Question

Can workflow generate metadata reports?

Workflow

Updated August 29, 2024

asked on October 22, 2018 • Show version history

Hello, I am trying to automate a report we regularly run. What I'd like is for workflow to perform a search, and then dump a metadata report from that search to a particular folder location. It seems easy enough, but I am unable to discover which tool I should be using. Is there a tool for this? If not, what methods do you use to automate report generation?

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Replies

replied on October 22, 2018 • Show version history

most likely you will need to use a SDKScript activity to run the search and export the results to CSV (or another format if you need).

But there are ways to us the built in search activity along with a custom query or update data activity. Basically, the Query/Update activity uses ODBC or direct connection, so it must always have the Document that it writes to available in the same format with the same name every time it runs. If writing to Excel or CSV, you need to be careful of the file locking so you do not want the workflow to run more that 1 instance at a time.

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replied on October 23, 2018

I use this kind of approach for several reports. What I do is include two files in a folder on the Workflow server; one "template" file with the desired columns/formatting, and another that is configured with the ODBC connection.

Inside my Workflow, I use a Script activity to copy the template and overwrite the second file (if the name doesn't change, the ODBC connection will remain intact). After the file is replaced, I use an insert data activity to build the report.

Next, I retrieve the file and send it as an email through another script, or I will import the electronic file into placeholder document in the repository so I can use the built-in email activity to send it as an attachment.

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replied on October 24, 2018

Lots of scripting to automate a simple search and report. I guess I will shout out for a feature request for reports to be automatically ran on a schedule based on set criteria.

Thanks for the help guys!

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replied on June 12, 2024

Just following-up on this question from a while back, is there now a way to automate metadata reporting that does not require a script?

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replied on June 12, 2024

Not currently.

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replied on August 29, 2024

Hi Vikki,

I actually figured out a way to do this without scripting, but it did require an ODBC direct connection. That file will also need to include ;ReadOnly=0; in order for it to fill in the details on the excel sheet. The basis must be a search, then using for each entry you can insert data to the table. here is sample image:

the conditional decision here is whether it gets written to the report or not, and not really relevant to just automating reports. Combine this with a scheduled rule and an email function you are good to go. It is important to note though that this would require you to put blank templates on the server if you want specific time period data, or you'll need to figure out some other way to overwrite and clear the rows before the data is written to the report.

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Can workflow generate metadata reports?

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