Schedules and when a workflow starts

A schedule runs a workflow for you at the times you set. Use this page to work out when a scheduled workflow starts, and to find out why a schedule does not fire.

Set a workflow's schedule

On the workflow card, click Edit. If you cannot change the workflow, the button opens the form as View, and the fields are read-only.
Under Schedule Settings, click a Unit: Minute, Hour, Day or Month.
Set Frequency, Schedule Day and Start Time. For Minute or Hour, also set End Time, which must be after Start Time.
Check Timezone. Start Time, End Time and Schedule Day are read in this time zone. A new workflow starts with your browser's time zone, and the field reads as a sentence, for example Runs in Tokyo time (GMT+9), the same as your clock. When the workflow's time zone differs from yours, the sentence also shows the times on your own clock, for example 09:00 there is 08:00 for you.
To use another time zone, click Change and type a city or country. Each row shows the time there now and its offset. Before you type, Suggested lists your time zone, UTC and the time zones other workflows already use.
Under Workflow Settings, check that Schedule Status is on. Turn on Ignore Error if later runs should start after a failed or stopped run.
Click Save Changes.
If the workflow has never run, run it once by hand. See Run a workflow by hand.

Clicking a time stepper counts as a change, so Save Changes turns on at once.
An invalid time shows an error tooltip on the field, for example when End Time is not after Start Time.

Note

A new workflow has Schedule Status on, so its card shows On before it has run. The schedule does not start a run until the workflow has run once.

Everything else in the form, such as Batch Size and Restart Count, is covered in Create and edit a workflow.

Settings and their defaults

Setting	What it does	Default
Unit	How the schedule repeats: Minute, Hour, Day or Month.	Minute
Frequency	The gap between runs, in minutes, hours or days, from 1 to 100. It does not apply to Month, although the field stays visible.	1
Schedule Day	The day of the month for a Month schedule, from 1 to 31. It applies only to Month.	1
Start Time	The first time of day the schedule may start a run.	00:00
End Time	The last time of day the schedule may start a run. Shown only for Minute and Hour, and it must be after Start Time.	23:59
Timezone	The time zone that Start Time, End Time and Schedule Day are read in. Click Change and search by city or country; each row shows the time there now and its offset, such as GMT+2. Changing it keeps the times you typed.	Your browser's time zone for a workflow you create. UTC for a workflow that DataMind creates for you, such as the ones added with a new source.
Schedule Status	Turns the schedule on or off, the same as the On/Off control on the card.	On
Ignore Error	Lets later scheduled runs start after a Failed or Aborted run.	Off

Both switches and every schedule field are read-only when you cannot edit the workflow.

When each unit runs

Unit	When it runs
Minute	At Start Time, then every Frequency minutes, until End Time. Example: Frequency 15, Start Time 08:00, End Time 18:00 runs at 08:00, 08:15 and so on, up to 18:00.
Hour	At Start Time, then every Frequency hours, until End Time. Example: Frequency 2, Start Time 06:00, End Time 23:59 runs at 06:00, 08:00 and so on, up to 22:00.
Day	Once a day, at the first minute from Start Time when the workflow is allowed to start. Example: Start Time 02:00 runs every night at 02:00. With Frequency 2, it runs on the 1st, 3rd, 5th and so on of each month.
Month	Once a month, on Schedule Day, from Start Time. Example: Schedule Day 5, Start Time 03:00 runs on the 5th of every month at 03:00. Schedule Day 31 runs only in months that have a 31st.

Times and days follow the workflow's Timezone. A Day run at 01:00 in Asia/Tokyo counts as that day's run in Tokyo, and Schedule Day 5 means the 5th in that time zone.

What lets a run start

The schedule starts a run only when all of these are true:

Schedule Status is on, and the card shows On.
The workflow has run at least once, by hand or on its schedule.
Neither its latest scheduled run nor its latest manual run is Running or Running Error.
Its most recent run did not end Failed or Aborted, unless Ignore Error is on.
The current time in the workflow's Timezone is between Start Time and End Time.
The day or the minute matches the Unit and Frequency rules above, and today's slot is not used up.

The scheduler checks every minute. A scheduled run does not start when:

the schedule is off;
the workflow has never run;
another full run of it is still going;
its last run failed or was stopped, and Ignore Error is off;
the current time is outside the window;
the day or the Frequency does not match the current time;
today's slot was already used.

Scheduled runs are counted per slot:

At most one scheduled run starts per slot. For Day and Month, once the day's scheduled run has run, the schedule waits for the next day or month.
A manual run does not use up the day's or the month's slot. If you run a Day or Month workflow by hand, its scheduled run still happens that day or month.
A single table sync, a single transformation run or a test does not use up a slot and does not hold the schedule back.

Scheduled runs show Automatic in the Execution Type column of the runs table. See Job runs.

