The Control Center is one of the only areas of the software that is different between Spectra and Stratus Desktop. With the cloud-based Stratus, we take care of many of the routine processes for maintaining your database and software so you don’t have to! Tasks such as backing up your data, processing email, text messages, google syncing, pending payments, and more are things you don’t need to think about with Stratus – we manage these jobs for you. So, when you open the Control Center in Stratus, you’ll see just a few jobs, compared to all the options in Spectra.
Control Center Jobs not running? Check out Utilities > Control Center Logs to see if any errors are occurring. See Control Center Logs
Control Center Jobs #
The following list shows which jobs are present in the various versions of Spectra and Stratus Desktop. To find out more about a specific job, click the job name to jump to the appropriate section in this topic.
The majority of Control Center jobs for Stratus Users are actually run from our servers so they will not be visible in the Utilities > Control Center menu. The below chart shows which jobs are able to be run locally. To see which jobs are currently running in your Stratus database, go to Utilities>Control Center Logs and select Group By Job Type to see a list of the jobs that are running as well as if there are any errors.
Watch the video and read the information below to learn how to manage the Control Center in your software.
To open the Control Center, go to the Utilities
menu in the software and click Control Center.
By default, the Control Center
runs as a Windows service on each computer running Spectra/Stratus Desktop.
Although the Control Center is always running on each computer, you’ll set up the individual Control Center jobs to run on a specific computer. We recommend running the jobs from the computer that houses your Database (Spectra Only). If you decide to run multiple jobs on the same computer, we recommend staggering the start times. For instance, run a the backup job before you run a compact and repair. It is also a
good idea to run a compact before performing a software update.
To facilitate this you could schedule the backup job at 1:00 AM, the compact job at 1:30 AM, and then check for updates job at
2:00 AM.
General Control Center Settings #
Spectra (or Stratus) Login Credentials –
Enter the UserInitials
and Password you use to
get log in to Spectra/Stratus. If you have not enabled security in the software you
can leave the password space blank.
Control Center Jobs #
Each Control Center job can be individually enabled and then set up
to run at a specific time, on specific days, and on a specific computer.
We recommend running the jobs from the computer that houses your Database (Spectra Only). There may be additional options available on each job. To set up or modify
a job, either double-click the job in the list or select the job and click
Modify Job Settings.
After modifying or adding any job settings, it is important to restart the computer that is set to run that specific job as it allows the Windows Service for the Control Center to restart and allow those new settings to take effect.
Backup Database Offsite (DataSafe) #
See Getting Started with DataSafe for more information about the DataSafe add-on service. See also: Database Backup Best Practices
Back Up Database Locally #
This job will back up your Spectra database to a drive location in your studio. See also: Database Backup Best Practices
ATTENTION!
Any backup or compact requires all users to be logged out of Spectra. If there is a user still logged into Spectra, the job cannot run. The same goes if you have another control center job running at the same time as one of these jobs. Make sure everyone properly logs out of Spectra before leaving to avoid any problems. Note: Just like with a backup using the Database Utility, your images are not backed up with this process.
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Job Enabled – Select this box to enable this job.
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Schedule – Choose the time you want the job to start and the days you would like it to run.
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Computer – Choose the computer you want this job to run on. Note: The computer name must be an exact match, so be careful if typing it in.
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Notification – Choose whether you would like to have the Control Center send a notification and/or email to report successes and/or failures. Emails will be sent using the workstation email settings. In order to successfully send the emails, you must have set up the appropriate email server SMTP information on the Email tab of Workstation Preferences for the computer that is running the job and the computer must have access to the Internet at the time the job runs.
HERE’S A FLASH FOR YOU!
You may have noticed that when you specify a location when doing a regular backup through the Database Utility, the location you back up to will be saved for use the next time. Also by default, Spectra creates a backup folder in the folder where your database is located, therefore on the same hard drive. The location specified in the Control Center will not affect what you have set in the Database Utility. It is a good practice to save your backups to several different locations so if one hard drive fails, you will still have a backup in another location. The Control Center is the ideal place to set a location that is on a totally different storage device. Note: If you would like this backup to be on a CD or DVD (or even on a portable drive), those drives need to be hooked up and ready to go for the Control Center to successfully perform the backup.
