Running Spider batch files in Spire

A Spider batch file can be launched by
1) clicking its button in a dialog window, or
2) selecting it under the Batch files menu, or
3) the "Execute" button in the batch form.
The executed Unix command appears in Spire's main window, along with standard output and any error messages from Spider. A Spider process window (left) opens with some information about the process.

The "check progress" button opens a text window displaying the last few lines of the results file. The actual number of lines displayed is set in Options/Preferences.

The "Kill" button terminates the Spider process with the Unix command kill -9 pid, where pid is the process ID.

If the batch file terminates successfully, Spire reads the results file to see what new files were created, and adds the file names to the project file. If there is an error, Spire prints the last few lines of the results file (up to the last .OPERATION line) in the main window.

Batch runs

A Batch run refers to any successfully completed Spider batch file execution whose results are added to the project.

Each batch run is given a unique Run ID (a 12-digit number corresponding to the current date and time).

Thus the same batch file can be executed repeatedly, with different input files - each execution is considered a separate batch run.

If a batch file is executed with the same input files, the new outputs will overwrite the old outputs.

Spire saves the output files of each batch run in a project file. Under the Commands menu, select View project. This brings up the Project Viewer with completed batch runs in the upper window. Clicking on a batch run in the upper window displays the output files for that procedure in the lower window.

Clicking on an output file displays it. Image files are displayed in Jweb; documents are displayed in a text editor.