Sequence Tasks

By default, JAMS has a variety of Sequence Tasks that you can use within a Sequence Job. The sections below describe the available tasks based on the groups within the Tasks Toolbox within the Sequence Editor.

All tasks have a Display Title property that allows you to enter text to identify the Task in the Design Area. Additional properties will be available based on the selected Task.

NOTE: The following Sequence Tasks require the JAMS Client, JAMS Agent, and JAMS Scheduler to be updated to the same version: Automate, Command Script, Oracle, SAP, Banner, and Event Tasks. If an older JAMS Client or JAMS Agent is used with a newer JAMS Scheduler, you may see an error message and you may be unable to edit the Task. If this occurs, upgrade the JAMS Client or JAMS Agent.

Control Flow

Sequence

The Sequence Task is used to organize Jobs and tasks to run in a sequential order. You can have a Sequence within a Sequence.

Parallel

The Parallel Task is used to group Tasks to run at the same time and in parallel.

Properties

Property Description
Display Title Enter the text to identify the Task in the Design Area.

JAMS

Submit Job Task

The Submit Job Task is used to submit a Job that may or may not be in another Sequence. The properties listed below are the default properties. Additional properties may be available depending on the selected Job/Task. You can hover your cursor over a property to view a tooltip to see if the value is inherited from another property.

Properties

Property Description
Only Submit On Select the only dates that the Job will run. For example, if this value is set to Monday and the Job is submitted on Tuesday, the Job will not run. Examples include workdays, weekdays, daily, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, 1st Friday of the month, 1st day of the month, and last day of the month.
Schedule For Date Select the dates that the Job will run. For example, if the Sequence runs every Monday and the value for this property is set to Tuesday, the Job will run on Tuesday. Examples include workdays, weekdays, daily, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, 1st Friday of the month, 1st day of the month, and last day of the month.
Scheduled Time Enter the time of day that the Job should start, such as 5:00 PM.
Scheduling Priority Enter the priority for the Job that is used when two Jobs are scheduled at the same time. The Job with the higher number has the higher priority and will run first. Values can be between 0 and 1000.
Submit On Hold When this option is selected, the Job is put on a manual hold and will not run when the Job is submitted. The Job will need to be released in the Monitor view or from an API call. By default, this option is not selected.
Except For Date Select the dates that the Job will not run. Examples include workdays, weekdays, daily, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, 1st Friday of the month, 1st day of the month, and last day of the month.
Display Title Enter the text to identify the Task in the Design Area.

NOTE: As a best practice, ensure that the Display Titles for Submit Job Tasks are unique. Otherwise, the parameters for Tasks with the same Display Titles will be grouped together in the Submit Job window.

Override Job Name Enter the name to display for the Job in the Monitor view rather than the name in the Job Definition. This is useful if the same Job is submitted using different parameters and the Job needs to have a unique name in the Monitor.
Prompt for Parameter Values When this option is selected, the parameters are displayed in the Submit dialog when the Sequence is manually submitted. By default, this option is disabled.
Submit Job Select the Job that will be run for the Submit Job Task.
Use Parameters When this option is selected, JAMS finds parameters on the Sequence Job that match the names of parameters on the Job being submitted and uses the values from the Sequence parameters.
Wait When this option is selected, the Sequence will wait for this Job to complete before continuing to the next Job/Task. By default, this option is enabled.

Review the following when using the Wait property:

