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Jobs - Automated Report Configuration

At the heart of Anaphora is the Job—a scheduled unit of execution that utilizes a headless browser to interact with web pages. A job is not just a screenshot tool; it is a programmable workflow that can navigate, interact, extract data, and apply conditional logic.

Job Structure

Every job consists of four main components:

ComponentDescription
GeneralName, description, scheduling, and throttling
CaptureWhat to capture and how
ComposerHow to arrange content into a report
DeliveryWhere and how to send the report

Core Capabilities

Jobs can perform complex interactions with web applications:

  • Click elements - Buttons, links, menu items
  • Type text - Search boxes, form fields, filters
  • Navigate - Follow links, handle redirects, manage authentication
  • Wait conditions - Wait for elements to appear, data to load, or animations to complete

Capture Data

Extract information in multiple formats:

Capture TypeUse Case
ScreenshotsVisual snapshots of dashboards, charts, or specific elements
Text extractionPull specific values like counts, percentages, or status text
Element captureScreenshot only a specific chart or panel
Full pageCapture the entire scrollable page

Logic & Control Flow

Implement sophisticated automation with:

  • Conditional execution - if/else blocks based on extracted values
  • Wait conditions - wait until visible, wait for text
  • Reload strategies - Force reload, clear cache, retry on failure
  • Variables - Store and reuse extracted values throughout the workflow
  • Break conditions - Stop execution if criteria aren't met (useful for alerts)

Job Types

Report Jobs

Regular scheduled reports that always produce output:

  • Daily dashboard snapshots
  • Weekly metric summaries
  • Monthly trend reports

Alert Jobs

Conditional reports that only send when criteria are met:

  • Error rate exceeds threshold
  • Document count drops below minimum
  • Custom conditions based on extracted values
tip

In Anaphora, an alert is a conditional report. You create alerts by adding conditions to your capture workflow that determine whether the report should be sent. Use the Break action to skip delivery when conditions aren't met.

AI-Powered Analysis

Jobs can integrate AI to analyze captured data:

Capture Dashboard -> Send to AI -> Receive Analysis -> Include in Report
  • Visual Analysis - Pass screenshots to AI models to evaluate dashboard content
  • Text Summaries - AI generates human-readable summaries of complex data
  • Anomaly Detection - AI identifies unusual patterns or concerning trends
  • OpenAI Compatible - Works with any AI provider using the OpenAI API format

Visual Composer

The Composer tab allows you to design professional reports:

SettingDescription
BackgroundSet colors or images for report sections
Text stylingConfigure fonts, colors, and sizes
Padding & spacingControl layout and whitespace
OpacityLayer elements with transparency
BrandingAdd logos and company colors

Combine visual snapshots with AI-generated summaries for comprehensive, polished reports.

Creating a Job

  1. Navigate to Jobs in the sidebar
  2. Click Create New
  3. Configure each tab:
    • General - Set name, schedule, and basic settings
    • Capture - Define what to capture and extraction logic
    • Composer - Design the report layout and branding
    • Delivery - Select delivery channels and recipients
  4. Test the job to verify it works correctly
  5. Save and activate

Next Steps