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Mass Membership Renewal Process

Subscription Renewal Process

Task Scheduler

The Task Scheduler provides a way to organize and manage your scheduled tasks in a centralized area. From the Task Scheduler you can:

  • Find Scheduled Tasks
  • List Tasks
  • Run Query (On Scheduled Tasks)
  • Manage Scheduled Tasks.

Before using the Task Scheduler functionality, you must have tasks that have been scheduled to run in the future. Currently, there are several tasks in netFORUM that can be scheduled to run in the future.

Task Scheduling

Each of the tasks that can be scheduled in netFORUM will eventually have the same scheduling interface present on their specific forms to provide consistency of use.

The following tasks have the new scheduling interface:

Note: Tasks can be scheduled by going to the appropriate module for the task, or by clicking on the hyperlinked name of the task on the Task Dashboard.

To schedule a task, complete the following steps:

  1. Open the task that you want to schedule.
  2. Complete the setup steps specific to the task you wish to schedule.
  3. Scroll down to the Scheduling portion of the task setup screen.

    The type of task being scheduled is listed in the task type field This field is read-only and is dependent on the type of task you chose to schedule.

  4. Enter the date (MM/DD/YYYY) and time (HH:MM:SS AM/PM) in the run task datetime field. The date and time values must be separated by a space.

    Left-clicking in the run task datetime field will open the date/time picker and allow you to choose your date and time using the calendar pop-up.

    Clicking the Now link will schedule this task to run five minutes from the current time.

  5. If you would like to be notified regarding the status of your scheduled task, select an email template from the notify template drop-down menu.
  6. Enter the email address you wish the notification emails to be delivered to, in the notify e-mail field.

    If the user has an email set on their profile, the email listed on their profile will be pre-populated in this field.

  7. Set the conditions that will send a notification email by selecting the appropriate notify conditions checkboxes. The conditions you have available are:
    • on start?
    • on success?
    • on failure?
    • on completion with errors?
  8. Once you have completed setting up your scheduled task, click the Save button.

    This will open the scheduled task profile.

Linking Tasks

Scheduled tasks can also be linked so that they run in succession. After the first task runs, then any successive tasks will be configured to execute ten minutes after the first task completes.

To link scheduled tasks to run in succession, complete the following steps:

  1. Navigate to the Scheduling portion of the task setup form, either during initial setup, or when editing the task.
  2. Expand the execute after task drop-down menu. This will display a list of all currently scheduled tasks.
  3. Select the task, you wish the task you are currently scheduling/editing, to run after from the drop-down menu.
  4. If you want the task you are currently scheduling/editing to run regardless if the "kickoff" task fails or succeeds, click the if the task above fails, run the task being scheduled anyway? checkbox.
  5. Complete your scheduling/editing steps and click the Save button.

Note: The start date/time is disabled for a task and will be hidden once it is linked to another task.

Using the Task Scheduler

The Task Scheduler provides a centralized location for managing all of your scheduled tasks in netFORUM.

Note: Only users with admin privileges will have access to the Task Scheduler

Find Scheduled Tasks

To find scheduled tasks, complete the following steps:

  1. Expand the Module Menu and click the Admin option to launch the Admin module.
  2. Click the Task Scheduler option. This will display the options available to you.
  3. Click the Find Scheduled Task link. This will open the Find - TaskFascade form.
  4. Enter a portion of the name of the scheduled task in the Task Name field.
  5. Click the Go button.

    This will return a list of tasks matching your search criteria. These are all of the tasks that are currently scheduled or that have already completed (either successfully or unsuccessfully.) From this list you can view that scheduled task's profile page.

Run Query

The Task Scheduler also allows you to query tasks that have been scheduled.

To query for scheduled tasks, complete the following steps:

  1. Expand the Module Menu and click the Admin option to launch the Admin module.
  2. Click the Task Scheduler option. This will display the options available to you.
  3. Click the Run Query link. This will open the Query - TaskFacade form.
  4. Following standard query procedures, complete the Query Conditions needed to return the results you are looking for.
  5. Click the Run Query button to immediately run the query. You also have the option to save the query.

