Task Administrator Side Panel

Overview

The side panel (or side bar) provides a facility for establishing connection with remote Automate Desktop clients (also known as Runtimes) and enables easy navigation to and from connected remote clients for the purpose of task deployment and remote management. The side panel actually consists of two separate panes; the top pane, which consists of the Connection pane and Managed Tasks pane. The Connection pane is a facility for conveniently connecting to remote Automate Desktop clients (or Runtime components) for the purpose of Remote Administration. The Managed Tasks panel displays the folders and subfolders that contain managed tasks in a hierarchial format, allowing you to organize the information you want to access quickly, without cluttering your workspace.

ClosedConnection pane

The Task Administrator and Automate Desktop task service are two of several individual components within Automate Desktop. The Task Administrator contains an interface in which a user can interact with and the task service is a background application that actually performs all the work. Whether locally or remotely, both components communicate with one another through TCP/IP. The connection pane's main purpose is to establish a connection between the local Task Administrator and remote task service. By default, the Task Administrator tries to access the task service on the local computer, thus, when the Task Administrator is initially opened, the Current Connection field generally displays the value localhost.

To establish connection with a task service installed on a remote computer, enter the name or IP address of that computer in the Current Connection field and the matching password in the password dialog that appears. Upon connection, the local folders and tasks being displayed are replaced by those that reside on the remote computer. Automate Desktop saves the connection to memory, therefore, you can easily connect to specific clients by simply clicking the down arrow to the right of the Current Connection field and selecting the desired connection from the drop-down list of saved connections that appear.

For more information, see Establishing a Remote Connection.

ClosedManaged Tasks pane

The Managed Tasks pane sits right below the Connection pane and displays a hierarchical structure of connected computers and the folders and subfolders containing managed tasks associated with each connection. By default, upon startup, Task Administrator establishes a connection with the local task service, at which point, this panel displays a 'Local Tasks' icon along with the managed tasks folders associated with the local task service. If connection is established with other Automate Desktop clients on the network by way of remote administration, this panel displays a new computer icon with the name or IP address of the remote computer along with the managed tasks folders associated with the remote client (as shown below).

You can connect to multiple Automate Desktop clients but only one client can be managed at a time. However, you can easily switch back and forth to connected clients by simply selecting the computer icon associated to each connection. This allows for easy management and execution of tasks that reside locally or on other computers. For more information, see Remote Administration.

Shortcut menu

A number of commands and operations are available by way of a shortcut menu that appears when performing a right-click inside the Managed Tasks panel. Menu items vary depending on whether you are right-clicking a connection, folder or empty region. The table below describes each:

Item Description
Disconnect Disconnects the current connection. This item is available only when a right-click performed on a connection. It is not available when right-clicking a folder.
Disconnect and Remove Disconnects the current connection and removes it from the Managed Tasks panel. This item is available only when a right-click performed on a connection. It is not available when right-clicking a folder.
New Creates a new object in the current location. The available options are:
  • Managed Task - Creates a new managed task in the current location.
  • Folder - Creates a folder in the current location.
Import Imports one or more tasks to the current location. More on importing tasks
Collapse Compresses the view of connection or folder hierarchy so that only the root is visible. This item is available only when a right-click performed on an object that is collapsible.
NOTE: A collapse or expand operation can also be performed by clicking the arrow to the left of an object.  
Cut Removes the folder from its current location and places it in a buffer (or clipboard). The folder can then be placed in another location using the Paste operation. This item is available only when a right-click performed on a folder. It is not available when right-clicking a connection.
Copy Creates a duplicate of the folder and places it in a buffer (or clipboard). This item is available only when a right-click performed on a folder. It is not available when right-clicking a connection.
Paste Copies the folder (previously placed in a clipboard by the Cut or Copy command) onto the location specified. This item is available only when a right-click performed on a folder. It is not available when right-clicking a connection.
Delete Permanently deletes the specified folder. As a safety measure, whenever a delete is performed, a prompt will appear confirming this operation. This item is available only when a right-click performed on a folder. It is not available when right-clicking a connection.
Rename Renames the specified folder. This item is available only when a right-click performed on a folder. It is not available when right-clicking a connection.
Refresh Updates the currently displayed data with new data. Since connection is by way of TCP/IP, a slow or sudden loss of connection followed by a re-connection may require a refresh.
Properties Displays the properties of the specified connection or folder.