Automation Options and Tools - Scheduler & Generator

Omniscope Enterprise Editions install together with two additional automation tools designed to run on 'always-on' servers. The Scheduler performs merge, refresh and publication or distribution tasks according to a defined chronological schedule. The Generator listens on a port for delivery of personalised data updates delivered in CSV or XML format. Whenever the Generator detects a new data set on its port, it refreshes a corresponding pre-existing empty Omniscope template file to create a new file, then passes control back to your application or to the Scheduler for re-publication and re-distribution of the new file(s).

Omniscope Enterprise Scheduler

The Omniscope Enterprise Scheduler is a graphical application requiring no development skills. File refresh, merge, export and publishing automation using the Scheduler are configured by 'recording' actions performed on existing Omniscope template file containing each data set for which you wish to automate tasks

First configure the Omniscope files (which can be server-based 'data mart' files with user desktop 'child' files refreshing automatically from the 'data marts') containing some or all of the same data exactly as you want future, fully-populated and refreshed user report files to appear. Then configure the Scheduler to populate/refresh the template files from their linked data source(s) according to a defined time schedule. You can also use Scheduler commands to distribute the refreshed file(s) to file share folders, or by email or FTP to a website, add time stamps, archive copies, etc.

Note: Updating Omniscpe files requires that the linked data source for each file to be up-to-date. If you have a live database this is given, but if you are using an Omniscope 'data mart' as a source for 'child' files, or merging in data from .CSV files, be sure to schedule the update/save of the 'data mart' and linked source merge files on a more frequent basis to ensure that the Scheduler always has new data to work with.

More on Using the Scheduler

Omniscope Enterprise Generator

The Omniscope Enterprise Generator is a 'black box' service that takes input from your own external web service that builds up and delivers a customised data set either as CSV or transform your source data to the very simple Visokio XML schema, which is essentially the equivalent of CSV files in XML.

The Generator is always listening on a port for the availability of the new data set. When a new daa set is detected, together with a pre-existing (usually empty) Omniscope template file, the Generator populates the empty template file with the new data set and returns control back to your application or to the Scheduler for re-publication and re-distribution of the new file(s).

Note: The Generator does not deal with any parameters, user information or permissioning...all this must be dealt with by your external web service.

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XML Enterprise Action Descriptors

The Scheduler uses Enterprise Action Descriptor XML files to define task lists for automation. You configure these tasks using the Enterprise Edition user interface, or manually coded XML copied from and based upon XML Actions files previously created using the user interface.

A sample documented specification is posted, but this is not kept up-to-date. Current syntax of XML Actions files can always best be observed by exporting an XML Actions file from the current version of Omniscope. Examples of actions which can be automated include:

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Running as a Windows Service

In order to keep the Scheduler and Generator running regardless of login/logouts it can be advisable to run Enterprise Edition as a Windows Service. This enables always-on services to remain running regardless of user account logins or logout.

More on running as a Windows service