Server Variables
By using variables, you can pass values to post-processing and scheduled actions dynamically at run time. For example, when you configure a copy action for a post-processing event, you can specify the destination URL as {parent_path} and the “rename file to” parameter as {name}_processed. When the event is triggered, ActiveTransfer Server copies the file to the parent directory and appends “_processed” to the end of the file name.
Note: For ActiveTransfer Web Client, enclose these variables within percent sign characters (%) instead of curly braces. For example, {user_name} is represented as %userName% in the Web Client.
ActiveTransfer supports general variables that handle special characters and error messages, variables that pertain to file references, variables that pertain to date and time formats, and user variables that pertain to the content of emails that are sent to ActiveTransfer users.
Note: The variables are case sensitive.
General Variables
Variable | Description | Supported Event Type |
{r} | Return character. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{n} | New line character. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{task_error} | Returns the last error that occurred in an event. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{task_errors} | Returns the list of all the errors in an event. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{error_trace} | Used to get the stack trace in case of any exception. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{event_execution_id} | Returns the event execution ID which is unique for each event. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{task_error_types} | Returns the type of actions where the error occurred. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{host name} | Host name of the ActiveTransfer Server. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{outbound_proxy_alias } | Proxy server name that is defined for use with an event. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{task_error_names} | Name of the event that results in an error. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{parent_url} | Actual URL that points to the parent folder in which the file resides. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{event_name} | Name of the action. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{ssl_protocol} | SSL/TLS version used for the HTTPS or FTPS protocol for a session. | Post-processing event |
{ssl_cipher} | Cipher algorithm used for the HTTPS or FTPS protocol for a session. | Post-processing event |
File Reference Variables
Note: In event actions such as Write File to Database and Send Email that process multiple files, use the variables as per the following example:
<LINE>{stem}{ext}
</LINE>
This syntax ensures that all the files in the list are processed by these actions instead of just the first file.
Variable | Description | Supported Event Type |
{command} | Command forwarded to remote FTP servers to list files. | N/A |
{end} | End time for the file transfer. | Post-processing event |
{error} | Error messages related to the file transfer. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{ext} | Last part of the file name, including the period. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{file_metadata} | Applicable only to FTP remote servers. Raw response from the remote server for each file while performing MLST, MLSD, LIST, or NLST commands. Example: Type=file;Modify=20151006091701;
Perm=r,w,a,d,f;Size=584;
UNIX.owner=user;UNIX.group=group;
properties_4.cnf | Scheduled event |
{group} | Applicable only to FTP remote servers. Retrieves information from the UNIX ownership class group, os-depend-fact in MLST RFC 3659. | Scheduled event |
{md5} | MD5 hash of the uploaded file. | N/A |
{modified} | Applicable only to FTP remote servers. Date when the file was last modified in UNIX epoch time (milliseconds). | Scheduled event |
{name} | Name of the file. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{owner} | Applicable only to FTP remote servers. Retrieves information from the UNIX ownership class owner, os-depend-fact in MLST RFC 3659. | Scheduled event |
{parent_path} | Path to the parent folder. | Scheduled event |
{path} | Path of the file:  Local file system. Local directory path. Remote file system. Relative path of the file in a file system with respect to the current folder. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{permissions} | Applicable only to FTP remote servers. Permission for the file on the remote server to which ActiveTransfer is connected. The format is -rw-r--r--. For MLST, this format is maintained only when unix.modeis available. If unix.mode is not available, the format is r,w,a,d,f, and is retrieved from perm. | Scheduled event |
{real_parent_path} | Local path of the parent folder for the file on the disk. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{real_path} | Complete path to the file in the local or remote file system. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{resume_loc} | Location in the file where the transfer should resume if interrupted. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{size} | Size of the file. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{speed} | Speed of the file transfer. | Post-processing event Note that when the actual speed is 0, this variable value might be inaccurate. |
{start} | Start time for the file transfer. | Post-processing event |
{stem} | First part of the file name, before the period. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{the_file_error} | Any error during file transfer. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{the_file_name} | Name of the file. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{the_file_size_formatted} | Size of the file. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{the_file_speed} | Speed of the file transfer (upload/download) for post-processing events. | Post-processing event |
{the_file_path} | Path of the file. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{url} | Actual URL that points to the file. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{user_dir} | Folder that the user sees when uploading the file. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{user_session_download_count} | Total download count per user session for post-processing events. | Post-processing event |
{user_session_upload_count} | Total upload count per user session for post-processing events. | Post-processing event |
{user_time} | User upload/download time for post-processing events. | Post-processing event |
{items_count} or {item_count} | Count of the number of files an events consists. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
Date/Time Variables
You can precede any of the date/time variables with the following symbols:
Preceding a variable with a dot (
.) results in replacing the variable with the current value. For example,
{.dd} results in the current day and
{.hh} results in the current hour.
Preceding a variable with an underscore (
_) results in replacing the variable with the file’s ending transfer time. For example, if a file was downloaded on Monday, and if the event triggered a “file rename” action with a value of
Report_{EEE} provided for the new file name,
ActiveTransfer Server would rename the downloaded file to
Report_Mon.
Variable | Description | Supported Event Type |
{MM} | Month (for example, 06 to represent June). | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{dd} | Day (for example, 05 to represent the fifth day of the month). | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{yy} or {yyyy} | Year, represented in two digits (for example, 13 to represent 2013) or four digits (for example, 2013). | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{HH} | Hours, using the 24-hour time format (for example, 14 to represent the hour of 2 o’clock PM). | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{hh} | Hours, using the 12-hour clock format (for example, 02 to represent the hour of 2 o’clock PM). | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{mm} | Minutes. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{aa} | AM or PM. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{ss} | Seconds. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{S} | Milliseconds. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{EEE} | Weekday abbreviation (for example, Mon to represent Monday). | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{MMM} | Month (for example, 12 to represent the month when the action is executed by ActiveTransfer Server | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{d} | Date of the month. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{k} | Hour in 24-hour format. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{K} | Hour in 12-hour format. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{z} | Time zone (for example, IST). | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{Z} | Time zone (for example, +5:30 in case of IST). | Post-processing and scheduled events |
User Variables
User variables enable you to set values in the emails that ActiveTransfer Server sends to users when changes are made to a user’s profile. You can also use these variables when setting a virtual folder path.
Variable | Description | Supported Event Type |
{firstName} | First name of the user. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{lastName} | Last name of the user. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{user_name} | User ID of the user. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{serverList} | One or more URLs of the ActiveTransfer Server to which the user has access. | Post-processing and scheduled events |
{username} | Name of the user who triggers the file operation (upload, download, or delete). | Post-processing events |
{email} | Email of the user who triggers the file operation (upload, download, or delete). | Post-processing events |
{last_name} | Last name of the user who triggers the file operation (upload, download, or delete). | Post-processing events |
{first_name} | First name of the user who triggers the file operation (upload, download, or delete). | Post-processing events |