Schedules

A schedule is created by right-clicking the 'Schedules' element of the schedule manager tree and selecting 'New Schedule'.

A new schedule populated with default values will be created and automatically selected in the right-hand pane. Note that until the schedule is saved, it does not exist on the database and will not be executed by a running scheduler.

Running once

When a new schedule is created, it will have an automatically generated name and will initially be set to run once at the current date and time.

To create a schedule which just runs once at a specified date and time, the "Starts On" date and "Run At" time should be changed to indicate the date and time that the schedule should execute.

To configure a task, see Configuring Tasks.

Running hourly

A schedule can be executed at hourly intervals which fall in between specified times.

Selecting the "Runs Hourly/Minutely" radio button and the 'Every <n> hour(s)' radio button enables the hourly running of the schedule.

It can be configured to run every hour, every 2 hours, etc. up to a maximum of 999 hours.

By default, the schedule will run each interval it is due to run, but this can be further constrained by setting the times between which the schedule should be executed. Activation times outside those specified will not cause the schedule to execute.

The schedule can also be configured to run hourly only on working days as defined in a predefined calendar, by ticking the 'Only on days in the <calendar>' checkbox, and selecting the desired calendar from the drop down list.

Running minutely

A schedule can be executed at minute intervals at times which fall in between specified boundaries.

The configuration of a schedule running at minute intervals is identical to that of a schedule running at hour intervals with the same options available.

Running daily

A schedule can be executed at daily intervals or on working days specified in a predefined Calendar.

Selecting the "Runs Daily" radio button enables the daily running of the schedule.

It can be configured to run every day, every 2 days, etc. up to a maximum of 999 days.

By default, the schedule will run each interval it is due to run, but this can be further constrained by checking the 'Only on days in the [calendar]' checkbox and setting the calendar to use, indicating that the schedule should only be activated on working days specified in that calendar.

See the Calendar Help Topic for more details on calendars.

Running weekly

A schedule can be executed at weekly intervals on the same day as the start date, or on the first / last working day according to a specified calendar.

Selecting the "Runs Weekly" radio button enables the weekly running of the schedule.

It can be configured to run every week, every 2 weeks, etc. up to a maximum of 999 weeks.

By default, the schedule will run every week on the same day as the start date. This can be modified to run on the first or last working day of the week as specified in the calendar.

By checking the 'On the [nth] working day in the [calendar]' radio button, selecting whether the schedule should run on the first or last working day, and specifying the calendar, the schedule can be configured to run on the first or last working day of the week.

Internally, the first day of the week is considered to be Monday, so if, for example, a calendar is configured to work from Sunday to Friday, Monday will be considered the first working day and Sunday will be considered the last working day of any given week (other holidays aside).

See the Calendar Help Topic for more details on calendars.

Running monthly

A schedule can be executed at monthly intervals on the same date as the start date (or the last day of the month or first day of the subsequent month if that date doesn't exist, e.g. 31st February), or on the first, second, third, fourth, fifth or last specified weekday of the month (eg. first Thursday, third Thursday, last Friday), or on the first or last working day according to a specified calendar.

Selecting the "Runs Monthly" radio button enables the monthly running of the schedule.

It can be configured to run every month, every 2 months, etc. up to a maximum of 999 months.

By default, the schedule will run every month on the same date as the start date, skipping any months in which the date doesn't exist.

Instead of skipping, the schedule can be configured to run on the last day of the month, or the first day of the following month if the configured date doesn't exist for a particular month. This can be set by selecting the appropriate value from the adjacent drop down.

Alternatively, the schedule can be configured to run every month on a counted occurrence of a weekday within the month, eg. first Friday, last Wednesday, etc.

This is activated by checking the "On the [nth] [weekday] of the month" radio button and selecting the following:

• Which occurrence of the day it should run on : First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth or Last. Note that if the specified occurrence doesn't occur in a month, it is skipped for that month, e.g. if the Fifth Thursday was chosen and a month occurred with only four Thursdays in it, the schedule would not execute in that month.
• Which weekday it should run on

Finally, the schedule can be configured to run every month on the first or last working day of the month, according to a specified calendar

This is activated by checking the "On the [nth] working day in the [calendar]" radio button, and selecting the following:

• Whether the schedule should run on the first or last day of the month according to the calendar.
• Which calendar should be used to determine the working days.

