Update schedule configuration

The Schedule Manager allows you to update all schedule configuration detail, including creating and editing tasks and sessions.

Schedules

The Edit schedule page allows you to update all schedule configuration details. This page is accessed from the Schedule Manager page by clicking the ellipsis icon (...) on the relevant schedule and selecting Edit. It can also be opened by using the Edit icon in the Details drawer.

The edit options only display for users with the relevant scheduler permission enabled on their account.

The Edit schedule page consists of two tabs: Details and Schedule.

Details

On the Details tab, you have the following fields:

Overview of the Edit schedule page

Field

Description

Name

The schedule name.

Description

The schedule description.

Select the initial task

The first task that will be executed when the schedule is activated.

Make any edits as required, and save your changes using the Save icon in the top right of the page.

Schedule

On the Schedule tab, you have the following fields:

Overview of the Edit schedule page

Field

Description

Start date

The schedule start date.

Start time

The schedule start time.

Time zone

Define if a time zone is used. Defaults to Use time zone. If Don't restrict to any time zone is selected, the schedule will use the time zone of the application server on which Hub Control Room is operating.

Select time zone

The time zone to be applied when the schedule is run.

Adjust for daylight saving

Determine if you want the schedule to automatically update to reflect daylight savings changes in the selected time zone.

Run occurrence

Determine if the schedule is repeated. Defaults to Repeat.

Repeat every – Interval

How often the schedule is executed, and can be set to Minute, Hour, Day, Week, Month, or Year.

Repeat every – Occurrence

Used with Interval to determine how often a schedule will run.

Calendars

Determine if the schedule is only run on specific days specified in a calendar. It defaults to Don't restrict to any calendars, but if Use calendar days is selected, you can choose a calendar from the drop-down list to apply to the schedule.

Expires

Define an expiry date and time which will cause the schedule to stop being executed on or after the specified date/time. Defaults to Never.

Running minutely

To configure schedules to run minutely:

  1. Select Minute from the Repeat every – Interval field.

  2. In the Occurrence field, define the number of minutes. You can configure the schedule to run every minute, every 2 minutes, and so on, up to a maximum of 999 minutes.

  3. Enter a Start time and End time. 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.

  4. Optionally, select Use calendar days to configure the schedule to run minutely on work days as configured in a predefined calendar. Select the required calendar from the drop-down list.

  5. Save your changes using the Save icon in the top right of the page.

Running hourly

To configure schedules to run hourly:

  1. Select Hour from the Repeat every – Interval field.

  2. In the Occurrence field, define the number of hours. You can configure the schedule to run every hour, every 2 hours, and so on, up to a maximum of 999 hours.

  3. Enter a Start time and End time. 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.

  4. Optionally, select Use calendar days to configure the schedule to run hourly on work days as configured in a predefined calendar. Select the required calendar from the drop-down list.

  5. Save your changes using the Save icon in the top right of the page.

Running daily

To configure schedules to run daily:

  1. Select Day from the Repeat every – Interval field.

  2. In the Occurrence field, define the number of days. You can configure the schedule to run every day, every 2 days, and so on, up to a maximum of 999 days.

  3. Optionally, select Use calendar days to configure the schedule to only run on work days as configured in a predefined calendar. Select the required calendar from the drop-down list.

Running weekly

To configure schedules to run weekly:

  1. Select Week from the Repeat every – Interval field.

  2. In the Occurrence field, define the number of weeks. You can configure the schedule to run every week, every 2 weeks, and so on, up to a maximum of 999 weeks.

  3. Select the required option from the Repeat field. By default, the schedule will run every week on the same day as the Start date. This can be modified by selecting either of the options First working day of the calendar or Last working day of the calendar, and choosing a predefined calendar from the drop-down list.

  4. Save your changes using the Save icon in the top right of the page.

Running monthly

To configure schedules to run monthly:

  1. Select Month from the Repeat every – Interval field.

  2. In the Occurrence field, define the number of months. You can configure the schedule to run every month, every 2 months, and so on, up to a maximum of 999 months.

  3. Select the required option from the Repeat field. 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 If day 30 does not exist drop- down list.

    Alternatively, the schedule can be configured to run every month on a counted occurrence of a weekday within the month, for example, first Friday, last Wednesday, and so on. This is activated by selecting the Day of the month option, and configuring the relevant Week and Day of week.

