Moving Patron Updating from DOS Batch Files into Destiny

Use this procedure to assist in migrating the scheduled update of patron demographic data from the Scheduled Task functionality of the Windows server to the District (Admin > Update Patrons > Schedule sub-tab) in Destiny v10.0 and higher. Scheduling the task in Destiny provides greater visibility and easier support of the process.

To migrate the scheduled patron updates into Destiny, you need access to the Destiny application server.

If you do not have any scheduled tasks for loading patron demographic data and want to create a new scheduled task, see Scheduled patron update.

 

Accessing the Current Task and Batch Processing Setup Files

  1. Based on the operating system, access the Task Scheduling function.
    • In Windows 2003 (or WinXP) and older: To open the Scheduled Tasks dialog, select Start > Control Panel, right-click Scheduled Tasks and select Open.
    • In Windows 2008 (or Win7) and newer: To open Task Scheduler, select Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Task Scheduler. This opens a list of all of the scheduled tasks on the server. To review the user-created tasks that are configured to run on the machine, click Task Scheduler Library in the left pane.
  2. Open the batch file being called by the task.
    • In Windows 2003 and older: Right-click the task, and select Properties. On the Task tab, note the full value in the Run box. This is the path to the batch file in the Destiny installation that is being executed. Browse to this location, right-click on the file, and select Edit.
    • On Windows 2008 and newer: Right-click the task, and select Properties. On the Actions tab, click Edit to view the action configuration. The full statement in the Run box shows the path to the batch file in the Destiny installation that is being executed. Browse to this location, right-click the file, and select Edit.
  3. Open the processing properties files.

    When viewing the batch file opened in step 2, in the OPTIONAL VARIABLES section, note the value of the UPDATE parameter. The file specified here contains the information used by Destiny to upload the converted data. Browse to the \FSC-Destiny\fsc\bin folder, and open the file with Notepad.

Configuring the Schedule in Destiny

  1. Log in to Destiny as a district user with the Manage Patrons for the District permission.
    Note: If you do not have a district user login, use the username and password values from the properties file opened in step 3 above.
  2. Select District, and then Admin > Update Patrons > Schedule sub-tab.
  3. Click New Update.
  4. In the Job Name field, type a name.
    Example: You could enter "Student load" or "Faculty" as a job name. Or enter the name of the scheduled task from step 1 in the Accessing the Current Task and Batch Processing Setup Files section above.
  5. In the Directory field, type the location of the CSV file as defined in the SOURCEDIR= variable of the batch file opened in step 2 in the Accessing the Current Task and Batch Processing Setup Files section above.
  6. In the File Name field, type the name of the CSV file as defined in the SOURCEFILE= variable of the batch file opened in step 2 in the Accessing the Current Task and Batch Processing Setup Files section above.
  7. In the Properties File section, browse to and select the file defined in the PATRON_PROP= variable of the batch file opened from step 2 in theAccessing the Current Task and Batch Processing Setup Files section above.
  8. Upload the file.
    Note: After you upload the file and save the setup on this page, an edit icon appears next to Properties File. You can then directly view, edit in a text-only environment, and re-save the properties file from this page. The .properties file as it exists in the \FSC-Destiny\fsc\bin folder (default location) is no longer used.
  9. In the Job Schedule section, select the type of Update you want Destiny to perform each day. Based on the following information, you may be combining two scheduled tasks from the operating system into one scheduled task in Destiny.
    • A Full update converts and uploads all the records in the CSV file that match the properties configuration. If you had a scheduled task from step 1 in the Accessing the Current Task and Batch Processing Setup Files section above labeled “Full” or “NoCompare”, Destiny was performing a Full update on those days.
    • An Incremental update converts and uploads only records that are new or have changed since the last update. The Converter compares the records in the current and the most recent CSV files, and skips any records that have not changed. By default, the batch processing system performs Incremental updates.
    Note: Follett recommends that if your patron population is under 50,000, select Full for each update so all records are sent to Destiny every time. For larger populations, perform an Incremental update on weekdays and a Full upload over the weekend.
  10. In the Time field, type the time the update should run. Use the format shown. Enter the time from the scheduled task configuration from step 1 of the Accessing the Current Task and Batch Processing Setup Files section.
    • In Windows 2003 and older: Schedule tab, Start time value.
    • In Windows 2008 and newer: Triggers tab, start value.
  11. To prevent this job from running without deleting and losing the setup information, select the Disable Patron Update checkbox. This disables the scheduled task in the operating system. To resume the patron updates, deselect the checkbox.
  12. Select the Allow patrons with outstanding transactions to be deleted checkbox based on the “deletionsProperty” or “deletePatronsWithTransactions” parameter in the .properties file opened in step 3. If the parameter is set to false, which is the default, leave the checkbox deselected. If the parameter is set to true, select the checkbox.
    Note: If you select the checkbox, any copies checked out to the patrons are marked Lost, and any other transactions, such as fines, holds or reserves, are deleted from the system.
  13. Set the Limit job summary to errors and warnings checkbox based on the limit ToErrorsAndWarnings parameter in the .properties file opened in step 3 of the Accessing the Current Task and Batch Processing Setup Files section.
    If the parameter is set to true, which is the default, select the checkbox. If the parameter is set to false, leave the checkbox deselected. This makes the report much shorter and easier to locate problems.
  14. If you do not want Destiny to retain all the older job summaries and the associated CSV files, Converter properties files, conversion log files and XML files, select the Delete previously run jobs checkbox, and type the number of files you do want to keep. Destiny retains the most recent jobs. Follett recommends selecting the checkbox and setting the value to 7.
    Note: If you are a Destiny Cloud customer, Follett recommends enabling this option and setting it to a minimum to ensure you do not exceed your allotted shared storage space.
  15. Click Save.
  16. Delete or disable the scheduled task(s) in the Windows Task Scheduler.
  17. Repeat these steps for the additional scheduled tasks currently configured to convert patron data.

Make sure to monitor the scheduled updates, which appear in the Scheduled Patron Updates list. The link to the latest Job Summary has all the files, links to run the update, edit the setup, or delete the update.

Any district patron user with the Manage Patrons for the District permission can view the latest Job Summary from the Scheduled Patron Updates page. To view other update summaries from previous jobs, log in as the district user who created the scheduled update, and select Admin > Job Manager.