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Automating Tasks

There are some tasks in ALMSys which may be automated. Automated means that the almsys.exe program may be run by a task scheduler with parameters.

For example, on a standalone ALMSys installation, the ALMSys shortcut's "Target" (in Properties) is "C:\ALMSysSQL\ProgramNew\ALMSys.exe". Parameters would be placed after the almsys.exe.

The first parameter is always, "autorun" (with a space after the .exe).

After autorun, the next parameter is what the task is. The following is a list of available tasks:

backup 
This will backup ALMSys and ALMSys Accounting (if you have accounting). You can add the parameter "upload" after "backup" if you want ALMSys to upload each backup to Support. An example target string would be "......\programnew\almsys.exe autorun backup upload". (Where the .... is the full path to the almsys.exe, which varies based on your ALMSys installation type.)

report
This will run a report. This is a bit more complex to set up, but here are the parameters to specify after the "report":

Internal Report Name: This may be found on the help display for each report. For example, if you go to your reports list and find the "Security Deposits" report, the internal report name is "SecurityDeposits".

Start Date: Either mm/dd/yyyy date, or one of the following (include the slash):

/yesterday
/today 
/tomorrow
/monthstart
/monthend
/yearstart
/yearend
/nextmonthstart
/nextmonthend
/nextyearstart
/nextyearend
/lastmonthstart
/lastmonthend
/lastyearstart
/lastyearend

The names should be self-describing. You can add or subtract days as well. For example, /today-5 will result in a date that is 5 days ago from today; /tomorrow+10 will result in a date that is 10 days from tomorrow. Use no spaces around the plus or minus signs.

End Date: Same as start date.

User ID for the Print Queue: You must specify a valid ALMSys user ID (that has report running abilities) for the resulting print queue entry.

Location Numbers to Report: ALL or specific location numbers in the format "0-2-3-7", which would only include locations 0, 2, 3, and 7.

Separate or Combine Locations: Use "separate" or "combine".

Spreadsheet Export: If you wish to have the resulting report exported to a spreadsheet, use "spreadsheet" as the last parameter. The resulting spreadsheet will be found in the user ID's users folder unless a folder is provided as the 10th parameter.

Spreadsheet Folder -or- EMail: If you export to a spreadsheet, you may optionally include a folder location. When this option is included, the filename will be formatted as "EXPORT-yyyymmddhhmmssttt-<internal report name>.xls". OR, you can specify to have spreadsheet emailed by using the format "EMAIL:xxx@yyy.com"

Here is an example of running a Security Deposits report for the current month, and having it exported to a spreadsheet. The user selected is "master" and we'll ask for all locations to be combined. Also, the "c:\almsyssql\export folder" is being requested for the resulting spreadsheet.

...almsys.exe autorun report securitydeposits /monthstart /monthend master all combine spreadsheet c:\almsyssql\export

The same request, but sending to ALMSys Support through email.
...almsys.exe autorun report securitydeposits /monthstart /monthend master all combine spreadsheet EMAIL:support@almsysinc.com


Audit Trail
Anything that is autorun will be logged into the audit trail under "$AUTORUN". When you run a report, the queue entry will be logged under the user's name selected. Running an audit trail detail report will allow you to see when the autorun started (log on) and ended (log off).