The Batch Configuration Portal is where you view and manage the batch configurations for your Quickbase Extensions. A batch configuration lists the parameters a batch run of an extension may use and the values each of those parameters is allowed to have. You open it from the Extensions Portal.
Available to: all roles that can open My Extensions in the Extensions Portal.
Why batch configurations exist
Batch configurations are part of Quickbase enhanced security for Quickbase Extensions.
A batch processor runs in the background. It's usually started by a Quickbase email notification that sends the extension's batch arguments (for example, the value of a Batch Processing Arguments formula field) to the extension's batch address. No user is signed in while it runs, so there's no one to confirm the request. Instead, the batch arguments include configid= followed by a Config Key, and on every batch run the extension checks the run's parameters against the configuration with that key. If the key is missing, or a parameter has a value the configuration doesn't allow, the run stops with an error.
This protects the parameters that matter most, especially the ones that decide where an extension writes its output. For example, faid controls which file attachment field Exact Forms Plus saves the finished file to. When faid is locked to the field you chose, a changed formula or notification can't send the file somewhere else.
For most batch extensions, the installation wizard creates a configuration from the parameters it puts in the batch arguments field and adds the matching configid= to that field. Image Resizer/Rotator is the exception: its wizard doesn't create a configuration yet, so submit a technical support case to have the first one created. Use the Batch Configuration Portal to see your configurations, give them names, change their allowed values, add parameters, and create more configurations.
Which extensions use batch configurations
Extension | Installation wizard creates a configuration? | Batch runs check the configuration? |
|---|---|---|
Yes | Yes | |
Yes | Yes | |
Yes | Yes | |
Yes | Yes | |
Yes | Yes | |
Yes | Yes | |
Yes | Yes | |
No. Submit a technical support case to have the first configuration created. | Yes | |
Yes, but only so the extension is listed in the portal. Docusign for Quickbase isn't offered in a Quickbase package yet. | No | |
EZ File Importer | Yes, but only so the extension is listed in the portal. EZ File Importer isn't offered in a Quickbase package yet. | No |
Extension names link to each extension's batch article. For each extension's batch arguments field and where you see a failed check, see Extensions that check batch configurations.
Get started
Set up the extension for batch processing with the installation wizard. The wizard creates the extension's first batch configuration and adds configid= with its Config Key to the batch arguments field, for example XL Docs Batch Processing Arguments. For Image Resizer/Rotator, submit a technical support case to have the first configuration created.
Open the Batch Configuration Portal from Quick Links. See Open the Batch Configuration Portal.
On Batch Add-Ons, select Go To Configs on the extension's row. Find the configuration whose Config Key ends with the same 8 characters as the configid= value in your batch arguments.
Give the configuration a name so you can find it again. See Name a configuration.
Select Go To Values to check its parameters and allowed values.
Whenever you change a value in your batch arguments (for example, to save the output to a different field), add the new value to the configuration first. See Change allowed values. Otherwise the next run stops with a mismatch error.
If a run stops or seems to do nothing, see Batch Config Portal messages and troubleshooting.
Open the Batch Configuration Portal
Sign in to the Extensions Portal. You land on My Extensions. If you belong to more than one company, select the company first in the Select a Company window. The portal shows the configurations of the company you selected.
Find the Quick Links card. It has two links: Invite User and Batch Configuration Portal.
Select Batch Configuration Portal (link icon). A window titled Batch Configuration Portal opens over the page and shows the Batch Add-Ons list.
To close the window, select the close (X) button in its title bar. Clicking outside the window or pressing Esc doesn't close it. Each time you open the window, the portal loads again from the start, so you always see the latest configurations.
A loading spinner covers the window while the portal loads or saves data.
The screens
Every screen has the header Batch Configuration Portal. You move between three screens with buttons, from the list of extensions down to a single configuration's parameters.
Batch Add-Ons
The first screen, headed Batch Add-Ons, lists each extension that has at least one batch configuration.
Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
Add-on | The extension's name, for example Exact Forms Plus. |
# of Configurations | How many batch configurations the extension has. |
(button, no heading) | Go To Configs opens the extension's Configurations screen. |
The list is sorted by # of Configurations, most first. An extension appears here once it has a configuration, which normally happens when you set it up for batch processing with the installation wizard. You can only create a configuration for an extension that's already listed on Batch Add-Ons, because Add New is on the extension's Configurations screen. If an extension you use isn't listed (for example, Image Resizer/Rotator, whose installation wizard doesn't create a configuration yet), submit a technical support case to have its first configuration created. Include the extension's name and the app it's set up in.
If your company has no batch configurations yet, the portal shows You do not yet have any Batch Configurations - please install a batch add-on into one of your Quickbase applications first. in place of the list.
Configurations
Select Go To Configs to open the extension's configurations. The heading shows the extension's name followed by Configurations, for example Exact Forms Plus Configurations. Select Back to return to Batch Add-Ons.
Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
Config Key | The configuration's unique key, shortened to ... and its last 8 characters (in italics), with a copy icon. Hover over the key to see the full key in a tooltip. Select the key or the copy icon to copy the full key to your clipboard. This is the value you use after configid=. |
Name | A name you give the configuration so you can tell configurations apart. New configurations have no name. Select the cell to type a name. |
# of Parameters | How many parameters the configuration checks. |
(buttons) | Go To Values on each row opens the configuration's Configured Parameters screen. Add New in the column header creates a new configuration. |
The list is sorted by Config Key.
Configured Parameters
Select Go To Values to open a configuration. The heading reads Configured Parameters, a hyphen, then the configuration's name (if it has one) and the last 8 characters of its key, followed by a copy icon. Select the heading to copy the full Config Key. Select Back to return to the Configurations screen.
Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
Parameter Name | The name of a batch argument the configuration checks, for example faid or appid. Names aren't case-sensitive: AppID and appid are the same parameter. |
Allowed Value(s) | Each value the parameter may have, shown as a separate code-style chip. A yellow chip reading blank means an empty value is allowed. |
(buttons) | Modify on each row opens the parameter so you can change its allowed values. Add New in the column header adds a parameter. |
The list is sorted by Parameter Name.
Learn more
Need help? Submit a technical support case.