THE INFORMATION IN THIS ARTICLE APPLIES TO:

• EFT (All Versions)
  (Note: screen shots may differ from your version, but functionality is the same.)

QUESTION

How do I define an Event Rule to download a file from a remote server every day?

ANSWER

The Scheduler (Timer) Event allows you to execute one or more specified Actions to recur at specified intervals or just once. For example, you could schedule the Download Action to occur on July 8 at 10:03 a.m., or every Monday morning, or on the last Friday of every month at 2 a.m.

If the example above, if the file that you want to download is not yet in the remote directory, the Rule will fail for that particular instance of the Timer running, but it will run again at the next scheduled time (e.g., every four hours). In the case of Timer Rules, "Stop processing this rule" means "do not execute any further Actions with this Rule" (such as sending an email), but it does NOT mean that the Timer will stop. For example, if you have defined the Rule to run every hour, the Timer Rule will fail when the file is not in the remote location, but the Timer Rule will run again the next hour, and the next hour, and so on, until you tell it to stop (by manually disabling it).

Note: You can use the Event Rule to execute a script that accesses a remote server, downloads a file, deletes the source file, and then disables the Rule (through COM), but the purpose of Event Rules is to not require a script.

To define a Timer Rule to download a remote file

1. Follow the procedure in "Creating Event Rules" in the help documentation for your version of EFT.

2. In the Create New Rule dialog box, click Scheduler (Timer) Event, then click OK. The new Rule appears in the Rule pane.

3. The Rule is defined by default to trigger each hour starting on the date that you create the Rule. To change the start date, start time, recurrence pattern, and/or interval, in the Rule pane, click repeat each 01:00:00.

4. In the Timer Event dialog box, specify the start time, start date, and recurrence pattern (frequency). (Refer to "Scheduler (Timer) Event" under "Event Triggers" in the help.)

5. Click OK. The changes appear in the Rule pane.

6. Specify the Action to occur when this Event is triggered:

   Define the download options:

   1. In the Actions list, click Download file from host. The Action is added to the Rule in the Rule pane.
   2. Click one of the undefined parameters in the Rule pane. The File Downloads Options dialog box appears.
   3. In the Protocol type box, click the down arrow to select a protocol for the connection. The port for the selected protocol changes automatically.
   4. In the Host address box, type the IP or host address of the remote server.
   5. In the Authentication area, type the user name and password needed to establish the connection.
   6. Click the Target File tab.
   7. In the Source area, specify the path to the file that you want to download.
   8. If you want to delete the file from the remote location after it is downloaded, select the Delete source file after it is transferred check box.
   9. In the Destination area, specify the path to the location in which to save the file.
   10. Click OK to save the file download options.

   Define an email notification. (Refer to the help topic, if necessary.)

   Below is an example of such a Rule (your specific settings will vary):

   

7. Click Run Now to test your Rule.

   Note: When you create a Timer rule, the Run Now button appears at the bottom of the Rule pane. When you click Run Now, EFT executes any actions associated with the Event, and any Rule construction errors are identified. You cannot perform any other operations in the administration interface while EFT tests the Rule. Multiple synchronous Actions defined in the Rule, such as move, copy, or download, take longer to test than asynchronous operations such as email notifications.

8. If there are no errors, a confirmation message appears asking you to verify the expected outcome. Click Continue to execute the Rule or Cancel to refine the Rule.

9. Click Apply to save the changes on EFT Server.