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Tasks

A task puts one Tableau Prep flow on one Flow Scheduler schedule, with the output steps, run mode, parameters and priority it runs with.

Before you begin

  • You are signed in to the web interface on the right site. See Sign-In Options.
  • The schedule you need exists. Flow Scheduler admins create schedules; see Schedules.
  • The environment is enabled for the Flow Scheduler. See Allowed Environments.

Steps

  1. Open Flows and click the flow name.
  2. Click + Add Schedule. The New Task: dialog opens on Single Task and its Task tab.
  3. In Schedule, pick a schedule.

  4. Set the options you need:

    Field Options Effect
    Priority (Flow Scheduler admins only) Express, Priority, Expedited, Standard (default), Economy, Bulk, When-Idle Orders submission when several tasks fire in the same slot of one schedule. See Task priority.
    Owner Change... The owner receives the task's notifications.
    Output steps Automatically include all output steps, or Select the output steps Which output steps the run writes. The table lists each Output Step and its Refresh Type.
    Run mode Default (as configured in Tableau), Full refresh, Incremental refresh Incremental only applies to outputs that have incremental refresh set up on their inputs in Tableau Prep.
    Parameters Configure Shown only when the flow has parameters. Values are saved with the task. See Flow Parameters.

  5. Optional: open the Notifications tab to e-mail the owner and others. See Notifications.

  6. Click Create Task. The task appears on the flow's Scheduled Tasks tab with its Next Run.

To run several flows in order on one schedule, choose Linked Tasks instead; see Chains.

Task priority

Priority is set by Flow Scheduler admins only. When several tasks fire in the same slot of one schedule, the Flow Scheduler submits higher-priority tasks first; tasks of equal priority go oldest task first.

Priority does not reach Tableau

Priority orders submission only within one schedule's slot. It does not change Tableau's own backgrounder queue, and it does not order tasks on different schedules.

Change, disable or remove a task

On the flow's Scheduled Tasks tab, each task row has:

Button What it does
Information Shows the task's details
Run Runs the task now with its saved settings
Disable / Enable Stops or resumes scheduled firing. Disabling asks "Why are you disabling this task?".
Edit Opens Edit Task:
Params Edits the saved parameter values. See Flow Parameters.
Remove Removes the task after you confirm "Remove this flow from its schedule?"

Run a flow now

  1. On the flow detail page, click Run Now.
  2. If the flow has several output steps, choose Run all output steps or Select the output steps.
  3. If the flow has parameters, enter values in Run parameters - . They apply to this run only and are not saved to a task.

If the flow is already running, you see "Flow already running" and nothing starts. The run appears in Run History with trigger MANUAL.

Click Run on the task. The run uses the task's saved output steps, run mode and parameters. The button shows Queued! or Started!. The request is stored and started by the Flow Scheduler, so it is not lost when your browser is on a standby node.

A schedule's Run all now runs every enabled task on that schedule; see Schedules.

Automatic disable after repeated failures

The Flow Scheduler disables a task after a number of consecutive FAILED or START_FAILED runs, set by auto.disable.after.failures. Runs that end LOST_VISIBILITY have their own limit, vizportal.lostvisibility.disable_threshold. Partly successful runs count only when auto.disable.count.partial.output is on. Defaults are in the Configuration Reference.

A successful run resets the count, and so does enabling the task again. When a task is disabled this way, its subscribers get a suspension e-mail with its recent failures.

Verify

  • The task shows as enabled with a Next Run time.
  • After it fires, the run appears in Run History with trigger SCHEDULED.

Troubleshooting

The schedule I need is not in the list

Only Flow Scheduler admins create schedules. Ask one to create it or import it from Tableau. A disabled schedule shows a badge on its tasks.

Run Now says Flow already running

Tableau does not start a second copy of a running flow. Wait for the current run to finish, then try again.

The task is disabled and nobody disabled it

Repeated failures disable a task automatically. Open Run History for the error, fix the cause, then click Enable.

Next steps