Process automation FAQ

The following are frequently asked questions and recommendations regarding Process automation:

What is the difference between Standard and Plus?

Process automation - Standard is available to you out-of-the-box. The differences between Process automation - Standard and Plus vary between alerts and scheduled tasks:

Alerts

For more information about out-of-the-box alerts, see Overview of out-of-the-box alerts.

Table 1: Viewing Standard and Plus Alert types
Feature	Standard	Plus
Alert task	Enable/Disable
New alert task	x	Add, copy
Existing alert task	x	Edit name, description, type
Data sources	Add, edit and delete
Conditions	Add, edit and delete
Alert (Tab)
Data sources	Add, delete
Alert message	x	Edit
Alert set	Delete alerts	Add, delete, create new alert sets

Some out-of-the-box tasks are system alerts that are enabled and included in system alert sets by default for all installs and upgrades.

Scheduled tasks

All scheduled tasks are disabled by default. For more information about out-of-the-box scheduled tasks, see Overview of out-of-the-box scheduled tasks.

Table 2: Viewing Standard and Plus Scheduled Tasks types
Feature	Standard	Plus
Scheduled tasks	Enable/Disable
New scheduled tasks	x	Add, copy
Existing scheduled tasks	x	Edit name, description, type
Triggers	Add, edit and delete
Conditions	Add, edit and delete
Actions	Edit	Add, edit, delete
Action type	x	Edit
Send a communication	Edit the Recipient data source
Run a report	Edit the Run a report action
Run a stored procedure	x	Edit
Data sources	Add, edit and delete
Logs	Search by status and start dates

Why does the task trigger, but the email isn't sent?

Typically, communication templates are setup and designed before they are used in a scheduled task. When this template is configured, you can choose a default recipient query (Choose recipients), and begin using the Insert fields available to you because of the chosen recipient query.

If you use this same communication template in a scheduled task and select a different Recipient data source, recipient fields used in the template need to have a corresponding Display column in the query used as the Recipient data source in the action. You can click on the communication template in the action to verify that the fields are mapped. Any that are not mapped will display an error.

Example

A communication template was designed using the New members in the last 7 days query as the recipient query.

This recipient query contains Join Date and Paid Through date details that are also used in the communication template body.

While creating the related Process Automation scheduled task that will automatically send this communication to new users, you choose a different recipient query.

This new recipient query does not contain the Join Date and Paid Through date properties as display columns, and the original recipient query in the communication template is not listed as a data source in the task.

Because of these reasons, the communication will fail to send and result with errors in the logs.

To fix this, you will need to add the initial recipient query to the Data sources tab so that the communication can locate the Join Date and Paid Through date properties.

If a task has multiple steps and one step fails, does the task stop running or do subsequent steps still get triggered?

The task stops running and the subsequent steps are not triggered.

How do I trigger a task to run based on a change to a panel data source?

To trigger a task to run based on a change to a panel data source, you must add the panel source's name as the table name in an On database change trigger. See Sending an automatic email based on a change to a panel data source.

How do I set up a triggered task on a database change? What criteria should I have in my filter?

For information about database changes, see Creating and editing scheduled tasks and Defining the Trigger.

What is the difference between #party.Email and #recipient.Email? How do I know which one to use?

You can define the recipients of the communication either while creating the communication template or when defining the scheduled task on the Actions tab. This is known as the recipient query. Any Display columns included in the recipient query are available to merge and insert into the communication. For example, if the recipient query defines an email display column, then the Insert field drop-down will display #recipient.Email.

The party data source contains contact information about each recipient and is available in every communication by default. However, the party insert information becomes useful only after a recipient query is selected. By default, the party query uses the selected contact information, with the selected contact being the person administering the communication.

Once a recipient query is selected, the communication creator identifies the ID column in the recipient query. This ID is then used to automatically provide additional party (contact) properties that you might want to use. In this example, there is no difference between #recipient.Email and #party.Email because the party data source is using the ID property from the recipient data source.

If you select Additional data sources, you can modify the query that the party data source is pulling from, resulting in a difference between #recipient.Email and #party.Email. The one you choose is determined by which query selected to pull email data from.

When should I use a condition?

A condition should be used if the task should only perform the action (such as sending an email) when the condition queries return results. For example, if you are scheduling an email to be sent to any new members who joined today, you can add a condition query of new members who joined today (same query that is used to send the email) so that the task will not even try to send the email if there are no new members. The task will still work if you do not include this condition, because it will attempt to send an email that has no recipients.

See Specifying Conditions for more information.

Can I use Process automation with Advanced email? What are the limitations?

Advanced email works the same way with Process automation as it does when sent manually. Process automation sends the communications on a schedule or trigger, eliminating the need for manual sending. There are a few limitations when defining an Advanced email template compared to a regular communication template, but these limitations are not specific to Process automation.

Be aware that scheduling overlapping email jobs will cause some delay. Advanced email jobs sent using a Process automation task are usually executed as defined in the Process automation task – whether on a schedule or by a database change. However, if there are other email jobs being processed at the time the Advanced email job is scheduled to go out, the task will be delayed until the earlier tasks are completed.

Can I use SSRS reports in my process automation tasks?

If the task action is Run a report, you can use an SSRS report, but the report must be a standalone SSRS report. This means that the data must be completely contained in the report. If the data is being passed into the report using an IQA query, the report will not populate and the end user will essentially receive a report with no data. See Creating standalone SSRS reports for more information.

If the task action is Send a communication and there is an SSRS report (standalone or IQA-based) attached to the communication template, the recipients ID will be passed through the task (if the report has a parameter for ID). At this time, the ID filter is the only supported filter.