Scheduled Tasks

Name *

Mandatory

Distinctive name for the scheduled task so it is easy to distinguish from other tasks

Description

What the scheduled task does so it's clear to other users

Status *

Mandatory

Indicates the status of the scheduled task, from the following:

Current System Time

Read only

Date and time based on the System Time Zone setting in System Preferences

This is provided to give guidance when you are scheduling actions.

Start Time *

Mandatory

Date and time from which the task should be triggered, based on Occurrence Settings

Click the Calendar icon for a date and time picker, which defaults to the current date and time. The Current System Time field shows the current time to help you determine the start time (based on the system time zone set in System Preferences, Time Zone Settings).

•        If Interval is set to One Time, the date and time must be after the current date and time.

•        For all other interval settings, if this is set before the current date and time, the task action will be triggered on the next logical occurrence from the Interval settings

Expire Time

Date and time from which the task should stop being triggered to run, based on Occurrence Settings below

If you want triggering to remain indefinite, leave blank. For One Time tasks, leave blank as it is not relevant.

Click the Calendar icon for a date and time picker, which defaults to the current date and time.

If a date is set, after the date and time has passed, the task is automatically marked with the Completed status.

Action

Select an action from the list to be performed by the scheduled task from the following options:

Email

To send an email to recipients

 Only email templates set up under the System module will be listed for selection.  
      For Significant Events, you would generally use the Email related item of an event.

See: Email options below

Record Update  

To automatically update defined core record fields based on rules (based  on applied product keys)

Depending on the module, this can be used to add or change field values, update related items, and set current records to non-current, as required.

Example scenarios:

•        Update Student records when a student is on leave, when they complete a course, or submit a thesis

•        Update Ethics committee meeting status' to Closed for meetings in the past based on a defined date

See: Record Update options below

Report

To generate and email a report as an attachment so recipients don't need to log in to RME to view it

 Only available for reports without parameters.

See: Report options below

Email Template *

Mandatory if Action is Email

System email template to use when sending the report, selected in a lookup

The lookup is restricted to system templates.

You can create specific RME email templates for sending reports, as follows:

In the Email Template page, use the following settings for the email template:

•        Select System from the Module dropdown (other modules are not used in this case).

•        In the Recipients section, only add any or all of the following roles:

•        All Personnel

•        All Committees

•        All Panels

•        Non-RME Person

•        You cannot add core fields in the email body or subject for System emails.

Module  *

Displays and is mandatory if Action is Record Update

Module to update

The selected module populates specific fields in the Fields to Update and Rules sections.

Example options: HDR Students, Committee Meeting

Fields to Update  *

Displays and is mandatory if Action is Record Update

Fields you want to update when the conditions defined in the Rules section are met

•        Areas and fields are dynamically displayed based on the selection in the Module dropdown. For example, if HDR Students is selected, fields from the HDR Student record for Enrolment & Progress, Significant Events, Student Leave Details, and Supervisor related items are listed.

•        You can add or change field values, update related items, and set current records to non-current, as required.

•        To add a new line to select another field to update in the same task, click the green Plus icon (+).

Rules  *

Displays and is mandatory if Action is Record Update

Scenarios that determine when selected Fields to Update are to be updated in core records by the scheduled task

•        Define the criteria in the same way as Advanced search.

•        To add a new line of criteria for the rule, click the green Plus icon (+).

To ensure that the rules will work as expected, test the combination in Advanced Search for the core module first.

Minus Day(s) / Plus Day(s)

For date-based rules when Today's Date is selected, an additional dropdown displays  to either add or subtract days from today’s date (Minus Day/s or Plus Day/s). For example, if you want to allow two weeks (14 days) after meetings are held before closing them so that minutes can be added and action items assigned, you could create a recurring scheduled task with rules that search for meetings the Scheduled Date equal to Today’s Date, with Minus Day/s selected and 14 entered.

Apply Data Security

Displays if Action is Report; Default is No

Indicates whether you want to apply the recipient's data access security to report data, to filter out data they have not been given access to via Data Access Security defined in their User record

•        Yes - Data access security defined in the User record will be applied to the report for each recipient of the following types in the To email field of the template: All personnel, All committees, and All panels. An individual email will be generated for each recipient as the report content is likely to be different per person. Be aware that if you cc or bcc someone, they will get an email for each recipient the report is sent to.

The report will not be sent to non-RME people (external recipients or those without a User record in RME) since data security cannot be applied to them.  

•        No - Data security is not applied to report data. A single email with the report will be generated for all the recipients, including non-RME people (external recipients or those without a User record in RME).

Email Template *

Displays and is mandatory if Action is Report

System email template to use when sending the report, selected in a lookup

The lookup is restricted to system templates.

You can create specific RME email templates for sending reports, as follows:

In the Email Template page, use the following settings for the email template:

•        Select System from the Module dropdown (other modules are not used in this case).

•        In the Recipients section, only add any or all of the following roles:

•        All Personnel

•        All Committees

•        All Panels

•        Non-RME Person

•        You cannot add core fields in the email body or subject for System emails.

Report  *

Displays and is mandatory if Action is Report

Report that was created in RME Report Designer that will be sent as an attachment in the selected email; can be for RME core records or eForms

This does not include Crystal Reports.

Daily

Run the task based on the defined day configuration

In the Repeat Every Number of Day(s) field (mandatory), define how often the task should run.

Examples: To run the task every day, enter 1. To run every four days, enter 4.

If you want to run the task every week day, choose Weekly instead and select week days.

Hourly

Run the task based on the defined hour configuration

In the Repeat Every Number of Hour(s) field (mandatory), define how often the task should run.

Example: To run the task every 6 hours, enter 6.

The value must be between 1-23 inclusive.

Monthly

Run the task based on the defined month configuration

In the Month(s) to Recur on section (mandatory), select one or more months in which to run the tasks.

In the Day(s) to Recur on section (mandatory), select one or more days in the all the selected months on which the task should be run.

Note that the day should be valid for all selected months. For example, if you choose both February and October and the day as 31st, this will not be valid for February. An error message will display advising you to revise your selection. For multiple months, if you want to stipulate the last day of each month, select the Last option. This will run the task on the last day of each selected month, including the 29th of February when it is a leap year.

One Time

Run the task only once without recurring

No other setting details display

To run the task, click the Run Task Action button on the toolbar.

Expire Time is not relevant for One Time tasks. If a date and time was entered, it will not be used.

Weekly

Run the task based on the defined week configuration

In the Recur Every Number of Week(s) field (mandatory), define how often the task should run.

Examples: To run the task every week, enter 1. To run every three weeks, enter 3.

In the Day(s) To Recur On field (mandatory), select which day of the week the task should run.

Next Run Time

Read only

When the scheduled task will next be triggered

Last Run Time

Read only

When the scheduled task was last run

Last Run Result

Read only

Status of the last scheduled run to indicate success or failure:

•        Failed - an error occurred that needs to be rectified

•        Missed - the task could not be run for a technical reason

•        Pending - the task is triggered, awaiting completion

•        Successful - the task was run as scheduled with no errors

For details, see: Scheduled Task History