Scheduled jobs

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This topic is for CMS administrators and developers with administrative access rights.

A scheduled job is a service performing a task (job) at a given time interval. An administrator can start a job manually. By default, Optimizely platform with Optimizely Content Management System (CMS) and Optimizely Commerce Connect includes several scheduled jobs. Some are enabled by default with preset values. You can develop customized, scheduled jobs for specific website tasks.

Administer scheduled jobs

  1. Log in as an administrator and go to the CMS admin view.
  2. Go to the scheduled jobs list on Settings > Scheduled Jobs.
    • To run the scheduled job manually, click Start, and the job is executed immediately.
    • To run the scheduled job automatically, select the job and set the desired time interval in the Settings tab. Each scheduled job's run time displays in the Start Date field.
  3. Click Save Scheduled Job.

Save Scheduled Job

The Details tab lets you run the scheduled job manually, click Start, and the job is executed immediately.

Scheduled Job Details tab

The History tab lets you monitor the status and results when a scheduled job is executed. If a job fails, information about it displays under the Message column.

Scheduled Job History tab

The Settings tab lets you set the desired time interval. Each scheduled job's run time displays in the Start Date field.

Scheduled Job Settings tab

If you select Manual, the Start Date field does not display, and the job is inactive. Inactive jobs must be started manually. The other options are counted as active status and display the Start Date field.

Scheduled Job Settings tab Manual start date

CMS icon Built-in scheduled jobs

Archive Function

You can set how often the system archives information after the publication period expires with the Archive Function job.

There can be a delay between when information is unpublished and when it appears in the archive. This may occur if the archiving job is run only once a day.

Automatic Emptying of Trash

You can set up how often your trash empties with the Automatic Emptying of Trash job. With automatic emptying, content in trash older than 30 days is permanently deleted by default. You can also manually delete Trash permanently.

The job is enabled by default and set to run weekly.

Change Log Auto Truncate

You can delete items from the change log that are more than one month old and do not have any dependencies registered against them by another part of CMS (for example, Mirroring) with the Change Log Auto Truncate job.

The job is enabled by default and set to run weekly.

Clear Thumbnail Properties

You can clear generated thumbnail images in the Products list and Media list views and add them again with the Clear Thumbnail Properties job. Run this job manually if you experience problems with refreshing thumbnails, such as on the website and BLOB-supported content.

Fetch data from Marketing Connectors

The Fetch data from Marketing Connectors job improves the performance of the Marketing Automation connectors by fetching and caching databases and lists (wherever applicable). The result is faster load time for web pages with a form mapped to the connector and the Databases drop-down list on the Database Mapping screen in the Optimizely Forms user interface.

You can determine when to cache this data by configuring the Fetch data from Marketing Connectors scheduled job. To determine how long it takes to cache the data, use the admin view > Config tab > Global Settings > Connect For Marketing Automation Settings > Cache Duration in Minutes field.

The job is enabled by default (if a Marketing Automation connector is installed) and set to run every 60 minutes.

Link Validation

You can check links on your website to identify broken links with the Link Validation job. The system tries to contact the target for the link to verify that it is responding.

Links are returned only if they are unchecked or checked earlier than when the job started. The job continues until no more unchecked links are received from the database. If many consecutive errors are found for external links, in case of a general network problem with the server running the site, the job stops.

The result of the link validation job is a report called Link Status in the Optimizely CMS Report Center.

Monitored Tasks Auto Truncate

The Monitor Tasks Auto Truncate job truncates the status of monitored tasks. It is a clean-up job that deletes 30 days of statuses of monitored and completed jobs.

The job is enabled by default and set to run weekly.

Notification Dispatcher

The Notification Dispatcher job sends notifications, such as email notifications, from Optimizely CMS to users regularly.

The Projects feature uses it to send out email notifications of new or updated comments and replies posted in projects and also by the content approvals feature to send out email notifications on review requests; see Which actions trigger a notification? for a list of the actions that will generate a notification.

Emails are only sent out if an action has triggered a notification since the job was last executed.

The job is enabled by default and set to run every 30 minutes.

Notification Message Truncate

The Notification Message Truncate job truncates or deletes 3-month-old notification messages that could not be sent and are still in the system.

The job is enabled by default and set to run every day.

Publish Delayed Content Versions

The Publish Delayed Content Versions job lets you define how often the system checks for content versions with a specific future publication date and time.

The job is enabled by default and set to run hourly.

Remove Abandoned BLOBs

CMS can store media files in a cloud service instead of the website's database. When you delete CMS files, this job ensures the stored data is deleted from the BLOB provider.

The job is enabled by default and set to run weekly.

Remove Permanent Editing

With the Remove Permanent Editing job, you can clear the Permanently Mark as Being Edited marking of pages in the edit view (if editors have forgotten to remove the marking).

The job is enabled by default and set to run hourly.

Remove Unrelated Content Assets

You can delete content folders containing media related to deleted items with the Remove Unrelated Content Assets job.

The job is enabled by default and set to run weekly.

Subscription

The Subscription feature lets visitors set the frequency at which they receive subscription information. This job checks for information from the system to be included and distributed in the subscription send-out.

Trim Content Versions

Specify whether the trim of content versions is active or inactive and how often the job should be run. The job removes previously published versions so the number of versions per content does not exceed the configuration setting. The default value is 20 versions.

You can decrease the value of the Maximum number of versions by going to Admin > Config > System Configuration > Editing tab. You can see the Maximum number of versions setting.

Optimizely CMP DAM Tracking Assets

CMP tracks where assets are referenced, which is information collected under the usage section for individual assets. The usage includes date and URL to indicate when and where the asset was referenced. The schedule job identifies DAM assets referenced from CMP that are part of published content. The job also removes unreferenced assets and syncs with CMP to maintain usage information.

Optimizely CMP DAM asset metadata maintenance

CMP DAM stores metadata regarding assets that is needed by the CMS to render image tags that for example include alternative text. The metadata is stored in the database and updated through this scheduled job.

CMS icon Optimizely Commerce Connect-related scheduled jobs

Installing Optimizely Commerce Connect adds scheduled jobs to your implementation. See Scheduled jobs in the Optimizely Commerce Connect section.

Optimizely Search & Navigation icon Optimizely Search & Navigation-related scheduled jobs

See Administration and configuration in the Optimizely Search & Navigation section for information about scheduled jobs for Optimizely Search & Navigation.

Other scheduled jobs

Customized modules and add-ons may have their own specific scheduled jobs. See the technical documentation for each module to find out more.