Re: [Condor-users] excel on condor

["Ben Burnett" <burnett@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

You may need to enable Excel macros on all the execute nodes (to my knowledge 
most recent Excel installations disable macros by default), which you 
may have already done (but could be integrated into jeff.bat).  

Secondly, does your VBA script close Excel once it has done running?  This might

be part of the reason your job is exhibiting this behavior; that is to say, 
Excel may have already done the work you are expecting it to do, but it's 
just sitting there waiting for someone to close it.  

The final though I had on this, is that when using "USE_VISIBLE_DESKTOP = True" 
as Ian suggested, you may need to deal with the initial Excel configuration
stuff,
because unless you are running as yourself, then Excel will want to 
know the user's name and initials, etc. (setting this, I think, should be
possible, again, in jeff.bat using the Windows 'reg' tool [not sure of the
key to change, off the top of my head]).

-B

From: condor-users-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:condor-users-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Tkacheff GS14 Jeffrey C
Sent: Tuesday, October 16, 2007 2:05 PM
To: condor-users@xxxxxxxxxxx
Cc: Purcell GS14 Daniel F
Subject: [Condor-users] excel on condor

et al, 
more questions on running excel on condor. I have a sample excel workbook with
embedded VBA. the workbook is setup to start running as soon as excel is
started. I have created a "bat" file that will start excel and the workbook from
the command prompt. I have tested this file from command prompt and it works.
the file (jeff.bat) looks like this; excel sdk2.xls
my submit file looks like this; 
universe = vanilla 
executable = jeff.bat 
getenv = true; 
transfer_executable = true 
error = c:\sdk2.err 
log = c:\sdk2.log 
should_transfer_files = yes 
when_to_transfer_output = on_exit 
transfer_input_files = sdk2.xls 
queue 
when I condor_submit this file, the job gets started on a selected machine. when
I login on that machine I see the following;
- under task manager I see that excel.exe has started but is not eating up any
cpu time. 
- under c:\condor\execute\dir_###, I see a _condor_stderr file, the sdk2.xls and
a condor_exec.bat (which is a copy of the jeff.bat file).
so. it looks like my jeff.bat is being transferred, the workbook sdk2.xls is
being transferred, excel is starting up on the remote machine, but. it is not
executing the sdk2.xls file. if I try double clicking on the condor_exec.bat
file is starts the workbook just fine.
I don't understand why the jeff.bat (condor_exec.bat) is not being properly
executed, it looks it is running the first word (excel) in the bat file and not
the argument (sdk2.xls).
any words of wisdom on this? 
Jeff Tkacheff 
MAA Branch, Operations Analysis Division, MCCDC 
v: 703 784 0429 DSN 278 
f: 703 784 3547 
e: jeffrey.tkacheff@xxxxxxxx 
"All truth passes through three stages. 
First, it is ridiculed. 
Second, it is violently opposed. 
Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." 
- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860)