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# About the Task Browser

The Task Browser dialog is displayed whenever the Task dialog is open. It is a powerful tool for managing and utilising all data and information related to a task through several tabbed panes:

About the Tools Tab

The Tools tab exposes all available tools, used to create and add steps to a task. The tab contains the following:
|  | Scope — With the Tools tab selected, the drop down list displays the Tool types. Selecting a type then displays all available Tools for that type in the Scope area. Selecting the All option displays all Tool types.
|  | Search — Text may be manually entered into the field. Clicking on the Search button then displays a list of matches found in the Scope area. Double-clicking on a match then selects the appropriate item in the Scope area.
|  | Clear Search — Displays the details previously displayed in the Scope area before the search was conducted.
| Click the image to view full size.

|  | Scope — Displays a list of available Tool types in a tree structure. Clicking on a node expands the tree to display the available Tools for that Tool type. If a specific type has been selected in the Scope drop down list then only those Tools are displayed.

|  | Lower — The lower window displays information for the node selected in the Scope area.

To use a Tool to create a new Step:

|  | Click on a Tool and then drag and drop it onto the Task Plan in the Task dialog box. The Tools configuration dialog box will open to allow the Step to be created. Once the dialog box has been completed and closed, the Step will appear on the Task Plan for linking to other Steps. The Step is also displayed under the Steps node in the Environment tab of the Task Browser.

|  | Double-click on a Tool. The Tools configuration dialog box will open to allow the Step to be created. Once the dialog box has been completed and closed, the Environment tab of the Task Browser will be automatically selected and the Step will be displayed under the Steps node. The Step may them be dragged and dropped onto the Task Plan.

About the Environment Tab

The Environment tab exposes all available data, including Steps, Variables, Formulas, Functions and Task Parameters currently created for a task. Through the tab they may be edited or new items added. Additionally, some steps output data to variables which can be consumed by other steps. The tab contains the following:
|  | Scope — The following options are listed for selection:
|  | Task — When this option is selected, the Scope area displays all data for the Task.
|  | This Step — This option is only provided for selection when a configuration dialog box for a specific Step is open. In this instance it is automatically selected and The Scope area displays just the data for that specific Step. The Task option may also be selected from the drop down list to display details for all Steps created for the Task; including those created but not added to the Task Plan.
| Click the image to view full size.

|  | Global — When this option is selected, the Scope area displays all available Global Variables, Formulas and Functions. These are not Task specific and must therefore be used with care.

|  | Search — Text may be manually entered into the field. Clicking on the Search button the displays a list of matches found in the Scope panel. Double-clicking on a match then selects the appropriate item in the Scope area.

|  | Clear Search — Displays the details previously displayed in the Scope area before the search was conducted.Scope — Displays a list of available Tool types in a tree structure. Clicking on a node expands the tree to display the available Tools for that Tool type. The following nodes are displayed under the Task node in the Scope area.

Steps

The Steps node displays a node for each of the Steps created for a Task.

The tables below show details for the Step properties exposed in the Environment tab.

Standard Properties exposed for all Tools

Property | Icon | Type | Read (R) / Read Write (RW) | Configurable Property? | Runtime Property? | Description | Values
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
Name |  | `char` | R | Yes | Yes | Name of the step |
Description |  | `char` | R | Yes | Yes | Description of the step |
Status |  | `long` | R | Yes | Yes | Coded form of StatusText |
|  | `cStepPending`
|  | `cStepProcessed`
|  | `cStepComplete`
|  | `cStepFailed`
Started |  | `datetime` | R | Yes | Yes | Date / Time when the step last started processing |
Finished |  | `datetime` | R | Yes | Yes | Date / Time when the step finished processing, by changing status to "Completed" or "Failed / Aborted" |
RunCount |  | `long` | R | Yes | Yes | Number of times this step has been run within this task instance |
StatusText |  | `char` | R | Yes | Yes | Shown in Status column in Active Tasks pane |
|  | Pending
|  | Processing
|  | Completed
|  | Failed / Aborted
ProgressText |  | `char` | RW | Yes | Yes | Shown in Progress column in Active Tasks pane |
StatusDescription |  | `char` | R | Yes | Yes | Description of status, including any error descriptions |
|  | Pending
|  | Processing
|  | Completed
|  | Failed / Aborted — in this scenario, an error contains error text
SuccessCount |  | `long` | R | Yes | Yes | Number of successful iterations |
FailCount |  | `long` | R | Yes | Yes | Number of failed iterations |
WarningCount |  | `long` | R | Yes | Yes | Number of iterations that have generated a warning |