See the Calendar Help Topic for more details on calendars.

Running yearly

A schedule can be executed at yearly intervals on the same date as the start date, skipping any years in which that date doesn't exist, e.g. if configured to run on 29th February starting in a leap year, this will skip each year until the next leap year.

Selecting the "Runs Yearly" radio buttons enables the yearly running of the schedule.

It can be configured to run every year, every 2 years, etc. up to a maximum of 999 years.

Set an expiry date

By default, when a schedule is configured to execute at regular intervals, the timetabling of the schedule will continue forever.

Alternatively an 'expiry' date and time can be specified which will cause the schedule to stop being executed on or after the specified date/time.

This is activated by checking the "Expires On" radio button and selecting the required date and time.

Set an initial task to execute

When a schedule is first created, a blank task is also created and set as the initial task to execute when the schedule is activated.

If an alternative is required, the 'Initial Task' drop down can be used to select the task which should be the first one executed.

A schedule can be initiated, regardless of its timing data, by right-clicking on it and selecting 'Run Now'. This will cause a marker to be written to the database which the scheduler will pick up the next time it checks for changes.

The scheduler checks for changes to schedule data every 30 seconds, so the schedule should execute within no more than 30 seconds, assuming that a scheduler is running on the same database that the Blue Prism client is connected to.

Schedule data can be saved (overwriting any previous data for the schedule) or cloned (creating a new schedule with the same data).

Save a schedule

A changed schedule can be saved by right-clicking it in the schedule manager tree and selecting 'Save'.

Alternatively, by clicking on the 'Apply Changes' button, all changed schedules, reports and timetables will be saved.

By default, if the Execute missed schedules from the past option has been enabled in System > System - Scheduler, updated schedules will run immediately when saved using the Apply Changes button if the start date and time of the schedules falls within the setting range. This is more likely to occur when creating a new schedule, because the start date and time are set to the user’s current date and time. If a schedule should not run immediately when updated, it is recommended to set the start date and time of the schedule in the future before saving it. This applies to new, amended, or unretired schedules.

Clone a schedule

A schedule can be cloned by right-clicking it in the schedule manager tree and selecting 'Clone'.

A schedule is created with the same timing data, tasks and sessions as the one clicked on in the tree.

Note that the newly cloned schedule will not be saved to the database until it is explicitly saved, either by right-clicking and saving it, or by clicking 'Apply Changes'.

Schedules can be removed in one of two ways – by retiring or deleting them. Retired schedules can be restored, whereas deleted schedules are unrecoverable.

Removed schedules, regardless of the method of removal, will not be executed by the scheduler and will not show up in any reports or timetables.

Retire a schedule

A schedule can be 'retired' from active service by right-clicking it in the schedule manager tree and selecting 'Retire'. The schedule will be moved into the 'Retired Schedules' group of the tree. Once retired, a schedule will not be considered for execution by the scheduler and it will not show up in any reports or timetables.

Note that the action of retiring a schedule is executed immediately – it does not need to be saved separately.

By default, if the Execute missed schedules from the past option has been enabled in System > System - Scheduler, a retired schedule will run immediately when restored if the start date and time of the schedule falls within the setting range. If a retired schedule should not run immediately when restored, it is recommended to set the start date and time of the schedule in the future before saving it.

Retired schedules can be selected in the schedule manager tree, and their settings can be viewed, but not edited from there.

Restore retired schedules

A retired schedule can be restored into active service by right-clicking it in the schedule manager tree and selecting 'Unretire'. This action happens immediately and does not need to be saved separately.

Note that as soon as a schedule is restored, it is eligible to be activated by a running scheduler.

By default, if the Execute missed schedules from the past option has been enabled in System > System - Scheduler, a retired schedule will run immediately when restored if the start date and time of the schedule falls within the setting range. If a retired schedule should not run immediately when restored, it is recommended to set the start date and time of the schedule in the future before saving it.

Delete a schedule

A schedule is deleted by right-clicking it in the schedule manager tree and selecting 'Delete'.

This fully deletes the schedule if it has not been executed by the scheduler. Otherwise, the data remains on the database for auditing purposed, but it becomes unable to be referenced by the application UI or the scheduler.