# File Job

### File Job

A **File Job** is an automated task that manages files **locally on your Edge device**, allowing you to copy, move, or extract files between storage containers or folders. File Jobs are ideal for organizing, processing, or preparing files before they are ingested, transferred, or archived - completely independent of external servers or network shares.

File Jobs operate on the built-in Edge storage of your device, which is powered by a **Blob Storage Module** (offering functionality similar to [Azure Storage Accounts](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/common/storage-account-overview)). This enables robust and flexible file handling, even during network outages.

***

### Key Features

* **Edge-Local Operation:** Runs entirely on the Edge device, ensuring fast, reliable file movement with no dependency on external connectivity.
* **Flexible Scheduling:** Define how often the job runs using cron-style expressions or simple intervals.
* **Container/Folders:** Move, copy, or extract files between any storage containers or folders configured on the Edge device.
* **Pattern Matching:** Select files to handle based on patterns (e.g., all files in any subfolder use `**/*`, or target files of a specific extension in the import folder and any sub-folder where file extension is .csv use `import/**/*.csv`).
* **Zip Extraction:** Automatically extract files from zip archives as part of your workflow.
* **File Operations:** Choose to copy or move files, preserving or removing the originals as needed.

#### Typical Use Cases

* **Staging Files:** Prepare and organize files collected from lab instruments or production systems before they are transferred to the cloud or another destination.
* **Automated Extraction:** Unzip archived measurement files for further processing or ingestion.
* **Data Preparation:** Filter and sort files into different containers or folders for downstream applications or analytics.
* **Edge Processing:** Enable local processing of files for performance, compliance, or offline operations.

***

### Configuring a File Job

1. **Add a New Job**

   * Select the Area node where you want to add the job.
   * Go to the **Jobs** tab.
   * Click **+ New job** and select **File job** and provide a **name** for the job.

   <figure><img src="/files/1JLlLK0B3NaxG1tJy8G3" alt="" width="251"><figcaption><p>Create a File Job</p></figcaption></figure>
2. **Configure Job Settings**

   <figure><img src="/files/OCtroiWLzr4NgCjqIsHz" alt="" width="347"><figcaption><p>Configuration of File Job</p></figcaption></figure>

   * **Job Name:** Provide a descriptive name (e.g., EdgeFileJob).
   * **Enabled:** Toggle to activate or deactivate the job.
   * **Schedule (CRON):** Define how frequently the job should run (e.g., every 10 minutes: `0/10 * * * *`).

     > The CRON string consists of 5 characters separated by spaces, describing how often the schedule should be triggered on the Edge device.
     >
     > **Examples:**
     >
     > * `* * * * *` Run every minute
     > * `*/30 * * * *` Run every 30 minutes
     > * `0 * * * *` Run every hour
     > * `0 0 * * *` Run once a day at midnight UTC
     > * `0 0 1 * *` Run on the 1st of each month at midnight UTC
     > * `0 0 * * 1` Run at midnight every Monday UTC
     >
     > [See cron.help for more details.](https://cron.help/)
3. **Source**
   * **Source Container Name:** The name of the storage container or folder where the files are located (e.g., `tmplabfiles`).
   * **Source Folder:** (Optional) Specify a subfolder if needed. Eg. `folder1` or `folder1/folder2` to create a deeper directory structure.
   * **File Patterns:** Define patterns to target files to handle using file *system globbing patterns*, you can define rules for files that should be targeted for the operation. (e.g., `**/*` for all files in any subdirectory).

     > You can use multiple rules by seperating them with **`;;`**\
     > \
     > Eg. `(filepattern1)`;;`(filepattern2)`;;`(filepattern3)`\
     > \
     > Here are some filepattern examples:\\
     >
     > * `*.txt` Matches all files with the file extension .txt in the folder.
     > * `*.*` Matches all files regardless of file extension in the current folder.
     > * `*word*` Matches all files that has the name 'word' in the filename.
     > * `styles/*.css` Matches all files with extension '.css' in the directory 'styles/'.
     > * `scripts/*/*` Matches all files in 'scripts/' or one level of subdirectory under 'scripts/'
     > * `images*/*` Matches all files in a folder with name that is or begins with 'images'.
     > * `**/*` Matches all files in any subdirectory.
     > * `dir/**/*` Matches all files in any subdirectory under 'dir/'.
     > * `GTRS*/**/*` Matches all files, that has a starting directory that starts with 'GTRS' and include all files from any subdirectory.
     >
     > For more information see [Microsoft documentation](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/api/microsoft.extensions.filesystemglobbing.matcher?view=dotnet-plat-ext-5.0) which include more examples.
   * **Extract Zip Files:** Enable to automatically extract files with a `.zip` extension as part of the job.
   * **File Operation:** Choose between `Copy` (preserve originals) or `Move` (remove from source after processing).
4. **Destination**
   * **Destination Container Name:** Target storage container for the moved/copied files (e.g., `unzipped`).
   * **Destination Folder:** (Optional) Subfolder for organization. Eg. `folder1` or `folder1/folder2` to create a deeper directory structure.\
     You can also use tokens to build up the path using the tokens below:\\

