Variable Monitor Task
Overview
The Variable Monitor task allows you to monitor the value of a Global Variable.
Variable Values to Monitor
The Variable Monitor task lets you monitor for:
- Current value of a Global Variable.
- Change in the value of a Global Variable.
- Both current value and change in the value of a Global Variable.
Monitoring for the Current Value of a Variable
- If the Variable To Monitor exists and its current value matches the Variable Monitor conditions, the Variable Monitor task instance will transition to a Success status; otherwise, it will transition to a Failed status.
- If the Variable To Monitor does not exist (or the Execution User does not have Read permission for the Global Variable) and the Value Condition field is undefined, the Variable Monitor task instance will transition to a Success status; otherwise, it will transition to a Failed status.
Monitoring for a Change in the Value of a Variable
- The Variable Monitor task instance will not check the current value of the Variable To Monitor, but it will monitor for changes to the Variable To Monitor value. If a change to the Variable To Monitor value matches the Variable Monitor conditions, the Variable Monitor task instance will transition to a Success status; otherwise, it will to continue to monitor for changes to the Variable To Monitor value.
- The Variable Monitor task instance will monitor indefinitely for the Variable Monitor conditions to be met unless you specify a value in the Time Limit field. The Variable Monitor task instance will transition to a Failed status if the Variable Monitor conditions are not met within the specified Time Limit.
Note
- A Variable Monitor task instance will not detect changes to a Global Variable Value if the Execution User does not have Read permission for the Global Variable.
- Setting the Global Variable Value to the same value from the Universal Controller user interface, CLI, or web service is not considered a change.
- Only changes to the Global Variable Name (case-insensitive) and Global Variable Value will be considered a change in value to the Global Variable. That is, changes to the Description and/or Member of Business Services fields alone will not be considered a change in value to the Global Variable.
Monitoring for Current Value of a Variable and a Change in the Value of a Variable
- If the Variable To Monitor exists and its current value matches the Variable Monitor conditions, the Variable Monitor task instance will transition to a Success status; otherwise, it will continue to monitor as though Variable To Monitor is Change.
- If the Variable To Monitor does not exist (or the Execution User does not have Read permission for the Global Variable) and the Value Condition is undefined, the Variable Monitor task instance will transition to a Success status; otherwise, it will continue to monitor as though Value Monitor Type is Change.
Built-In Variables
When the Variable Monitor conditions are met, the following built-in variables will be set for the Variable Monitor task instance:
Creating a Variable Monitor Task
Step 1 | From the Automation Center navigation pane, select Tasks > Variable Monitor Tasks. The Variable Monitor Tasks list displays a list of all currently defined Variable Monitor tasks. |
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Step 2 | Enter/select Details for a new Variable Monitor task, using the field descriptions below as a guide.
To display more of the Details fields on the screen, you can either:
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Step 3 | Click a Save button. The task is added to the database, and all buttons and tabs in the Task Details are enabled. |
Note
To open an existing record on the list, either:
- Click a record in the list to display its record Details below the list. (To clear record Details below the list, click the New button that displays above and below the Details.)
- Clicking the Details icon next to a record name in the list, or right-click a record in the list and then click Open in the Action menu that displays, to display a pop-up version of the record Details.
- Right-click a record in the a list, or open a record and right-click in the record Details, and then click Open In Tab in the Action menu that displays, to display the record Details under a new tab on the record list page (see Record Details as Tabs).
Variable Monitor Task Details
The following Variable Monitor Task Details is for an existing Variable Monitor task.
Depending on the values that you enter / select for these fields, and whether or not the Variable Monitor task has ever been launched, more (or less) fields may display. See the field descriptions, below, for a description of all fields that may display in the Variable Monitor Task Details.
Variable Monitor Task Details Field Descriptions
The following table describes the fields, buttons, and tabs that display in the Variable Monitor Task Details.
Field Name | Description |
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General | This section contains general information about the task. |
Name | User-defined name of this task (Maximum = 255 alphanumeric characters); variables supported. It is the responsibility of the user to develop a workable naming scheme for tasks. |
Version | System-supplied; version number of the current record, which is incremented by the Controller every time a user updates a record. Click the Versions tab to view previous versions. For details, see Record Versioning. |
Description | Description of this record. Maximum length is 255 characters. |
Member of Business Services | User-defined; Allows you to select one or more Business Services that this record belongs to. (You also can Check All or Uncheck All Business Services for this record.) You can select up to 62 Business Services for any record type, and enter a maximum of 2048 characters for each Business Service. If the Business Service Visibility Restricted Universal Controller system property is set to true, depending on your assigned (or inherited) Permissions or Roles, Business Services available for selection may be restricted. |
Resolve Name Immediately | If enabled, the Instance Name of the task instance will be resolved immediately at trigger/launch time. |
Time Zone Preference | User-defined; Allows you to specify the time zone that will be applied to the task. Options:
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Hold on Start | If enabled, when the task is launched it appears in the Activity Monitor with a status of Held. The task runs when the user releases it. |
Hold Reason |
Information about why the task will be put on hold when it starts. |
Virtual Resource Priority | Priority for acquiring a resource when two or more tasks are waiting for the resource. This priority applies to all resources required by the task. Options: 1 (high) - 100 (low). Default is 10. |
Hold Resources on Failure |
If enabled, the task instance will continue to hold Renewable resources if the task instance fails. Renewable resources will be returned only if the task instance status is either Complete, Finished, or Skipped. |
Variable Monitor Details | This section contains assorted detailed information about the task. |
Variable to Monitor |
Name of the variable to monitor. Variables are supported. |
Value Monitor Type | Type of monitoring to be done on the Variable value.
