Attribute Data Type:
Attribute Default Value:
Attribute Group:
Attribute Purpose:
Attribute Inherited from Preferences?
Attribute UI-configurable?
Attribute Read-Only?
Attribute Intrinsic?
Attribute First Added:
Attribute in Current Baseline:
Attribute Last Altered:
number [other number-type attributes]
1
Agent [other Agent Group attributes]
Agent configuration
No
Yes
No
No
v2.5.0
Baseline
As at baseline
Allows agent to run less frequently than normal, or be turned off.
A pop-up menu in the agent's Action Inspector ▸ Query sub-tab, or Get Info ▸ agent tab, allows manual change of agent priority. Regardless of the setting, every agent is updated before export and when updating manually, except for agents that have been turned off.
Unless an agent is turned off before creating a query, an agent query will always run at least once as soon as the agent is first created.
The mapping of number values to the text names used in the Priority pop-up menu on the Get Info agent tab and the Action Inspector Query sub-tab is as follows:
- Highest = 0. Runs every few seconds.
- Normal = 1 (default). Runs roughly every ten seconds.
- Low = 4. Runs roughly every minute.
- Lowest = 10. Runs roughly every five minutes'
- Occasional = 20. Runs roughly every thirty minutes.
- Off = -1. Does not run (retains any existing aliases)
The $AgentPriority can only be set as a number. Do not use text values or you get an error. Any other number value than those listed above causes the dialog pop-up to show 'highest'. Whether this is the real result, i.e. that setting '9' results in the same as setting '0' is not clear.
All agents that are not 'off' run once on document load or a force refresh of agents.
The default value of $AgentPriority is 1, which will cause the agent to be checked at roughly ten second intervals. Higher values of $AgentPriority cause the agent to be checked less frequently.
Setting $AgentPriority to 0 asks Tinderbox to check the agent as frequently as possible.
Setting $AgentPriority to -1 asks Tinderbox to retain existing matches but never update, effectively turning the agent off whilst retaining the last set of data and is excluded from Export and 'manual' update agent updates. Thus the current results can be 'frozen' and persist between sessions. However, if an agent is being turned off just to drop it out of regular cycles it will need to manually be set to a value or zero or greater before it can be used/updated and manually reset to 'off' after use if it desired to 'freeze' it again. When an agent is off:
- Query does not run
- Agent actions ($AgentAction, $OnRemove) do not run.
- Agent rules and edicts still run, i.e. in the agent itself
- Child aliases' rules and edicts still run.
See also—notes linking to here:
- Controlling Agent Update Cycle Time
- Agent's AgentPriority Status shown in Icon
- Dashboard concept
- Note, Container and Agent icon layout
- ID
- Re-arrangeable Agent Maps
- Smart Adornments
- Manually triggering agent updates
- File menu
- Agent Priority pop-up list
- Techniques & demos hidden in the TBX
- agent tab
- Query tab
- Content and Type Dependent Icons