EMS SQL Management Studio for PostgreSQL

EMS SQL Management Studio is a complete solution for database administration and development. The STUDIO is an integrated suite of powerful database management tools united in one easy-to-use work environment. Developers will appreciate its ability to create/edit/drop any database objects and will find DB comparison, data export/import and test data generation tools extremely helpful. Database migration, BackUp and Restore tools will be of great help to DBAs. As will be the Scheduler that will automate a sizeable part of DBA's work.

This question naturally comes if you are new to database administration and development. It might not be immediately obvious why you would need so many different tools. We would like to point out that your experience will build up day in and day out, you will face new, more complicated tasks and you will need more tools to solve them. The STUDIO embraces ALL must-have tools for DBAs and developers. And it will be in line with your growing expertise! Besides, once you familiarize yourself with the STUDIO tools you'll be able to find the simplest, most suitable and reliable solutions to your tasks! We do realise that our product is used not only by experts, that is why we included plenty of Wisards that will make the job easy and enjoyable even for a newbie. The STUDIO interface is designed so that the component tools are called only when needed in order not to hinder your work. Our experience shows that the majority of our customers get used to our products really fast and we have never received any downgrade requests.

In order to start working with the STUDIO you need to download the installation package here. Then run the installaton file on a MS Windows workstation. When the installation is finished, the program is ready to be used in the trial mode. You can evaluate the trial version for 30 days.This is the time for you to make a purchasing decision. You can purchase the STUDIO here. After the payment is complete your will receive your registration information by e-mail. On entering this information (Main Menu/Help/Register) your copy of the STUDIO will become a registered one.

Indeed, in order to perform some simple task you can purchase a separate EMS utility or a few of them.Yet, if you purchase these utilities within the STUDIO, you receive additional functionalities. First of all, you'll be able to launch the STUDIO components from Task Scheduler. That is, you can set the order to run the tools in, set the parameters to be used, the time and/or time intervals for the task to be performed and go to play a bowling game:) The Task Scheduler will fulfill all your tasks, save the logs for the performed operations and will notify you by e-mail about the successfull/unsuccessful task completion. The Task Scheduler will help you to really automate the majority of your DB service tasks. Secondly, you'll be able to store all registered Databases in one repository. Thus, you will need to register your data source once and will be able to use it in all STUDIO tools. This will save your time and reduce an error chance to the minimum. The third equally important benefit is the pricing. Purchasing the tools within the STUDIO, you pay a lot less, compared to purchasing them as separate products. You will receive up to 40% off the original price!

Basically, there are two upgrading options:
1) You should either download the complete Studio package anew and install it on the same workstation as your original version, which will be overwritten. All settings will be saved.
2) Or, you should update SQL Studio components through SQL Studio Direct service (Navigate/SQL Studio Direct main menu item). A pop-up window will tell you about available updates. Click Yes to download these updates (Internet connection is a must). The Refresh icon on SQL Studio Direct toolbar serves the same purpose. You can also set the interval for Automatic polling of the network in search of updates (see the corresponding icon).
The update procedure performed either way will not require any additional registration.
There is a third possibility for updating SQL Manager component only. You can download the Studio edition of the tool from the corresponding SQL Manager download page. You would then need to unpack the archive in the SQL Manager subfolder within SQL Studio installation directory (e.g. C:\Program Files\EMS\SQL Studio for PostgreSQL\SQL Manager).

Yes, the STUDIO allows to work with an unlimited number of databases at the same time. You can also operate with any number of databases via SSH and HTTP tunneling. Once the database is registered at the database source repository correctly, you are ready to use it.

Yes, that is possible. It doesn't matter what OS the PostgreSQL Server is under, the STUDIO works only in the Windows environment.

The single registered database repository allows one database to be accessed with any STUDIO tools. If you earlier purchased our product suites (bundles) you had to enter the database information in every tool you used. That eventually led to massive time wasting and typing errors. Now the problem is solved in the STUDIO with the help of a single registered database repository.

Using our products you can work with PostgreSQL servers located through the named pipes or remotely on any platform (Linux, Unix, Windows, etc.). You can also connect to remote PostgreSQL servers using SSH and HTTP tunneling.

