External Command activity

An activity that specifies a command line action, such as a DOS or UNIX command, that a process runs started from a process.


External Command activity

Configure the External Command activity

To configure the External Command activity, do the procedure in this topic.

Prerequisites

Good to Know

  • In most text fields, you can use process data variables as an alternative to literal data values.
  • You can configure whether this activity waits for other activities before it runs.

    For more information, refer to How Do I Configure an Activity to Wait for Other Incoming Activities?

  • Some information about third-party integrations is outside the scope of the AgilePoint NX Product Documentation, and it is the responsibility of the vendors who create and maintain these technologies to provide this information. This includes specific business uses cases and examples; explanations for third-party concepts; details about the data models and input and output data formats for third-party technologies; and various types of IDs, URL patterns, connection string formats, and other technical information that is specific to the third-party technologies. For more information, refer to Where Can I Find Information and Examples for Third-Party Integrations?

How to Start

  1. On the Application Explorer screen, do one of these:
  2. Do one of these:
    • Add an activity:
      1. In the Process Builder, in the Activity Library, open the Utilities Utilities icon tab.
      2. On the Utilities Utilities icon tab, drag the External Command External Command icon activity onto your process.
    • Change an activity:
      1. In your process, double-click your activity.

Procedure

  1. Complete the fields on the General Configuration screen.

    For more information, refer to Configure General Options for the External Command Activity.

  2. Click External Command External Command icon.
  3. Complete the fields on the Configuration for calling External Command screen.

    For more information, refer to Do a Loop to Repeat an Action.

  4. (Optional) Click Advanced Advanced icon > E-mail Notifications E-mail Notifications icon.

    For more information, refer to Configure E-mail Notifications for Any Activity.

General Configuration

Specifies the basic settings for the External Command activity.

Figure: General Configuration screen

General Configuration screen

Fields

Field Name Definition

Display Name

Function:
Specifies the activity name that shows in your process.
Accepted Values:
One line of text that can have spaces.
Default Value:
None
Accepts Process Data Variables:
No
Example:
This is a common configuration field that is used in many examples. Refer to:
  • Examples - Step-by-step use case examples, information about what types of examples are provided in the AgilePoint NX Product Documentation, and other resources where you can find more examples.

Description

Function:
Specifies an optional text description for your activity.
Accepted Values:
More than one line of text.
Default Value:
None
Accepts Process Data Variables:
No

Connection Timeout (Seconds)

Function:
Specifies the number of seconds permitted to complete an action before the connection stops.
Accepted Values:
An integer, representing a number of seconds.
Default Value:
600
Accepts Process Data Variables:
No

Configuration For Calling External Command

Specifies the details for calling an external command.

Figure: Configuration For Calling External Command screen

Configuration For Calling External Command screen

Fields

Field Name Definition

Environment Variable

Function:
Specifies a set of dynamic named values that controls how processes run on a computer.
Accepted Values:
An environment variable that exists on the target machine.
Default Value:
None
Accepts Process Data Variables:
No
Example:
Path

Command

Function:
Specifies a command or executable to run.
Accepted Values:
A valid command or executable name.
Default Value:
None
Accepts Process Data Variables:
Yes
Example:
CMD

Arguments

Function:
Specifies the parameters necessary to complete the command.
Accepted Values:
A valid argument for the specified command.
Default Value:
None
Accepts Process Data Variables:
Yes
Example:
DIR

Return Value (Get Console Output Value)

Function:
Stores output in specified process data variable.
Accepted Values:
A process data variable.
Default Value:
None
Accepts Process Data Variables:
Yes