Question
What’s the difference between Scheduling a workflow from its original location on disk vs as a copy in the Scheduler DB?
Answer
Run a copy of the workflow stored in the scheduler DB creates a copy of the workflow and stores it in the Scheduler’s database. When the time comes to run the workflow, it is pulled up the database and run.
When scheduling as a copy stored in the scheduler DB, it is important to make sure that any dependencies (input files, macros, etc) are available at run time. If the location of the dependencies cannot be reached by the Scheduler you may run into errors stating things such as “File not found” or “unable to open macro”. These errors mean the Scheduler is unable to see the file paths you have referenced in your workflow, and therefore cannot run the process successfully.
To get around these errors, check your dependencies. If you are using relative paths you may just need to set them to Absolute. You can do this by going to Options > Advanced Options >Workflow Dependencies.
When a workflow is stored in the database, it becomes static. Any changes made in Alteryx to this workflow are independent to the Scheduled version and will require you to upload a new instance of the workflow or replace the current one.
Run the workflow from its original location on disk calls the actual .yxmd file from where you originally saved it and runs the process.
You’ll still need to make sure the dependencies are accessible by the scheduler, including the location of the workflow itself.
The difference with this option is the scheduler is pulling the live version of the workflow and input files so any changes made are reflected the next time the workflow is run and there is no need to create a new schedule.
For more information on the Scheduler, see Manage Schedules.
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