  • If subsequent Jobs are dependent on prior Jobs completing first, the Wait property should be selected.
  • Sequences will continue to show “Executing” in the Monitor until all child Jobs complete. If you want to know when a Sequence is running longer than normal, set a runaway event with a notification on the Sequence.
  • To have a Sequence continue to subsequent steps if a step fails, wrap any Jobs in a failure action rather than clearing the Wait property.
  • Rather than clearing the Wait property, you can also remove the Job from the Sequence and run it separately.
Ignore State Change When this option is enabled, any changes to the state of this Job are ignored and not displayed in the Monitor view. For example, if a Submit Job Task submits another Sequence entry, if the child Sequence is halted, the icon in the parent Sequence should reflect this. By default, this option is enabled.
Completion Severity Select the severity that the Job must have for the Sequence to continue. If the Job does not have this severity, the Sequence will halt.
Final Severity Review this read-only field that displays the severity of the completed Job. This value can be used in bindings if it is needed for other properties.
Final Status Review this read-only field that displays the status of the completed Job. This value can be used in bindings if it is needed for other properties.
Final Status Code Review this read-only field that displays the status code of the completed Job. This value can be used in bindings if it is needed for other properties.
JAMS Entry Review this read-only field that displays the JAMS Entry number of the completed Job. This value can be used in bindings if it is needed for other properties.
Element Name Review this read-only field that displays the element name.
Job Parameters Review the collection of parameters that is used when the Job is submitted. These are the parameters in the Job Definition.
Log Filename Enter the location where the submitted Jobs log file is saved. Changing this value lets you change the default location for this file. It has the same effect as using the LogFileName argument in the Submit-JAMEntry PowerShell cmdlet.

Failure Action

Select the preferred action for a Job/Task if it fails. You can include one or more Tasks within a Failure Action. After the Job is submitted, you can access right-click menu options for Skip and Hold. When one of these options is selected, JAMS will skip/hold all Tasks inside the container that can be moved to that new state. Set the properties listed below.

Properties

Property Description
Failure Action Set the desired behavior if a child Task within the Failure Action Task fails. You can select Fail to have the Sequence Job to fail or select Continue to have the Sequence Job continue.
Display Title Enter the text to identify the Task in the Design Area.

Coordinators

Set Event

Enter a name to create an event that is used with the Wait for Event Task to allow custom branching within a Sequence, which is similar to the SetEvent Workflow activity. The name is not case-sensitive. The Wait for Event Task resumes execution as soon as the Set Event Task is completed in the Sequence.

Clear Event

Reset the event that is specified in the Set Event Task. This allows you to use the same event in multiple places in a Sequence.

Wait for Event

Enter the name of the event from the Set Event Task to set the Sequence to wait for that event to complete. The name is not case-sensitive. If the Set Event Task has already completed, the Wait for Event Task runs immediately and allows the next Task to run.

Properties

Property Description
Event Name Enter the name for the event.
Display Title Enter the text to identify the Task in the Design Area.

SQL

SQL Stored Procedure

The SQL Stored Procedure Task is used to run a stored procedure that is in a SQL database. If the task has a DataSet property set on it, the stored procedure output DataSet will be stored in Sequence session storage. To use this Task, specify the SQL Connection and Stored Procedure properties as described below.

You can also select Parameters for this Sequence Task in the Parameters field. If needed, you can refresh the list of parameters by clicking the Refresh icon in the upper right corner of the Parameters editor.

SQL Query

The SQL Query Task is used to query a SQL database using native scripting. If the task has a DataSet property set on it, the query output DataSet will be stored in Sequence session storage. To use this Task, specify the SQL Connection and Query properties as described below.

Get Value

The Get Value Sequence Task is used to get a specific value from a SQL database. To use this Task, specify the Table, Column, Row, and Output Key properties as described below.

Properties

Property Description
Display Title Enter the text to identify the Task in the Design Area.
SQL Connection Enter the JAMS Connection that points to the SQL Server.
Database (Optional) Enter a database to override the initial catalog/database that is on the connection string in the SQL Connection.
Stored Procedure Select the stored procedure in the SQL database.
Query Enter the SQL query.
DataSet Enter the dataset name to store either the SQL Stored Procedure or SQL Query dataset in the Sequence session storage. Any text value can be used.
Table Select the table in the database that has the value that you want to find.
Column Select the column in the table that has the value that you want to find.
Row Select the row in the table that has the value that you want to find.
Output Key Enter a name for the output key to store the relevant data into the sequence runspace. This value can be used in another activity, such as PowerShell. If the Output Key does not have a value, the Sequence Task will display an exception.

