances specified minus the number of job instances that have already run.

      Example: If you define job A to run 4 times, and the 2nd instance has started, and then you change the definition so the repeat count is 5, the 2 jobs already launched will remain in the schedule, the 2 other jobs will be removed, and 3 jobs will be added to run in sequence after the 2nd instance finishes.

      When you manually insert a repeating job into the schedule (via the Insert Into Schedule menu item), only one instance of the job will run as soon as possible after insertion.

      If the job is manually added to the schedule (via the Insert Into Schedule menu item), and other jobs depend on the last instance of this job, the dependency will then reflect the added job.

      You can create a perpetual job by using the Rerun same occurrence, Repeat every... minutes up to... times option. The same job instance will be rerun after each interval, rather than a new instance of the job being run. Only one instance of the job will be displayed in the Job Activity pane, but the instance number will increment every time the job is run. The History console pane will also show every instance of the job and every status changes. For more information about the History pane, see Diagnostic Messages .

    • Rerun same occurrence with custom start times (H:mm,H:mm) – Start times indicate when the same job instance will initially run and rerun. Enter a comma-separated list of job start times in the text box displayed.

      Example: Entering "5:50,10:26,18:01" as custom start times results in the job instance being scheduled to run first at 5:50 AM, then rerun at 10:26 AM, and finally rerun at 6:01 PM. If the job runs past any start time in the list, that time is skipped and the nearest future start time is used for the next rerun. If the production day has no future start times remaining, the job completes and does not rerun again. As a result, the job does not compile any instances for the current production day; all start times listed are in the past.

    • Rerun same occurrence with Minutes after hour (mm,mm) – Enter a comma-separated list of designations by minute (ranging from 0 to 59) in the text box displayed to indicate when the same job instance will run initially and then will rerun.

      Example: Entering "25,35,45" minutes with the job's time window starting at midnight results in the job instance being scheduled to run first at 12:25 AM, and then rerun at 12:35 AM, 12:45 AM, 1:25 AM, 1:35 AM, 1:45 AM, and so on. If the job runs past any start time in the list, that time is skipped and the nearest future start time is used for the next rerun. If the production day has no future start times remaining, the job completes and does not rerun again. As a result, the job does not compile any instances for the current production day; all start times listed are in the past.

    • Run new occurrence with custom start times (H:mm,H:mm) – Start times indicate when a new job instance will run. Enter a comma-separated list of job start times in the text box displayed.

      Example: Entering “5:50,10:26,18:01” as custom start times results in a new job instance being scheduled to run each at 5:50 AM, 10:26 AM, and 6:01 PM.

    • Run new occurrence with Minutes after hour (mm,mm) – Enter a comma-separated list of designations by minute (ranging from 0 to 59) in the text box displayed to indicate when a new job instance will run.

      Example: Entering "25,35,45" minutes with the job's time window starting at midnight results in a new job instance being scheduled to run at 12:25 AM, 12:35 AM, 12:45 AM, 1:25 AM, 1:35 AM, 1:45 AM and so on.

Setting a Job or Job Group’s Priority

You can specify a job’s priority in the Job Definition dialog. The job’s priority value is relative to other jobs in the same queue, and not with all other scheduled jobs. When TA looks for the next job to run, it searches first for the queue with the highest priority, and then for the job with the highest priority in the queue. For more information, see Queues in TA .

To set a job or job group’s priority:

  1. Click Definitions > Jobs on the Navigation pane to display the Jobs pane.

  1. Double-click the job you want to edit.

  1. Click the Options tab.

  1. Click the Job Priority field, and enter the job priority, from 0 for lowest priority to 100 for highest priority.

Specifying a Time Window for Jobs

You can specify the time window during which your job or group is allowed to run. For example, you can specify that your job will run after regular business hours, an ideal time to run processor-intensive commands because it frees up system resources during the day.

To specify a time window for a job:

  1. Click Definitions > Jobs on the Navigation pane to display the Jobs pane.

  1. Double-click the job or job group you want to edit.

  1. Click the Schedule tab.

  1. Use the arrow buttons on each field in the Time window section to type the time window, or type the time in each field.

    • If the job or job group has a parent job group, clear the Inherited option in the Time window section to use a different time window.

    • If you leave the To and From fields blank, TA assumes 12:00 AM. You can use the From field alone to have your job run at the time specified. The time format can be changed in the Windows Regional Settings Control Panel.

  1. Click the option that indicates what to do if the job cannot run within the time window specified.

    • Do not timeout – Choose this option if you want to carry the job forward to the next day if it fails to start by the end of the time window specified.

    • Run again tomorrow – Choose this option if the job has not run by the end of the time window specified, and you want to carry it forward to the next day. With this option selected, the job is eligible to run on each subsequent day, until it does run. You can set up a job action to notify you if your job does not run on the originally scheduled day.

