Scheduled Tasks

In this article, we will provide you with a comprehensive understanding of how to schedule tasks in Knack.

Tasks are automated actions that can be applied to a specified set of records on a scheduled basis (daily/weekly/monthly). These actions have the ability to enhance the workflow of your app, such as sending friendly reminders when a deadline is approaching or automatically adding important to-do records periodically.

To access tasks, navigate to the Tasks section in the Builder and set them up for a specific table. Tasks are triggered by field values for records within that table.

For example, if you want to create a task that sends an email to the project manager when the due date for their project has passed, you can easily set up the task in the Projects table.

 

Managing Tasks

You can find Scheduled Tasks in the Tasks section of the Builder. From this section, you have the option to add, edit, or delete tasks for any of your existing tables.

Adding Tasks

To add a new task, simply click on the Tasks view located on the top menu after you have selected a table. Then, select the "+ Add a task" button.

This will open a popup modal that will guide you in defining your task and the actions it will perform.

 

 

Viewing Tasks

You can easily view the current tasks on an app from both the Dashboard and the Builder.

In the Dashboard, you can view a summary of tasks on each app in the app details:

Selecting this option will give you a quick overview of how many active and paused tasks are in that app:

In the Builder, tasks can be viewed by clicking on the "Tasks" option from the top menu when viewing a table, or by selecting "Tasks" from the left-side menu. Here, you will be able to see your task details as well as create and edit tasks.

You can also view a count of how many tasks are set up in each table next to the table's name:

 

 

Pausing a Task

If you want to stop using your task for the time being, you don't have to delete it entirely. To pause an existing task indeterminately, change its Status setting to "Off."

 

 

Deleting a Task

To delete a task, simply click on the gear-shaped icon on the field and choose "Delete" from the dropdown menu. Please note that you will be prompted to confirm the task deletion before it is permanently removed.

 

 

Task Settings

Task

Every task needs some essential information to identify it and determine its schedule and frequency of execution.

• Task Name: Choose a descriptive name for your task to easily identify its purpose. For instance, you can name an email task that sends a reminder three days prior to a deadline as "Upcoming Deadline - Email."

• Schedule: You can choose the frequency of your scheduled task. Scheduled tasks can be set to run daily, weekly, or monthly.

• Next Run Date: The Next Run Date field is updated every time the task runs, indicating the next scheduled time for the task.

• Status: You can select whether the task is running or paused. This feature is useful when you want to save a task for future use.

 

 

Action

Actions - Define What Your Task Will Do

Each time the task is executed, it will perform a specific action. The task has the capability to perform the following actions:

• Update each record

• Update connected records

• Insert connected records

• Send a custom email

 

Update This Record

The task will update every record in this table that meets your criteria.

This task looks at every record in the Products table. When the task finds a record whose Inventory on Hand field value is lower than 10, it will update that record’s Available field value to "No."

 

Update Connected Records

Use this action when you need to update records in a connected table.

When the task below comes across a record in the Registration table where the Status field value is "Paid", it will proceed to update each connected Member and change their user status to "active".

 

Insert a Connected Record

This action will insert a record into another connected table.

The task below will automatically insert a connected Purchase record for a Product when the inventory level reaches the minimum threshold. The task utilizes a field value from each Product to determine the Supplier and Date to reorder.

 

 

Send a Custom Email

For every record that meets the criteria in this table, Knack will send a custom email. You can use record values for custom recipients, subjects, and messages.

 

Using values from the Products record, this task will notify the purchasing department which Products have low inventory and need to be replenished.

 

 

Task History

The "History" tab provides a comprehensive record of the task's activities over time. It displays a timestamped list of each instance when the task was executed, along with the number of records that were processed.

If the task was manually executed, it will be indicated next to the timestamp.

If the task is set up to send an email, you have the option to access the history of emails sent from the task by clicking on "View email delivery history".

 

Running a Task Manually

If you ever need to run a specific task without disrupting its regular schedule, you can conveniently use the "Run" tab in the task to manually execute it.

Upon initiating the task, you will receive a notification indicating that the task is currently in progress. To verify the completion status of the task, refer to the "History" section.

 

 

Using Tasks in Your App

Workflow & Automation

Scheduled tasks are an incredibly valuable tool for automating processes and streamlining workflow. Let's explore a few different ways you can leverage this powerful feature.

In a Project Management App

Configure a task in the Tasks table to automatically send an email to the linked Project Manager when a deadline is nearing and the status is incomplete.

For an Approvals Process

For this example, let’s assume a Proposal has to go through three level of approvals.

Utilize Date fields and record rules to effectively monitor the approval progress of each assigned approver for the Proposal record, and automatically update the Current Approver connection field with the subsequent person in the approval sequence.

Create a task in the Proposal table to send an email to the current approver if a Proposal record has been at their approval level for more than 3 days without being approved or denied.

Layer Tasks

An effective way to avoid overwhelming actions is by implementing layered tasks. Let's consider an example from an HR app.

When a new employee is added to the database, HR wants to assign a series of Document records to the employee so the employee can upload their information. HR will set up a task to automatically insert new Document records to the employee.

In order to prevent new Document records from being assigned to every single Employee record, there needs to be a way to recognize when an Employee has already been assigned the records.

Set up another task following the original task that sets a Documents Assigned field value in the Employee record to "Yes". Make sure this task runs after the original task runs.

For example, the original task may run at 9am every morning, this new task will run at 10am every morning.

Then, use a when filter on the original task to filter out Employee records where the Documents Assigned field value is "No". This way, only the newly added Employees will have new connected Documents records inserted.

Automation & Layering

An inventory app is a good example of combining the uses we explain above.

First, set up a task to check Product records on a daily basis - when the Quantity Remaining value is below a certain threshold, set the Needs Reorder value to "Yes". Set up another task that checks the Quantity Remaining value - when it’s above the threshold set the Needs Reorder value to "No".

Set up another task following the first one that automatically inserts a connected Purchase Order record when the Product’s Needs Reorder value is "Yes".

The final task in this workflow is set up in the Purchase Orders table to email the purchasing department 3 days after a Purchase Order has been created if the status of the Purchase Order is still "pending".

 

 

Notes & Troubleshooting

How many tasks can run at the same time?

Each app can run 4 simultaneous scheduled jobs (including tasks) at one time. If your app has more than 4 jobs scheduled to run at the same time, they'll be queued up to run next as soon as another task finishes running.

Each Knack shared server has the capability to run up to 200 simultaneous scheduled jobs, including tasks, at any given time. These jobs can originate from any app, which may include those from other customers.

The only way to lift this limit is with an enterprise plan that includes a private server. Please reach out to us using the form on that page for more information.

 

I'm not seeing the option labeled "to a connected value"

Please make sure to double-check your connections as you will not be able to access connected records using many-to-many or many-to-one connections.

I'm not seeing the “Tasks” tab in my table menu

Users who are on trial or Starter plans do not have access to scheduled tasks. To access tasks, you will need to upgrade to the Pro plan or a higher plan.

 

How do I control the order in which my tasks run?

Tasks are not executed in a specific order. Therefore, if you have two tasks that start simultaneously, they will run concurrently. If you want tasks to be executed sequentially, you will need to schedule them at different times.

It is generally recommended to space out the tasks depending on the number of records you are dealing with. We suggest a spacing of approximately 30 minutes to 2 hours, but if you have a large number of records being updated, you may need to allow for more time.

Will removing a task cancel the currently running instance of that task?

No, if the task is running, it will complete even if you delete the task.

 

How-To Guides

• Email Your Users

• Build an Inventory App

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