HTTP tunneling is a method that allows to connect and transmit data between the program and a PostgreSQL server through the HTTP/HTTPS protocols using the 80 port, which is used by a regular internet browser. This method is used to connect to the remote PostgreSQL server of a hosting company when the direct connection is not available because of the security reasons. The HTTP tunnel works the following way: All outgoing queries and commands sent be the client's software are encoded and transmitted through the HTTP\HTTPS protocol using the 80 port to the special script that decodes the received data and sends is to processing PostgreSQL server and sends the result back. This method requires the HTTP server (Apache) and PHP with PostgreSQL to be installed on the remote server. Normally this software is provided by a hosting company that offer the Linux hosting solutions. Also you need to upload the special emsproxy.php script to your web-server to access it remotely (you can place it to the folder with your other PHP scripts). If your web-server complies with the requirements and the script is installed correctly, you'll see the message "EmsProxy v 1.31" (version number can be different) in your browser when opening the http://<yourwebservername>/emsproxy.php page. To register a remote database that will be accessed through the HTTP tunnel you have to enter the following parameters in the Database Registration Wizard of SQL Manager for PostgreSQL:
The First step of the Wizard:
Host is a host where PostgreSQL server is located in point of view HTTP server. Usually HTTP and PostgreSQL server are on the same machine, and it is 'localhost'.
Port is a port of PostgreSQL server on Remote Host, by default it is 5432.
User Name is a PostgreSQL user name.
Password is password of the PostgreSQL user.
Check "Use tunneling" and "SSH tunneling".
The Second step of the Wizard:
URL is a address of emsproxy.php script (e.g. http://mywebserver /emsproxy.php).

SSH (Secure Shell Host) protocol is used to heighten the computer security when working with Unix systems in Internet. SSH uses several encryption algorithms of different reliability. The spread of the SSH is also connected with the fact that a number of Linux-like OS's (for example FreeBSD) include SSH server in their standard integration. To get more information about this issue, please, visit http://openssh.org. SSH tunneling feature of SQL Manager is a means for secure connection to PostgreSQL servers when working over insecure connection channels. You can also use SSH tunnel to get access to the remote PostgreSQL servers, when port 5432 is closed for external connections due to some reasons. The connection over SSH tunnel works in the following way. First a connection is established and authentication between SSH client built in SQL Manager and remote PostgreSQL server is performed. Then all in and outgoing information between the program and PostgreSQL server is transmitted through SSH server with the help of communication port (usually it is 22), and SSH server transfers this information directly to PostgreSQL server. To register a database to which one connects through SSH tunnel, you should set the following parameters in Database Registration Wizard of SQL Manager for PostgreSQL:
On the first step:
Host is a host where PostgreSQL server is located in point of view SSH server. If SSH and PostgreSQL server are on the same machine, it is equal to SSH Host, or may be 'localhost'.
Port is a port of PostgreSQL server on Remote Host, by default it is 5432.
User Name is a PostgreSQL user name.
Password is password of the PostgreSQL user.
Please, note that PostgreSQL host name should be set relatively to the SSH server in this case. For example, if both of PostgreSQL and SSH servers are located on the same computer, you should specify localhost as Host name instead of server's external host name or IP address.
Please, do not forget to choose Use tunneling and SSH tunneling
On the second step:
SSH host name is a host where SSH server is activated.
SSH port is a port where SSH server is activated.
SSH user name is a user on Linux machine. (It is a Linux user. It is not a user of PostgreSQL server.)
SSH password is a Linux user password.

If due to the security policy accepted in your corporate network or by your host provider you cannot connect to your PostgreSQL server directly through TCP/IP (for example a firewall prevents this), you can use SSH or HTTP tunneling feature of SQL Manager to fulfill your task.

1. Make sure that there is a record for your client PC in pg_hba.conf file on PostgreSQL server. This file can be found in database cluster's data directory.
2. If you connect to the remote server, then the TCP/IP connections should be allowed on the remore server. In this case you need to edit file postgresql.conf on the server: just add the name or TCP/IP of the client PC in the listen_addresses list. Or you can as well put * character; in this case the connection from any host will be allowed. You can get the same result if you run the server with -i option, which is the same as listen_addresses = '*'.
3. Make sure that you enter the correct login/password.
4. You use password authentication, but it is not supoorted in STUDIO.

To setup SSH connection correctly, input the following values to the corresponding fields:
On SSH page/tab:
SSH host name is a host where SSH server is activated.
SSH port is a port where SSH server is activated.
SSH user name is a user on Linux machine. (It is a Linux user. It is not a user of PostgreSQL server.)
SSH password is a Linux user password.
On Connection properties/General page/tab:
Host is a host where PostgreSQL server is located from the point of view of SSH server. If SSH and PostgreSQL server are on the same machine, it is equal to SSH Host, or may be 'localhost'.
Port is a port of PostgreSQL server on Remote Host, by default it is 5432.
User Name is a PostgreSQL user name.
Password is a password of the PostgreSQL user.
Please note that PostgreSQL host name should be set relatively to the SSH server in this case. For example, if both PostgreSQL and SSH servers are located on the same computer, you should specify localhost as Host name instead of server's external host name or IP address.

