Like a system sweep, a custom sweep operates as a background task on the server. It retrieves instances of a target class and passes them to an action handler for processing. In both cases, a filter condition can be applied to the sweep to narrow the scope of the retrieved instances. But a custom sweep requires that a user develop an action handler, add it to the server, and associate the action handler with a custom sweep object.
You can create custom sweep jobs, sweep policies, and queue sweeps. The type of the custom sweep determines its behavior and available properties. For example, a custom sweep job performs a one-time sweep and has the same properties as system sweep jobs. It runs in either normal or preview mode and generates result records.
The process of creating a custom sweep requires that you first create a sweep action with the administrator console. A sweep action identifies the action handler implementation to be used by a custom sweep. Sweep actions are listed in the navigation pane under
. Sweep actions that are listed in this folder are only used by custom sweeps.After the sweep action, you create a custom sweep job or custom sweep policy that will reference the sweep action. Custom sweep jobs are listed under
. Custom sweep policies are listed under .You cannot use the administration console to create custom queue sweeps. They must be created programmatically. For information, see Working with Custom Sweeps.