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Other Options – Select the location where you would like the Control Center to save your backup. This location must be a local drive on the computer that hosts the database. You can choose to have the backup verified and to also have your composite templates backed up. To keep backup files from piling up you can choose to have older backups deleted, setting the age of when you would like them deleted. A good rule of thumb is to keep back ups for approximately 2 weeks (14 days).
Check for Software Updates #
NOTE: This feature is no longer available with the release of Spectra and Stratus Desktop 2015. Please refer to Updates and Upgrades for more information about keeping your software current.
This job will check the StudioPlusSoftware.com website to see if there is a new Spectra update available for download. If there is, it will be downloaded into the SPUpdates folder located in the same folder as your main database. The next person to launch Spectra will trigger the update to run. Once the update has been run on one computer, the other computers can log into Spectra and will also see the update run on that computer’s Spectra application. Because an update may also change the database, it is always a good idea to run a backup before an update. See also: Optimizing Spectra
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Job Info – Select this box to enable this job. The computer must have access to the Internet at the time this job is run.
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Schedule – Choose the time you want the job to start and the days you would like it to run.
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Computer – Choose the computer you want this job to run on. Note: The computer name must be an exact match, so be careful if typing it in.
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Notification – Choose whether you would like to have the Control Center send a notification and/or email to report successes and/or failures. Emails will be sent using the workstation email settings. In order to successfully send the emails, you must have set up the appropriate email server SMTP information on the Email tab of Workstation Preferences for the computer that is running the job and the computer must have access to the Internet at the time the job runs.
Compact and Repair Database #
This job will attempt to Compact and Repair your database at the times and days specified.
ATTENTION!
A Compact and Repair will help keep your data cleaner by purging extra space and correcting potentially corrupting entries. You should always make sure that you have a current backup before performing a Compact and Repair.
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Job Enabled – Select this box to enable this job.
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Schedule – Choose the time you want the job to start and the days you would like it to run. It is recommended to run this job after the back up job.
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Computer – Choose the computer you want this job to run on. Note: The computer name must be an exact match, so be careful if typing it in.
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Notification – Choose whether you would like to have the Control Center send a notification and/or email to report successes and/or failures. Emails will be sent using the workstation email settings. In order to successfully send the emails, you must have set up the appropriate email server SMTP information on the Email tab of Workstation Preferences for the computer that is running the job and the computer must have access to the Internet at the time the job runs.
Email Inbox Processor #
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NOTE: This feature is available in the Essential, Professional, and Enterprise versions of Spectra. |
This job must be enabled in order to receive incoming email into Spectra. Your email box(es) must be set up in Spectra before you enable this job in the Control Center. See also: Setting up Incoming Email
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Job Enabled – Select this box to enable this job.
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Schedule – Choose the time you want the job to start and end. Then set how often you would like the job to run. Finally, select the days you would like it to run.
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Computer – Choose the computer you want this job to run on. Note: The computer name must be an exact match, so be careful if typing it in.
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Notification – Choose whether you would like to have the Control Center send a notification and/or email to report successes and/or failures. Emails will be sent using the workstation email settings. In order to successfully send the emails, you must have set up the appropriate email server SMTP information on the Email tab of Workstation Preferences for the computer that is running the job and the computer must have access to the Internet at the time the job runs.
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Other Options – If you are running the Enterprise version of Spectra, you can select the job to run for just the local studio or all studios.
Google Sync Processor #
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NOTE: This feature is available in the Essential, Professional, and Enterprise versions of Spectra. |
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Job Enabled – Select this box to enable this job.
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Schedule – Choose the time you want the job to start and end. Then set how often you would like the job to run. Finally, select the days you would like it to run.
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Computer – Choose the computer you want this job to run on. Note: The computer name must be an exact match, so be careful if typing it in.
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Notification – Choose whether you would like to have the Control Center send a notification and/or email to report successes and/or failures. Emails will be sent using the workstation email settings. In order to successfully send the emails, you must have set up the appropriate email server SMTP information on the Email tab of Workstation Preferences for the computer that is running the job and the computer must have access to the Internet at the time the job runs.
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Other Options – If you are running the Enterprise version of Spectra, you can select the job to run for just the local studio or all studios.