You receive this error message because the program can not find the libpq.dll client library that is essential to work with PostgreSQL server. The libpq.dll file is included in the Studio installation package. You might have deleted this file accidentally or moved the exe file to another folder. In order to solve the problem you need to reinstall the Studio (all your settings will be saved) or copy the libpq.dll file from the installation folder to the folder with the exe file.

You can work with any objects in PostgreSQL databases such as tables, fields, indices, views, stored procedures and functions, triggers, UDFs and events.

Please select the option "Select all records from a table" on the "Grid" tab of "Options/Environment Options" dialog. Please, be aware that selecting all records from the table may require considerable time.

For your convenience and to speed up your work Data Grid allows to customise many data display parameters. Here are the most important of them (accessible through "Options/Environment Options"): At the Grid page:
- Limit options in table and view editors. The “Select all records of a table” option will enable you to see all table records without extra references to the server, yet in case of large tables or low speed connection channel the data may be fetched with huge delays and the incoming traffic might grow considerably. This mode is recommended when working with local databases or in a private network. The “Select only” mode restricts the maximum number of records returned after the query. Man can't process a massive amount of information at once. Hence, we came up with this mode. To request and display the next portion of data use the Next button in the Data Grid toolbar. This mode speeds up table data viewing considerably, prevents hanging and connection timeout. It is recommended to work with large tables, in case of low speed connection channels and when the traffic volume is of importance. This is a default mode. With this mode on the “Use SQL sorting” and “Use SQL filter” options come really helpful. At the "Grid/Data Options" tab:
- Default Grid Mode. This option defines whether the requested rows will be loaded in the Grid all at once ("Load all rows"), or in parts ("Load visible rows") as the user scrolls down table data. The first mode increases the query opening time but speeds up scrolling. In the second mode the query opens very fast but there might be delays when navigating the grid.
- Use SQL sorting in data view. With this option enabled, when the user sets data sorting a new request is sent to the server, and the result is shown anew in the Grid. This option is very helpful with the “Select only” mode enabled, but it increases the traffic. When this option is disabled, the sorting is made on the client computer without any references to the server but only loaded data are sorted. That is, if you set "Select only 1000 records", then only these records will be sorted.
- Use SQL filer in data view. With this option enabled, the data will be sorted on the server to which a new request is sent, and the result will be shown anew in the Grid.
This option is also helpful when the “Select only” mode is on, but it insreases the traffic. When this option is disabled, the sorting is made on the client computer without any references to the server but only loaded data are sorted. That is, if you set "Select only 1000 records", then only these records will be sorted.

We recommend to set the following option values to achieve maximum efficiency when working with large tables:
- Select only – On
- Load visible rows – On
- Use SQL sorting – On
- Use SQL filter – On

You can create new objects, drop and edit the existing ones. You can also copy the objects from/to databases located on one or several hosts.

Please, find the option "Convert created object's names to lower cases" in Options/Environment Options/Object Editors dialog and disable it if necessary.

You can customize all display formats: integer, float, date, time and date/time in the Environment Options window. You can do it from the Main Menu Options/Environment Options/Grid/Color&Formats.

You need to set up the "Client charset" parameters to make the server return the information to the client (our program) in the needed code page. Please, open the Database Registration Info window and specify the "Client Charset" option to '"greek (ISO 8859-7 Greek)".

The ‘DDL‘ tabs of the Table Editor and UDF Editor are read-only. They display the SQL text of the operations you carry over the table on the tabs ‘Fields‘, ‘Indices‘, etc, or over the UDF. To modify this text you can copy it to the clipboard and modify it using SQL Script Editor.

You probably have the "Autofit column widths" option enabled in the "Grid" bar of Options/Environment Options dialog. Try to disable it.

Yes, the STUDIO has a powerful visual query builder that allows a newbie build a complex queries while drasticly save time for advanced users. All you need to do is to specify the tables that will be used in the query, their relations and the data you want to get. The visual query builder will create a text of the query for you. You will only need to run it. You can see the result of your query and make corrections if nesessary. The changes can be made from the visual builder or from the text editor. As changes made in visual query builder, the text editor will display them too and vice versa.

