MetaServer > Help > Tasks
250 MetaServer Tasks
You can use tasks to automatically synchronize MetaServer databases or delete old files. More task types will be added in future versions. Tasks run on a scheduled basis. The schedule is defined by adding one or more triggers. A trigger is like a timer or an event (when MetaServer starts for example).
Examples of tasks are: Delete old files every day at 9:00. Or synchronize a SQL tables with a MetaServer database and cleanup the client ID column at 8:00h, 12:00h and 15:00h.
Manage Tasks
Use this function if you want to activate or deactivate or delete multiple tasks with a single click. This is useful for a demo MetaServer or a MetaServer used by a BPO company using many tasks.
Task List and Tools
Open the list to select a task that you want to modify. Tasks marked with a * are active tasks.
Press this button to add a new task. You can optionally base a new task on an existing one.
Rename the selected task.
Delete the selected task.
Description: Describe the purpose of the task.
Publish Task
You can make changes or create new tasks on a production MetaServer while tasks are being executed. Once you are OK with the changes you have applied to a task you can publish those changes. Future scheduled tasks will use the new settings.
Activate Task
Press this button to activate a task.
When it is active, the task will be listed in the Activity list in the server tab.
The button is red when the task is inactive.
Run Now
Press this button to immediately run a task for testing or to run ad hoc tasks.
Open Database
Open your last selected MetaServer Database with the default Windows program. Below, we opened the “simpsons_guest” MetaServer database in CSVFileView.
To open another MetaServer Database, press the “Open Database” drop-down arrow and press the “Select Database” button.
Open Database
You can select a MetaServer Database from a list. Click on the image to enlarge.
Add Action
You create a task by combining several actions.
An example of a simple task would be the combination of a Trigger, Sync and Cleanup Database Action.
Before adding an action, select the action after which you want to insert the action. The function is also available from the right-click menu.
Duplicate Action
If you want to create a new action based on another one, you can duplicate an action and make some adjustments. The function is also available from the right-click menu.
The duplicate will be placed after the original.
If you want to place the action in another position, it’s better to create a new one in the correct position and then copy and paste the settings of the original to the new action.
Setup Action
Press this button to modify the selected action. The function is also available from the right-click menu.
You can also double-click an action or press the small setup button next to the action to open the setup.
Delete Action
To delete an action, select it and press the Delete button. The function is also available from the right-click menu.
Email Alert
Configure Email Alerts to send error report emails to help you pinpoint potential configuration mistakes in your task or to get warnings if a critical error occurs in production.
Press the Email Alert button next to open the setup window.
Click on the image to enlarge.
By default, our smtp.capturebites.net demo server is used. We recommend to use your own smtp server for maximum performance.
By default error messages are sent to:
change.this.asap@capturebites.net
Obviously you need to change this to your own email address as soon as possible.
Log email communication
When you cannot resolve certain problems with emails sent or received by MetaServer, please enable the email log temporarily and send us a log of the email communication.
On the client side:
Logs of email tests during setup are saved in:
C:\ProgramData\CaptureBites\Programs\Validation\Data\Log
On the server side:
Logs of email communication by actions (import email, export email, etc.) are saved in:
C:\ProgramData\CaptureBites\Programs\MetaServer\Data\Log
Internet timeout
Sending email alerts depend on an internet connection.
If internet is down, we will try to re-establish an internet connection during 60 minutes (default). After the defined timeout, we assume that there is a critical internet connection issue and the Email Alert actions will get in a red error state.
To resolve red errors, fix the internet connection problem and restart the MetaServer using the Restart Server function in the Server tab of the Administration client.
Select Server
A system can contain several MetaServers. Select the MetaServer you want to work with.
If the MetaServer is not on the same domain as the client, you can enter the server's name manually by pressing the arrow under the icon and by selecting "Select by Name".
You can easily find the correct Name by opening this setup window on the server.
Click on the image to enlarge.
Tasks Action List
There are 3 columns in the workflow action list:
– Trigger / Action: shows the type of action.
– Description: shows that action’s description (if applicable).
– Settings: shows a short summary of the settings for each action.
To synchronize a database, first add one or more triggers to set the time(s) when the task should run. Next, synchronize any type of database table with a MetaServer database using the Sync MetaServer Database. The sync action allows to sync all columns of the source table or only a selection of columns.
When the source database is not available when using a Sync MetaServer Database action in your task, the task is skipped until the next scheduled trigger and an email alert is sent (if enabled).
After this, one or more columns of the resulting MetaServer database can be cleaned up using the Cleanup MetaServer Database action.
The last step is to check the result of your task with the “Run Now” button. After the task has finished processing, you can open your database directly from the Task ribbon. To do this, press the “Open Database” button to select a database from a list of all MetaServer databases on your system.
To delete old files, you just specify a trigger when the deletion should take place and define the age of the files expressed in days in the Delete Old Files action to consider them to be deleted.
If an outdated file or empty folder cannot be deleted because it is locked by another application, the deletion is skipped and the file and folder is left behind for the next round of your Delete Old Files action.
NOTE: If the MetaServer is switched OFF when a trigger should occur, it will be executed as soon as the MetaServer is switched back ON.
The Status Bar
Server: The name of the machine MetaServer is running on.
Imported: The total number of originally imported documents in MetaServer across all workflows.
In queues: The total number of documents in the MetaServer queues across all workflows.
In organizer: Number of documents available (not locked by any user) for Organizing.
Skipped: Number of documents available (not locked by any user) for Organizing with skipped status.
In validation: Number of documents available (not locked by any user) for Validation.
Skipped: Number of documents available (not locked by any user) for Validation with skipped status.
Errors: Number of documents in error state. These documents triggered a red error. Errors and the documents that caused them can be viewed and managed in the Errors tab.
Task: Shows the last task and the time it finished processing. It also shows when a task is currently processing.