FTP Broadcast - Error retrieving results
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When an FTP broadcast runs successfully but fails to retrieve the data, the schedule management window shows the FTP broadcast successful. On the FTP server, the file has been uploaded successfully but the actual content of the excel file shows a one-liner with "Error retrieving results".
It kind of makes sense, but the status of the broadcast in schedule management window seems a bit misleading, and the only way for the user to know if the file has been uploaded successfully is to check each file on the FTP server.
Is there a better to handle these kinds of situations? In the smartreporrting.log, we could see the error as well "Error retrieving results".
Thanks,
Nick
The same question
Hi Nick,
Thanks for reaching out. The 'Success' message only refers to whether the Broadcast itself was successful. If the Broadcast was indeed Broadcast, the message is (and arguably should be) 'Success', regardless of the content of the report. I can understand how it may be misleading in a case where a report doesn't retrieve any results, but the same can be said of say, a report with dynamic date filtering that contains no values. In that case, it would show 'No results returned', which again, may not be so useful as a Broadcast, but the Broadcast itself was triggered and sent successfully.
I'd be curious to see the full stack trace for the error though, just in case it's a legitimate error. That said, if it's an issue at the report level, the issue should of course be addressed there. That said, I'm afraid there's no easy way of checking the contents of a Broadcast or export without actually checking the contents, though one potential idea comes to mind: it may be possible to devise some sort of programmatic solution that checks for file size - for example, an export that just shows one instance of 'Error retrieving results' would be a far smaller file size than an actual table and/or especially a chart export. Technically, this wouldn't really need a programmatic solution either. After the files are exported/uploaded to the FTP, you can just sort all files by size and if you have a file there that's "too small" vs. expectation, then you can pretty easily identify reports that don't contain the data you're looking for.
Regards,
Mike
Hi Nick,
Thanks for reaching out. The 'Success' message only refers to whether the Broadcast itself was successful. If the Broadcast was indeed Broadcast, the message is (and arguably should be) 'Success', regardless of the content of the report. I can understand how it may be misleading in a case where a report doesn't retrieve any results, but the same can be said of say, a report with dynamic date filtering that contains no values. In that case, it would show 'No results returned', which again, may not be so useful as a Broadcast, but the Broadcast itself was triggered and sent successfully.
I'd be curious to see the full stack trace for the error though, just in case it's a legitimate error. That said, if it's an issue at the report level, the issue should of course be addressed there. That said, I'm afraid there's no easy way of checking the contents of a Broadcast or export without actually checking the contents, though one potential idea comes to mind: it may be possible to devise some sort of programmatic solution that checks for file size - for example, an export that just shows one instance of 'Error retrieving results' would be a far smaller file size than an actual table and/or especially a chart export. Technically, this wouldn't really need a programmatic solution either. After the files are exported/uploaded to the FTP, you can just sort all files by size and if you have a file there that's "too small" vs. expectation, then you can pretty easily identify reports that don't contain the data you're looking for.
Regards,
Mike
Hi Mike,
No problem and thanks for the info.
Regards,
Nick
Hi Mike,
No problem and thanks for the info.
Regards,
Nick
Hi Nick,
You're welcome! Please let me know if you require anything else here or if we're okay to close this ticket out for now then.
Regards,
Mike
Hi Nick,
You're welcome! Please let me know if you require anything else here or if we're okay to close this ticket out for now then.
Regards,
Mike
Good to close this, Mike.
Thanks again.
Regards,
Nick
Good to close this, Mike.
Thanks again.
Regards,
Nick
Hi Nick,
Thanks for confirming. Will do!
Please don't hesitate to reach out with any other questions or concerns.
Regards,
Mike
Hi Nick,
Thanks for confirming. Will do!
Please don't hesitate to reach out with any other questions or concerns.
Regards,
Mike
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