This is a bit related to the request below

Prevent opening tasks or workflows twice (#F501)

You are developing a task using Task Builder, and open an existing task. If you make a change, say add a dialog message window, and run the task, the change is picked up during exectuion and your window will be shown. Also the visual debugging, line by line, is consitant with the code executing. You dont have to save the Task manually before running the task for this to happen.

However, if you have a task which calls a subtask with the Start Task action, and you make a change in the sub task, the behavior is a little strange, because any changes you have made in the sub task are NOT processed if you have not manually saved that task; instead, the task executes on the last manually saved version of the sub task. However, the subtask may not open in a new tab or another color to reflect this, and instead when stepping through the code, the stepping through is actually not reflecting the file that is executing. but the saved version. The effect of this is that error messages and behavior are not consistent with what the debugger shows, since it shows your (not manually saved) version, not the version that is actually executing.

This behavior means you must be very careful when working with subtask, to always save any changes before running the parent task that launches the sub task. Combined with the behavior that you can right click on another task name in Task builder and get the context dialog to change, but that context dialog is actually for the active and not the right clicked task, makes it very easy to get confused by seemlingly strange errors because the debugger stepping though doesnt show the actualy code being executed.

 

Hello Joel,

That is correct. You will have to debug and or troubleshoot each individual task on its own. once a task is designed to your liking then it can be 'called' from within AMTB as a sub-task.
Each *.aml (AutoMAte task) needs to be edited within it's own instance of AMTB.exe

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Valentineo McGowan | Technical Consultant
AutoMate | Division of HelpSystems
HelpSystems, LLC | T: +1 213.738.6966 | F: +1.213.738.7665

Just wanted to feedback you that we find this very confusing when debugging. Maybe something you can consider changing in future versions?

If you run a parent task which calls on subtasks, all those subtasks are opened up in new tabs inside the same TB instance when you debug the task. These new tabs are not read-only, but can be edited and saved. The TB even prompts us to 'update' the task tab that was auto-opened during debug run if we have edited it in another TB instance. Why would you open up separate TB instances to edit the various subtasks, when they have already been opened up during debugging on the parent task? We feel that doesnt make any sense. 

Thanks.

Hello Joel,

We will take your suggestions into consideration. Thank you for your feedback.

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Alex Escalante | Support Analyst
AutoMate | Division of HelpSystems
HelpSystems, LLC | T: +1.213.738.1700 | F: +1.213.738.7665