SUMMARY
This document is meant to provide some clarification on the subscription creation outline in Strategy Command Manager 9.x and newer. The behavior described is by design. There is currently an enhancement request to clarify this behavior in the Strategy documentation as well as provide a report path-based alternative for subscription triggering.
DESCRIPTION
In Strategy, users have the option to create subscriptions in Command Manager using an outline much like the following example:
Since the subscription is created using a path and report name, most users would expect the path and name to be evaluated every time the subscription runs. However, this is not the case. If a subscription points to a report in a given folder, and that report is moved, the same report is still used when the subscription is triggered. This becomes a problem if the report is moved to a different folder and replaced with a newer version of the report with the same name; the subscription will still use the older version of the report even though it is no longer in the folder that was specified when the subscription was created.
SCENARIO
CAUSE
This is the expected behavior of the Strategy Distribution Services. Even though the file path is specified when the subscription is created in Command Manager, once the subscription is executed, it will be based on the unique GUID of the report and not on the reports location. Subsequently, if the report is moved to a new location, the subscription will still deliver it correctly because it's using the report GUID and not the file path. This can be misleading because the outline in Command Manager would leave one to the believe that the report path is being taken into consideration when the subscription is executed. However, the report path is only used when identifying the subscription for the first time. After it is initially executed, the subscription only refers to the report GUID.
ACTION
An enhancement request has been logged to give the option of using the report path or GUID continuously when a subscription is created and executed as well as clarifying the documentation to specify that the GUID is used to the execute the subscription even if the Command Manager outline specifying the report path is used to create it.
ADDITIONAL TROUBLESHOOTING
To avoid confusion, it is suggested to use the Subscription Creation Wizard in Strategy Desktop. The user interface provides a clear explanation into how the subscription is being created. If Command Manager isn't necessary, the Subscription Creation Wizard may be the easier choice.
WORKAROUND
If the user used Command Manager to create subscriptions and the subscribed reports have been moved to a new location and replaced with new reports of the same name, new subscriptions will have to be created for the new reports and the old ones will have to be deleted.
TO LEARN MORE
Users that would like more information on Command Manager scripts and their uses may want to view the Strategy System Administration Guide. Click here for direct access.
For information on other issues concerning subscription creation and Command Manager, see the following:
KB45559 - "Inbox message result is not ready" error occurs when creating a subscription with multiple prompts in MicroStrategy Command Manager 9.3.0 HF1.
KB45873 - Is there a MicroStrategy Command Manager script that can define the parameters for the bursting feature in a file subscription?
KB33921 - The name of a subscription defaults to blank when a user creates the subscription in MicroStrategy Command Manager 9.0.0-9.0.1 without specifying the name for the subscription
KB31754 - ALTER SUBSCRIPTION script fails to update a schedule of a Distribution Services subscription in MicroStrategy Command Manager 9.0.0
