7.3

Input Tasks
Input tasks are the starting point to any process and determine what file this process will being with. Each process must begin
with an input tasks, and although a given process may have multiple input tasks, no task can have more than one initial input
task.
Initial Input Tasks
Initial input tasks are always at the beginning of a process and are always triggered when the process starts. The process
itself may start on a schedule or poll at regular intervals, which means the initial input task only runs whenever the process is
set to run. For more information about what happens outside of the process scheduled times and to learn how to set the sched-
ule, see "Access Process Properties" (page 39).
If an error occurs during an initial input task, the On Error tab is never triggered. See "Using the On Error tab" (page
225).
Input tasks may either poll a specific location, or await for jobs to be sent to a specific PlanetPress Workflow Service. It is not
recommended to have two initial input tasks capturing the same input location, for the following reasons:
l It is a "hit and miss"to know which of the two tasks will pick up the file. This is an issue if the two processes are dif-
ferent.
l One of the processes may process a file quicker than another and finish first, which may be an issue if the processing
relies on FIFO(First In, First Out).
l One process may error out as it's trying to capture an input that's currently being read by another one. This causes
issues if the process is on a schedule and only runs once per period.
Secondary Input Tasks
Secondary input tasks are placed in the process like an action task would and will replace the job file in the process with the file
they retrieve. Since they are part of the process, they can use data from previous tasks to pull data from a variable location.
Secondary inputs do not follow a separate schedule from the process - they are automatically run when the process triggers
them.
Secondary Input Task Considerations:
l If your initial input task does not start, either because there is no data to capture or because the process is out of its
schedule, any secondary input task will not run either.
l Secondary input tasks replace both the job file and the job info variables. They do not change local and global var-
iables.
l If your secondary input task creates a job file using a different emulation, you will need to use a "Change Emulation"
(page 126) task after the secondary input task to correctly change to that emulation.
Properties common to all input tasks
The "Other"tab is common to all input tasks and are available in the Properties of all input tasks.
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