AX2245

Setting up file processing: Snapshot

Taking snapshot copies via file processing has the following advantages over using the regular snapshot features (Snapshot File and E-Mail Workbook):

• If you have a standard set of snapshot and delivery options that you use with a file, these options are saved in the file processing settings so that you do not need to select them each time you take a snapshot of the file.
• Using the multipass features of file processing, you can process a file multiple times for different dimensions, saving or emailing the snapshot copy after each pass.

NOTE: File processing always performs a refresh of the file, in addition to taking the snapshot copy. If you want to take a snapshot copy of the file without performing a refresh first, you must use one of the regular snapshot features.

TIP: You can use snapshot file processing in conjunction with batch reporting and file collect. For example, you can automatically process multiple files, save snapshot copies of the various results, and then collect those copies into "report packages" to be emailed to recipients or saved to a designated file location.

Snapshot file processing is intended for spreadsheet Axiom files. If you have a form-enabled file where you want to process the form to create snapshot PDF copies, use the separate option Save Snapshot of Form.

To set up file processing to take and deliver snapshot copies:

1. Open the file where you want to set up file processing, and enable it as follows: On the Axiom tab, in the File Output group, click File Processing > Add File Processing control sheet to active workbook.

   NOTE: In systems with installed products, this feature may be located on the Main tab (either directly on the tab, or on the Publish menu).

   The File Processing pane opens, and a sheet named Control_FileProcessing is added to the file.

2. In the File Processing pane, for Processing Type, select Save Snapshot of File.

3. In the Sheets to Process box, enter the name(s) of the sheet(s) to process. You can include any sheet except control sheets and hidden sheets. Control sheets and hidden sheets are not included in snapshot copies.

   You can click the Select worksheets button to select sheet names from a list, or you can type the sheet names. Separate multiple sheet names with semicolons.

   The sheets to process will be included in the snapshot copy when the file is processed. This setting does not determine which sheets will be refreshed before the snapshot is taken; the refresh always applies to all sheets in the file when using file processing.

4. In the Snapshot Settings section, complete the following settings for the snapshot:

   Item	Description
   File Type	Select one of the following to determine the file type for the snapshot: XLSX (default), XLSM, XLS, or PDF. NOTE: If you select XLS, and the spreadsheet contains features that are not supported by the XLS format, the compatibility warning is not displayed during file processing. You may want to test saving the file to XLS to ensure that the end result will be as expected.
   Formula Conversion	Select one of the following to determine how formulas are handled in the snapshot: Convert All Formulas (default): All formulas are converted to values. Retain Excel Native Formulas: Axiom formulas are converted to values, but Excel formulas are left as is. Note that if an Excel formula references a sheet that is not included in the snapshot, that formula will be converted to a value. NOTE: If the file contains a pivot table, this option must be selected in order for the pivot table to work in the snapshot copy. This option does not apply if PDF is the selected file type.
   Sheet Name	Specify how the sheets to process should be named in the snapshot. You can do one of the following: You can use file processing variables to generate dynamic sheet names. You can type a "hard-coded" sheet name. The sheet name setting cannot be left blank. By default the sheet name uses file processing variables, and is set to [Current_Value]_[Current_SheetName]. If you do not plan to use multipass processing on the file, you should change this to just [Current_SheetName], which means that all sheets in the snapshot will use their current sheet names. The sheet name setting takes a single entry that applies to all sheets being processed. Therefore the option to use a "hard-coded" sheet name only applies when processing a single sheet. If you are processing multiple sheets, this setting must use file processing variables. If you want to use a file processing variable, you can type the variable or you can click the pencil icon to open a text editor. From the Insert Variable list, select the variable that you want to use. For more information, see Defining sheet names for file processing.

5. In the Output File Settings section, complete the following settings to determine the delivery of the output file (or files):

