Importing a project and scheduling an analytic

After you develop a script in ACL Analytics, use the server-based processing power of Analytics Exchange to schedule and run the script.

What do you need?

To complete this quick start, you need the following:

• an installation of AX Client with a working connection to an AX Server instance
• an installation of ACL Analytics with the same edition (Unicode or non-Unicode) as your Analytics Exchange installation
• access to the sample data that comes with ACL Analytics

  Note

  By default, the sample data projects are installed at C:\Users\username\Documents\ACL Data\Sample Data Files on your local file system.

Create a destination folder in the Working directory

Start by creating a destination collection and folder in the Working directory of AX Server. A collection is a high level container for project folders in Analytics Exchange:

1. In AX Client, in the Server Explorer, right-click the Working directory and select New > Collection.

   Name the collection something meaningful so that your projects and audit content are easily found in AX Server.

2. In the Server Explorer, right-click the new collection and select New > folder.

   This folder is the target for your project import, so use a name that identifies the source ACL project.

Prepare the ACL project for import

Next, create an analytic script in an existing ACL project so that you can import the project into the folder you created on AX Server:

Open the sample ACL project

1. Open ACL for Windows
2. Click Open Analytic Project and from the ACL Data\Sample Data Files folder, select Sample Project.ACL.

Create an analytic script

To allow an ACL script to run on AX Server, you must add an analytic header:

1. From the Overview tab of the Navigator, right-click Scripts and select New > Script.

   Name your script analytic_test.

2. In the Script Editor, add the following content to the script and save the file:

   COMMENT
   //ANALYTIC Sort the Demo table
   This analytic sorts the Demo table on Amount descending
   //DATA Demo_Sorted
   END
   
   SET SAFETY OFF
   
   OPEN DEMO
   
   SORT ON Amount D TO "Demo_Sorted.FIL"
   
   CLOSE DEMO
   
   SET SAFETY ON
   

   Tip

   The analytic header (lines 1 to 5) is required to convert a script to an analytic and allow it to run on AX Server. Without this header, the script would not be an analytic.

3. Close the project and exit ACL for Windows.

Import the project to AX Server and schedule the analytic

Finally, import the prepared ACL project into AX Server and schedule the analytic you created to run at a specific time on a specific day:

Import the project

1. In AX Client, in the Server Explorer, right-click the folder you created and select Import.
2. Browse to the ACL Data\Sample Data Files folder, select Sample Project.ACL, and click Open.
3. In the Select Import Destination dialog box, select Import source data files (.fil files) and click Import.

Result the project is imported to the target folder and appears in the Analysis Apps sub-folder. The project's tables appear in the Data sub-folder.

Schedule the analytic job

1. In the Server Explorer, inside the folder you created, right-click Analysis Apps > ProjectName > AnalyticName and select Schedule.
2. To schedule the analytic to run once at a specified time, in the Schedule dialog box:
   1. Select a date and time to run the analytic.
   2. From the Repeat list, select Do not repeat.
3. Click Next and then click Schedule.

Result the analytic is scheduled and will run on the day and time you specified.