Understanding Flow Schedules

Use the Schedule option on the flow submission page to run the flow at your defined time and frequency. The default schedule is to submit a flow as soon as possible.

You can create a schedule to run the flow once or on a recurring basis at a predefined date, frequency, and time span that suits your business practices. Once scheduled, here's what you can do with flow schedules:

• Monitor status of scheduled flows
• Troubleshoot flow schedules
• Cancel scheduled flows

Monitor Status of Scheduled Flows

Use the View Flows and Checklist pages to monitor the status of scheduled flows. For example, if you have scheduled and submitted a flow, the scheduled flow displays in the View Flows and Checklist pages with a status of Pending. The flow displays the flow submission date as evaluated by the flow parameters, and not the actual dates that the flow is run.

This is because when a flow is scheduled, an instance of the flow is created and the application evaluates flow parameters, whereas, just before task execution, the aplication considers the task parameters.

Therefore, if you need to define a date parameter , for example, the flow submission date, to be set based on a defined value, you must define the value at the flow task level.

The status of the flow changes to In Progress only after the flow gets executed on a date as defined at the flow task parameter level.

Troubleshoot Flow Schedules

When there is an application server failure, the flow instance ends. You must resubmit the flow once the server resumes. You don't have to reschedule the recurring flows scheduled to run at a later date.

Cancel Scheduled Flows

Cancel a scheduled flow depending on the frequency and status of the flow, as given in this table.

Frequency	Status	Available Actions
Once	Started	Skip
Once	Not Started	Cancel flow
Recurring	Not Started	Cancel the current flow, cancel the recurring flow, or cancel the current and recurring flows

Flow Scheduled Date

If you want the flow to run on the scheduled date, as specificed in the flow schedule, you must define the flow task date parameter as given here:

• Parameter Basis: Context
• Basis Value: System Date

  This ensures that the task considers the scheduled date as the task date parameter.

If you require an offset for the date, then define the task flow date as given here:

• Parameter Basis: Post SQL Bind
• Basis Value: Use an SQL to define the date

For example, if you want to set the Process End Date to 30 days after the Process Start Date, you must use an SQL to derive the Process End Date task level parameter. For example, define the Process End Date as follows:

• Parameter Basis: Post SQL Bind

• Parameter Value: select PROCESS END DATE+30 from dual

Submission of Scheduled Flows

If you plan to use the same flow pattern for a scheduled flow and also for adhoc submissions, the recommended practice is as follows:

• Use the original flow for adhoc submissions, where you can enter a date parameter value instead of using the schedule, and default the date defined at the task flow level.
• Use a copy of the flow if you wish to use the schedule and the date defaulting at flow task parameter level as per how you have defined the date.