HoldMyMemories Session Upload
(*deprecated in 2016) #
This job can be set to periodically process your HoldMyMemories uploads. This will help speed up the process by automatically uploading sessions that need to uploaded. By enabling this job in the Control Center, you can eliminate the need to manually upload at the end of each day – Spectra will do it for you. Your HoldMyMemories account must be set up and enabled correctly in Spectra before you try to run the upload job in the Control Center.
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Job Enabled – Select this box to enable this job.
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Schedule – Choose the time you want the job to start and end. Then set how often you would like the job to run. Finally, select the days you would like it to run.
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Computer – Choose the computer you want this job to run on. Note: The computer name must be an exact match, so be careful if typing it in.
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Notification – Choose whether you would like to have the Control Center to send a notification and/or email to report successes and/or failures. Emails will be sent using the workstation email settings. In order to successfully send the emails, you must have set up the appropriate email server SMTP information on the Email tab of Workstation Preferences for the computer that is running the job and the computer must have access to the Internet at the time the job runs.
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Other Options – Choose the session status and rating for the images you would like to automatically upload. You can also choose to only upload images from a specific image group that has been defined for the session. If you are running the Enterprise version of Spectra, you can select the job to run for just the local studio or for all studios.
InSpiredByYou Session Upload #
This job can be set to periodically upload sessions to your InSpiredByYou website so that the sessions can be available to your clients as soon as their images are imported into Spectra or Stratus. You will need to have a InSpired account set up and properly syncing.
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Job Enabled – Select this box to enable this job.
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Schedule – Choose the time you want the job to start and end. Then set how often you would like the job to run. Finally, select the days you would like it to run.
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Computer – Choose the computer you want this job to run on. Note: The computer name must be an exact match, so be careful if typing it in.
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Notification – Choose whether you would like to have the Control Center send a notification and/or email to report successes and/or failures. Emails will be sent using the workstation email settings. In order to successfully send the emails, you must have set up the appropriate email server SMTP information on the Email tab of Workstation Preferences for the computer that is running the job and the computer must have access to the Internet at the time the job runs.
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Other Options – Choose the session status and rating for the images you would like to automatically upload. You can also choose to only upload images from a specific image group that has been defined for the session. If you are running the Enterprise version of Spectra, you can select the job to run for just the local studio or for all studios.
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Session Status – The Control Center will set the session status based on whether the upload was successful or not.
HERE’S A FLASH FOR YOU!
The session uploader will go through any sessions that appear on the Upload stage of the Workflow hub. It will generally use the default settings for user name, password, online duration, and price list. Image groups will not be synced if the session is uploaded automatically through the Control Center.
InSpiredByYou Data Sync #
This job can be set to periodically upload and download information from your InSpiredByYou website. This will help speed up the process by automatically downloading orders and albums so you can begin work on them almost as soon as they are submitted without having to constantly check on your own. You will need to have a InSpired account set up and properly syncing.
The InSpiredByYou Data Sync job performs the following:
Uploads #
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Prepaid orders
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Client albums
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Contracts
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Animoto videos
Downloads #
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Favorite images
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Client albums
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Contracts
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Orders
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Yearbook selections
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Job Enabled – Select this box to enable this job.
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Schedule – Choose the time you want the job to start and end. Then set how often you would like the job to run. Finally, select the days you would like it to run.
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Computer – Choose the computer you want this job to run on. Note: The computer name must be an exact match, so be careful if typing it in.
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Notification – Choose whether you would like to have the Control Center send a notification and/or email to report successes and/or failures. Emails will be sent using the workstation email settings. In order to successfully send the emails, you must have set up the appropriate email server SMTP information on the Email tab of Workstation Preferences for the computer that is running the job and the computer must have access to the Internet at the time the job runs.
Process Triggers #
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NOTE: This feature is available in the Professional and Enterprise version of Spectra. |
Set up this job to periodically process some of your Spectra triggers. This will help speed up your daily workflow by automatically creating phone calls, sending email or text messages, or generating tasks. By enabling this job in the Control Center, you can eliminate the need to process these triggers at the end of each day…Spectra will do it for you. Your triggers must be set up in Spectra before you try to run them in the Control Center. See also: Triggers
The automatic trigger process will only create phone call records, send messages (emails and texts), and generate tasks. Your letter triggers still need to be run manually, since they require human intervention to prepare the printer.
