Makes it easier to learn, use, and manage the product

Robot/SCHEDULE 10 introduces a new graphical user interface (GUI). Although most users are comfortable with Robot/SCHEDULE’s traditional green screens, there are a lot of great reasons to try the new GUI. These fall into two main categories: overall ease of use and new features available exclusively through the GUI.

Ease of use
* Data organization. The Robot/SCHEDULE Explorer tree lets you see jobs organized by application or group job.

* Navigation. The menu system is always available as is the Tree View in the Explorer window. And, when you are working with a Robot/SCHEDULE job, you are just one click away from all its properties. If all the properties do not all fit on one screen, they are available on tabs. This makes it easier to look at control options, output options, reactivity, exception scheduling, and so on.

* Filters. Robot/SCHEDULE 10 lets you use filters to narrow long lists down to the exact data that you are seeking. Filters can be saved and reused. If you want to pay special attention to jobs in the accounting application that start with a J, you can easily set up a filter that incorporates both of these criteria.

* Pop-up menus. The right-click pop-up menus spell out—in plain English—actions and functions. You don’t have remember if the Print Job function on the Job Schedule List is option 13 or 14.

* QuickView. The QuickView section of the Explorer window shows you a summary of information contained in the currently selected object without making you open a properties dialog.

* Saved customizations. Many windows in the Robot/SCHEDULE 10 GUI save not only their size and position, but also the size and position of table columns.

* Multiple windows. You can have multiple instances of the same window (for example, Job Completion History) open at the same time, with each window having a different filter.

* Sorting. Many tables allow you to choose which column Robot/SCHEDULE should use to sort the table. Robot/SCHEDULE also uses a type-ahead algorithm to make positioning to an item in a list as quick and easy as possible.

Features available only through the GUI
Robot/SCHEDULE 10 provides a number of features that are available only through the GUI.

* Command sets. Command sets allow you to share a set of commands among jobs without entering them for each job.

* Schedule Activity Monitor (SAM). SAM is a configurable window that lets you see the state of Robot/SCHEDULE directly. This window combines aspects of Job Forecasting and Job Completion History to show you jobs that are going to run, jobs that are currently running, and jobs that have completed. If you are responsible for the daily operation of Robot/SCHEDULE and have to track this information, you will love this!

* Blueprint. The new job blueprint feature lets you visually inspect your jobs and the interactions between them. If you used the “Export to Visio” feature in Version 9, this is a much improved area. The blueprint is built into the GUI (so you no longer need Visio), and the job representations are cross-linked to useful functions like Schedule Override Codes and Job Properties. If you are managing the schedule and are concerned about dependencies and relationships, this will be an important feature for you.

* Export/Import. You can export Jobs and Scheduling Objects to XML files on your PC. You can then switch to a different system (or partition) and import these files. It’s a new way to move jobs between systems/partitions. It is especially useful if you haven’t implemented Robot/NETWORK on your systems. Plus, if an object refers to other objects (such as a Job that refers to a Calendar or a Job Environment), you can choose to export all of these objects at once.

* Wizard. The Job Creation Wizard presents the necessary job settings in a logical order and explains each step of the process. If you are a new user (or have a new person starting on your team), this is a great way to start learning the important features of Robot/SCHEDULE.

* Audit Log Viewer. The Audit Log Viewer lets you more easily respond to your SOX auditor’s requests. The Viewer lets you sort and filter auditing data dynamically.

* Host Mode. Host Mode lets you manage all the Robot/SCHEDULE environments on each node from the Robot/SCHEDULE GUI connected to your Robot/NETWORK host (this requires Robot/NETWORK 10). In host mode, you can maintain the Robot/SCHEDULE product master, drill down to maintain your Robot/SCHEDULE data on the node system, print consolidated reports, or use the Send To Wizard to copy a job from one system to another (or to send a packet).

Contributed by Matt Bresnan, Software Development Manager

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 4th, 2007 at 9:18 am and is filed under Robot/SCHEDULE. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.