   Item	Description
   Output To	Select one of the following: Local File System (default): The output location is outside of Axiom, to either your local computer or a network share. The specific path is detailed in the Output Folder setting. Access to output files is not controlled by Axiom Software. Axiom Repository: The output location is the Axiom file system, within the Reports Library. The specific path is detailed in the Output Folder setting. Access to output files is controlled by security access to the designated folder within Axiom.
   Output file name	Specify how the output file (or files) should be named. You can do one of the following: You can use file processing variables to generate dynamic file names. You can type a "hard-coded" file name. The file name setting cannot be left blank. By default the file name uses file processing variables, and is set to [Current_Value]_Report. You can change "_Report" to something more specific to the file contents (or omit it to use only the current value). If you do not plan to use multipass processing on the file, then you can delete the current value variable and just type the desired file name. If you want to use a file processing variable, you can type the variable or you can click the pencil icon to open a text editor. From the Insert Variable list, select the variable that you want to use. For more information, see Defining the file name for file processing.
   Output folder	Specify the folder location for the output file (or files). You can type a folder path, or you can click the folder icon to browse to the folder location. The browse dialog will display either your local file system or the Axiom file system, depending on what you selected for Output To. This setting does not apply if you are only emailing files. For more information, see Defining the output folder for file processing.
   File Generation	This option only applies when using multipass processing. Select one of the following: Create a Single Output File (default): The results of each pass are collected into a single output file. For example, if you specified 1 sheet to process, and the multipass settings result in 10 passes, then one output file is created, containing 10 sheets (one sheet for each pass). Create an Output File for Each Pass: The results of each pass are saved as individual output files. For example, if the multipass settings result in 10 passes, then 10 output files are created (one file for each pass). For snapshot, standard (non-multipass) processing always produces a single output file.
   Save or Email Files	Select a delivery option for the output file (or files): Save Files: The output files are saved to the specified output folder. Email Files: The output files are emailed to the specified recipients. The output files are not saved anywhere on the file system. Save and Email Files: The output files are both saved and emailed. If you select an option that includes emailing, then the Email Settings section displays in the File Processing pane.
   Purge Setting	This option only applies when the file output is being saved to the Axiom Repository. If you want the file output to be automatically deleted after a specified period of time, then click the pencil icon to open the Choose Date dialog. Static purge date: Select a specific date, after which the output will be deleted. Relative purge date: Specify a number of days to keep the output after it has been generated. The output will be deleted after the specified number of days have passed. For more information, see Automatically deleting file output generated by file processing.
   Remote Data Connection	This option only applies when the file output is being saved to your local file system, and only for Cloud Service systems that are using remote data connections. Select the name of the remote data connection to use for the file processing operation. The designated remote data connection will be used to access the local file system and save output file(s) to the designated location. A remote data connection is required to save files locally from a cloud system. For more information, see Managing remote data connections.

   Microsoft Sharepoint support: You can specify a Sharepoint URL for the folder location, to save the output files to a Sharepoint portal. This feature is only available when running file processing locally via the Excel Client, and when the processing type is snapshot. The user executing the processing must have the appropriate permissions to the target folder in Sharepoint. Note that if the specified folder does not already exist in Sharepoint, this will not be detected by Axiom Software during the file processing, but a Microsoft error will report the location as not found.

   Opening the file after processing: If desired, you can opt to automatically open the output file within Axiom Software after the processing is complete. This option is only available if the result of the processing is a single file. If you want to use this option, it must be manually configured on the Control Sheet. In the File Settings section, set Open Output File after Processing to On. For more information, see File Processing Control Sheet.

6. If you chose to email the output file (or files), complete the Email Settings:

   Item	Description
   To Bcc	Enter the email addresses to receive the output file via email. Separate multiple addresses with a semicolon. If the file will be processed using multipass processing, to multiple output files, then you should use formulas to dynamically generate the appropriate email recipients for each pass (otherwise each pass will be sent to the same recipients). See Using dynamic email addresses with file processing.
   From	Select one of the following to specify the From address: System User: The From address is the default From address specified for Axiom Software in the system configuration settings. Current User: The From address is the email address for the user who performs the file processing, as defined in Security.
   Subject Line	Enter a subject line for the email.
   Body Text	Enter body text for the email.

   For more information, see How email is delivered for file processing.

7. Optional If you want to use multipass processing on the file, then complete the MultiPass Settings.

   For Source Column, click the column icon to select the source column for multipass processing. For example, if you select DEPT.VP as the source column, then the file will be processed once for each VP, and the data in the file will be automatically filtered to show only the data for that VP.

   To confirm that the file will be processed using your desired list of items, click Preview Multipass List. A dialog opens, displaying the total number of items to process, as well as the list of individual items.

   For more information on multipass processing, and for details on advanced settings, see Configuring multipass settings for file processing.

8. When you are finished configuring the file processing settings, click File Options > Save to save the settings in the file.

Results

Users can now use File Output > File Processing to process the file. The following actions will occur:

• When using Process File, the file will be refreshed "as is," the snapshot copy will be taken, and the snapshot copy will be saved and/or emailed according to the file processing settings.

• When using Process File Multipass, the file will be refreshed using a multipass filter to limit the data to the current multipass item (for example, for the current VP if processing by DEPT.VP). This process will occur for each unique multipass item being processed, with a different multipass filter being applied for each pass.

  If the file generation is to multiple output files, then a snapshot copy is taken after each pass, and then saved and/or emailed according to the file processing settings.

  If the file generation is to a single output file, then the results of each pass are collected into a single file. When all of the passes are complete, the snapshot copy is taken, and then saved and/or emailed according to the file processing settings.

Snapshot settings for deleting rows and columns and for workbook/worksheet protection are honored as normal.