Batch Operation

This topic provides you with information about the Run Batch operation.

This page discusses:

Accessing this Operation

This operation can be created by clicking Run Batch .

Describing this Operation

This operation lets you select a batch to be launched and lets you configure its parameters and set the object on which the batch should operate.

Using this Operation Interface

Name Name attributed to the operation.
Comment Comment attributed to the operation.
Run Batch: Batch name Lets you select the batch you want to be launched by the operation. Only a few batches are supported.
Run Batch: Synchronous If checked, the operation waits until the batch is finished. A completed state on the operation indicates that the batch has finished executing. If unchecked, the batch runs in the background and the Run Batch operation is seen as completed. No indication is provided when the batch finishes or if errors occur.
Objects and Batch Parameters Lets you add input pointers to objects. Objects pointed by these pointers are passed to the batch as input objects.
Batch Report Parameters Lets you specify the parameters required by the batch to operate. These parameters are specific to every batch. They are specified using input string parameters. For example, c:\temp can be the input of a parameter called OutputDir. All other types of input are disregarded.
Batch Parameter Wizard Opens a batch-specific dialog box where:
  • attributes are pre-valuated,
  • attributes can be entered using combos and check boxes for example.
Import Batch Parameters Lets you import an attribute list. You must valuate them.
Note: If a batch expects a list of strings in input (example: OutputFormat with possible values being xml and html), an OR’ed list of strings can be provided in input instead (example: xml|html).

Configuring the Operation

  1. Select the batch you want to run.
  2. Check Synchronous if you want to make the operation wait until the batch is finished. A completed state on the operation indicates that the batch has finished executing. If this box is unchecked, the batch runs in the background and the operation is seen as completed. No indication is provided when the batch finishes or if an errors occur.
  3. Click Batch Parameter Wizard to update the parameters list. Clicking OK updates this list as well as the attributes and their new values. You may also use the wizard after manually adding parameters to the parameters list.
  4. Optional: click Import Batch Parameters to import an attribute list. You must valuate the parameters after adding them to the parameter list. The parameters you imported or added using the wizard are added to the list of objects and parameters.
  5. Click Add to add a pointer of ObjectType type to determine the object on which the batch is going to be executed.
  6. Optional: Click Modify to modify the pointer.
    Note: The last part of the dialog box lets you specify the parameters required by the batch to operate. These parameters are specific to every batch. They are specified using input string parameters. For example, c:\temp can be the input of a parameter called OutputDir. All other types of input are disregarded. This is also added using the wizard and can be modified from the list.
  7. Press OK to save your operation.

Typical Workflow

A typical workflow in Know-how Apps Components consists in first using a Bind operation to export the current PLM object and then linking it to a variable. As the app creator, you should:

  1. Create a Bind Object operation. For more information, see Bind Object Operation.
  2. Create a Run Batch operation.
  3. Go to the operations tree and link the specific pointer attribute from your Run Batch operation to the output of your Bind Object operation.