Who can change a schedule

To change a schedule, you need the Modify permission for the workflow's type: Modify Lake Workflows, Modify Warehouse Workflows or Modify WriteBack Workflows. It covers the schedule fields and both switches in the form, the On/Off control on the card, and Turn Off/Turn On in a tab's menu. Without it, the control is disabled and the form opens read-only. See Workflow permissions.

Stop a schedule

On the workflow card, the control reads On or Off. Click it to turn the schedule off or on. The card changes at once; if the save fails, it returns to its previous state. The control is disabled while the change is saving.
Or right-click the workflow's tab and choose Turn Off or Turn On.
Or click Edit and turn off Schedule Status, then click Save Changes. Saving Schedule Status off switches both the workflow and its schedule off; the card then shows Off. The card shows On only when both are on.
The card control and the tab menu item both confirm with Workflow enabled successfully or Workflow disabled successfully.
An administrator can pause the Workflow Scheduler under Admin > System Configuration > Health. While it is paused, the panel reads Paused - workflows will not execute, and no workflow starts on a schedule. Automatic retries pause too. Runs you start by hand still work. See Pause or resume scheduled workflows and Monitor and fix a run.

Limits and edge cases

Minute and Hour do not catch up. A slot that falls while a run is still going is skipped. The next run starts at the next slot that falls when no run is going.
For Minute and Hour, the next run does not start in the same minute as the previous start; it waits for a later minute.
Day and Month do not skip. If a run cannot start at Start Time, for example because another run is still going, it starts at the first later minute of the window that day, once it can.
Day with a Frequency above 1 counts days from the 1st of each month. Every 2 days runs on the 1st, 3rd, 5th and so on, so a 31-day month can end with a run on the 31st and another on the 1st.
Month with Schedule Day 31 does not run in months that have fewer days.
Minute and Hour windows cannot cross midnight in the form. For Day and Month, the hidden End Time still closes the window; switch Unit to Minute or Hour to see its value.
After a Failed or Aborted run, the schedule waits until a newer full run finishes without failing, unless Ignore Error is on. See Monitor and fix a run.
A time zone with daylight saving time keeps the same clock times all year: 08:00 in Europe/Berlin runs at 08:00 Berlin time in summer and in winter.
On the night the clocks go back, one hour happens twice. A Minute or Hour schedule can run in both, and a Day or Month run still runs once.
On the night the clocks go forward, one hour does not exist. Minute and Hour slots in it do not run, and a Day or Month run set inside it starts one hour later, so 02:30 runs at 03:30.

Questions, answered

Why does my new workflow show On but never run?

A schedule starts only after the workflow has run once. Run it by hand once, using Run a workflow by hand. From then on, the schedule takes over.

Why did scheduled runs stop after a failure?

A Failed or Aborted recent run holds the schedule back. Fix the cause and run the workflow until a run finishes without failing, or turn on Ignore Error to keep the schedule going after failures. See Monitor and fix a run.

Why did the workflow run at 06:00 when I set 08:00?

The workflow runs at 08:00 in its Timezone, which can differ from yours. Open the workflow with Edit and read Timezone under Schedule Settings: the sentence there shows the times on your own clock. Click Change, pick your time zone and type the time again if needed.

Why does my workflow show UTC?

Workflows that DataMind creates for you, such as the ones added with a new source, and workflows created before the Timezone setting existed use UTC. Their times stay as they were. To use local time, click Change next to Timezone and pick your time zone, which Suggested lists first. Then type Start Time and End Time again, because changing the time zone keeps the times you typed. Before you change anything, the sentence under Timezone shows what the current times are on your clock.

Do I need to change the schedule when the clocks change?

No. The schedule follows the time zone's own clock, including daylight saving time. A workflow set to 08:00 in Europe/Berlin runs at 08:00 Berlin time all year.

Which time zone does a colleague in another country see?

The workflow's own Timezone, not theirs. Opening the workflow does not change it. They see the same Start Time, and the sentence under Timezone shows the times on their own clock.

Why does Schedule Day not change my daily workflow?

Schedule Day applies only to the Month unit. For a Day schedule, use Frequency instead.

Does a manual run stop tonight's scheduled run?

No. A manual run does not use up the day's or the month's slot, so the scheduled run still happens.

Why did nothing run on schedule this morning?

Check whether an administrator paused the Workflow Scheduler under Admin > System Configuration > Health. While it is paused, no workflow runs on a schedule and automatic retries pause too. See Pause or resume scheduled workflows. For a single workflow that did not run, follow the checklist in Troubleshooting workflows.

Why does a 2-day schedule run two days in a row at the turn of the month?

Day frequency counts from the 1st of each month. In a 31-day month, a run on the 31st is followed by a run on the 1st of the next month.

Why did my monthly run skip a month?

A Month schedule runs only on Schedule Day. A month without that day is skipped, so Schedule Day 31 runs only in 31-day months. Choose a day every month has, or use a Day schedule if it should run every month.

Can I set a window from 22:00 to 02:00?

Not on one Minute or Hour workflow. The form does not accept an End Time before Start Time for those units. Use two workflows, or a Day schedule with Start Time 22:00 to run once each night.