Set up scheduling and triggering processes in Scheduling
Use the Scheduling feature in Productsup to let your sites run automatically based on your desired schedules and triggers.
Introduction
The Scheduling feature in Productsup enables you to create schedules and trigger events to let your sites run automatically based on the desired conditions.
In Scheduling, there are two (2) tabs:
Site Scheduling - Using this tab, you create schedules to choose when your site should run.
Triggering - Using this tab, you can choose which events in other sites should trigger the runs of your current site.
Schedules and trigger events always start a full site run. A full run imports data from your data sources, optimizes, processes, and sends it to your export channels.
Caution
You can't set up schedules and trigger events for separate data sources or exports. All scheduling and triggering options always start a full site run.
A site can never have two (2) simultaneous runs. If you schedule a site or set up a trigger event to make a site run while it is already running, the new run request goes into a queue. Once the current run is over, the next one can begin.
Tip
Leave enough time between your scheduled runs to let the site process. Otherwise, the platform queues the runs.
Locate the Scheduling feature
To locate the Scheduling feature, do the following:
Go to a desired site in your Productsup account.
Open the site's main menu on the left.
Select Scheduling.
Schedule your site runs in Site Scheduling
When you have at least one schedule in the Site Scheduling tab, you can select the downward arrow (˅) at the end of every schedule row to expand the information and check the exact times when a schedule runs without opening the schedule-editing page.
Create a schedule
To schedule automated runs for your sites, follow these steps:
Go to Scheduling from your site's main menu and select Add site schedule.
The following ADD SCHEDULE menu pops up on your screen:
In Start date, select the date when your scheduling interval should start.
Example: it's Friday, March 10, and you want your site to run every hour on Mondays but not on the coming Monday, March 13. In this case, you can set your start date for Monday, March 20.
In the Quick selection section, you can choose one of the following three (3) options or a combination of them:
Every day - The schedule will run the site every day starting on the date selected in Start date.
Every 2nd day - The schedule will run the site every odd-numbered day of the month. That means on days 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, etc.
Example: it's Thursday, March 9. If you select this day as your start date and choose the option Every 2nd day, the first run of the site based on this schedule occurs the same day. All consecutive runs of the site will occur every other day. The next site runs will be on March 11, March 13, March 15, etc.
Warning
If your start date is an even-numbered day of the month, such as March 10, the option Every 2nd day won't start the first site run on your selected start date. Instead, the schedule will start the first site run on the following day, such as March 11, and keep running the site every other day starting from then. The next site runs will be on March 13, March 15, etc.
Every hour - The schedule will run the site every hour of every day starting on the date selected in Start date.
You can also limit the days on which the site should run hourly by using this option together with the days selection shown in Step 4.
In the Day(s) section, you can choose the days of the week when the site should run:
Note
You can't select specific days of the week if you chose Every 2nd day in Step 3.
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
In the Hour(s) section, select the hour or hours of the day when the schedule should start a site run.
If you need the site to run at a specific minute within the hour, uncheck the box Random and enter a number from
0to59in Minutes.Warning
Due to the technicalities of site processing and load balancing, your site may not run at the specific minute entered in this field. Sometimes, the site may run up to five (5) minutes earlier or later than the desired minute.
In the section This schedule, do the following:
Leave the default selection Never ends if your schedule shouldn't have an end date.
Select Ends if your schedule should stop running the site at a specific date. Choose the specific date in End date.
Select Save.
A schedule example
For example, you need your site to run three (3) times a day, namely in the morning, afternoon, and evening, every other day for a week starting on March 27. The schedule setup for your use case can look similar to this:
Tip
If you need a more elaborate system of schedules to run your sites, you can split the desired site run plan into parts and set up multiple schedules to fulfill your planning needs.
See the scheduling details
You can check the details of each schedule, such as:
Starting hours and minutes of the schedule
Ending date and time
Daily frequency, if available
Schedule status.
To see the schedule details:
Go to Scheduling from your site's main menu.
Select the downward arrow (˅) for the necessary schedule in the list.
Set the timezone and time format
When you add your first site schedule, you can select the timezone your schedules should use. The Timezone drop-down menu is at the bottom of the schedules table.
Important
All schedules of one site use the same timezone.
To change the time format to the 12-hour clock, toggle Use the 24-hour format to Off.
Edit a schedule
Go to Scheduling from your site's main menu.
Select the ellipsis icon (...) next to the needed schedule to open a context menu.
Select Edit.
Once finished with the new settings, select Save.
Delete a schedule
Go to Scheduling from your site's main menu.
Select the ellipsis icon (...) next to the needed schedule to open a context menu.
Select Delete.
Check the box I understand and accept the risks associated with deleting this schedule. and select Confirm.
Let other sites trigger your site's runs in Triggering
In the Triggering tab, you can see the following tables:
Trigger sites and events affecting this site - This is a table with a list of trigger events that your current site uses to start its runs.
Sites using this site as a trigger - This is a table with a list of trigger events that other sites use to start their runs based on the actions in your current site.
Tip
To see both tables, you need to create at least one trigger event in two (2) different sites.
In the Triggering tab, you can add, edit, and delete a trigger event for your current site. You can't edit or delete other sites' trigger events that depend on your current site's actions.
Warning
The triggered site run counts as syndication and adds to the total sum of the syndication frequency count. Keep it in mind when setting the triggering to escape the syndication frequency overages. See Syndication frequency overages for more information.
Create a trigger event
To let your site run whenever a particular event occurs in a different site, set up a trigger event by following these steps:
Go to Scheduling from your site's main menu.
Open the Triggering tab and select Add trigger event.
The following ADD TRIGGER EVENT menu pops up on your screen:
In Site, choose a site where the platform should wait for a trigger event to start a run in your current site.
Note
You can't select your current site in the Site drop-down menu. A trigger event must occur in any site apart from your current one.
In Event, choose the action that should occur in your trigger site to start a run in your current site. The possible trigger events are:
Job done - A run finished in your trigger site.
Export {export name} Done - A particular export in your trigger site finished sending data to its destination.
In Comment, you can add a note explaining the logic behind this trigger event for your and other users' reference.
Select Save.
Edit a trigger event
Go to Scheduling from your site's main menu.
Open the Triggering tab and select the ellipsis icon (...) next to the needed trigger event to open a context menu.
Select Edit.
Once finished with the new settings, select Save.
Delete a trigger event
Go to Scheduling from your site's main menu.
Open the Triggering tab and select the ellipsis icon (...) next to the needed trigger event to open a context menu.
Select Delete.
Check the box I understand and accept the risks associated with deleting this trigger. and select Confirm.
