New Features Added to Total Visual Agent 2013

Previously, it was all or none. You could import the schedules created in an older version of Total Visual Agent or another instance of it, but it would replace any existing settings. By definition, you could only do it once.

Under the File menu, Import Manager Settings lets you add specifications from multiple instances without eliminating your existing settings. It automatically uses the existing database specifications if the managed database is already defined.

In addition to specifying the number of minutes an event can run within an hour, you can now specify events that run for any number of minutes.

This lets you specify periods that don’t divide evenly within an hour or for more than an hour. For instance, an event repeating every 17 minutes, or 90 minutes, or 360 minutes (4 hours).

Previously, only individual actions could be tested. You can now test all the actions related to every level. This makes it easy to test multiple actions across multiple objects to see if they work as expected.

Previously, you could only limit tasks that ran during the day (e.g. 2 AM to 6 AM, or 9 AM to 5 PM). Now you can specify a period that runs over midnight such as 10 PM to 2 AM:

When you select a directory, all databases within it are processed with the same workgroup settings and password. If any databases in the folder are specifically defined in your list of databases, they are processed with those database settings. This allows you to manage databases with different security settings and passwords in a directory.

For the Data Extract feature, the tables created in the database now have indexes similar to your original tables. Other properties such as the database tabbed document display are also replicated in the new database. Certain properties such as a table or fields validation rule are not copied because that may prevent the ability to save your data since data in your table may violate your current validation rules.

A macro can now run on databases with a database password (different from a workgroup system file with user name and password).

Previously, these databases would require a user to enter the password, which prevented unattended automation.

For running Command Lines and Macros, your event can wait for a certain number of minutes while your process completes.

Previously, only whole minutes could be specified. You can now enter fractional minutes so 0.1 is six seconds.

Previously, when creating compressed files from Archives or Data Extract, the archive file was the name of the original file with a .ZIP extension. To support multiple databases with the same name (e.g. Sample.mdb, Sample.accdb, Sample.adp), the zip file now contains the extension and then .ZIP such as Sample.mdb.zip, Sample.accdb.zip, and Sample.adp.zip

When managing a folder, a [View Matches] button lets you see the names and numbers of files currently matching your file specifications and exclusions in the specified directory and subdirectories.

Add your own descriptions to better remember and manage your events, directories, and actions.

Total Visual Agent 2013 includes a new user manual and online help file to explain the new features.