Manual Trigger

You can create an Automations workflow that does not respond to any incoming message or schedule, but runs on demand, and allows you the option to pass in sample data. This type of workflow uses a manual trigger in place of one of the other trigger options. Manual triggers are useful when you want to test a workflow before you create one that receives real, incoming messages.

The manual trigger has two output ports. The success port (✔) can send a message if the trigger initiates successfully. The failure port (x) can send a message if the trigger fails to initiate.

To run an automation with a manual trigger

There are two ways to run an automation with a manual trigger:

  • From the Manage Automations page, select the automation, and:
    1. If the workflow is not already started, start the workflow.
    2. Click Trigger.
  • As an Automation App, which allows any authorized FME Server user to run the automation as an "app" in a web browser. For more information, see Automation Apps.

Parameters

Note  See also Working with Parameters in Automations Workflows.
  • Prompt for JSON on Trigger: When checked, a Trigger Automations dialog opens when the trigger runs. This dialog prompts you to provide either of the following:
    • JSON Form: Drag and drop a JSON file or enter a valid JSON schema. The schema must match the Manual Keys added under Output Keys (below).
      • Note  The dialog parser only parses top-level keys. To access the contents of nested arrays and objects from a workspace, use JSON manipulation transformers in an FME Desktop workspace.
    • Manual Keys Form: Enter values directly for each Manual Key added under Output Keys (below). This option is useful for generating input data without requiring knowledge of JSON.

Output Keys

See Also

Key Description
time Event time
source Event type
error.type

(Failure port only) Error type:

  • InvalidMessage: An error occurred while configuring this component, such as missing or malformed values.
  • DeadLetter: An error occured while connecting to an external resource. Examples may include connection issues, invalid credentials, or generic external resource exceptions.
error.message (Failure port only) Error message
message (Success port only) Message content

manual.user

(Success port only) The FME Server user that runs an automation with the manual trigger.

Manual Keys

(Success port only) If Prompt for JSON on Trigger is checked (see Parameters, above), the trigger expects additional JSON data in the form of a JSON-formatted request body that matches these keys.

To create Manual Keys manually, click Manage Keys to open the Manual Keys Editor.

To create Manual Keys automatically:

  1. Click Import Keys from JSON.
  2. Drag and drop a JSON file or enter a valid JSON schema on the Import Keys from JSON dialog.
  3. Overwrite Existing Keys: If checked, the JSON content on this dialog will replace any existing Manual Keys when it is parsed. To add keys from this JSON content, when parsed, to any existing keys (without replacing them), leave this box unchecked.
  4. Click Parse.
Note  The dialog parser only parses top-level keys. To access the contents of nested arrays and objects from a workspace, use JSON manipulation transformers in an FME Desktop workspace.