The procedures that are created and executed in Attune are made up of a series of steps.
These steps make use of variables that allow values to be dynamically allocated to each step before the steps are executed. A Plan links the Procedure Variables to Values. The values contain the properties that are accessed when a plan is executed. Each Variable has a unique name and a type.
When you access the Variables screen from Attune’s navigation panel at the top of the screen, you will be presented with a screen with two panels as shown below.
| 1: | The left-hand panel shows a list of the variables that have already been defined, along with their types |
| 2: | At the top of the left panel, there is a search box that allows you to search for a particular variable |
| 3: | Next to the search box, there is an Add button that allows you to create a new variable |
| 4: | The right-hand panel is where you can view and edit the attributes of the variables |
Types of Variable
Each variable has a type that conforms to one of the variable types defined in Attune. Variables are assigned their type when they are created. The different types of variables in Attune are –
| OS Credential: | Supply login details for OS – Name, username, password, etc |
| Server: | Allows access to Server details – IP address, hostname, domain name, OS Type, etc |
| Server Group: | Allows you to access servers within a defined server group |
| SQL Credential: | Supply login details for SQL databases |
| Text: | Supply a pre-defined text value |
Variable Attributes
All Variables have the same basic attributes, regardless of their type. These attributes are –
| Type: | The type must be one of the types defined in Attune (mandatory). Variables can only be assigned Values of the same type. |
| Name: | Name of the Variable (mandatory) |
| Default Place Value: | Default value selected from the drop-down list of Values of the same type as Variable |
| Show in Plan: | If the checkbox selected, the Variable will be visible in the Plan and can have different Variables assigned to it |
| Comment: | Descriptive comments, notes, etc |
If there is a default value, a different value can still be assigned to the variable in the Plan. If there is no default value, the Variable will appear in the Plan as blank and will need to have a value assigned to it.
Creating new Variable
If the right-hand pane has ‘New Variable’ in the title bar, with blank fields, you can create a new variable by adding the required details into the fields provided. Alternatively, you can click on the +Add button in the top right-hand side of the left pane, next to the search box. This will display the ‘New Variable’ dialog in the right-hand pane. Supply values for the Variable attributes (as described above), then click the ‘Create’ button at the bottom.
Editing a Variable
Select one of the Variables listed in the left-hand pane by left-clicking it. The fields will be shown in the right-hand pane. The fields can then be altered as required. When complete, click the ‘Save’ button at the bottom of the dialog box.
Deleting Variable
Select one of the Variables listed in the left-hand pane by left-clicking it. The fields will be shown in the right-hand pane. Then simply click on the ‘Delete’ button at the bottom of the dialog box.
Using Variables in Scripts
In order to be used in a script, the Variable names are stripped of any separating spaces between words and converted to camelcase – with only the first letter of the second, and any subsequent words capitalized.
ie. A Variable called – THIS IS my name would be converted to {thisIsMyName}
Values are referenced in scripts as {placeHolderName.placeValueAttribute}
So, for example, if we had a Variable with name THIS IS my name of type Server
We could refer to the IP address in a script as {thisIsMyName.ip}
More details about using variables and values in scripts, including a list of the value attributes, are available