Yes, the visual query builder can build complex queries including UNION operator and subqueries.

Yes, of cource. The STUDIO can save the needed query to following ways:
1. ALL executed queries are automatically saved in the History. You can view the History and execute or edit any query you need.
2. You can add the frequently used queries to the list of favorite queries.
3. You can save any query as an SQL-script into file on your hard drive and load it when needed or execute it with a command line SQL script tool.
4. You can save your query with the chart. In this case after the query is loaded into STUDIO, the chart will be displayed the way it has been created.
5. the STUDIO allows to save the query chart as a bitmap image.

Yes, the STUDIO has a SQL Script tool for that. It can also run a script from a file saved on your hard drive. This feature allows you to create a queries and schedule their execution with STUDIO Task Sheduler. The Task Scheduler allows to run your query when you need it and reports you when done.

Yes, of cource. The STUDIO has a powerful tool for exporting your data (including the query results). STUDIO can export info MS Access, MS Word, CVS, XLS, HTML, RTF, DBF, XML and others. To ease the exporting procedure the STUDIO has the Export Data Wizard.

To create a report you can use the Create Report Wizard ("Create-->Report") or Report Designer Tool ("Tools/Report Designer"). To create a simple report based on the query you need to choose "Master Data band" on the second step of the wizard, double-click on it or click the Edit button and specify the query for your report. After that you need to tune the non-nesessary options in other steps of the wizard and press Finish.

To create a report based no the query you can use the Create Report Wizard. You need to choose the Create-->Report, then choose Master Data band on the second step of the wizard, doubleclick on it or click the Edit button and specify the query for your report. After that you need to tune the non-nesessary options in other steps of the wizard and press Finish

Yes, open the report by double-clicking on it in the DB Explorer window and choose "Save report as" in the navbar or toolbar and specify the format you want to save to in the "Save as type" field.

To get data source in a report you need to add a dialog form to the report (menu "Edit/Add dialog form" of Report Designer), then place database and query components from the left designer panel on it and set connection and query properties. Then the query appears in data source lists.

The Export/Import tools in STUDIO includes additional features, which are not available in SQL Manager for PostgreSQL.
1. Export/Import data from/to several tables at once.
2. Export/import data from/to tables selected from different databases on one host.
3. Command line utility to automatically export/import data using the STUDIO scheduler.
4. A single registered database repository.

You can use Import Data Wizard for this purpose. It will help you to set all the necessary import parameters. Moreover, you can save these settings as a template and use them in the future. Besides CSV file you can also import from MS Excel, MS Access, DBF, XML and TXT files.

Fields of TEXT types are not exported by default. You should select these fields manually on the Fields tab.

Follow the steps below to change directory.
Right click on the database you need in DB Explorer and click on "Database Registration Info..." item in popup menu (you can also find this item in main menu "Database"). The Database Properties form will be opened.
Click on the "Directories" tab.
In the "Default Directory for Export Data" section you can choose the default directory for export file.

The main function of the console versions of STUDIO tools is execution of some service operations with the database without a user involved. All console tools support configurative files (templates) that are created in the corresponding GUI versions. The template file contains all information necessary for working with the tool's console version. With the help of console version and a template file you can create a task in the Task Planer and set the necessary time and/or period for execution. Of course, you can use the console versions of STUDIO tools in your own automatic applications.

You can use Data Pump for PostgreSQL tool for this purpose. To launch Data Pump from STUDIO, please, choose Data Manipulation tab and click on Data Pump for PostgreSQL, or choose Start->Programs->EMS->SQL Studio for PostgreSQL->Data Pump for PostgreSQL->Data Pump for PostgreSQL.
We recommend that you use Microsoft Jet 4.0 OLE DB Provider to connect to your MS Access database.

ODBC (Open DataBase Connectivity) is an open standard interface to access databases developed by Microsoft. The most database management systems have their own ODBC driver or the one developed by other software producers.
To migrate from ODBC data source you need to use Data Pump for PostgreSQL tool. You can start Data Pump from STUDIO by choosing Data Manipulation tab and then clicking on Data Pump for PostgreSQL. Or go to Start->Programs->EMS->SQL Studio for PostgreSQL->Data Pump for PostgreSQL->Data Pump for PostgreSQL.
When working with the utility you should use OLE DB Provider for ODBC Drivers to connect to your ODBC data source.

