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So I work for this small company and what they currently have is a bunch of files on server being move from one place to another. They are in pdf, wpd, doc and xls format. Initially what happens is that a user creates an entry into an excel file, then creates a folder on the server and then populate the folder with all the required files. After that a backup is created and an html version is created for the people in manufacturing.

I told my boss that we could have a script running on server, all the user has to do is to drop the files on the server and let the script take care of everything, but he is not a fan of scripts running on server.

Any ideas how this can be automated or anyone has done something that they might want to share.

Thank you.

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Why not just have the user manually invoke the script once the Excel file is updated? This should put your boss at ease, because then there won't be a daemon polling in the background waiting for the file to be updated. – Breakthrough Jun 29 '11 at 13:04
but would there be a problem if more than one user tries to run the script at the same time? – rashid Jun 29 '11 at 13:14
You could make the script check for other instances first, and if so delay until completed. – Muffinbubble Jun 29 '11 at 13:16
Um yes - I'd automate this with a script running on the server! – Linker3000 Jun 29 '11 at 13:21
is there another solution where it does not involve running script on the server? I am thinking of a GUI version where the user can browse for files, backup etc. – rashid Jun 29 '11 at 13:23
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Suggestion 1: Manual Script

A script could be available that is explicitly run by the user to do the work when they place a new file on the share. The script would have to be intelligent enough to know if another user is already running it.

Pro: There is no daemon type process running on the server to potentially cause stability issues. Con: The user has to remember to run the script.

Suggestion 2: Scheduled Task

A script could be run periodically by the task scheduler service on the server.

Pro: No daemon and no user action required. Con: If the time interval for the scheduled task is too long conversions may not happen soon enough.

Suggestion 3: Different Location

Either of the above solutions or even a daemon running on a different machine.

Pro: Very unlikely to cause stability issues on the server. Provides the pros of whichever solution is used. Con: Kind of kludgie (just my opinion). Susceptible to connectivity issues.

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