      Using job events, you can be notified if your job does not run within the time window or if the duration exceeds its time window.

Working with Timezones

You can configure timezones where target application environments are based. This allows you to schedule a job or job group across multiple timezones. For example, if the Master associated with your job is based in the PST timezone and you want the job to run in an alternative timezone, you can set the time differences between the timezones and the amount of time to be added to selected timezone if it is in DST (Daylight Savings Time) period.

To specify a timezone for a job:

  1. Click Definitions > Jobs on the Navigation pane to display the Jobs pane.

  1. Double-click the job or job group you want to specify the timezone for.

  1. Click the Schedule tab.

  1. Click the Timezone list, choose the appropriate timezone you defined in the System Configuration dialog.

  1. Save the job.

See also, System Configuration – Timezone Tab.

Specifying a Command or Batch File

Each TA job runs a single executable, such as files with .exe, .cmd, and .bat extensions. You can also specify run parameters.

To specify a command or batch file:

  1. Click Definitions > Jobs on the Navigation pane to display the Jobs pane.

  1. Double-click the job you want to edit to open its Job Definition.

  1. Click the Program tab.

  1. Click the Command field, and type the path to the executable file.

    To specify a file on a remote agent:

    If your job runs on a remote agent, you must specify the command from the perspective of the agent. You can use these naming convention to specify the file you want to run:

    \\<computername>\<shared-directory-name>\<filename>.

    Example: If you want to run a command named payrolldat.exe that is located on the computer named accounting, in the shared directory Payroll, specify the command as follows: \\accounting\Payroll\payrolldat.exe

    You can also use the Variables button to insert a user-defined path variable.

    Note: Remote Windows agents must run under a user account and not as a system account. More information is available in the installation prerequisites for the Windows agent in the Tidal Automation Installation Guide.

  1. Click the Command Parameters section, and then type the parameters to be used in running the command file. Note that TA appends command parameters, in the order that they appear on this list, separated by a space.

  2. Click the Environment File section, and then specify the file containing environment variables for your job.

    Note: This option only applies to jobs run on Unix agents.

Specifying How a Job Determines Its Completion Status

You can determine how to set the completion status of a job in one of these ways:

  • Have TA set the status automatically based on the exit code of the command or batch file. If the exit code is 0, the job’s status is Completed Normally; if the exit code is not 0, the status is Completed Abnormally.

  • If the job’s completion status is more difficult to determine than a simple exit code, you can determine the status yourself, and then manually set it.

  • Use an external output analysis program to determine the job’s status upon completion.

Specifying Durations for a Job

You can specify minimum, maximum, and estimated durations for a job. You can also create job events to notify you if the job’s duration exceeds the maximum value, or if the job completes before its minimum value. Once the job has run, the estimated duration value reflects the average duration value based on the number of times the job has run.

To specify duration for a job:

  1. Click Definitions > Jobs on the Navigation pane to display the Jobs pane.

  1. Double-click the job you want to edit.

  1. Click the Run tab.

  1. Go to the Duration (in minutes) section and type the values for the Estimated, Minimum, and Maximum run times.

Using TA Variables

To use a TA variable:

  1. Click Definitions > Jobs on the Navigation pane to display the Jobs pane.

  1. Double-click the job you want to edit to open its Job Definition.

  1. Click the Program tab.

    While in the field and at the point where you want to insert a TA variable, click Variables. From the drop-down menu, click the variable you want to use.

Using an External Program to Determine Completion Status

To use an external program to determine completion status:

  1. Click Definitions > Jobs on the Navigation pane to display the Jobs pane.

  1. Double-click the job you want to edit.

  1. Click the Run tab.

  1. Click the Tracking section, and then click the Exit code of cmd pipe option.

  1. Click the Scan Output section and select the option for a particular text string in the output from a job to determine that a job completed normally or abnormally.

  2. Specify the external command in the adjacent field. The final results are determined by the success of that command, and the exit code from the command displays in the Job Activity pane.

    Example: If you type Find Passed in the Exit code of cmd pipe field for an Windows job, the output is passed to the Find command. If the text Passed is found in the output, Find returns an exit code of 0, and the job’s completion status will be Completed Normally. If Passed is not found, Find returns 1, and the job’s completion status is Completed Abnormally.

Viewing Job/Job Group Properties

To view the properties of a job or job group:

  1. Click Definitions > Jobs on the Navigation pane to display the Jobs pane.

  1. Double-click a job or job group to view the Job Definition or Job Group Definition dialog.

Viewing Job/Job Group History

To view the history of a job or job group:

  1. Click Definitions > Jobs on the Navigation pane to display the Jobs pane.

  1. Double-click the job or job group to view to display the Job Definition or Job Group Definition dialog.

  1. Click the History tab. The job’s or job group’s history is displayed.

    For jobs only, you can change the number of days of history to retain using the Retention (in days) field on the Options tab when the definition dialog is in Edit mode.