    You will be returned with a list of scheduled tasks that meet your query conditions.

List Tasks

The Task Scheduler provides a single place where you can see all of the scheduled tasks (past, present, and future) in one place.

To see the entire list of scheduled tasks, complete the following steps:

  1. Expand the Module Menu and click the Admin option to launch the Admin module.
  2. Click the Task Scheduler option. This will display the options available to you.
  3. Click the List Tasks link. This will open the List - TaskFacade page.

    The List - TaskFacade page displays the following information:

    • Task Name
    • Task Type
    • Task Status
    • Start Date
    • End Date
    • Next Run (Scheduled) Date
    • Requested By

Manage Scheduled Tasks

The Managed Scheduled Tasks option allows you to view the scheduled tasks as well as edit them. Clicking the Manage Scheduled Tasks option will display all of the Task Scheduler child forms.

Task Scheduler Child Forms

The Task Scheduler has several child forms designed to provide you with categorized information regarding your scheduled tasks.

To view the Task Scheduler child forms, complete the following steps:

  1. Expand the Module Menu and click the Admin option to launch the Admin module.
  2. Click the Task Scheduler option. This will display the Managed Scheduled Tasks link.
  3. Click the Managed Scheduled Tasks link. This will display the Task Scheduler child forms.

    Each child form contains a way to view the scheduled task as well as edit the task.

    The child forms list the following information:

    • processing: Lists all scheduled tasks that are currently processing
    • scheduled: Lists all tasks that are currently scheduled
    • completed successfully: Lists all scheduled tasks that completed without error
    • completed with errors: Lists all of the scheduled tasks that completed, but had errors
    • failed: Lists those scheduled tasks that did not complete

Task Rescheduling

To reschedule a task that has previously been scheduled, complete the following steps:

  1. Expand the Module Menu and click the Admin option to launch the Admin module.
  2. Click the Task Scheduler option. This will display the Dashboard link.
  3. Click the Dashboard link. Go to the More Tab and click Manage Tasks. This will display a list of all scheduled-task child forms. Expand the scheduled child form. Under the scheduled child form, you see a lisr of all previously scheduled tasks.
  4. Click the Edit icon next to the task you want to reschedule. This will open the edit task form that will allow you to reschedule this task.

    Clicking the Now link schedules the task for the current time plus five minutes..

Scheduled Tasks that Run Electronic Payments

The following scheduled tasks also run electronic payments:

  • Recurring Gift
  • Order Installment Generation (installment billing)
  • Installment Payment
  • Membership Renewal

Running these scheduled tasks does not update failure counts, statues, and other statistics. To update those numbers, you must run the Update CPI Payment Task. A best practice is to run this task daily.

Recurring Tasks

The following set of tasks have the ability to be set as recurring tasks:

  • Multicurrency Exchange Rate Updater
  • Message Tracking Updater
  • Scoring Scale Task
  • Import File
  • Recurring Gifts Task
  • Installment Payments
  • Query Export to File

To set a task to be recurring, complete the following steps:

  1. Expand the Module Menu to display the netFORUM Module Menu.
  2. Click the Admin link to open the Admin module.
  3. Click the Task Scheduler link to display the list of Task Scheduler options.
  4. Click the Dashboard link to open the scheduling Dashboard.
  5. Click the hyperlinked name of one of the tasks (listed above) that has the ability to be set to recurring.

    This will open the Add <task name> scheduled task window.

  6. Expand the recurrence drop-down menu.

    Setting the value to Once will run the scheduled task one time, with no recurrence.

    Choosing one of the other recurrence options will display additional fields that correspond to the recurrence value chosen.

  7. Enter how often you wish the recurrence cycle to run in the every <blank> <recurrence value selected> field.
  8. Enter the specific day of the week you wish the task to run (if applicable) by selecting a day of the week in the on field.
  9. If the scheduled task has a set end date, enter that date in the until field.

