Preprocessor step properties

The Preprocessor step does not run for every record in the source data. It runs once, at the beginning of the extraction workflow, before anything else; see Preprocessor step.

The properties described below become visible in the Step properties pane when the Preprocessor step is selected in the Steps pane.

Description

This subsection is collapsed by default in the interface, to give more screen space to other important parts.

Name: The name of the step. This name will be displayed on top of the step's icon in the Steps pane.

Comments: The text entered here will be displayed in the tooltip that appears when hovering over the step in the Steps pane.

Fixed automation properties

The Fixed automation properties subsection lists all the fixed runtime parameters available from PlanetPress Workflow. These properties are equivalent to data within the PlanetPress Workflow process in which the data mapping configuration is applied. They are fixed in the sense that the name of the property and the source of its value cannot be changed.

See also: Properties and runtime parameters.

For each property, the following is available:

  • Name: A read-only field displaying the name of the property.

  • Scope: A read-only field indicating that the scope of the property is Runtime parameter.

  • Type: A read-only field indicating the data type for each property.

  • Debug Value: Enter a debug value for the property. This value is overwritten by the actual value coming from PlanetPress Workflow when the data mapping configuration is run using the Execute Data Mapping task.

The fixed runtime parameters are:

  • JobInfoX: These properties are the equivalent of the Job Info values available in the PlanetPress Workflow process see Job Info variables in the Workflow Online Help). To access these properties inside of any JavaScript code within the data mapping configuration, use the automation.jobInfos.JobInfoX (where X is the Job Info number, from 0 to 9).

  • OriginalFilename: At runtime, this property contains the original file name that was captured by the PlanetPress Workflow process and is equivalent to the %o variable in the process. To access this property inside of any JavaScript code within the data mapping configuration, use automation.properties.OriginalFilename.
    At design time, this property is set to the name of the current sample data file.

  • ProcessName: This property contains the name of the process that is currently executing the data mapping configuration and is equivalent to the %w variable in the process. To access this property inside of any JavaScript code within the data mapping configuration, use automation.properties.ProcessName.

  • TaskIndex: This property contains the index (position) of the task inside the process that is currently executing the data mapping configuration but it has no equivalent in PlanetPress Workflow. To access this property inside of any JavaScript code within the data mapping configuration, use automation.properties.ProcessName.

In scripts, fixed automation properties are retrieved via the automation object (see automation), for example automation.jobInfo.JobInfo9 or automation.properties.OriginalFilename.

Note: Other variables used in a Workflow configuration are made available to the data mapping configuration via custom runtime parameters, defined in the Properties subsection of the Preprocessor step (see below).

Properties

The Properties subsection is used to create specific properties that are used throughout the workflow.

For more information see: Properties and runtime parameters.

Note: Properties are evaluated in the order they are placed in the list, so properties can use the values of previously defined properties in their expression.

  • Name: The name of the property used to refer to its value.

  • Scope: The scope of a property determines when the property is set and how it can be accessed (see Accessing properties and runtime parameters).

    • Entire Data: These properties are statically set at the start of a job, before anything else. They cannot be changed once they have been set, in other words they are global constants. They are mostly useful for static information such as folder locations or server addresses.

    • Each Record: These properties are evaluated and set at the beginning of each source record. Once they have been set, these properties can be modified via an Action step (see Action step), but they are always reset at the beginning of each source record.

  • Type: The data type of the property. For more information see Data types.

  • Debug Value: The initial value of the property. This is a JavaScript expression. See DataMapper Scripts API.

    Note: Since Entire data properties are evaluated before anything else, such as Preprocessors, Delimiters and Boundaries in the Settings pane (see Data source settings), these properties cannot read information from the data sample or from any records.

Preprocessor

The Preprocessor subsection defines what preprocessor tasks are performed on the data file before it is handed over to the data mapping workflow. Preprocessor tasks can modify the data file in many ways, and each task runs in turn, using the result of the previous one as an input.

  • Name: The name to identify the Preprocessor task. Click this field to rename the Preprocessor task.

  • Type: The type of Preprocessor task. Currently there is only one type available: script.

The buttons to the right can be used to add, remove and reorder the tasks and to apply them to the current data file.

Note: The Apply button has an effect at design time only. It is ignored at runtime. When a data mapping configuration is executed on the server, all preprocessors are executed in original order.

The Export button exports the current data file in its current state. Preprocessing may cost a lot of time when the data file is very large. You could use the exported file instead of the original file to avoid preprocessing while developing the workflow configuration.

Preprocessor definition