topic RE: Blue prism process template in Product Forum

Blue prism process template

VratHimbo — Thu, 31 Dec 2020 09:44:00 GMT

Hi all,
i've a question about process template 1, i've understand the logic of load work queue, perform process step until one queue exist.
My question is: the "start up" page with launch and login is at the top of the template. In case of error i need to close, then kill application (eg. explorer) and then restart the same ITEM ID for three times.
How can i do that?
I can't put the start up inside the "WORK" block otherwise it kill application for every queue item.
I've attached a screenshot for a better understanding
Thanks in advance

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Vrat Himbo
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RE: Blue prism process template

lookman — Thu, 31 Dec 2020 19:22:00 GMT

Hi Vrat.

Inside the Start Up page is where you would handle any exception that may arise from the log in process. I believe you'll find an example of that in the actual Start Up page tab within the template.

jack

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Jack Look
Sr Product Consultant
Blue Prism
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RE: Blue prism process template

bruce.liu — Mon, 04 Jan 2021 00:47:00 GMT

Hi Vrat,

When performing retries, you will need to limit them within the scope of the individual work step. If the application needs to be restarted in the retry, you will devise all appropriate logic to support the intended actions in the retry loop. In this process, you do not relinquish control of the item denoted by Item ID, you will keep the lock on the item until all retries are completed. Items are never returned to the queue due to retry.

Also, retry may exist in many different forms, some do not necessary lead to the restarting of the application (e.g. you may simply 'reset' the application instead). It is really up to the discretion of the developer to come up with appropriate logic for the specific case to retry.

Start Up is just where you initialise the process and all associated applications. Once you enter the item case loop, it is no longer relevant.

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Bruce Liu
Senior Product Consultant, Professional Services
Blue Prism
Australia/Sydney
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RE: Blue prism process template

lookman — Mon, 04 Jan 2021 14:28:00 GMT

Thanks Bruce for the clarification.

I clearly did not read Vrat's question thoroughly; my apologies Vrat.

jack

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Jack Look
Sr Product Consultant
Blue Prism
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RE: Blue prism process template

david.l.morris — Mon, 04 Jan 2021 19:24:00 GMT

Honestly, the basic template is only a starting point. If you use it as is, it's fine for an automation that is simple and doesn't need to be robust, but if you need your automation to be robust, you should start from the Advanced process template instead. I assume you're using 'Process Template 1 - Basic'. See if you also have 'Process Template 2 - Advanced Scenarios'. In that template, the Start Up page actually calls another subpage called 'Control Applications'. Granted, in my opinion, even this Control Applications isn't as robust as it needs to be, but again it's just a starting point to work with. And it's much closer to production ready to begin with.

Here's a partial screenshot of the Control Applications page. It works on the basis of global data items that are used to identify what the next action should be for each application. Application A might need to be restarted whereas Application B can be left alone, and maybe Application C just needs to have the page refreshed so that its connection stays alive. I've used this before in automations that I wanted to be very robust, and I can say it works well when you want automations to run for hours (or days) and be able to handle restarting its own applications but also in the most efficient way rather than just kill and restart every time.

If you do use this, just note that you don't want to call the Start Up page throughout your logic. You just called that once at the beginning, but you can call the Control Applications page any time from anywhere. Probably best to think it through before doing that, but it works.

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Dave Morris
Cano Ai
Atlanta, GA
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