    If there is no end date for this task, leave this field blank and it will continue to run until you manually stop it.

  10. When you have completed entering your recurrence settings, click the Save button.

Scheduled Task Profile

The scheduled task profile provides information regarding a scheduled task. Note, some tasks have profile pages that are specific to that process with additional options.

The scheduled task profile has three child forms available:

  • batch renewal summary - displays a synopsis of the actions that took place during the batch renewal process (only found on a Membership Renewal Task profile)
  • error detail - displays a listing of error details if the scheduled task ran and generated errors
  • history - displays a history of this scheduled process, showing information (such as status) each time this scheduled task completed.

Note: The Edit button will only be visible on scheduled task profiles, where the task is not currently processing.

Task Dashboard

The Task Dashboard is a snapshot of tasks that can be scheduled within netFORUM.

To access the Task Dashboard, complete the following steps:

  1. Expand the Module Menu.
  2. Click the Admin option to launch the Admin module.
  3. Click the Module Items arrow, located in the top right corner of the Admin module.
  4. Click the Task Scheduler option to display the list of Task Scheduler choices.
  5. Click the Dashboard option.

    This will launch the Task Dashboard.

    Clicking on the linked task name will take you to scheduling page for that task type, where you can set up a new scheduled task.

Note: Many tasks can also be scheduled from their respective modules.

The Task Dashboard has two tabs; Dashboard and Manage Tasks. The Dashboard tab is the tab displayed by default and will show the Task Dashboard. The Manage Tasks tab can be found by mousing over the More option.

Clicking the Manage Tasks tab will display the Task Scheduler Child Forms.

Test Configuration Task

Before any of the scheduled tasks can successfully complete, your netFORUM system must be configured correctly. To test this configuration, you may run the Test Configuration task. This task will run several checks on your system configuration to ensure that everything necessary for your scheduled tasks to complete is correctly enabled.

The Test Configuration Task will:

  • check to see if the task can write to the log file on the local disk
  • check to see if the task can write to the server's event log
  • check to see if the task can open a connection to the database using the connection string for the task framework - provides Server/DB name in success email
  • check to see if the task can connect to the SMTP server set in the netFORUM system options
  • check to see if the task can send an email through the SMTP server; also provides notification if the system is not enabled for sending email (system option EnableSendEmail).

To run the TestEnableSendEmail.html Configuration task, complete the following steps:

  1. From the Admin module, click the Task Scheduler tab.
  2. Click the Task Dashboard option. This will display the Task Dashboard
  3. Click the Test Configuration link found in the Misc section of the Task Dashboard.

    Follow the steps outlined in the Task Scheduling portion of this page to schedule the Test Configuration task.

    Once the task runs, you will receive emails notifying you of successful completion of the test. If you do not receive these emails, view your event log to determine where the failures occurred.

Stopping a Scheduled Task

To kill a task that is currently processing, click the Stop Task link located on the task profile.

After you click the Stop Task link you will be presented with the Edit - Stop Scheduled Task pop-up window asking you to confirm that you actually wish to stop this task.

Click the Save button to stop the task.

Important! Stopping a task that is processing may cause undesired results. The task may totally stop processing and reverse all changes that have been made up until the "stop" point, or the task may only partially complete and leave incomplete results in the database. The Stop Task link should only be used when absolutely necessary.

Task Status

These are the Task Status codes. Be aware that recurring tasks, or a Task that is restarted, will continually update the status, so think of the status as the current status. Scheduled Task History records will record the status after each time the Task executes.

COMPWITHERROR

The Task completed, but at least one error occurred on the records being processed. This is not necessarily catastrophic. It could mean that 999 out of a batch of 1,000 succeeded, and one failed. You should investigate the specific failures.

FAILED

The Task itself could not complete and that an error caused the overall Task to fail.

PROCESSING

The Task is processing currently.

SCHEDULED

The Task is scheduled to run at a later time.

STOPPED

The Task was stopped in the middle of processing.

STOPPING

The Task is in the process of being stopped.

SUCCESS

The Task completed with success, with no failures.