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Job Enabled – Select this box to enable this job.
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Schedule – Choose the time you want the job to start and end. Then set how often you would like the job to run. Then, select the days you would like it to run.
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Computer – Choose the computer you want this job to run on. Note: The computer name must be an exact match, so be careful if typing it in.
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Notification – Choose whether you would like to have the Control Center send a notification and/or email to report successes and/or failures. Emails will be sent using the workstation email settings. In order to successfully send the emails, you must have set up the appropriate email server SMTP information on the Email tab of Workstation Preferences for the computer that is running the job and the computer must have access to the Internet at the time the job runs.
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Other Options – If you are running the Enterprise version of Spectra, you can select the job to run for just the local studio or all studios.
Process Pending Payments #
Set up this job to periodically process your pending payments, speeding
up your daily workflow by having Spectra/Stratus Desktop automatically processing any
pending payments that are due. By enabling this job in the Control Center,
you can eliminate the need to manually process these payments at the end
of each day – Spectra/Stratus Desktop will do it for you. Note: Your credit
card processing with TSYS (in the U.S.) or eWAY (in Australia and New Zealand) must be set up in Spectra/Stratus Desktop before
you try to process pending payments through the Control Center.
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Job Enabled –
Select this box to enable this job. -
Schedule – Choose
the time you want the job to start and then select the days you would
like it to run. -
Computer – Choose
the computer you want this job to run on. Note:
The computer name must be an exact match, so be careful if typing it in. -
Notification –
Choose whether you would like to have the Control Center send a notification and/or email
to report successes and/or failures. Emails will be sent
using the workstation email settings. In order to successfully send the emails, you must have set up the appropriate email server
SMTP information on the Email
tab of Workstation Preferences
for the computer that is running the job and the computer must have access
to the Internet at the time the job runs. -
Other Options
– Choose whether you want Spectra to automatically advance the invoice
status, change the payment due date, or email a payment receipt to the
client for payments that are successfully processed. If you are running
the Enterprise version of Spectra, you can select the job to run for just
the local studio or for all studios.
Production Order Creator #
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NOTE: This feature is available in the Professional and Enterprise version of Spectra. |
Session Folder Creation #
Use this job to have session folders automatically created by the Control Center. Note for Stratus users: This job is run locally (not in the cloud).
Example of usage #
Set the job to run at 6:00 AM every morning and the routine will automatically create all the session folders for that day’s sessions.
SMS Text Inbox Processor #
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NOTE: This feature is available in the Essential, Professional, and Enterprise versions of Spectra. |
This job must be enabled in order to receive SMS text messages in Spectra.
The job will automatically check for incoming text messages. Your SMS
text messaging account must be set up in Spectra before you try to process
the text messages in the Control Center. See also: Getting Started with SMS Text Messaging
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Job Enabled –
Select this box to enable this job. -
Schedule – Choose
the time you want the job to start and end. Then set how often you would
like the job to run. Finally, select the days you would like it to run. -
Computer – Choose
the computer you want this job to run on. Note:
The computer name must be an exact match, so be careful if typing it in. -
Notification –
Choose whether you would like to have the Control Center send a notification and/or email to report successes and/or failures. Emails will be sent
using the workstation email settings. In order to successfully send the emails, you must have set up the appropriate email server
SMTP information on the Email
tab of Workstation Preferences
for the computer that is running the job and the computer must have access
to the Internet at the time the job runs. -
Other Options
– If you are running the Enterprise version of Spectra, you can select
the job to run for just the local studio or all studios.
Stratus Drive Image Upload
#
Use this job to automatically upload session images to your Stratus Drive online storage. Images will be uploaded from the folder(s) you choose in the job settings and only for sessions at a specific status. We suggest using a session status such as “Upload to Stratus Drive”. See also: Syncing Images to Stratus Drive
Important Note: if the images are stored on a NAS Drive, you can NOT use the Control Center to upload images, it must be done manually.
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Job Enabled – Select this box to enable this job.
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Schedule – Choose the time you want the job to start and end. Then set how often you would like the job to run. Finally, select the days you would like it to run.
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Computer – Choose the computer you want this job to run on. Note: The computer name must be an exact match, so be careful if typing it in.
