Automation Schedule - General

Enter your schedule Details. This section determines the most basic properties of a schedule.

Parent Folder: Select the MARS folder where your schedule will be stored.

Schedule Name: Name your automation schedule.

Description: Add a description to your schedule

Keywords: Add keywords to make the schedule and use them in conjunction with Smart Folders.

Click Next to continue to the Schedule Section.

Automation Schedule - Schedule

In this section, you will decide when the report will execute. There are a variety of options:

Daily: Run a report every day or at a frequency of days.

Sub options:

Repeat every X Days- EX. Run the schedule every 3 days.

Weekly: Run a report on a weekly time frame.

Sub options:

Repeat every X weeks- EX. Run the schedule every 2 Weeks.

On- Select the specific days of the week the schedule will run. If only once a week, select only the day of the week it will run. EX. Run every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Weekdays: Run the schedule Monday through Friday.

Working Day: Run the schedule starting on a specific day of the month. Indicate which day of the month the schedule will run. E.G. run the schedule on the 4th working day of the month.

Monthly: Run the schedule on a monthly time frame.

Sub options:

Use the following options- Checking this box will enable you to select frequency options such as the “last Thursday of the month.” Also you can include or exclude specific months from the schedule.

Annually: run the schedule every year at a specified time.

Custom Calendar: Select the custom Calendar you wish to use. You can create a new custom calendar from the menu as well. Please see Custom Calendars for a tutorial.

Other: Other scheduling options.

Sub options:

Run Schedule every X Minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years

None: No scheduling is required for this item.

Next, you will specify the time that the schedule will run as well as repetition options.

Schedule time: Specify the exact time you want your schedule to run. *Tip: keeping in mind how long it takes for your report, time your schedules accordingly!

Exception Calendar: choose a calendar that will instruct the schedule to NOT run on those specified days. Please see Custom Calendars for a tutorial.

Next to run on: displays the next run date of your schedule.

Repeat ever X hours or minutes: run your reports on a reoccurring basis during a specific time frame. EX Repeat every .25 hours until 5PM.

Enable this schedule: to enable the schedule leave the box checked. To create this schedule disabled, deselect this box.

Once you have finished creating the timing for your schedule, click finish to proceed to the next stage.

Once you have finished setting up your schedule timing, click next to continue to Automation Schedule - Custom Tasks.

Automation Schedule - Custom Tasks

Now you can add tasks at will. To add a task, simply drag and drop the task from the left pane to the right pane.

For tutorials on each task, please review the other topics in Automation Schedules.

Organizing Tasks

Use the Green up and down arrows to adjust the order of task execution. To disable a task, un-check the box next to the desired task.

Importing and Exporting Task Lists or Default Tasks

You can import a task list by selecting the icon near the bottom right hand corner. To export a task list, select the Icon near the bottom right hand corner.

Editing and Deleting Tasks

To edit a task, highlight the task, select edit. To delete a task, highlight the task and select delete.

You can test a task by right clicking on it, then selecting test.

Once you are done creating the tasks, click on finish.

Custom Tasks

The Custom Tasks module allows you to write a series of automation actions (macros) which can be set to run before a report is run, after a report is run, or both. (Not applicable to Automation Schedules).

For Dynamic Schedules and Dynamic Packages you can further specify whether the custom tasks should run:

Once for each generated report
Once for the entire schedule

Click on "OK" to complete creating the custom task.

Note: Where the options exist the order of execution of custom tasks is determined using the following criteria:

When in relation to the schedule the task is supposed to run (Before, Both and After options).
The position of the task in the task list.
"After Type" (i.e. Production of report or Delivery of report) where the "After" option in the first criteria has been selected.

Click "Add" to add a task to the list:

For more information on the Action types, click the relevant link below:

Automation Schedule - Properties

To access the schedule's properties, right click on the schedule and select Properties.

For more information on each of the menu items, select the relevant link below:

General

Schedule

Tasks

Automation Schedule Context Menu

Right-Click on a schedule to see the following actions.

Copy: Use this to copy an existing schedule. You can then paste it into another folder or the same folder. Simply open the folder you wish to paste to, right-click in the "white" space and select "Paste". Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the process.

Paste: Paste a previously copied schedule

Rename: Rename a schedule

Enabled: Schedules are Enabled when there is a check beside this option. To stop a schedule from running, or to "pause" it for a while, select this option to remove the check. Disabled schedules will not run till they are enabled again.

Execute Schedule: This will execute the schedule immediately. Note that the next run date and time is not moved on as a result of a manual execution. They only move on if the schedule is run automatically by one of the schedulers.

Delete Schedule: Selecting this option will delete the schedule.

Properties: Selecting this option will bring up the "Properties" module containing configuration information for that schedule.

Tools:

Create Shortcut: Use this option to create a shortcut you can save in any location on your PC. Execute the shortcut to execute the schedule in MARS.