We are looking into automating our month end procedure and want to schedule a number of reports to run using Process Set Maintenance and then schedule the Process Set using Schedule Process Set. I ran a test and the reports ran as expected but I could not locate any output on the server. I expected the files to reside in my Reports subfolder on the server but could not locate any output.
After searching everywhere on the server, I contacted support and they told me that as of 10.2.300, the reports are not output to a file system anywhere and you must open the Epicor client and view them using print preview one at a time. The suggested resolution did not fly well with our accounting group since it would save a lot of time to have these files output.
Is there a way to schedule Epicor SSRS reports to save out to a designated file or a default directory without using the Epicor client on the client machine? Any help or advice is appreciated.
@ckrusen Thanks for the advice. I’ve set the archive to 1 week but no file is being output on the server. Unfortunately, I don’t see how to submit the report to a process set using email either (we want 37 reports to run in order one after the other but not at the same time).
I’m not that familiar with process sets. Does a Process set guarantee that the previous report completes, prior to starting the next one? If it is just creating the task (like when you run a report manually, or even on a schedule), then that’s no different than running them all at the same time.
@ckrusen So last action = NONE means the report is waiting to be output from the system monitor? I was looking for a way to locate the file information without having the accounting person go to each of the 40 reports and open them one at a time but that might have to be the solution
It looks like when you click the “Save Process Set” button on a report screen, it just remembers all the field settings. When that process set is run either manually or via a schedule, the report is submitted with all the settings you selected, just as if you had chosen “Generate Only” on the report form.
If you have the Print Break/Routing module you could set them up to be emailed, or even sent to a printer. Because the commands setup in the Break/Routing are executed when the report is submitted. So if your break routing had a AutoPrint widget in it, it would execute that auto print (by creating a new task scheduled to run immediately) and print it.
That might work if routing can output a file to a file share but we would have to set up break routing rules for each report. Also if a report takes an hour to run, running it again for another hour will defeat the purpose of them not running at the same time.
I don’t think it “runs again”. The initial run from being in the process set is what generates the dataset for the report. Once that data set is done, the break/routing acts on that dataset.
Here’s what I did to have the following reports auto printed via a process set
Reports:
WIP Recon (because it takes a while to run)
GL Report
AR Aging
Here’s the steps
Make a Process Set named MonthEnd
Make a new Report Style for WIP Recon by copying the the one I want to print
a. Add a new SSRS Break Routing
b. Select the break table (choose the most generic one available. I chose Recon)
c. Open the Break Route Designer
d. Add a Break block, breaking on Company
e. Add a printer block and set its properties
f. Save and exit the designer.
g. Enable the Break/Routing
Repeat step 2 for the GL Report style you want
a. I choose Company for the break table, and Company as the break field (step 2.d)
Repeat step 2 for the AR Aging Report style you want
a. I choose Company for the break table, and Company as the break field (step 2.d)
Launch WIP Recon report like I was Was going to print it.
a. Set the fields (make sure to use dynamic dates)
b. Select the new style Month End
c. Click the Save Process Set icon, and select the process Set made in step 1
d. Close WIP Recon
Repeat step 5 for the GL Report
Repeat step 5 for the AR Aging Report
test by using the Schedule Process Set, with the schedule Now
a. A quick check of the Sys Monitor shows only the WIP Recon is active - Like you said, the only happen one at a time.
b. Then the GL report
c. Then the AR Aging.
In Schedule Report Process Set, schedule it with the desired Sys Agent schedule, and submit.
Working from Home I’m not setup with a client printer, so I tested using the email widget instead of the print widget:
Instead of creating a 2nd report style for Break/Routing, you may be able to add a Break Routing to the original report style, with a condition block
Set the condition for when a particular user runs it.
If it’s not that user, then perform the User Action (does what the user selected: Print Preview, email etc…)
If it was that user, the perform the AutoPrint (or whatever function you want)
Use that user account when adding to the process set, and scheduling it.
Double clicking a task in Process Set Maint, will launch the form with the settings you had selected when you saved it to the Process Set
To change a parameter of an existing process set task,
Double click it to bring it up
Edit the Params as needed and add comment in the User Description
Save to Process Set. This will create a another entry (at the end of the list)
Close the form window that popped up
Back in Process Set Maint
Delete the original task you double clicked
Move the newly added task to the position desired
Use Dynamic Dates when setting up reports to save to a Process Sets
Since the tasks run sequentially, one might not start for well after the Process Set is started, I don’t know what date is used for Dynamic dates. Is it the date when the process set starts, or when the specific task starts?
For example, Process Set “Nightly” is set to run at 11:PM every day.
It has 5 tasks - All with a date parameter of ‘Today’
If tasks 1-4 take 65 minutes to complete, does task 5 use the date the process set was launched, or the current date (now a day after the date when the Process Set was launched)?
FWIW - I typical run tasks at 12:01 AM, with the date set to ‘Yesterday’
We have issues with printing directly to client printers, so we always preview, then print the preview. So I can’t test automated printing to a client machine.
Thanks for looking into this, I really appreciate your help and insight! I will dig into deeper and see if I can output a file instead of an email but other than that this looks like a workable solution
@Rich That looks like exactly what I am looking for. I ran a test and was hoping to see the output path in the ProcessTaskParam dataset somewhere. However, it doesn’t appear to store this information in the parameters so I assume it looks back to the report style when it is runs the report.
Is there a way to set the output file path parameter into the ProcessTaskParam dataset instead of creating a new report style for each report? If not and I tie this report option to the default report style, does the system have a purging mechanism for files generated or will I need to clean up files that are not needed?