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Notification – Choose whether you would like to have the Control Center send a notification and/or email to report successes and/or failures. Emails will be sent using the workstation email settings. In order to successfully send the emails, you must have set up the appropriate email server SMTP information on the Email tab of Workstation Preferences for the computer that is running the job and the computer must have access to the Internet at the time the job runs.
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Other Options – Choose whether to upload images from a Session record or Production Order. Also check which folder(s) you want uploaded. Then enter the number of days the files should remain on your Stratus Drive before being automatically purged. If you are running the Enterprise version of Spectra/Stratus, you can select the job to run for just the local studio or all studios. If using a Production Order record, you can check to have the control center only upload ordered images.
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Status – Choose the status of the sessions or production order that should automatically be uploaded from the Select Status drop-down list. Also choose an Operation Successful and an Operation Failed status. This will be the new status for the sessions or production order that are uploaded, based on whether the upload was successful or not. For example, if the images were not successfully uploaded the status could remain at the same status and if the upload was successful, the session would be advanced to the next status.
Stratus Drive Image Download
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Use this job to automatically download session images from your Stratus Drive online storage. Images will be downloaded from the folder(s) you choose in the job settings and only for sessions at a specific status. We suggest using a session status such as “Download from Stratus Drive.” See also: Syncing Images to Stratus Drive
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Job Enabled – Select this box to enable this job.
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Schedule – Choose the time you want the job to start and end. Then set how often you would like the job to run. Finally, select the days you would like it to run.
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Computer – Choose the computer you want this job to run on. Note: The computer name must be an exact match, so be careful if typing it in.
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Notification – Choose whether you would like to have the Control Center send a notification and/or email to report successes and/or failures. Emails will be sent using the workstation email settings. In order to successfully send the emails, you must have set up the appropriate email server SMTP information on the Email tab of Workstation Preferences for the computer that is running the job and the computer must have access to the Internet at the time the job runs.
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Other Options – Choose which folder(s) you want downloaded. You can also enter the number of days the files should remain on your Stratus Drive before being automatically purged. If you are running the Enterprise version of Spectra/Stratus, you can select the job to run for just the local studio or all studios.
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Session Status – Choose the status of the sessions that should automatically be downloaded from the Select Status drop-down list. Also choose an Operation Successful and an Operation Failed status. This will be the new status for the sessions that are downloaded, based on whether the download was successful or not. For example, if the images were not successfully downloaded the status could remain at the same status and if the download was successful, the session would be advanced to the next status.
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StudioPlus Mail Processor #
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NOTE: This feature is available in the Essential, Professional, and Enterprise versions of Spectra. |
This job must be enabled if using StudioPlus Mail. This job keeps your StudioPlus Mail SendGrid account synced with your software by updating your email category statistics, and by downloading your Unsubscribe, Bounce, and Spam Report lists. It also downloads appointment and session confirmations if you’re using that feature of the software. Find out more about StudioPlus Mail by reading StudioPlus Mail Overview.
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Job Enabled – Select this box to enable this job.
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Schedule – We recommend setting this job to run hourly each day. Note: There is some information that will only be updated once a day from SendGrid.
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Computer – Choose the computer you want this job to run on. Note: The computer name must be an exact match, so be careful if typing it in.
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Notification – Choose whether you would like to have the Control Center send a notification and/or email to report successes and/or failures.
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Other Options – If you are running the Enterprise version of Spectra you can select the job to run for just the local studio or all studios.
Template Image Downloader #
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NOTE: This feature is available in the Essential, Professional, and Enterprise versions of Stratus Desktop. Spectra does not include this feature. |
Note for Stratus users: This job is run locally (not in the cloud).
Set up this job to automatically download template images to your local cache. Ideally, this job should run once a day during the night.
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Job Enabled – Select this box to enable this job.
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Schedule – Choose the time you want the job to start and end. Then set how often you would like the job to run. Finally, select the days you would like it to run.
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Computer – Choose the computer you want this job to run on. Note: The computer name must be an exact match, so be careful if typing it in.
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Notification – Choose whether you would like to have the Control Center send a notification and/or email to report successes and/or failures.
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Other Options – If you are running the Enterprise version of Spectra you can select the job to run for just the local studio or all studios.