Note If the Variable Monitor task was created from a Variable Monitor trigger, Value Monitor Type is set to Change by default and is marked as read-only, since Change is the only valid value when sued for a trigger. |
Value Condition |
Condition for the value of the variable being monitored.
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Value | If Value Condition = =, !=, >, >=, <, <=, or regex; Value (up to a maximum 4000 characters) of the variable being monitored. |
Time Limit | If Value Monitor Type = Change or Current/Change; Used for Variable Monitor tasks not associated with a trigger; Amount of time (in units specified by Time Limit Unit) to monitor for the Variable Monitor conditions to be met. The Time Limit duration is always relative to the start time of the Variable Monitor task instance. Note If the Variable Monitor task was created from a Variable Monitor trigger, Time Limit is not allowed, since Variable Monitor Type is Change and cannot be updated. |
Time Limit Unit | If Value Monitor Type = Change or Current/Change; Unit of time to use for Time Limit.
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Expiration Action | State to transition to if monitor conditions are not met within the specified window, Options:
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Wait / Delay Options | This section contains specifications for waiting to start and/or delaying on start the task. |
Wait To Start |
Amount of time to wait before starting a task from the time that it was launched.
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Wait Time | If Wait To Start = Time or Relative Time; Time of day (in 24-hour time) to wait until before starting the task. |
Wait Day Constraint | If Wait To Start = Time or Relative Time; Specification for whether or not to advance the wait time to another day. Valid values:
Default is – None --. |
Wait Duration | If Wait To Start = Duration; Number of days, hours, minutes, and seconds to wait before starting the task. |
Wait Duration In Seconds | If Wait To Start = Seconds; Number of seconds to wait before starting the task. |
Delay On Start |
Amount of time to delay the start of a task, after it has been launched, from the time that it is eligible to start; that is, all dependencies have been met. For example: it is not being held, it is not waiting on any predecessors, or there is no wait time specified.
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Delay Duration | If Delay On Start = Duration; Number of days, hours, minutes, and seconds to delay after starting the task. |
Delay Duration In Seconds | If Delay On Start = Seconds; Number of seconds to delay after starting the task. |
Workflow Only | Specification for whether or not to apply the Wait To Start and Delay On Start specifications only if the task is in a Workflow.
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Time Options | This section contains time-related specifications for the task. |
Late Start | If enabled, and if the task instance starts after the time or period specified, the task instance is flagged as late. You can specify a time or duration to determine a late start (see Late Start Type). To determine whether a task instance started late, open the task instance and locate the Started Late field; the field is checked if the instance started after the specified time. The Started Late field displays in the task instance Details only if the user specified a Late Start in the task Details. |
Late Start Type | Required if Late Start is enabled. Options:
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Late Start Time | If Late Start Type = Time; Time after which the task start time is considered late. Use HH:MM, 24-hour time. |
Late Start Day Constraint | If Late Start Type = Time; Specification for whether or not to advance the late start time to another day.
Default is – None --. |
Late Start Nth Amount | If Late Start Day Constraint = Nth Day; Number of days to advance. |
Late Start Duration | If Late Start Type = Duration; Duration (amount of relative time) after which the task is considered to have started late. For a task within a workflow, the duration is the period between the time the workflow starts and the time the task itself starts. For example, a task might have a Late Start Duration of 60 minutes. If the workflow starts at 9:00 a.m. but the task itself does not start until 10:30, the task has started late. For a task that is not within a workflow, Late Start Duration has meaning only if the task has been held upon starting. For example, if a task has a Late Start Duration of 60 minutes and the Hold on Start field is enabled, if the task is not released from hold within the amount of time specified in the Late Start Duration field, the task has started late. |
Late Finish | If enabled, and if the task instance finishes after the time or period specified, the task instance is flagged as late. You can specify a time or duration to determine a late finish (see Late Finish Type). To determine whether a task instance finished late, open the task instance and locate the Finished Late field; the field is checked if the instance finished after the specified time or lasted longer than expected. This field only appears on the task instance if the user specified a Late Finish in the task definition. |
Late Finish Type | Required if Late Finish is enabled. Options:
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Late Finish Offset Type | |
Late Finish Percentage Offset ( + ) | Required if Late Finish Offset Type = Percentage; Percentage of Average Duration to use as an offset. The late finish time is calculated by adding the offset to the Average Duration. |
Late Finish Duration Offset ( + ) | Required if Late Finish Offset Type = Duration; Duration to use as an offset. The late finish time is calculated by adding the offset to the Average Duration. |
Late Finish Duration Offset Unit | |
Late Finish Time | If Late Finish Type = Time; Time after which the task finish time is considered late. Use HH:MM, 24-hour time. |
Late Finish Day Constraint | If Late Finish Type = Time; Specification for whether or not to advance the late finish time to another day.
Default is – None --. |
Late Finish Nth Amount | If Late Finish Day Constraint = Nth Day; Number of days to advance. |
Late Finish Duration | If Late Finish Type = Duration; Longest amount of time this task instance should take to run. |
Early Finish | If enabled, and if the task instance finishes before the time or period specified, the task instance is flagged as early. You can specify a time or duration to determine an early finish (see Early Finish Type). To determine whether a task instance finished early, open the task instance and locate the Finished Early field; the field is checked if the instance finished before the specified time or did not last as long as expected. This field only appears on the task instance if the user added Early Finish specifications to the task definition. |
Early Finish Type | Required if Early Finish is enabled. Options:
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Early Finish Offset Type | |
Early Finish Percentage Offset ( - ) | Required if Early Finish Offset Type = Percentage; Percentage of Average Duration to use as an offset. The early finish time is calculated by subtracting the offset from the Average Duration. |