Task properties

Any task you add to your PlanetPress Workflow process must be configured using its Properties dialog. It appears as soon as you add a task to a process, or when you double-click on a task.
Each task's Properties dialog will give you the options to configure that specific, individual task. Properties of one task do not directly affect the properties of another task, however there are some software preferences that may affect tasks in one way or another (see Preferences).

Each task has its own set of tabs available, though some tabs are common to most tasks.

  • Most tasks have the General tab which lets you configure the main task properties for that specific task.
  • All tasks except for the InputErrorBin, Run Script, Open XLST and Comment tasks have an On Error tab that lets you manage errors generated by the task. For a description of the options that it contains, see Using the On Error tab.
    The error management system (the On error tab and the Error Bin Input task), however, is only triggered when there is an error within the task functionality - that is, a plugin error. These kinds of errors are triggered if the plugin cannot communicate with a service, another task, if the plugin crashes, etc.
  • All initial Input tasks have the Other tab which lists Job Infos (see Job Info variables) and lets you back up the job file (see Job file).
  • The Comments tab is common to all tasks. It contains a text area (Task comments) that lets you write comments about the task. These comments are saved when the dialog is closed with the OK button, and are displayed in The Task Comments Pane.

Some Action, Create Content and Output tasks let you select a resource file to use with the task; for more information see Selecting a resource file in task properties.

Variable task properties

When you edit tasks, you may notice that some of the properties that you can modify have a red (or more precisely, a maroon) title. This means that the property can be dynamically determined whenever your process runs, that is to say it will not remain static. This can be extremely useful when, for example, you want to determine how many copies you will print out depending on your data, or what document will be used in the printout depending on the department it came from.

Variable properties may include:

Variable properties can also be used in these special locations:

  • In the Set Job Infos and Variables Action Task. See Set Job Infos and Variables.
  • In Scripts. See the chapter on Using Scripts.
  • In the Create File Input Task. See Create File.
  • Within a PlanetPress Design Document, using the ExpandString() function. See the PlanetPress Design User Guide and PlanetPress Talk Reference Guide.

Variable properties can also be mixed, meaning you can combine, within a single variable property box, any number and order of variable types. You can, for example, do the following for an output file name: %O_@(1,1,1,30, KeepCase,Trim)_%y-%m-%d.txt. This would translate in the original file name, followed by part of the first line of a text data file, then the current date.

Any variables are expanded before data selections are made.

It is not possible to escape characters in a variable property box.

Inserting variables in task properties

In any variable properties box, you may use the contextual (right-click) menu to add variables and control characters, as well as to get data and make data selections. The lower part of the contextual menu is divided into 4 items that provide variable properties:

  • Variables
    • System: Contains standard system variables, see System variables.
    • Job Info: Contains Job Info variables from %1 to %9
    • Local Variables: Contains a list of local variables in this process. If no local variables exist, this item is disabled.
    • Global Variables: Contains a list of global variables in this configuration. If no global variables exist, this item is disabled.
  • Control Characters: Contains a list of control characters that can be used in printers.
  • Get Data Value: Brings up the Data Selector, retrieves the value you select and places it in the variable properties box. This information becomes static and does not change between each datapage and job file.
  • Get Data Location: Brings up the Data Selector and records your selection. The data selection is dynamic, meaning it will get the data located in the area you choose, every time a new data file passes through it. This is indicated by a data selection (see Data selections).
  • Get Metadata Value: Brings up the Data Selector with only the Metadata tab visible and lets you select the value (contents) of a Metadata attribute or field. The result is static and does not change between jobs.
  • Get Metadata Location: Brings up the Data Selector with only the Metadata tab visible and lets you select the location of the data. The result is variable and changes between jobs.
  • Get Repository Value: Brings up the Data Repository Manager dialog to select the value (contents) of a specific key. The result of the lookup is static.
  • Get Repository Location: Brings up the Data Repository Manager dialog to select the location of the key to lookup every time this task is executed.

You can quickly identify variable information that is already present in your variable properties as such:

  • A percentage sign identifies system variables, as well as standard and custom job info variables — %f, for example. Variables are expanded first.
  • A backslash indicates a control character — \004, for example.
  • An at sign (@) indicates a data selection for emulations other than database — @(1,1,1,1,17,KeepCase,Trim), for example.
  • Field indicates a data selection for a database emulation — field(1,0,0,'Billing_Email',KeepCase,NoTrim), for example.
  • The lookup() function indicates a lookup in the Data Repository Manager.

Masks

Certain tasks, such as the Folder Capture Input task and the File Name Condition task, allow for entering a mask instead of a file name. See Masks.

Date and Time Format

To simplify things and to prevent errors, date and time formats have been standardized.

  • Dates are entered and displayed as yyyy/MM/dd (2007/06/13, for example).
  • Times are entered and displayed using the 24 hour format as HH:mm:ss (3:38:54 PM, for example, is entered and displayed as 15:38:54).