Background: Job Schedule Maintenance

Use the Job Schedule Maintenance (JOBS) program to create or change a job stream to automate printing of reports and documents. The PowerShift Job Scheduler can also launch a job to perform cleanup functions (e.g., terminate partitions of users who failed to log out, clear rogue partitions). Contact PowerShift Support for assistance in setting up a "housekeeping" job stream.

See also PowerAide: How to Set Up GL Registers for Automatic Scheduling, PowerAide: How to Schedule Print Queues for Automatic Processing, and Road Map.

Note
The job scheduler is disabled in when the system is in DEMO mode or a LOCKOUT is in effect; jobs can be started manually when in DEMO mode.

This topic has these subtopics:

• Types of Job Streams
• Scheduling Guidelines
• Report Options
• GL Register Job Stream
• Report Generator and QICLOOK Jobs
• Processing a Job Stream

Types of Job Streams

Important!
Each type of process that can be scheduled requires a separate job stream:

• PowerShift Reports
  Example: Since the planning reports may require significant processing and printing time, you schedule Finished Goods Planning (MFP) and Material Requirements Planning (MRP) programs to run when all users are logged off the system.

• GL Registers
  Example: Receiving registers are scheduled at 3:30PM each day when the dock closes.

• Report Generator/QICLOOK Reports
  Example: You schedule Report Generator sales reports to run after close of business every day and weekly summary reports to run on Fridays at 6PM.

• Print Queue Processing
  Example: Document print queues are processed at close of business each day.

• Erasing Spool Jobs
  Example: Spool queues are erased daily before the start of business.

• Housekeeping
  Example: Partitions of users that failed to log out are terminated at close of business each day.

Scheduling Guidelines

• If you select specific days, you may not enter a specific Run date.

• The Run date accepts date shortcuts:

• • When using the + days, weeks, months or years date shortcut, the set the start time and run date to the first occurrence for the job. Last date run is used as the base line for the calculation. All other calculations for date codes are based on the system date, not the terminal date.

  • The shortcut cannot put the date in the past, for example Y for yesterday or a negative number for previous days.

• If the system is down when a job is scheduled to run, it is run when the system becomes available.

Report Options

To create a job stream, you enter a header that identifies the job stream name and establishes the day and time you want the job stream to start. Then you select the programs you want in the job stream. If you have already saved options in the program you select or in the Program Options Maintenance (XROPT) program, Job Schedule Maintenance uses these options. If you have not saved options, you can choose them from this program.

You may want to review your options to be sure that you used appropriate date shortcuts. For example, if you enter T in a date field, the report uses the system date when the job scheduler runs the report. Using the Date-Output Device Maintenance (ZE) program to control the date has no effect on this program using the system date. For output device selections, do not select CSV, TEXT, PC file, auto-launch PDF, or Email/Fax (unless it is tied to a specific email address or fax number).

GL Register Job Streams

Many GL registers can be scheduled to launch automatically at a certain day/time. There are some registers that are restricted from scheduling; these are:

See Background: GL Register Scheduler for additional information about how to automate GL registers.

Report Generator and QICLOOK Jobs

You can also run Report Generator and QICLOOK reports. This allows your custom reports to be available as desired. Output can be to specific output devices and can be printed, spooled, or emailed.

PowerShift reports run sequentially, one after another, however *REPORTS/*QICLOOK reports run simultaneously, starting in the order entered.

Processing a Job Stream

The system activates the job at the scheduled time. You can run a job stream at any time by clicking the Start job button on the job stream header.

Copyright © Qantel Technologies, Inc. 2025