hiteksoftware.com

[farufon]

Simply put, here is a recurring scenario I am trying to acheive with Automize.

Each day, I have to download Quicktime movie dailies for our Avid. The recurring variables are as follows.

1. Same server: ie, ftp://ftp.server.ru/Dailies

2. Each artist has his own directory and uploads movies to his directory.

/PP
/TR
/OS

etc.

3. In each directory, is a sub directory named...

from_PP (for example)

4. In each of these directories, is a directory listed by each day's date.

/2007.08.08

5. In each day's directory, are the individual movies, of which I want to download all.

POX-407
POX-409
AER-490

etc.

6. I want to download, all movies, for all Artists, for each day.

6. I would be very grateful as this would revolutionize how we work. It is obvious your program has the power to do this. It is also interesting that your program is so open-ended as to allow for almost any option.

7. Unfortunately, I don't see a simple tutorial for such a task. I have to assume this is a very recurring need in the movie industry to download our dailies of thing shot and done each day in the VFX world.

Your help is much appreciated.

Thank you
Jon

[melvin]

1) Setup a Ftp profile to connection to that server:

Tasks menu / Ftp menu / Ftp profiles menu
Click on 'New profile' button'.
profile name = movies
host = ftp.server.ru
port = 21
username and password

Click on 'Connect' Button.

Confirm that you are able to navigate to the folder using the manual ftp browser. When you navigate to the 'Dailies' folder, look at the text field above the remote directory listing. this will give you the exact ftp format path to the "dailies' folder. Note this down for use in the task.

2) Setup a Ftp task: (tasks menu / ftp menu / ftp task menu)
task title = moviedownloads
Profile name = movies
ftp option = GET
remote directory = ftp_path_from_1_above
local directory = some_valid_local_folder
include subdirectory option = selected

This should download and recreate the folder structure on your local directory.

[farufon]

Making some progress

Remote Dir. /Dailies/PP/MrX/from_PP

This downloaded only the subdirectories in this directory. Not the files in the sub directory.

ie:

2007.05.21
2007.05.22
2007.05.23
2007.05.24
2007.05.25
2007.05.26
2007.05.26

In each directory, there are any number of movies titled, *.mov, etc.

Questions.

1. How to download the movies in the directories?

2. How to only start after 2007.05.24 for instance?

3. How to schedule this for every night at midnight?

best
j.

[melvin]

1) Make sure the 'include subdirectories' option is selected (Advanced tab of the task setup)

2) In the Advanced tab there is also an option to only download files that are updated in the last 60 days.. etc..

3) To schedule the task, in the task tab, select the task and click on the schedule button (clock + calendar icon). After you sechedule the task, it will show up in the Schedule tab.

[farufon]

hank you

I seem to be doing fine. Lot's of options, therefore lots of opportunities to make mistakes. Just when I think the program is buggy, I realize I've made a mistake, usually in a link or setting.

I am using this to download dailies from a VFX facility we are using in Russia for a movie we are doing here at Universal. Can I assume that...

1. In the Advanced tab, the "Transfer if modified date is NEWER THAN (1) DAY", will only download files only for today?

2. Am I correct in assuming that the "Maintain timestamp (for GET option only) means that it looks for the modified date on the remote server?

3. Does this mean that in need to also use a Server Offset Time? You help file refers to a different format than in minutes. So, If I am in LA, I would then input 11 hours or in your case, 660 minutes?

4. Why does it download all subdirectories, even if the subdirectory was created months ago? Does the directory not have a time stamp, or is the include subdirectories override this. Having said that, it has a habit of including all subdirectories but not loading a file into it.

5. After a Task is scheduled and launched, and I edit or delete the schedule after it is launched, what is the procedure to edit and relaunch. There is no indication that suspend works for this. The program keeps running the old task.


Best

j.

[melvin]

1) Newer than 1 day would imply - 24 hours. If you schedule your task at 8 PM, then use newer than 20 hours to get todays files

2) Yes, this looks up the remote timestamp and resets the downloaded (local) files timestamp to match the remote timestamp.

3) Use the Manual Ftp browser, transfer a test file to the Ftp server and see what timestamp it gets.. that should tell you the time difference between the FTP server and your local system.

4) However, if during a GET you have already reset the local file timestamp to match the remote timestamp, then the file should not be transferred again because both timestamps match, if the time offset = 0.
i..e, try the following options:
select option to maintain timestamp during Get
select option to transfer modified files, but set offset = 0 minutes.

Run a task twice for a specific filename and make sure that it is not transferred during the second run of the task.

5) When a task runs , it loads the parameters at the start of the run. If you edit a task and save it, the new parameters will automatically be loaded at the start of the next run.

[farufon]

Am I correct in assuming that we only need to hit the RUN button once and it will run ALL the checked schedules?

Or, do we need to select each schedule and hit run?

j.

[farufon]

Also, so what you are saying is that if I set offest to 660 (Moscow vs. Los Angeles) then it will mess up the 'reset timestamp' option? I want to download dailies that they show as tomorrow, and at the same time, make sure the timestamp stops the program from RE-DOWNLOADING the same file.

[Robert]

1) Yes, use either of these options, but not both simultaneously. If you want to reset timestamp then do not use the offset.

You can download files that they show as tommorrow by specifying files newer than 8 hours..

2) The run button does not run all the checked schedules. The checked schedules run automatically on schedule. Click on the refresh button in the schedule window and the Next Run column will show you the time for the next run.

as an exercise create a simple 'echo' task (tasks menu / misc menu) and schedule it to run every 1 minute. Then check the output log and you will see the output from this task every minute..

[farufon]

I have to say how much I love this program!! One of the best pieces of software I've purchased.

QUESTIONS

If I have 20 different tasks, involving downloads each day, is it unwise to start them all at the same time, ie: midnight, or should I stagger them an hour a day, over 24 hours? In other words, is the program going to try and download all at the same time, or will it que them, and if so, based on what order?


FEATURE REQUESTS

1. Button press indication please.

2. Can email notification also inform of sucessufull transmissions, and not just tasks gone bad?

[melvin]

If you have 20 different tasks you can:
1) add all 20 ftp tasks to a chain task (tasks menu / Chain task) - Then schedule the chain. This way none of the ftp tasks overlap. This is especially important not to overlap if some of the tasks are to the same ftp server

2) schedule each task 10-15 minutes apart. They will run at the time each one is scheduled.

3) Not sure what you mean by '1. Button press indication please. '

4) Email Notification profiles can be setup for successfull task runs too.. create a new notification profile for the taskand set the condition to be exit code <= 0 . 0 for ftp task implies no error but no files transferred. -100 implies no error and files transferred.

[farufon]

When you press a button, like run or refresh, there is no indication the button pressed. It's like a web link without the rollover.

j.