    The schedule can also 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 selecting the Day of the calendar option, and configuring the relevant Day and calendar from the drop-down list.

  4. Save your changes using the Save icon in the top right of the page.

Running yearly

To configure schedules to run yearly:

  1. Select Year from the Repeat every – Interval field.

  2. In the Occurrence field, define the number of years. You can configure the schedule to run every year, every 2 years, and so on, up to a maximum of 999 years.

  3. Save your changes using the Save icon in the top right of the page.

Tasks and sessions

The Tasks and sessions pane allows you to manage a schedule's tasks and sessions. This is opened by from the Schedule Manager page by clicking the ellipsis icon (...) on the relevant schedule and selecting View tasks and sessions.

Tasks

A task represents a component of a schedule. It defines a set of sessions which are to be executed concurrently and it provides a combined status outcome of those sessions so that the scheduler can determine which task to execute next.

Sessions

A Blue Prism session represents a single instance of a process (or object) which is assigned to a resource. The session maintains a state (for example, pending, running, completed) and is used to hold supplementary information such as which user initiated the session, the start time, end times, and a detailed session log. Each task can contain an arbitrary number of sessions. When the task is triggered, each session is first created and, once they are all registered and pending on their host resources, they are run.

Overview of the Edit schedule page

The Tasks and sessions pane provides you with the following information and functions:

  1. Number of tasks – Displays how many tasks the schedule has configured.

  2. Add task – Add a new task. This option opens the Add tasks page.

  3. Close drawer – Close the Tasks and session pane.

  4. Edit task (edit icon) – Edit the task. This option opens the Edit task page, where you can update the task details.

  5. Delete tasks (delete icon) – Delete the task.

  6. Add session (ellipsis icon) – Add a session for the task. This option opens the Add sessions page, where you define a process and digital worker, before adding any start-up parameters.

  7. Expand (arrow icon) – Expand to view any sessions configured for the task.

  8. Edit session (edit icon) – Edit the session. This option opens the Edit session page, where you can edit the session's details and start-up parameters.

  9. Delete session (delete icon) – Delete the session.

Add tasks

The Add task page lets you configure all required detail for the task.

Overview of the Add task page

To add a task:

  1. Enter a Name.

  2. If required, enter a Description.

  3. In the On success field, choose what will happen when the task succeeds. It defaults to Stop, but can be configured to automatically trigger another task.

  4. In the On failure field, choose what will happen when the task fails. It defaults to Abort, but can be configured to automatically trigger another task.

  5. If required, amend the Post completion delay value. It defaults to 0. If a value is entered in this field, a delay of up to 1500 seconds is added to the end of a scheduled task before allowing the next task in the schedule to commence.

  6. If required, clear the Fail fast on any errors check box. By default, a task is configured to fail fast on any errors, that is to immediately terminate the task if any sessions fail to start or terminate due to an exception.

    • If a task is set to fail fast, all sessions and the task will be terminated when any errors in any of the sessions occur, for example, if a resource couldn't be contacted or was too busy to create a session, or if a session raised an exception and terminated abnormally. This means that a task is marked as terminated if any sessions fail.

    • If a task is set not to fail fast, a task is only terminated if an error occurs in all of its sessions – and that task termination only takes place when the last running session is detected to have failed. Any individual session executions which cause an error are logged, but any other running sessions continue. If not failing fast, a task is marked as terminated only if all of its sessions fail.

Add sessions

The Add session page lets you configure all detail required for the session.

Overview of the Add session page

To add a session:

  1. Enter a Process, or select one from the drop-down list.

  2. Enter a Digital worker, or select one from the drop-down list.

  3. Click Add session. The button is only enabled when a valid process and digital worker combination has been entered.

    The Edit session page displays.

    Overview of the Add session page

    Once the session is added, it is automatically assigned a Session number. The Session number, Process, and Digital worker cannot be edited.

  4. Define any start-up parameters as required. Parameters are shown with the name and parameter type. When adding image start-up parameters, the following file formats are accepted: PNG, BMP, JPG, JPEG, GIF, ICO, and TIFF.

    If uploading more than one image file when configuring a session's start-up parameters, the collective size of all images must be under 3 MB. If this limit is exceeded, form validation errors display when attempting to save changes.

  5. Click Save.