With the help of Data Pump for PostgreSQL you can migrate from any databases to which you can connect over OLE DB Provider (for example SQL Server, Oracle, MS Access, DB2, etc.) and ODBC Driver (MySQL, Interbase, Firebird, dbase files, etc.)

STUDIO has a powerful instrument for generating test data - Data Generator. The Wizard will help you to set such parameters as the amount of lines to be generated, range value for each field, the quantity of lines with NULL value and others. Data Generator performs various algorithms including random or increment data generation as well as the one according to the given list of values and many others. And of course, it is possible to save all these settings as a template for future use.

Yes, of course. When generating test data, STUDIO takes into consideration all relations and restrictions that already exist in your database.

There is a Database Comparer (DB Comparer) tool in STUDIO that can be used for this purpose. Its interface is simple and user-friendly, but the results of its work are quite impressive! You need only to choose two databases, whose metadata you would like to compare and set some additional parameters, such as database objects to compare, direction of synchronization and others. The result of DB Comparer's work will be a list of differences in the metadata of these two databases and a script, with the help of which you can synchronize the databases. Besides, you can synchronize each difference separately, using only the needed changes in the required order. Do you remember how much time you spent searching for the single field added to the table two months ago? :)

You shoulld start Data Comparer Wizard and specify the existing working database as a source database. Then specify database of the yesterday's backup as a target database (you should first restore it on any available PostgreSQL server). Now choose data in which tables you would like to compare and follow the other steps of the wizard. Mind, that Data Comparer allows comparing data in tables with non-identical metadata. After the comparison is complete you will see the list of differences between your databases and will be asked if you would like to synchronize data from source to target or from target to source. You can save SQL script that performs synchronization in a separate file and run it later with the help of SQL Script tool (probably using the STUDIO Task Planer).

You can use DB Comparer for PostgreSQL tool to synchronize the structure of your databases.
To launch DB Comparer from STUDIO, please, choose Data Analysis tab and click on DB Comparer for PostgreSQL, or go to Start->Programs->EMS->SQL Studio for PostgreSQL-> DB Comparer for PostgreSQL-> DB Comparer for PostgreSQL.
To synchronize the data, you can use Data Comparer for PostgreSQL tool.
To launch Data Comparer from STUDIO, choose Data Analysis tab and click on Data Comparer for PostgreSQL, or go to Start->Programs->EMS->SQL Studio for PostgreSQL-> Data Comparer for PostgreSQL-> Data Comparer for PostgreSQL.

Yes, for this purpose there are console versions of our utilities - DB Comparer for PostgreSQL Console Application and Data Comparer for PostgreSQL Console Application. All console tools support configuration files (templates) that are created in GUI versions of the programs. The template file contains all the infomation necessary for working with the console version of the tool. With the help of console version and the template file you can easily perform synchronization from a command line without setting a greate number of parameters manually.

This possibility is not supported by our utilities as they allow synchronizing data and metadata only between one server type, that is between PostgreSQL and PostgreSQL.

STUDIO supports several methods of creating database backups.
1) Using DB Extract for PostgreSQL or Extract Database Wizard of SQL Manager for PostgreSQL. These tools create backups of databases or user-defined objects in a form of SQL script. The generated script can contain SQL Utility statements, Data Definition statements and Insert Data commands. The main advantage of creating backups with DB Extract for PostgreSQL is the possibility of saving database structure and data as a whole as well as partially. To call DB Extract tool open Data Analysis tab in STUDIO and choose DB Extract for PostgreSQL. In order to call Extract Database Wizard, please, open SQL Manager for PostgreSQL and choose Tools/Extract Database in the main menu. To restore a database from created in this way script you can just execute this script on PostgreSQL server. You can use SQL Script for PostgreSQL or SQL Script tool in SQL Manager for PostgreSQL
2) Using Data Export for PostgreSQL or Export Data Wizard of SQL Manager for PostgreSQL. This method can be used for creating backups of data from any table type. It is useful when you want to save only data without the structure. We recommend that you use CSV format to create data backups. To call Data Export utility, please, open Data Manipulation tab in STUDIO and choose Data Export for MySQL. In order to call Data Export Wizard from SQL Manager for PostgreSQL, open your table on Data tab and choose Export Data. To restore data from created in this way file you can use Data Import for PostgreSQL or Data Import Wizard of SQL Manager for PostgreSQL. You can learn about the differences between Data Import for PostgreSQL and Data Import Wizard of SQL Manager for PostgreSQL here
3) Using Save Data Wizard of SQL Manager for PostgreSQL. It is almost the same as method 2. The only difference is that data are saved in the directory on the server or in the shared folder in the local network with the help of COPY SQL command. The data are saved in TEXT, CSV or binary format, but the speed of creating backups and their restoring is much higher then when using Data Export. However, this method does not allow saving files in any client folder. To call Save Data Wizard from SQL Manager for PostgreSQL, please, open your table on Data tab and choose "Save Data". You can easily restore data using Load Data Wizard.

