Tasks

You remotely define the publication tasks in Adobe FrameMaker Publishing Server and schedule them to run at the required interval. A task is a complete collection of all the build information that is required to run a publication task.

For more information, watch this video - FrameMaker Publishing Server: Automated publishing delivered remotely.

Typically, you define a task for each book or source document that you want to create outputs from. For example, if you have a book file from which you want to create Adobe PDF, Basic HTML, Responsive HTML5, or more outputs, specify the following settings for the Task:

Input Source

Location of the source document or book. You can specify sources from the local file system, a network or WebDAV folder, an OpenText Documentum repository, a Microsoft SharePoint repository, DitaExchange or Adobe Experience Manager (AEM).

If you are accessing the server from the same system where you have deployed it, then a local file path will work. However, in other cases, you must specify a network location or the location of your CMS repository. In case the source files are available on a network location of a CMS, you need to specify the User Name and Password of the user who has access rights on the files, else the publishing process will fail.

Output Settings > Format

Output formats required and their settings.

The supported output formats are: PDF, Responsive HTML5, Mobile App, ePub, Kindle, Microsoft HTML Help, and Basic HTML.

Presets

Presets for all supported output formats include the settings such as DITAVAL File and Settings File (.STS). These files are saved in MongoDB and attached to the task being created. Preset help you apply these settings to repetitive and similar tasks and save time.

Note: For more information about configuring output presets using FrameMaker, see the Print and Publish topic in FrameMaker User Guide.

Output Folder Path

The location where you want the output from the output generation process saved. You can specify the output location as a folder in the local file system, a network or WebDAV folder, or an OpenText Documentum, Microsoft SharePoint repository, DitaExchange, or AEM. Again, the Output Folder Path can be a local system if you are running the server and client components on a single system. For multi-system deployment scenario, you have specify a network location along with user credentials to access the network path.

Pre- and Post-Publish Script

The location of the script file that you want to run before and after the publishing process. You can specify a .jsx or .jsxbin file in the pre-publish script. However, post-publish scripts can contain scripts or batch files that can run from the command prompt only. The script file is uploaded into MongoDB and attached with this task.

Scheduling

Schedule to run the task and the frequency.

Note: If you schedule a task to run at a specific time, then you will not be able to run that task dynamically.

Send Log In Email

The Email IDs where you want the task logs to be sent.

Log Settings

The information you want to capture in the task logs.

Create a task

On the FrameMaker Publishing Server dashboard, select the Task tab.
In the Add New Task drop-down, select Add New Task.
On the new Task screen, specify a Name for the publishing task.

Tasks in the task queue are listed with the task name. Provide intuitive task names that indicate the type of document and the output formats to easily identify your task in the queue.
Click the browse button next to the Input Source field.

The Specify Input Source dialog appears. Enter the following details in it:
1. An input source file (.book, .ditamap, .fm, or .mif file). Enter full path and name of the input file.
2. Enter login credentials to access the input file, if required. For example, login information is required to access files over a network or a CMS.
3. If your input file is on a CMS, select the CMS option, choose the CMS type, and specify the CMS details, such as login information, server, and workspace.
To edit book settings, click the Modify link in front of Book Settings. In the Book Settings dialog, double-click (or use the move icons) to move the required entries in the Don’t Include and Include lists.
To add an output type, choose an output format, preset, and then click the browse button next to the Output Folder Path field. The Specify Output dialog appears. Enter the following details in it:

Note: By default, FrameMaker Publishing Server does not overwrite existing files with the newly generated output. You can change this setting by turning the doNotDeleteGeneratedFile parameter to Off in the server.ini file. To keep the output files from an earlier publication task, move them to another folder. You can run a post-publish command as part of the publication task to move the output files to another location after the publication task completes.
1. Specify the destination file path where the output file is saved.
2. If required, enter login credentials to save the output file. For example, login information is required save output files on the network or on the CMS.
3. To save output file to a CMS, select CMS and enter the CMS details.
To add more output types, click Add Another Output and repeat step 6.
(Optional) Enter the path and name of a Pre-Publish Script to specify any automation script that you created.
(Optional) Enter the name and path of a Post-Publish script to specify any system command that you want to run on the outputs after the publication task is run. You can create a batch script and provide its path so that FrameMaker Publishing Server runs the script after the publication task completes.
Click the Not Scheduled link to open the Schedule dialog. Specify the time and frequency for the task to execute.

Note: If you schedule a task to run at a specific time, then you will not be able to run that task dynamically.
(Optional) In Send Log in Email, specify the email addresses where you want to send the task log. Use semicolons between multiple email IDs.
To add or delete information in the task logs, click Modify in front of Log Settings. In the Log Settings dialog, double-click (or use the move icons) to move the required entries in the Don’t Include and Include lists.
Click Save.

Related Links:

Scheduling

Run tasks from the list

On the FrameMaker Publishing Server dashboard, select the tasks from the task list and click Run.

Note: If a task is scheduled to run at a specific time, then you will not be able to execute it from the task list.

Duplicate a task

An easy way to create multiple tasks is to make a copy of an existing task, and then make the necessary changes for the duplicated task.

On the FrameMaker Publishing Server dashboard, do one of the following:
- Click a task’s name and in the Task dialog, click the Duplicate icon.
- Select a task and then select Duplicate Task from the Add New Task drop-down.
  
  The Task dialog opens with the same task settings and name of the task duplicated with the suffix -copy.
Edit the name and other details of the task and click Save.

Edit a task

On the FrameMaker Publishing Server interface, click on a task name.

The Task dialog appears.
Make the required changes in the task and click Save.

Delete a task

On the FrameMaker Publishing Server dashboard, select one or more tasks and click Delete.

Note: If you delete a task when it is currently running, the task is removed, but the current run is allowed to complete.