This is a beta version of the Tasks plugin for RackTables. It should be installed in the normal way plugins are installed under RackTables. Once enabled, it will create TasksItem and TasksDefinitions to handle the storage and creation of tasks.

On completion of a task, if it is associated with an Object, this is updated with the details of the completed task and who it was completed by, providing a secured history of the task completion.

Install this plugin in the normal method for RackTables plugins.

Task Definitions rely on the defined Task Frequencies, so you need to make sure that you have the frequency you want already configured. To create a Task Definition, you can must use the top Tasks link, then click on the Definitions tab.

Once a definition has tasks associated to it, you can not delete it but you can disable it.

Task Definition's can have three modes of operation:

• Next Due

• On Complete

• Scheduled

When a Task Definition is disabled, any outstanding tasks are automatically closed by the system and the note is replaced with a comment to that effect.

When a definition has repeat set to no, no new task will be created upon completion.

When using the Next Due mode, no additional program is needed only the name, start_time and frequency are required. When a TasksDefinition is enabled, any time the definition is updated or the outstanding TasksItem is completed, a new task is created only if the definition's repeat is set to 'yes' (default).

The new Task Item's created_time will be set to either the start_time or the previous Task Item's created_time incremented by the frequency.

When using the On Complete mode, it operates almost identically to the Next Due mode. The only exception is the use of the completed_time instead of created_time.

The new Task Item's created_time will be set to either the start_time or the previous Task Item's completed_time incremented by the frequency.

To enable scheduled mode, requires the use of a background cli program which is in the plugin folder called schedule.php. When this is run, it will search for all TasksDefinition's that are outstanding and are flagged as being Scheduled.

To be defined as outstanding, either the processed_time, or if not defined the start_time, is compared against the current date. If a TasksDefinition is outstanding, a new TasksItem is created before updating the TasksDefinition's processed_time.

If there is an error whilst creating or updating either record, both records are rolled back to their original state.

If the completing TasksItem's definition is disabled, no new TasksItem is created.

Task Frequencies are a very flexible and powerful tool in the arsenal. Each frequency requires just a name and the format (frequency). The name is displayed in the drop down selections available when defining a definition.

By default, when a browser supports it, there will be a list of predefined entries that can be selected when entering a format.

The format must be entered in one of the following styles:

• relative format

  A relative format is the PHP term for modifying date/times and for more information on them, please see PHP's relative formats

• interval format

  An interval format is the PHP term for specifying date/time intervals for more information on them, please see PHP's interval_spec

You can utilise multiple formats in one frequency by separating them with a semi colon (;). Each format will be applied to the one before it in a cascading effect. When using multiple formats, you can switch between Relative and Interval formats, but it is not advised to mix these as it will be easier to read using just multiple relative formats.

In any given frequency, multiple formats can be used as long as they are separated by semi-colon's (;). Eg, next monday; next tuesday would move forward up to the next monday, then the following tuesday. This gives the powr and flexibility to be able to customise the frequency to what ever you would like.

If you try to add time to any relative format, it must come at the end or be a separate format after a semi-colon (;)

Note: With any of the monthly examples below, you may end up with an unexpected date if the original day of month is greater than 28 in the start date. For example, if the start date is 2018-01-31, +1 month would result in 2018-03-03. Unfortuntely, this is a PHP limiation/bug not a coding error with the plugin.

Note: With any of the monthly examples above, you may end up with an unexpected date if the original day of month is greater than 28 in the start date. Below, this is circumvented by using first day of this month which allows the system to move forward correct in months

The format for any interval format starts with a capital letter P, for "period." Each duration period is represented by an integer value followed by a period designator. If the duration contains time elements, that portion of the specification is preceded by the letter T.

It should be noted that, as with relative formats, adding months can result in an unexpected shift in days when added to a date where the day is beyond the 28th.

It is recommended to use the relative format over the interval format to circumvent problem situations.