Input from SharePoint
The Input from SharePoint Task can be used to retrieve files from a SharePoint server on your network, filtering on your template fields and creating metadata to use in your process.
When the Input from SharePoint task runs, it first lists all of the files to download then runs the process once for each file in the list. If any new files are added during the process, they will not be touched until the next time the process is scheduled.
This task can work with many of the available SharePoint servers:
- Microsoft SharePoint 2007
- Microsoft SharePoint 2010
- Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SP2
- SharePoint Foundation 2010
Input
Any data file present on a SharePoint document store, even those not compatible with PlanetPress' emulations, and the properties of these files.
Processing
The task connects to the selected Document store and retrieves a copy of files according to the specified rules. The files may be deleted or marked as checked out depending on the options selected, otherwise they are untouched.
Output
The output to this task is a series of individual files, one after the other.
The Input from SharePoint Task has the following properties:
General Tab
For this tab to work, you must have entered your SharePoint Connection information in the Connection Tab.
- SharePoint Site: The name of the SharePoint site from where you want to retrieve documents. You can click on the Refresh button to display a list of sites on your SharePoint server.
- Document Library: The document library where you want to retrieve the files. You can click on the Refresh button to display a list of libraries on the SharePoint site selected previously.
- Folder: The folder in the document library where your files are located. You can click the Browse button to display your folder structure. In the Browse Folders dialog, click on the folder you want to use and click OK.
- Input Rule: Lets you define rules to filter incoming files on certain variables, for example the file name, size, etc. Clicking the ... button brings up the Rule Interface.
- Download files from sub-directories also: Check to also look into subdirectories of the specified Folder.
- Do not download checked out documents: If the document is set as "Checked Out" in SharePoint, it will be ignored.
- Action Group
- Download the document: Simply download the document and do not modify it in SharePoint.
- Download the document and mark it as checked out in SharePoint: Download the document and mark it as Checked Out in SharePoint. This is useful for preventing files to be downloaded more than once.
- Download the document and delete it from SharePoint: Download the document and delete it from the SharePoint server.
Connection Tab
- Server Name: The name of the SharePoint server. This can either be a server name (e.g. http://SharePoint2003 ) or an IP address (e.g. http://192.168.1.123 ). Both http:// and https:// (secure) connections are accepted.
- Domain: The active directory domain for the logon credentials. This is not necessary if the SharePoint server is not part of a domain.
- User Name: A valid username that has access to the SharePoint site and is able to read and write to document libraries.
- Password: The correct password for the username.
"Other" Tab
- Job Information group
- Information elements: indicates what job infos are automatically created by the input task.
- Add lines before first data page: Using the arrows keys you can add any job information directly at the beginning of your data file.
- Backup input files: Check this to save a copy of each data file that is captured by your input. These files are saved in the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools working folders under the "Backup" folder.
- Backup filename: Enter the filename that you wish the input data file backup to be saved under.
- Delete Existing Metadata: Check to remove any metadata from memory. This option is disabled on initial input tasks, and is checked by default on secondary input tasks.
Job Information definitions
- %1 - Source file name: Contains the name of the current captured file.
- %2 - Directory: Contains the name of the SharePoint director from which the current file was captured.
On Error Tab
By default, any action task, branch, splitter or condition that generates an error will simply be ignored, and the task just under it (not within a branch) will be given control of the job file without any modification. Any initial input task that generates an error will stop the process from running as a whole, and output tasks will not generate output. The On Error tab can be used to overwrite the default behaviors.
- Send to Process: Check this option to send the job file to an error management process.
- Error Process drop-down: Enabled only when the Send to Process option is checked. Lists any process of which the initial input task is the Input Error Bin task.
- Action Group: This group is disabled in the initial input tasks and defaults to Stop Process. In all other tasks where the On Error tab is present, the following options are available:
- Ignore: The task is ignored as if it did not exist, and the job file is passed on to the next task in the process.
- Stop Branch: If the task is in a branch of the process, the branch is stopped and the job file is returned to the process after the branch. The branch will not produce any output.
- Stop Process: The process is stopped and no more processing is done. No further output is produced.
- Log Message: Check this option to enable logging a custom error message in the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools' log file.
- Message: Enabled only when the Log Message option is checked. Enter a message that will be logged in the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools' log file. You can use any variables available in PlanetPress Workflow to customize the message.
- Store the message in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the message content.
- ID: Enter an error ID. This ID will be visible in the Windows Event Viewer. However, the ID is not visible in the PlanetPress Suite Workflow Tools' log file.
- Store the ID in variable: Select in which jobinfo, local or global variable you want to store the error ID.
- Reset to defaults: Resets all options in this tab to their default values.
If storing the message or ID, if they are store in a jobinfo they will be available in any error handling process where errors are being forwarded. In all cases, if your process continues after the error, the contents of the variables selected in this window will be available for the rest of your process, or whenever they are overwritten.
Common Errors
Though some error messages are specific to a task in particular, others may apply to any and all tasks because they are related more to the system than to PlanetPress itself. Some examples would be W3813, W3830, W3991, W4005. These correspond to issues such as not having any space to write files, permission errors on folders or files, etc.
Comments Tab
The Comments tab, added in PlanetPress Suite 7.5, is common to all tasks. It contains a single 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.