Batch Generate Interface vs. Command Line

The batch target in the Flare interface is similar to the command line feature (see Building and Publishing Targets Using the Command Line). However, the command line feature works outside of the Flare interface, is a bit more manual, and does not support as many processes.

How to Create a Batch Target

1. Do one of the following, depending on the part of the user interface you are using:
   • Ribbon Select Project > New > Batch Target.
   • Right-Click In the Project Organizer, right-click on the Targets folder and from the context menu select Add Batch Target.

   The Add File dialog opens.

2. In the File Type field at the top, make sure Batch Target is selected.
3. In the Source area, choose to create the new file based on a template or an existing file.
   • New From Template Choose either a factory template file or one of your own custom template files as a starting point. The new file will take on all of the settings contained in the template. If you want to use the factory template provided by Flare, expand the Factory Templates folder and click on a template file. If you want to use your own custom template file, expand the appropriate folder and click on a file. See Templates.
   • New From Existing Choose an existing file of the same type as a starting point for your new file. As with template files, your new file will take on all of the settings contained in the file you select. To use this option, click , use the Open File dialog to find a file, and double-click it.
4. (Optional) If you want to place the file into a subfolder previously created in the Content Explorer or Project Organizer, in the Folder field click and select the subfolder. Otherwise, keep the default location. See Creating Subfolders.
5. In the File Name field, type a new name for the batch target.
6. (Optional) If you want to apply condition tags to the file, expand the Attributes section at the bottom of the dialog. Next to the Condition Tags field, click and select the conditions you want to apply. Click OK. See Applying Conditions to Content.
7. (Optional) If you want to apply file tags, expand the Attributes section at the bottom of the dialog. Next to the File Tags field, click and select the file tags you want to apply. Click OK. See Associating Tags With Files.
8. Click Add. The target is added to the Targets folder in the Project Organizer.
9. A message asks if you want to create a scheduled task. Click Yes. The Batch Target Editor opens to the right.

10. The Targets tab in the editor displays all of the non-batch targets already contained in your project. Click the Build and/or Publish check boxes next to the targets that you want to be affected when the batch runs. You can also click the check boxes at the top of each column; this selects all of the check boxes in that column. Clicking the top check box again deselects all of the check boxes in the column.

    Note In order for targets to be published when the batch runs, you must also create and associate a publishing destination with the target(s). See Creating Destinations and Associating Destination Files With Targets.

11. Click to save your work.

(Optional) How to Schedule Build or Publish Processes

After you create a batch target in the Flare user interface, you can start that batch whenever you need to (i.e., tell it to start building and/or publishing the related targets). However, you also have the option of creating scheduled tasks. You might do this if you want your targets to be generated or published automatically overnight. Scheduled builds are created using the Windows Task Scheduler. However, the user interface in Flare makes it easier for you to create scheduled tasks without leaving the application. If you use this scheduling feature, you do not need to have Flare open at the time the batch runs.

When a scheduled task runs, the command prompt window opens on your computer and minimizes while the batch runs. This window closes automatically when the batch process is finished. If any errors or warnings occur during the process, a report is automatically saved so you can review the messages. You can then open the error report file from the Reports folder in the Project Organizer.

1. From the Targets folder in the Project Organizer, open the batch target file.
2. In the Batch Target Editor, click the Schedule tab.
3. If a message indicates that you must create a scheduled task, click Yes.

4. At the bottom of the tab, click New.

   

   The New Trigger dialog opens.

5. In the Settings area, select how often you want the trigger in the batch to be run. You can also click in the Start fields to change the beginning date and/or time:

   • If you select One Time, click in the Start fields to change the beginning date and/or time.
   • If you select Daily, a field displays so that you can specify a certain number of days for the process to recur.
   • If you select Weekly, a field displays so that you can specify a certain number of weeks for the process to recur. In addition, check boxes are available so that you can select certain days of the week for the process to run.
   • If you select Monthly, additional fields are displayed so that you can select certain months for the process to run, even on specific days during particular months.
6. (Optional) In the Advanced Settings area, you can set any of the following.
   • Repeat task every You can specify if you want the trigger for the batch to run periodically after a certain number of minutes or hours.
   • For a duration of You can specify how long you want the trigger for the batch to be repeated.
   • Expire You can specify whether the trigger for the batch should stop running after a certain date.
   • Enabled By default the trigger for the batch will be enabled. However, you can disable the trigger if necessary. The trigger will remain in the batch file (even though it will not run while being disabled). You can re-enable it in the future if you want.
7. Click OK.

(Optional) How to Manually Start Build or Publish Processes

Although you can schedule a batch target to run at a specific time, you can always open the batch target and manually start the batch.

1. From the Targets folder in the Project Organizer, open the batch target file.
2. In the local toolbar of the Batch Target Editor, click any of the following.
   • Builds and publishes the selected targets (if they have check marks in the Build and Publish boxes in the batch target).
   • Builds the selected targets (if they have check marks in the Build box in the batch target).

   • Publishes the selected targets (if they have check marks in the Publish boxes in the batch target).

     Note When you click the Publish Only option, Flare makes sure that each selected target already has generated output files. If so, those targets are published. If output has not yet been generated, Flare builds the target and then publishes its output files.

   

3. (Optional) For each target in the batch, a row is added to the Builds window pane, showing the progress of the target as it is generated. If the target generates successfully, the color of the Progress columns changes from light to dark green, and the Status column displays "Finished." You can then select that row and in the local toolbar click View Output.
4. (Optional) For each target a log file is generated and saved automatically at the root level of the output folder for that target, whether or not there are errors or warnings. You can tell if errors or warnings have occurred by looking at the appropriate columns in the Builds window pane. You can then select that row and in the local toolbar click Open Build Log. See Opening Build Logs.

What’s Noteworthy?

What’s Next?

After the batch runs, you can do any of the following.

• Editing Batch Targets
• Viewing Output
• Testing Output