The Acme Data Pump can be configured to to run automatically via Windows Task Scheduler. This topic assumes you have a working knowledge of Windows Task Scheduler. If you need additional assistance please contact technical support.
Common Scenario...
Central Acme run Get then Send, every 20 minutes starting at ten minutes after the hour. (10, 30, 50)
Stores run Get then Send every 20 minutes starting at the top of the hour. (00, 20, 40)
or Central and Store...
00,30 and 15, 45
00 and 30
If you experience issues running Task Scheduler we can perform this task for you, as part of our "Worry Free IT" program.
AcmeDataPump1.EXE command line arguments (aka switches), these are not case sensitive; use no slashes, no dashes, or quotes:
•AUTOSTART -auto starts the process, this is not optional.
•HIDE -hides Data Pump user interface, this is included for testing. Use of this switch is NOT mandatory in a production environment that you want to run unattended. Hide stops the task from showing up on Windows Task Bar and in Task Manager as an Application. It will however show up as a service in Task Manager.
When the HIDE switch is used as part of Satellite Store SENDTRANSTOCENTRALACME no data will be sent, unless there are transaction(s) to send. If the switch is omitted, data will always be sent.
If purchase orders are not getting sent back to Central perhaps the HIDE switch is being used and their are no transactions to send.
•STATISTICS -display statistics when completed, provided Data Pump user interface is not set to HIDE. Not generally used in a production environment since it requires user intervention to complete the pump.
Important Notes:
1.Windows Task Scheduler has an options that trump some of above arguments. For example if you configure the task to "Run whether user is logged in or not" then HIDE is effectively ignored, the task is always run out of site.
2.In most environments the Data Pump only needs to be run once in each direction per day. Most stores Import from Host in the morning and Post to Host in the evening. Get Update from Central in the morning and Send Transactions to Central in the evening. This being said, you can be run more often if desired/required. If you have multiple stores odds are you will use FTP server to move your Acme data between them. The server included with Acme is designed to handle twice a day schedules. If you want to use a greater frequency we can move you to a higher volume server (ours or yours) for a small monthly fee.
3.The Data Pump can only perform one action (import, post, get, send) at a time. Put the actions in a single Task Scheduler task or create separate tasks with plenty of time between them.
4.If you run Data Pump manually close it when finished or subsequent scheduled tasks cannot start.
5.You will likely try to schedule tasks to run when no user is logged into Windows. If you have multiple stores and use a VPN drive instead of FTP for file transfer you may find that Sending / Getting data to and from mapped drives will fail, since drive mappings often occur via user log-in script. The fix is to switch to using UNC paths instead of mapped drives, this is done in Data Pump setup.
6.If you experience issues / errors of any type see "Troubleshooting" below.
In addition to Windows Task Scheduler's history capability, the Acme Event Log also keeps track of the date/time that "Post to Host" and "Import from Host" are run in a Central Acme (only). From within Acme click >File >Administration Event Log.
Tip: Edit the path if necessary then copy the samples from below and paste them into the program/script control on the Scheduled Task's "Actions" tab. The schedule will parse the arguments for you.
Switches for Acme and Host Accounting System
•BRIDGEIMPORTFROMHOST
•BRIDGEPOSTTOHOST
C:\AcmePOS\AcmeDataPump1.Exe BRIDGEIMPORTFROMHOST AUTOSTART HIDE
C:\AcmePOS\AcmeDataPump1.Exe BRIDGEPOSTTOHOST AUTOSTART HIDE
If you are posting or importing to/from QuickBooks you must be logged into the correct company or no company at all, otherwise a message like this will pop up and the process will end. Other hosts do not have this limitation.
Also see Post to Host > Reset Posted Batches
Switches for Central Acme to communicate with Satellite Stores
•GETTRANSFRSATELLITESTORE
•SENDUPDATETOSATELLITESTORE
C:\AcmePOS\AcmeDataPump1.Exe GETTRANSFRSATELLITESTORE AUTOSTART HIDE
C:\AcmePOS\AcmeDataPump1.Exe SENDUPDATETOSATELLITESTORE AUTOSTART HIDE
Switches for Satellite Stores to communicate with Central Acme
•GETUPDATEFRCENTRALACME
•SENDTRANSTOCENTRALACME
With the following, data will be sent regardless of whether or not there are transactions to send:
C:\AcmePOS\AcmeDataPump1.Exe GETUPDATEFRCENTRALACME AUTOSTART HIDE
C:\AcmePOS\AcmeDataPump1.Exe SENDTRANSTOCENTRALACME AUTOSTART
With the following, no data will be sent unless there are transaction to send:
C:\AcmePOS\AcmeDataPump1.Exe GETUPDATEFRCENTRALACME AUTOSTART HIDE
C:\AcmePOS\AcmeDataPump1.Exe SENDTRANSTOCENTRALACME AUTOSTART HIDE
Central and Satellite on One Computer
Use a switch to dictate the path to the DBC, and run as part of a single scheduled task:
C:\AcmePOS\AcmeDataPump1.Exe "DBPATH=c:\acmepos\centraldata" GETUPDATEFRCENTRALACME AUTOSTART HIDE
C:\AcmePOS\AcmeDataPump1.Exe "DBPATH=c:\acmepos\centraldata" SENDTRANSTOCENTRALACME AUTOSTART
C:\AcmePOS\AcmeDataPump1.Exe "DBPATH=c:\acmepos\data" GETUPDATEFRCENTRALACME AUTOSTART HIDE
C:\AcmePOS\AcmeDataPump1.Exe "DBPATH=c:\acmepos\data" SENDTRANSTOCENTRALACME AUTOSTART
Also see Multi Store > Reset Sent Batches
Example:
Troubleshooting
1.Can you run the same action(s) in pump manually, without issue or error? If so, the problem is with Windows, as the code that runs in Acme is the same no matter how it is invoked. Task scheduler seems to work best on Server OS, and have more issues on desktop OS's.
2.If Task Scheduler has other task to perform, consider removing them. Perhaps they are conflicting.
3.If Task Scheduler is accessing network resources, you may have timing / resources access issues. Remember the task does not run as the logged in user and consider moving the job to actual server if possible.
4.If you have actions set to HIDE, remove that switch and try the again. Additional information may become visible.
5.If you have two actions in one Task, split them into two tasks and test again.
6.If issues continue or you want the best possible solution we could handle this for you as part of our "Worry Free IT" program, this would eliminate Windows Task Scheduler from use and allow for tightest possible schedules. Inquire for details.
