Using Trigger Sets

For a quick summary of setting up a Trigger Set, see Actions and Trigger Sets Quick-start Guide.

The following steps present in more detail how to work with Trigger Sets:

1.	Click on the Database, Trigger Sets subtab. You will see a summary of all Trigger Sets on the system.

The Trigger Set Summary presents a list of all of the configured Trigger Sets sorted alphabetically by the Trigger Set name. The description (which you add when you create or edit a Trigger Set) and its Active Paths are included in this view.

The Trigger Set Active Paths view shows the same data as the Trigger Set Summary window, but sorts the information alphabetically by the Active Path. This view is supplied to assist with troubleshooting the system if an Action occurs unexpectedly or in an unexpected path.

The Trigger Set Details view provides a summary of all Actions that occur inside an Trigger Set. Again, this overall view of all Trigger Set Trigger Rules is provided for administrator reference and to assist troubleshooting.

In the Summary Trigger Set view, you can edit the Trigger Set by clicking on the pencil icon associated with it.

2.	To add a new Trigger Set, click on the New Trigger Set subtab.

3.	You will first need to name your new Trigger Set. This name can not be changed after you save the Trigger Set.

4.	Add a useful description for the Trigger Set as well. Unlike the name, the description can be changed after your initial creation of the Trigger Set.

5.

If it’s more convenient, use the Copy Trigger Set pop-up menu to specify an existing Trigger Set to copy. If you copy an existing Trigger Set, the Trigger Rules and Actions in your Trigger Set you are building will be copied from the selected Trigger Set in the pop-up list. The Active Paths, however, will not be copied to make sure you do not inadvertently have two Trigger Sets performing precisely the same Actions in the same locations.

6.	Click the Add and Edit button so you can configure your Rules for your Trigger Set. A window similar to the one below will open. This is where you configure your Rules.

7.	[optional] Select an email setting from the On Failure email pop-up list to establish where Xinet will send notification if any Action in the Trigger Set fails to execute properly. This setting will be used if you opt to Exit and Notify when configuring Actions for a Trigger Rule.

8.	[optional] Add a new data field to the Trigger Set by selecting the data field from the Add Data Field pop-up menu. Then click Add. The new field will appear in your list of Trigger Rules so you can establish appropriate parameters for it.

Trigger Rules are comprised of:

• The Data Field or File Event

• Condition upon which to run the Action(s) (Triggered by)

• [optional] The Value that release the Trigger

• The Action to run

• Its Settings

• What to do if the Action fails.

If the Data Field you added to the Trigger Rules has a data type of Date, then the Triggered by options will be relative to the value of that field. These Date Triggers will execute Actions at specific times.

For example, you could create a Data Field within Xinet called Timestamp with a data type of Date. You could then create a Trigger Set to execute some Action at some specific date/time, e.g., at a week before, at 12 hours after, etc.

If the Data Field does not have a data type of Date (for example. Text, Integer, Floating Point, or Boolean), Actions will only be triggered by Any Change, Change To, or Change From.

Any Change, will execute the Actions in the Trigger Rule if any change occurs to the value of the Data Field. Change To, will execute the Actions when the value is changed to match the entry in the Value column. Change From, will only execute the actions if the Data Field previously contained the entry in the Value column and has been changed to a different value.

If multiple Trigger Rules within a single Trigger Set match a condition, both of these Trigger Rules will execute their Actions. For example, if you configure a Trigger Rule to execute when a boolean field Approved changes to Yes, and you configure another Trigger Rule to execute when the same boolean field is changed from No, then both Trigger Rules will execute their Actions concurrently when the field is changed to value Yes.

Each Trigger Rule may execute multiple actions in sequence. For example, if you want to send an e-mail and then transfer a file via FTP to a remote server from a single change in the Xinet database, first add the email Action and its settings to the Trigger Rule. Then, click the + sign next to the Trigger Rule to add another action to the Trigger Rule. If you want to run an Action between two previously configured Actions, click the + sign to the right of the first of these Actions. The new Action will insert between the two.

To remove an Action from a Trigger Rule, click the trash-can icon next to that Action. To remove a Trigger Rule, first remove all Actions from the Trigger Rule. Then, click the trash-can icon next to the Trigger Rule.

9.

When you first create a Trigger Set, the Active Paths will be “null.” This Trigger Set will never execute Actions if the Active Paths are “null.” Therefore, to activate your new Trigger Set, you must specify Active Paths. Only database fields or file system events for files that exist within those Active Paths will qualify to execute the Trigger Rules within the Trigger Set.

To add Active Paths to the Trigger Set, use the pop-up lists at the bottom of the page. These allow you to assign as many Active Paths as you wish to your new Trigger Set:

Use of the Active Paths pop-ups resembles Xinet Volumes administration. First, select a volume in the Volume column. After you have selected the volume, use the Active Folder list to select a subdirectory of that volume. Click Save to save your changes. You may add more Active Paths to the Trigger Set by clicking the + sign next to the last path in the Active Paths list. To delete an Active Path, click the trash-can icon next to that Active Path.