Global Counter is a powerful utility designed to manage persistent numeric values that need to exist beyond the lifespan of a single job or flow. Whether you need to track daily production totals, generate unique invoice numbers, or synchronize data between completely separate flows, this app provides a centralized solution.

Global Counter utilizes a centralized JSON database with advanced file-locking mechanisms. This ensures that your counters remain accurate and uncorrupted, even when multiple flows (or multiple Switch servers sharing a network drive) attempt to access or update them simultaneously.

Key Features

Multi-Counter Operations: Configure up to 5 distinct counters within a single flow element. Perform complex logic in one step (e.g., "Get JobID", "Increment DailyTotal", and "Check BatchLimit").
Flexible Actions: Choose to Get (retrieve to Private Data), Set (update database), or Get & Set simultaneously.
Advanced Math: Go beyond simple +1 counting.
- Increment: Add, Multiply, or Power (exponent).
- Decrement: Subtract, Divide, or Root.
- Fixed: Force a specific static value.
Bounds & Limits: Restrict your counters to a specific range (Min/Max).
- Clamp: Stick to the limit (e.g., a progress counter that never exceeds 100%).
- Rollover: Automatically loop values (e.g., 1–10 then back to 1).
- Error: Fail the job if a limit is reached (e.g., "Daily ticket quota exhausted").
Smart Reset Triggers: Automate your counting logic with powerful schedules:
- Periodic - Calendar: Reset automatically at Midnight (Daily), Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, or Yearly.
- Periodic - Interval: Reset after a set duration (e.g., every 30 minutes).
- Fixed Date: Reset at a specific timestamp.
Data Formatting: Automatically format retrieved values with customizable padding (e.g., turn 1 into 0001), prefixes, and suffixes.
Reliability:
- Atomic Writes: Uses temporary files and safe rename operations to prevent partial data writes.
- Corruption Recovery: Automatically detects JSON corruption and creates backups to keep production moving.
- Network Tunable: Configurable retry policies (stale timeout, min/max wait) specifically designed for high-latency network storage.

Example Use Cases

Daily Job Numbering: Create a counter that increments with every job and resets automatically at midnight. Use the formatting tools to output a value like 2023-10-25-0042 to Private Data.
Load Balancing (Round Robin): Distribute jobs evenly across 3 downstream processes. Set a counter with a Max of 3, a Min of 1, and set the Limit to Rollover. The counter will cycle 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3... allowing you to route traffic based on the value.
Batch Processing & Quotas: Track the number of files entering a flow. Use the Error limit to stop processing once a daily quota (e.g., 500 jobs) is reached, triggering an alert via the Error connection.
Global Unique IDs: Generate unique serial numbers that are shared across multiple different flows running in parallel. Because the storage is external to the flow, Flow A and Flow B can both pull from the same "InvoiceID" counter without collision.

Technical Details

Storage: Stores data in a standard gc.json file. You can use the default Switch backing folder or specify a custom path (e.g., a network share) for multi-server access.
Output: Returns values as Private Data attached to the job (e.g., [CounterKey]-get or [CounterKey]-set).
Connections: Includes explicit "Success" and "Error" traffic light connections for robust error handling.

About Significans Automation

Significans Automation Inc. specializes in delivering next-generation automation to the Printing and Packaging industry. The company offers programming and expertise in custom workflow development, communication and project management, color management, prepress training, and end-to-end business integration. The company is driven by the conviction that customized automation is the only path forward.