The Interface Manager allows you access to all the M5 Interfaces active in your system. You can set up parameters for each interface and view their execution schedules. Only currently active interfaces will appear on the drop down list in the Interface field. To view a list of active/inactive interfaces, see the Interface and Screen Names frame.
After selecting a particular interface, the parameters will appear. The parameters are different for each interface. Some may require a path for the input file or an email address for the output file while others may only require a start and end date.
Below the interface parameters is the current execution schedule. This will indicate if the interface is currently running or show the last time it was run. The table shows the interface ID, the description, the status, scheduled date, last run, the frequency, if it excluded holidays and the user who submitted it. If the status is complete, it is recommended that you delete the row.
Configure your new Run Schedule in the Schedule Details area. The run interval has a pull down option to choose from: once, minutes, hours, days and months. Select the option you want and enter the run interval to the left. Check the box next to exclude holidays and weekends to prevent it from running on those days. Enter the first execution date and time or click the Schedule/Reschedule button to default the current date and time.
After clicking the Schedule/Reschedule button the data is automatically saved and submitted with the given parameters. The Current execution schedule will now display the information just submitted. Clicking the refresh button will refresh the frame showing the current execution’s status.
The back end process that executes the interface programs consists of five different processes:
The Windows Scheduler: This is set up by the customer and dictates the interval by which the M5 Report Engine will be called.
On execution the M5 Report Engine checks to see if there are any new rows in the “saves_reports” table with the status other than “error” or “complete”.
If a new row is found the Command file is executed based on the parameters of the interface. The command file then passes the parameters onto an executable interface program.
The specific executable runs with the parameters received.
When the executable file processing is complete it generates an output log file. This file is made available to the customer as designated in the design specification documents.
Interfaces perform many functions that involve connecting to and moving data between various other systems such as your accounting system, fuel systems or systems from outside parts vendors, but they are not only for use with outside systems. Internal processes such as Run Immediate Purge is also run from the Interface Manager screen. This process is for clearing out disk space by deleting old reports that were run previously.
During the implementation phase of your system installation, the Project Manager will work closely with your staff to identify all the interfaces necessary for the functionality you need.
For more information see the System Administration Application User Training.
Last Updated: 03/24/2017
NOTE: To view a list of System Flags and Role Privileges that may impact this screen, hover over the screen title in M5 to display the bubble help/tooltip. At the bottom of the bubble help/tool tip, there is a Settings hyperlink. Click that hyperlink to display the list of flags and privileges.
Additional training and technical documents on this subject may be available in the Resource Files area.