     | $(deviceid) | Replace a part of a filepath with the Device Id of the Edge device using the token $(deviceid).                                                        | <p>rootfolder/$(deviceid)/otherfolder<br><br>rootfolder/EdgeDevice-1/otherfolder</p> |
     | ----------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
     | $(yyyy)     | Replace a part of a filepath with the current Year UTC (Eg. 2021) using the token $(yyyy).                                                             | <p>rootfolder/$(yyyy)/otherfolder<br><br>rootfolder/2021/otherfolder</p>             |
     | $(MM)       | Replace a part of a filepath with the current Month UTC (Eg. 01-12) using the token $(MM).                                                             | <p>rootfolder/$(MM)/otherfolder<br><br>rootfolder/07/otherfolder</p>                 |
     | $(dd)       | Replace a part of a filepath with the current Day of month UTC (Eg. 01-31) using the token $(dd).                                                      | <p>rootfolder/$(dd)/otherfolder<br><br>rootfolder/07/otherfolder</p>                 |
     | $(HH)       | Replace a part of a filepath with the current UTC hour (Eg. 00-24) using the token $(HH).                                                              | <p>rootfolder/$(HH)/otherfolder<br><br>rootfolder/13/otherfolder</p>                 |
     | $(mm)       | Replace a part of a filepath with the current UTC minute (Eg. 00-59) using the token $(mm).                                                            | <p>rootfolder/$(mm)/otherfolder<br><br>rootfolder/57/otherfolder</p>                 |
     | $(ss)       | Replace a part of a filepath with the current UTC Second (Eg. 00-59) using the token $(ss).                                                            | <p>rootfolder/$(ss)/otherfolder<br><br>rootfolder/35/otherfolder</p>                 |
     | $(FFF)      | Replace a part of a filepath with the current UTC MilliSecond (Eg. 000-999) using the token $(FFF).                                                    | <p>rootfolder/$(FFF)/otherfolder<br><br>rootfolder/358/otherfolder</p>               |
     | $(unixts)   | Replace a part of a filepath with the current Unix Timestamp UTC (Number of milliseconds that has elapsed since 1970-01-01) using the token $(unixts). | <p>rootfolder/$(unixts)/otherfolder<br><br>rootfolder/1629098246320/otherfolder</p>  |

***

### Example File Job Configuration

| Setting                    | Value               | Example       |
| -------------------------- | ------------------- | ------------- |
| Job Name                   | EdgeFileJob         | EdgeFileJob   |
| Enabled                    | Yes                 |               |
| CRON Schedule              | Every hour          | 0 \* \* \* \* |
| Source Container Name      | tmplabfiles         | tmplabfiles   |
| Source Folder              | (empty)             |               |
| File Patterns              | All files           | \*\**/\**     |
| Extract Zip Files          | Yes/No              | Yes           |
| File Operation             | Move                | Move          |
| Destination Container Name | unzipped            | unzipped      |
| Destination Folder         | Name of Edge device | $(deviceid)   |

***

### Best Practices

* **Use clear names** for jobs, containers, and folders to simplify troubleshooting and management.
* **Schedule jobs appropriately** to match your workflow and avoid unnecessary load on the Edge device.
* **Test with sample files** to verify pattern matching and operations before deploying in production.
* **Remember:** File Jobs cannot interact with external systems- use FTP Jobs or File Share Jobs for networked file transfers.
* **Monitor File Jobs** Each time the File Job triggers, it will create a log entry in the File Transfer Module. You can monitor all Job Logs in the [FileTransferModule Jobs Tab](/management-portal/operations/monitoring/module-details/jobs-history.md) (the Asset Hierarchy containing the Job must be deployed first).


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