1) You can restore a backup file created by DB Extract for PostgreSQL or with the help of Extract Database Wizard of SQL Manager for PostgreSQL on any server that has the same or higher version than the one where this backup was created.
2) You can restore the data backed up with the help of Data Export for PostgreSQL or Data Export Wizard of SQL Manager for PostgreSQL to a table of any PostgreSQL server version.
3) You can restore the data backed up in TEXT or binary format with the help of Save Data Wizard of SQL Manager for PostgreSQL to a table on any PostgreSQL server version. Data saved in CSV format can be restored on 8 or higher server version.

Templates in STUDIO are intended for storage of the parameters necessary for running STUDIO tools. With the templates you will be able to repeatedly perform one and the same operation using STUDIO tool without need to enter each time 10-20 wizard parameters. The parameters stored in a template can be easily modified or you can create a new template based on the existing one.

Template is a file that can store necessary parameters in certain format. Template files can be located anywhere in your PC if only you remember their location :) To simplify the task of template storage and search in STUDIO there is function Template Manager. The Manager allows you to register the necessary templates in STUDIO and not to worry anymore about the place where you saved them to. When you create a new template in STUDIO the Template Manager automatically remembers its location on the disk. All the registered templates are grouped by the tools they are intended for and will be at your disposal at any time. To run a tool with the selected template you will just need to double-click the template.

The Template Manager allows you to perform both operations: you can either delete a template from the registered template list only, or delete it also from the computer disk.

To create a template for the Import tool you should run the Import tool (Main Menu/Run/DataImport). Then you will need to fill in all the necessary import parameters using the Next button. A the last wizard step you should indicate where and under what name you would like to save the newly created template using button Tools/Save Template.

Yes, sure. The STUDIO Scheduler is intended exactly for such situations. The Scheduler can run for execution the tasks previously created by you. You can set the time and periodicity for the task execution. Each Task can include unlimited number of Steps (elementary operations). A Task must include at least one step. In your case you should perform the following:
1. Create new Task.
2. Create 4 steps in the Task (Export, Import, BackUp, BackUp). When creating these steps you will need to indicate in what template files are the necessary tool parameters saved.
3. Create Scheduled Task in the Scheduler that will use the Task you've just created (1).

In the Task editor there is a tab Alerts. By switching to this Tab you will be able to indicatet he most suitable notification method to be aware both of successful task execution and of the task failure. The current version of STUDIO support the following notification types: NetSend, System App Log (WIN), e-mail.

Yes. When creating/editing each Task Step you can define which step should go next. Moreover, for each of the three processed events (successful step termination, erroneous step termination, step termination by time-out) you can indicate a separate variant of next Task operations.

All the information on the Task execution is fixed in the log. You can find there not only the information on the Task, but also on the Steps it includes. Moreover, you can view the log file of the attachment excuted at a certain step. It is very convenient while analyzing the reasons of the Task/Step failure. The powerful log filters will allow you to display only selected records.

To solve such conflicts in every Task Step you can define its time-out. If a Step is being executed longer than it's defined in the time-out, the Step will terminate with the "by time-out" event, and the Task execution goes on according to the algorithm you set.

To work with the Task Scheduler you need to run the STUDIO Agent (a shortcut in the task bar). And also your computer should be running during all the time when the tasks will be launched.

Those tasks won't be performed.

Yes. STUDIO has a convenient tool to work with log files. While creating a Step in the Task you can specify the location of the log file of application to be executed. When choosing the tools from STUDIO the location of the log file is filled automatically. Log files of the performed steps are saved in the internal STUDIO database and are availbale in the Navigation/Logs menu.

If a utility doesn't have a log file and only types information on the screen (in the text mode), then STUDIO can save these data as a log. To do this, please, check the box near "Save screen to log" when creating a task.

Log files are kept in STUDIO during an unlimited period. You can delete the unnecessary log files manually in STUDIO (Logs tab).

In the current version STUDIO interface supports the following localizations: English, German, French and Russian.