Windows

Command Script

The Command Script Sequence Task lets you execute Windows commands using the Command shell within a Sequence Job. This Task functions the same way as the Windows Command Job in JAMS. The output for the script is displayed on the Log Files tab for the Monitor Entry.

Properties

Property Description
Display Title Enter the text to identify the Task in the Design Area.
Script Enter the script that will run.

PowerShell Script

The PowerShell Task is used to let you run a PowerShell script as a Job within a Sequence. Set the properties listed below.

Properties

Property Description
Display Title Enter the text to identify the Task in the Design Area.
Script Enter the PowerShell script that will run.
Input Variable Enter the PowerShell variable that will be the input to this command or script.
Output Variable Enter the PowerShell variable that will be set to the pipeline output of this command or script.


File Transfer

File Transfer Download

The File Transfer Download Sequence Task lets you download a file from a remote location to a local path. To use this Task, specify the Credentials, File Transfer Connection, File Not Found Severity, Local Path, Remote Path, and Recursive properties as described below.

File Transfer Upload

The File Transfer Upload Sequence Task lets you upload a file from a local path to a remote location. To use this Task, specify the Credentials, File Transfer Connection, File Not Found Severity, Local Path, Remote Path, and Recursive properties as described below.

File Transfer Rename

The File Transfer Rename Sequence Task lets you specify a new path and name for a file or directory on the remote location. To use this Task, specify the Credentials, File Transfer Connection, File Not Found Severity, New File Name, and Original File Path properties as described below.

File Transfer Delete

The File Transfer Delete Sequence Task lets you delete a file in the remote location. To use this Task, specify the Credentials, File To Delete, File Transfer Connection, and File Not Found Severity properties as described below.

File Transfer Get File Last Modified

The File Transfer Get File Last Modified Sequence Task lets you get a file based on the last date that it was modified. To use this Task, specify the Credentials, File Transfer Connection, File Not Found Severity, Last Modified Date, and Remote Path properties as described below.

File Transfer Send Command

The File Transfer Send Command Sequence Task lets you send native FTP commands, such as dir and get, to an FTP site. To use this Task, specify the Credentials, File Transfer Connection, Command, and File Not Found Severity properties as described below.

File Transfer Set Permissions

The File Transfer Set Permissions Sequence Task lets you set the permissions for a file on an FTP site. To use this Task, set the Credentials, File Transfer Connection, File Not Found Severity, and Remote Path properties. You can also set one or more of the following properties: User Read, User Write, User Execute, Group Read, Group Write, Group Execute, Other Read, Other Write, Other Execute.

Properties

Property Description
Credentials Select FTP credentials that are saved as a JAMS Credential.
Display Title Enter the text to identify the Task in the Design Area.
File Transfer Connection Select the FTP Connection from the Connection Store to connect to the remote server.
File Not Found Severity Select the completion severity for the Task if the selected file is not available.
Local Path Enter the path on the local machine where the file is found or where it will be saved. It can be a local path or UNC path.
Remote Path Enter the path to the file on the remote FTP server.
Recursive Select the checkbox to perform the action recursively and look within any subfolders to find the specified file.
New File Name Enter the new path and name for the file or directory on the remote FTP server.
Original File Path Enter the path to the file on the remote FTP server.
File To Delete Enter the path to the file that you want to delete on the remote FTP server.
Last Modified Date Select the date that the file was last modified.
Command Enter the native FTP commands, such as dir and get, to a remote FTP server.
User Read Enable the file to be readable by the owning user.
User Write Enable the file to be writable by the owning user.
User Execute Enable the file to be executable by the owning user.
Group Read Enable the file to be readable by users in the owning group.
Group Write Enable the file to be writable by users in the owning group.
Group Execute Enable the file to be executable by users in the owning group.
Other Read Enable the file to be readable by users other than the owner or group.
Other Write Enable the file to be writable by users other than the owner or group.
Other Execute Enable the file to be executable by users other than the owner or group.

