How to set KOFAX KTM Server global variable value which will be initialized in Batch open, updated in SeparateCurrentPage & used in BatchClose?

Question

I am trying to count a specific barcode value from Project.Document_SeparateCurrentPage and use it in BatchClose to compare if the count is greater than 1 and if it is >1 then send the batch to a specific queue with specific priority. I used a global variable in KTM Project Script to hold the count value which was initialized to 0 in Batch open. It worked fine until unit testing. But our automation team found that out of 20 similar batches, few batches were sent to the queue where the batch should go only if the count satisfies the greater than one condition, though they used only one barcode.

I googled and found that KTM Server script events do not allow to use shared information in different processes(https://docshield.kofax.com/KTM/en_US/6.4.0-uuxag78yhr/help/SCRIPT/ScriptDocumentation/c_ServerScriptEvents.html). Then I tried to use a batch field to hold the barcode count but unable to update its value from Project.Document_SeparateCurrentPage function using pXRootFolder.Fields.ItemByName("BatchFieldName").Text = "GreaterThanOne". The logs show that the batch reads the first page three times and then errors out.

Any links would help. Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

As you mentioned, the different phases of batch/document processing can execute in different processes, so global variables initialized in one event won’t necessarily be available in others. Ideally you should only use global variables if their content can be set from Application_InitializeScript or Application_InitializeBatch, because these events occur in each separate process. As you’ve found out, you shouldn’t use a global variable for your use case, because Document_SeparateCurrentPage and Batch_Close for one batch may occur in different processes, just as the same process will likely execute those events for multiple batches.

Also, you cannot set batch fields from document level events for a related reason: any number of separate processes could be processing documents of a batch in parallel, so batch level data is read-only to document events. It is a bit unintuitive, but separation is a document level event even though it seems like it is acting on the whole batch. (The three times you saw is just an error retry mechanism.)

If it meets your needs, the simplest answer might be to use a barcode locator as part of normal extraction (not just separation), and assign to a field if needed. While you cannot set batch fields from document events, you can read document data from batch events. So instead of trying to track something like a count over the course of document events, just make sure whatever data you need is saved at a document level. Then in a Batch_Close you can iterate the documents and count/calculate whatever you need. (In your case maybe the number of locator alternatives for the barcode locator, across each document.)