Server operations

m204prgmr · Post by **m204prgmr** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 1:11 pm

Good Morning,
I'm new here but not new to macro's for automation. I have a situation with another macro program and was wondering if this product can work for me where the other is not. As the admin I do not signoff of the server but rather disconnect. This allows my other macro program to run. The one thing it cannot do is type text in windows such as Notepad or DOS. Each time I set up something and schedule it to run, I return to find my DOS or Notepad windows open(which is good) but they are both greyed out and nothing more happened.
Any feedback with server operation would be great.
thanks
Robert

JRL · Post by **JRL** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 1:30 pm

I'm also an admin. I use Macro Scheduler extensively on the servers and on workstations. MS can open and write to notepad and/or to a DOS window but it can also write directly to a file. Why bother opening notepad? I've yet to find a notepad function that can't be replicated and performed faster within MS. (Oh... except manual typing).

Hope this is helpful,
Dick

m204prgmr · Post by **m204prgmr** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 2:12 pm

Hi Dick,
I used Notepad simply as part of my test. My setup had the macro looking every 2 minutes for a .txt file that was FTP'd from the mainframe via JCL. Once found, it was suppose to open DOS, signin to the mainframe and 'GET' another file. As mentioned earlier, with this other product and maybe with this forums product, I need to disconnect from the server in order for the macro program to stay resident in the system tray. It is not setup as a process and won't be for several months. When I signed back in, the DOS window title was greyed out as if a mouse click was done outside of the window thereby making it inactive or out of focus.
Do you think this product will work for me?
thanks
Robert

JRL · Post by **JRL** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 2:47 pm

Do you think this product will work for me?

I have a lot of faith in this product. But like all software it has its limitations. I don't know enough about your application to be able to state with certainty that it can do what you want to do.

That said, I'm willing to help you find out as are others on this forum.

What is the OS of your server and what are you "disconnecting" from? Terminal Service?? Remote Desktop?? other?

Have you tried using MS to "look every 2 minutes for a .txt file that was FTP'd from the mainframe via JCL....open DOS, signin to the mainframe and 'GET' another file." As I read it you've only tried the other product.

Let us know,
Dick

m204prgmr · Post by **m204prgmr** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 7:08 pm

Dick,
OS is Windows Server 2000 and I am disconnecting from Remote Desktop.
I have not tried MS (I assume MS=MacroScheduler?) yet and just downloaded the trial version onto my laptop. I'm trying to understand how to create a macro with MS to do the look every 2 minutes for a .txt file that was FTP'd from the mainframe.
Thanks
Robert

JRL · Post by **JRL** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 7:27 pm

A simple script to look for a file then wait 120 seconds:

Label>start
IfFIleExists>[path]\[filename],continue
Wait>120
Goto>start

Label>continue
///Do stuff

Later,
Dick

m204prgmr · Post by **m204prgmr** » Fri Apr 07, 2006 8:01 pm

Thank you Dick,
I'll try this tonight.
Robert

tony_smith · Post by **tony_smith** » Mon Apr 10, 2006 9:34 pm

I have been using Sched for about five years now. From early on, I was plagued with the disconnected TS session issue. So far as I know, there is no way that Msched can send keystrokes to a screen that is not there. If the console is not connected to the session, the script will stall. The work around was to find a way to do the work without sending keystrokes to the console... such as SMTPSendMail.