Common Properties

Property | Icon | Type | Read (R) / Read Write (RW) | Configurable Property? | Runtime Property? | Description
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
Recordset |  | object | R | Yes | Yes | Output data from an Input Step and RecordSource input data for a Format or Output Step
RecordSource |  | object | R | Yes | Yes | Input data for a Format or Output Step
FormatData |  | object | RW | Yes | Yes | Output data from a Format Step and DocumentSource input data for an Output Step
DocumentSource |  | object | RW | Yes | Yes | Input data for an Output Step
RowsProcessed |  | long | R | Yes | Yes | Number of rows processed
DocumentsProcessed |  | long | R | Yes | Yes | Number of documents processed
MemoryDefinitions |  | object | R | Yes | Yes | Collection of Memory Definition Objects
FilterDefinitions |  | object | R | Yes | Yes | Collection of Filter Definition Objects

Variables

The Variables node displays a node for each of the Variables created for a Task. It will display Task Variables if Task has been selected in the Scope drop down list and Global Variables if Global has been selected in the Scope drop down list.

The Variables node contains the following:

If a Variable has been created for the Task then a node for it is created under the Variables node, including the Variable name.

Variable properties:

|  | The Name, Type and IsParameter properties for any variable are displayed under the Variable node. They are exposed to enable them to be included by dragging and dropping them into the required position in the script when:

|  | Creating a Formula or Function

|  | Creating the Task in the Script node of the Task dialog

|  | Creating a Memory Definition.

|  | Using the Task API

Formulas

The Formulas node displays a node for each of the Formulas created for a Task. It will display Task Formulas if Task has been selected in the Scope drop down list and Global Formulas if Global has been selected in the Scope drop down list.

The Formulas node contains the following:

If a Formula has been created for the Task then a node for it is created under the Formulas node, including the Formula name.If creating a Task in the Script tab of the Task dialog box, a Formula may be dragged and dropped from the Task Browser into the required position in the script.

Functions

The Functions node displays a node for each of the Functions created for a Task. It will display Task Functions if Task has been selected in the Scope drop down list and Global Functions if Global has been selected in the Scope drop down list.

The Functions node contains the following:

If a Function has been created for the Task then a node for it is created under the Formulas node, including the Function name. If creating a Task in the Script tab of the Task dialog box, a Function may be dragged and dropped from the Task Browser into the required position in the script.

Name

The Task Name is displayed as a property which may be dragged and dropped from the Task Browser into the required position in a script.

FiredBy

The Task FiredBy property is displayed and may be dragged and dropped from the Task Browser into the required position in a script. A list of potential values, dependent on the method used to run the Task, is shown below.

Run By | FiredBy Value
--- | ---
Manual | "None"
API call (e.g. `runsync`) | "None"
Schedule Event | "Schedule"
Microsoft SQL Server Trigger Event | "Microsoft SQL Server Trigger"
Email Trigger (SMTP) Event | "Email Trigger (SMTP)"

Owner

The name of the Task Owner is displayed as a property which may be dragged and dropped from the Task Browser into the required position in a script

TaskID

The Task ID property is unique to each task, and can be used by any task step.

TaskInstanceID

The TaskInstanceID property is populated at the beginning of each task run time, and can be used by any task step.

Description

The Task Description is displayed as a property which may be dragged and dropped from the Task Browser into the required position in a script.

About the Reference Tab

The Reference tab exposes several common scripts which can be used in task steps by dragging and dropping the script into a field within a configuration dialog, or into the task script itself when creating the script manually. The tab contains the following:
|  | Scope — The VBScript option is automatically selected.
|  | Search — Text may be manually entered into the field. Clicking on the Search button the displays a list of matches found in the Scope area. Double-clicking on a match then selects the appropriate item in the Scope area.
|  | Clear Search — Displays the details previously displayed in the Scope area before the search was conducted.
| Click the image to view full size.

|  | Scope — Displays the VBScript node which provides access to common scripts to be used as necessary by dragging and dropping them into the required position in the Task script.

|  | Lower — The lower window displays help text for the script selected in the Scope area.

Display Options

To provide users with the ability to customise the size and position of the Task Browser dialog box on the screen when creating or editing a Task, the title bar of the dialog box contains the following:

|  | Pin button - Through this button the user has the ability to set the current size and position of the Task Browser. The button has two states as described below which can be changed by clicking on the button:

|  | Not Pinned — When the button is in this state, the current Task Browser dialog box size and position are assigned to the currently open Task Tool dialog box. You can therefore have the dialog box display in a different location and size for each Tool when its dialog box opens. This relationship persists for all future sessions for the currently logged in user until that user changes it.

|  | Pinned — When the button is in this state , the current Task Browser dialog box size and position are maintained, regardless of which Task Tool dialog box is opened. This relationship persists for all future sessions for the currently logged in user until that user changes it.

|  | Minimise button — Clicking on this button minimises the Task Browser dialog box to an icon which is permanently displayed on the screen whilst the Task dialog box is open. This feature may be used in conjunction with the Pin button to set the dialog box into this minimised state for all or specific Task Tool dialogs.

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