Scheduler scheduler
Description description
The Scheduler activity allows you to schedule when a workflow or an activity is started.
Context of use context-of-use
The Scheduler activity should be considered as a scheduled start. The activity positioning rules within the chart are the same as for the Start activity. This activity must not have an inbound transition.
When building your workflow, only use one Scheduler activity per branch and remember to set a time zone. This allows you to start your workflow at a specific time zone, otherwise the workflow will run in the time zone defined in the workflow properties (see Building a workflow).
When designing a scheduled workflow which includes multiple activities, you need to make sure that the workflow is not rescheduled until it is finished. To do this, you need to configure your workflow in order to prevent its execution if one or more tasks from a previously execution is still pending. For more on this, refer to this page.
Related topics:
Configuration configuration
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Drag and drop a Scheduler activity into your workflow.
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Select the activity, then open it using the
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Specify the Execution frequency:
- Once: the workflow is executed a single time.
- Several times a day: the workflow is regularly executed several times a day.
- Daily: the workflow is executed at a specific time, once a day.
- Weekly: the workflow is executed at a specified moment, once or several times a week.
- Monthly: the workflow is executed at a specified moment, once or several times a month. You can select months, when you need the workflow to be executed. You can also set up executions on specified weekday of the month, such as the second Tuesday of the month.
- Yearly: the workflow is executed at a specified moment, once or several times a year.
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Configure the execution settings to suit your needs. Available options may vary depending on the selected execution frequency (execution time or days, repetition frequency etc.).
note note NOTE The Repetition frequency field available for the Daily and Monthly execution frequencies allows you to space out the times when the workflow is triggered. For example, if you select a daily execution period and the repetition frequency is set at 2 (days), the workflow will be triggered every two days. It cannot be less than 10 minutes. If the repetition frequency is set at 0 (also the default value), this option is not taken into account and the workflow will run according to the specified execution frequency. When setting the execution frequency to Several times a day, you have the flexibility to choose between executing the workflow at specific times of the day or periodically throughtout the day.
accordion Learn how to configure a "Several times a day" execution frequency -
To execute the workflow multiple times at particular times during the day, toggle on the Specific times option then click Add an element to specfiy the desired execution time. Add as many times as needed to align with your requirements.
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To execute the workflow peridically throughout the day, toggle on the Periodic option then configure the execution periodicity:
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In the Repeat processing according to the following frequency (e.g. 2h) field, specify the interval at which the workflow should be executed (e.g. every 30 minutes, every 2 hours).
note note NOTE This option also allows for daily, monthly or yearly repetition frequencies. Note that in this case, the workflow will not execute several times a day but rather according to the frequency you have specified in this field. If your workflow does not require multiple executions within a day but instead needs to run on a daily, monthly, or yearly basis, it is advisable to use the Daily, Monthly or Yearly options available in the Execution frequency drop-down list. -
In the Start/End time fields, define the time at which the workflow execution should start and end.
If no end time is specified, the execution terminates at midnight 00:00:00 hours, and next execution is starts the next day at the specified start time.
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In the Start date field, select the date on which the first execution should begin.
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In the example below, the activity is configured to execute the workflow every 2 hours between 8 AM and 5 PM, starting March 1st.
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Specify when the execution will expire:
- Never: the workflow will be executed, according to the frequency specified, without any limits to the time frame or number of iterations.
- After a certain number of iterations: the workflow will be executed according to the frequency specified, up until the limit of X is reached. The Number of iterations will therefore need to be specified.
- On a specific date: the workflow will be executed according to the frequency specified, up until a specific date. The execution deadline will therefore need to be specified.
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Check the schedule of the next ten executions of your workflow by clicking Preview next executions.
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In the Execution options tab, set up the time zone for your scheduler in the Time zone field.
For more information on sending delivery depending on the recipient’s time zone, refer to this section or this example of a recurring workflow.
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Confirm the configuration of your activity and save your workflow.
Example example
In the following example, the activity is configured so that it will start the workflow on a weekly basis, every other Monday at 7am, for an undetermined duration.