Integration Sequence Tasks

The following Sequence Tasks are available if the integration has been installed/added to JAMS.

NOTE: The following Sequence Tasks require the JAMS Client, JAMS Agent, and JAMS Scheduler to be updated to the same version: Automate, Oracle, SAP, Banner, and Event Tasks. If an older JAMS Client or JAMS Agent is used with a newer JAMS Scheduler, you may see an error message and you may be unable to edit the Task. If this occurs, upgrade the JAMS Client or JAMS Agent.

Automate

The Automate Sequence Task lets you import an AML file and run it within the Sequence Job. Set the properties listed below.

Properties

Property Description
Display Title Enter a name for the Automate Task, if necessary. (This field is updated after the AML file is selected for the Automate Task field.) By default, it is the name of the Automate Task from within the AML file or it is the name of the AML file, without the file extension.
Automate Task Click in the field to browse to the location of the AML file and then click Open. After the AML file is selected and imported into the Automate Sequence Task, its contents are saved within JAMS and the AML file is no longer needed.
Automate Variables Verify the variables were correctly imported from the AML file. The variable names are read-only. You can edit the value for a variable only if the ISPARAMETER attribute in the AML file is set. This is displayed as the Is Parameter checkbox under the variable value.

Ensure the variables in AML files are not named "path", which is a reserved term. Using this term may cause issues when running the Automate Task in JAMS. If a variable is named "path", update the variable name within Automate before creating the AML file.
Output Names Enter a list of comma-separated names that will be used as variables to receive values from Automate Desktop, if the variable names match the names sent from Automate. Successor Tasks can use these values by using the specified name surrounded by brackets. For example, if you enter “output1” in the Output Names field, enter “{output1}” in a field in a successor Task to use that value.

If a variable has the ISPARAMETER attribute set in the AML file, the variable cannot be used in the Output Names field. When this attribute is set, the variable value is not accessible to other Sequence Tasks in JAMS.

Banner

The Banner Procedure Sequence Task lets you run Banner Jobs within a Sequence Job in JAMS. Set the properties listed below.

You can also select Parameters for this Sequence Task in the Banner Parameters field. If needed, you can refresh the list of parameters by clicking the Refresh icon in the upper right corner of the Parameters editor.

NOTE: These options are available only if the Banner Integration Pack has been installed.
Property Description
Display Title Enter the text to identify the Task in the Design Area.
Banner Connection Set the Connection Store for connecting to Banner.
Banner Job Select the Banner Job to run.
Banner User Set the JAMS Credential for the Banner user. This Credential is used to run Jobs.
Parameter Set Select the Parameter Set for the Banner Job.
Printer Name Set the name of the printer to use.
Form Name Set the name of the Banner form.
Submit Time Set the submit time for the Banner Job.
Include .log file Include the contents of the .log file into the JAMS Entry Log. Multiple .log files can be included in the JAMS Log.
Include .lis file Include the contents of the .lis file into the JAMS Entry Log. Multiple .lis files can be included in the JAMS Log.
Log File Polling Interval Set the polling time for the Banner .log and .lis files. The default is 30 seconds. It is recommended that this value be set to a value that slightly exceeds the expected run time of the Job.
MIME Type Set the type of file used to format reports/output files. Select PDF or Plain Text.
Special Print Set the field that may be used to pass information to 3rd-party applications.
PDF Font Set the type of font to use for PDF reports.
PDF Font Size Set the size of the font to use for PDF reports.
Environment Type Set the type of environment for the Banner instance to either Unix or Windows. By default, this option is set to Unix. If the Oracle database instance is running on Windows rather than Unix, set this option to Windows.

Oracle

NOTE: These option are available only if the Oracle Integration has been installed. See ConfiguringTheOracleStoredProcExecutionMethod for more information.

Oracle Stored Procedure

You can connect to an Oracle database to run a stored procedure by running the Oracle Stored Procedure Sequence Task. The Task uses the stored procedure name, the stored procedure parameters with their values, and executes them all against the external Oracle Connection database. If the Task has a DataSet property set on it, the stored procedure output DataSet will be stored in Sequence session storage.

