Table of Contents
FAQs
How do I share a job?
For users of Construct Enterprise, jobs can be shared with other users directly within the application. Simply right-click on the job you’d like to share, then click Properties. This is where you can modify sharing permissions, and give other users access to the job.
For users of Construct or Construct Pro, jobs are shared by saving the job file externally and sending it to the recipient in your preferred file sharing method. To save a job file to be shared, right-click the name of the job from the Workspace tab and select Export. All Construct jobs are saved with a file type of .VCJ – Veera Construct Job file. VCJ files can be emailed as attachments or placed on a storage device (just like other file formats).
How do I use a shared job?
To open a job that has been shared as a .VCJ file, go to the Workspace tab then go to Job > Import from the main toolbar. Alternately, you can right-click on a Workspace folder or in the general whitespace of the Workspace tab and select Import Job from the pop-up menu. Then browse to the file location and select Open. The job will then appear with your other jobs in the jobs list. Shared jobs do not include data files so required connections will also need to be established before running the job.
How do I save a job to a specific folder?
If it is a new job in which it is your first time saving the job, using the Save button in the upper right corner of the job will prompt users to name and select a file path for the job. To save the job to a specific folder, either type the folder name into the Path field, or simply click the desired folder location and the Path will populate accordingly.
If you have already saved a job, but want to move it to a different folder location, click and drag the job you want to move on top of the desired folder from the job list on the Workspace tab.
Can I still use jobs from Veera 4.3?
Yes - however, jobs created in edition 4.3 and earlier will need to be converted to be compatible with versions 5.0 and later of Construct. To do this, you will need to use a tool called UpgradeVeera4to5. When the first version of Construct 5.0 was released, this tool was included with the update materials. However, now that several more recent releases of Construct have become available since version 4.3, the tool is no longer included by default. Please reach out to RI-Support@eab.com for assistance converting your 4.3 jobs.
What scripting languages can be used in Construct?
Using the Script node - Batch, SQL, PowerShell Command, and Python capabilities can be utilized.
How do I edit the credentials for the Construct Pro service?
If you open the Windows Task Manager, you’ll find a Services tab in which the “Veera ConstructProServer” or “Veera ConstructProServer64” should be listed. Right-click and select Properties to edit the credentials the Pro Service utilizes.
This can also be done within Construct, by going to Tools > Options > User Credentials and editing the credentials here.
Can jobs run automatically?
Jobs can be scheduled to run automatically in certain editions of Construct. Construct Pro is a version of the software that runs as a service on your computer so that jobs can be executed without a user manually clicking the "run" button. You will know if you have this option available in your version of Construct if there is a Schedule option in the main toolbar menu. If you are interested in learning more about the scheduling feature, see this article or reach out to RI-Support@eab.com.
Troubleshooting
Reconnecting a data source after importing a shared job
When jobs are shared between users, the data is not included in the job file for security purposes. Because of this, when a job is shared, users will need to reconnect the job to their own data sources before running the job.
Note: Credentials are removed from jobs containing database connections when the job is shared.
A "shell" of the required connections will be present in the connections window of the job, with the connections highlighted in red text. Any red connection needs to be linked to a valid connection on the user's computer. To do this, right-click on the connection and select Select Existing if you already have an equivalent connection created in your instance of Construct, or New Connection if you need to establish a new connection to the required files.
Once a connection to the required files has been created, the input nodes in the workflow will also need to be updated to reflect the data from the current connection. This can be done by deleting any Input nodes and replacing them with tables from the new connection, or by opening the Input nodes and selecting the new connection from the Current Connection dropdown. As long as the file schema of the new table matches what is expected from the old connection, then the job will be ready to run.
Node Reentrancy: Job tried to open the node multiple times simultaneously
A Node Reentrancy error typically occurs when data streams that originate from the same source are being merged together. When the job is executed it tries to access the data source for each data stream and ends up trying to reach the same data source for different data streams at the exact same time. To resolve this issue, add a Cache node at the point the data stream splits from the data source. This will "hold" the data locally and allow it to be accessed by all required data streams simultaneously.
An Item with the Same key has already been added
Usually this message is caused by a Rename node that exists prior to a Merge node. Likely what is happening is the job is merging on a column that was renamed. The rename is either creating a duplicate column name or was replacing a column, and the sort optimization code in the rename is unable to process this. There are a few options to resolve this:
- Disable the sort optimization on the input node. Open the Input node and go to Optimization > Disable Sort Optimization from the node toolbar.
- Change the rename operation so it is not creating a duplicate column name.
- If the rename is excluding a column and renaming another to take its place, exclude the column in a node prior to the rename.
Tips
Dynamically name a job file with parameters or timestamps
Job parameters or date and time stamps can be added to the name of files being written from Construct to add dynamic information to the file name at the time it is created. This can be configured in output nodes at the time the output file name is established. In an Output node, use the green "P" icon to add a parameter to a file name, or the clock icon to add a date or time stamp to the file name. Either selection will add the parameter name or timestamp format within curly brackets to the file name field. Once the job is run, these placeholders will be replaced with the corresponding variable values in the final output.
Optimize data processing in Construct
Job optimization effects how long jobs take to run. When working with large quantities of data such as within databases or data warehouses, optimization can become increasingly important to consider when working in Construct. Certain nodes can make use of what is called "database optimization" meaning that when these nodes are connected directly to a database input, the data tasks they are configured to accomplish will be executed as a query on the database before the data even enters Construct. This way less processing needs to happen once the data is inside Construct, cutting down on run time.
Job optimization tips:
- Use Merge, Filter, Sort, and Aggregate nodes directly off database inputs to facilitate database optimization.
- Remove unnecessary columns from datasets by double-clicking the input node and using the check boxes to de-select non-critical fields.
- Use Cache nodes throughout job workflows to store data locally during job runs, to prevent needing to pull data directly from a database over and over.
Run Construct jobs from command line
Construct jobs may be run using a command executed from the Command Prompt or the Run Function under the Windows Start menu.
The command itself consists of three parts –
- The file path where the Construct program file ConstructWorkstation.exe is located
- The command to run a specific job (“/runjob”)
- The name of the job and its organizational structure within Construct placed in quotes
A fully-assembled command would read something like this:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Rapid Insight Inc\Veera Construct\VeeraConstruct.exe /runjob “Jobs/Testing/New Freshmen Retention”
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