Configuring Find task

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A find task retrieves a list of files from a specified location. The files that are listed by a Find task are passed on to the subsequent task for processing. If multiple Find tasks exist for an action, the files that are found by each Find task are added to the list passed on to it from the previous task.

About this task

A post‑processing action triggers for each file individually, using the criteria you configure. You can add a Find task inside the post‑processing action, and the files that the Find task lists serve as the action’s input source. Managed File Transfer triggers the action whenever a file is uploaded, downloaded, or deleted. It processes one file at a time, and if an error occurs, it stops processing that file. After the files in the current task have been processed, the action ends the processing run.

For a scheduled action, you must first define a Find task, which is the default starting point. If you omit this task, the scheduled action fails. The Find task lists the files that become the action’s input source. When the Find task returns multiple files, every subsequent task works on all of them. Each task you configure processes the entire file list and then passes that same set of files to the next task.

Description of configuration parameters for the 'Find' file operation in Managed File Transfer

Field Description
Task name Type a unique name for the task.
Source location Select one of the following options to configure the location where the file is searched for:
Remote path
If the destination location is on a remote server or network, select a protocol (transport mechanism) from the list, and type or browse to the file path location. For example, the path might be as follows: protocol://<host>:<port>/DestinationFolder/.
Virtual folder
To specify a virtual folder, type or browse to the location of the folder. If you want to point to a subfolder within the folder, append the URL in the box with the details of the subfolder.
Note: The virtual folder that you select must be configured on the same Managed File Transfer instance on which the action is configured.
  • Type the User name and Password for the remote server.
  • Click Test Connection to check the connection to the remote server.
Tip: To connect to a remote server by using a secure protocol (FTPES, FTPS, HTTPS, or SFTP) and to configure authentication by using secure key exchange:
  1. Create a folder for the remote server and configure the certificate alias parameters.
  2. Use the folder that you configured in the Virtual folder option of the Source location in the task.
Any file name Select this option to find files with any name.
Specific file name Select this option if you want to filter files with specific names (for example, *.xml) and type the file name in the text box. This option is disabled if you select Any file name
Execute error task Select this option to run an error task if the file operation fails.
Skip subsequent tasks when no files found This option is enabled by default. Clear the selection to run the subsequent tasks even when no files are found. The capability to skip subsequent tasks when no files are found enhances resource utilization and prevents the logging of redundant entries in the database.
Note: The event completes the execution without failing if you select both Skip subsequent tasks when no files found and Fail if no files are found.
Advanced
Exclude folders Select this option if you want Managed File Transfer to ignore folders and their contents in the Find task.
Folder depth Specify the folder depth if you want to include subfolders in the search criteria for the Find task. The default value is 1, which restricts the search to the root folder.
Maximum items to find Specify the number of records to restrict in the Find task results. The default is 0, which includes all the records that match the search criteria for the Find task.
Last file modification Provide one of the following criteria to narrow the search based on the last file modification timestamp:
before
Use this option to find files with the last file modification timestamp before a certain date and time.
within
Use this option to find files with the last file modification timestamp within a certain date and time range.
Note: If you select a time variable, specify at least one criterion for time. To apply the selected time variable, enter the following information:
  • The days in the Days box
  • The hours in the Hours box
  • The minutes in the Minutes box
For example, assume you select before with 2 days and 6 hours as the time variable. A Managed File Transfer Find task that is run on 30 April 12 PM, searches for all files that are modified before 27 April 4 PM. If instead you select within with 2 days and 6 hours as the time variable, a Managed File Transfer Find task that is run on 30 April 12 PM. This task searches for all files that are modified between 30 April 12 PM and 28 April 4 PM.
Fail if no files are found Select this option if you want the Find operation to fail if no files are found.
File stability and scanning Select one of the following options:
  • Exclude files that are being updated, if you want to ignore files for which processing is in progress.
Scan for files and check for stability Select one of the following options:
  • Exclude file after first scan, if you want the Find operation to scan and check a single time.
  • Scan file multiple times, if you want the find operation to check at regular intervals. Type the seconds and minutes.
Retry [ ] times at an interval of [ ] seconds Select this option if you want Managed File Transfer to retry a failed find task. Type the number of retries and the retry interval in seconds.
Sort files Select this option to enable Managed File Transfer to search for files in a particular order. Sort files based on the last modified date, file size, and file name under the Sort field, and in ascending or descending order under Sort order.
Note: Assume that you configure Maximum items to find with a specific value, such as 4, and select this option. Managed File Transfer then reads every file within the folder and finds files based on the Sort files criteria. This operation might decrease the performance of the Find task.
Assign Partner Select this option to assign a partner for the action and do one of the following tasks:
  • Select the partner to assign from the list of configured partners in Managed File Transfer.
  • Type a parameterized value for the partner in the following format: [partner_name], where [partner_name] is a server variable or an action parameter that contains the actual partner name during the execution of an action.
Note: For virtual folders, use this option only if you want to override the partners configured for the folders.

Procedure

Go to Actions in the navigation tree and select Post-processing or Scheduled..