Set the Oracle Connection and Stored Procedure properties as described below.

You can also select Parameters for this Sequence Task in the Parameters field. If needed, you can refresh the list of parameters by clicking the Refresh icon in the upper right corner of the Parameters editor.

Oracle Query

You can run a query in an Oracle database by using the Oracle Query Sequence Task. The Task will use the provided query and execute it against the external Oracle Connection database. If the Task has a DataSet property set on it, the query output DataSet object will be stored in Sequence session storage.

Set the Oracle Connection and Query properties as described below.

Properties

Property Description
Display Title Enter the text to identify the Task in the Design Area.
Oracle Connection Select the Oracle Connection to use to connect to the database.
Data Source Optional. Enter a datasource to override the Data Source property on the Connection String of the Oracle Connection.
Stored Procedure Select the stored procedure from the Oracle database. After the stored procedure is selected, the stored procedure parameters are loaded into the Parameters property on the Task.
Query Enter the query that you want to run.
DataSet Optional. Enter the dataset to store the DataSet output to Sequence session storage for use within the Sequence.

SAP

You can use a variety of Sequence Tasks with SAP. Ensure you have created a Credential and a Connection in the Connection Store before using these Sequence Tasks.

NOTE: These options are available only if the SAP Integration Pack has been installed.

SAP Create Intercept Entry

You can create an Intercept entry within SAP by running the SAP Create Intercept Entry task. This will match Job names that should be intercepted by SAP. When a Job is intercepted it is prevented from starting, similar to putting a manual hold on a JAMS Job. Set the SAP Connection, Client, Job Creator, and Job Name properties as described below.

SAP Delete Job

You can delete an existing Job in SAP by running the Delete SAP Job task. Set the SAP Connection, Job Name, and Job Number properties as described below.

SAP Job

You can run an existing SAP background job by using the SAP Job Sequence Task. The Job Name and Job Number are both required to identify the Job in SAP. The Job will run using the same steps and settings that are on the existing Job in SAP. If the Job is in a pre-execution state such as Intercepted, the existing Job will be released to run. If the Job has already started, the Sequence Task will copy the Job and start the copy.

After you set up this Task, ensure the Job is not deleted on the SAP server because JAMS will not be able to run the Job. Set the SAP Connection, Job Name, Job Number, Execute Immediately, and Wait for Child Jobs properties as described below.

SAP Log Intercepted Jobs

You can view all Jobs that are intercepted in SAP. After this task runs, the Sequence Job log will contain a list of all intercepted Jobs in SAP that matches the list of intercepted Jobs in the SAP client. Set the SAP Connection property as described below.

SAP Process Chain

Run an SAP Process Chain by selecting the SAP Connection from the Connection Store and the Process Chain ID. Set the SAP Connection and Process Chain Id properties as described below.

SAP Raise Event

If a Job is dependent on an SAP event before it can run, you can use this Sequence Task to indicate the dependency has been met. This will allow the dependent Job to run. Set the SAP Connection, Event Name, and Parameter properties as described below.

Properties

Property Description
Display Title Enter the text to identify the Task in the Design Area.
SAP Connection Select the appropriate SAP Connection from the Connection Store.
Client Enter the three-character ID for the SAP Client instance.
Job Creator Enter the name of the person who created the Job that will be intercepted.
Job Name Enter the name of the Job in SAP that will be intercepted/put on hold.
Job Number Enter the number of the Job in SAP.
Execute Immediately Select the checkbox to have the SAP Job run immediately, or clear the checkbox to have the Job run ASAP.
Wait for Child Jobs Select the checkbox to force the parent Job to wait for the child Jobs to complete, or clear the checkbox to allow the parent Job to complete before the child Jobs have run (finished).
Process Chain Id Enter the ID of the Process Chain that you want to run.
Event Name Enter the Event Name that is defined in SAP. This is related to the Start Condition option in SAP.
Parameter Enter a parameter for the event.