Recently, we've covered how to create a basic task using Task Scheduler's 4-steps wizard. Now it is time to address the topic of creating advanced tasks, for those of you who want to have maximum control. Task Scheduler is one of the most powerful tools that Windows 7 has to offer so, be prepared for a large range of choices which allow you to set up every possible detail about task. Are you ready? Click on Read more...

Finding the Create Task Button

Open Task Scheduler application. To learn how to do this, check out first steps in working with Task Scheduler.

To create a new task, go to the Actions panel and, on the right hand side, click on 'Create Task'.

The pane that now opens is similar to those which show you the properties of a task, explained in the First Steps in Working With Task Scheduler.

From here you can set up every detail about your new task, starting with its name, continuing with setting one or multiple triggers, actions, establishing conditions for running the task, etc. I will discuss every one of these tabs and present all available options, together with a few usage examples.

Set the Task's Name, Description & Security Options

The first tab of the 'Create Task' window is called General. Here you can set up the name of the task and its description. Unlike the 'Create Basic Task' wizard, you can also configure some additional 'Security options' like when and how to run the task. By default, the user account set to be used when running the task is the one you use to create the task. If you want to make use of another user account when running the task, click on the 'Change User or Group' button.

You can choose if the task is run only when the user is logged on or if this doesn't matter. For example, tasks like Disk Cleanup, can be set to run even when the user is not logged on. Therefore, choose the option you like best.

If your task needs administrator permissions, don't forget to mark the check-box 'Run with highest privileges'.

Mark the Hidden box if you don't want the task to be visible. This means that the logged user will not be notified when the task is started or ended.

That's in terms of 'general' properties. Next, we will cover triggers.

Set the Task's Triggers

Unlike with the 'Create Basic Task' wizard, you can now set multiple triggers. To do this, click on the Triggers tab.

To add a new trigger, click on the New button.

The first trigger setting is to select when to begin the task. Click on the 'Begin the task' drop-down box and choose one of the available options.

This task creator offers a few additional triggers compared to the 'Create Basic Task' wizard, such as: 'At task creation/modification', 'On connection to user session', 'On disconnect from user session', 'On workstation lock' and 'On workstation unlock'. Based on the option you chose, you will be required to set different things in the Settings pane. For the 5 triggers that appear also in the 'Create Basic Task' wizard, the settings that can be done are the same to those available in the wizard.
The 'Advanced settings' options remain the same no matter what trigger you choose.

For the triggers 'On connection to user session' and 'On disconnect from user session' you can make the following settings:

• Establish if connection to user session refers to any user or a specific user. For the latter, the default is current user. However, you can press the 'Change User' button to choose another user.
• Establish if connection refers to connection from remote or local computer.

For the triggers 'On workstation lock' and 'On workstation unlock' you will only have to set if this refers to any user or to a specific user. By default, the specific user is the current one. Press the 'Change User' button to select another.

The 'Advanced settings' are common for all the triggers. For all the options, you must first check the corresponding box to see the list of corresponding choices. You can make the following settings:

• Delay a task for a certain time: 30 seconds, 1 minute, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 8 hours or 1 day;
• Choose the time interval after which the task is repeated (5, 10, 15, 30 minutes or 1 hour) and the duration of the repeat (15 or 30 minutes, 1 or 12 hours, 1 day or indefinitely);
• If your task, for some reason, might run longer that a time period you specify (30 minutes, 1, 2, 4, 8 or 12 hours or 1 or 3 days) you can choose to have it stopped automatically;
• You can set an activation and expiration date and time. This means the dates between which your task will be run when the trigger that you specify is met;
• You can enable or disable the task.

Press OK when you have finished with the settings for this trigger. Your new trigger will be displayed in the list of triggers. You can either create a new one, or select an already created trigger to edit it or delete it.

Set the Task's Actions

You can set more actions to a task. Go to the Actions tab and press the New button.

Choose one of the actions that the task must perform by clicking on the drop-down box. You can select from: starting a program, sending an e-mail or displaying a message.

If you choose to start a program, click on the Browse button to choose the application to be started. Then, if needed, complete the optional fields called Arguments and Start in.
If you want to send an e-mail you have to complete the fields From and To, set a subject, write the e-mail's text, add any attachments and specify the SMTP server (found in the properties of your e-mail account).
For displaying a message, you have to specify the title and the message.

As I have mentioned previously, you can create multiple actions for a task. For example, you can create a task that will run Disk Cleanup and send you an e-mail notification that the process has started.

You can change the order of the actions by clicking on the buttons found on the right-hand side of the actions list.

To modify a task, select it and press Edit. To remove it, click the Delete button.

Set up the Conditions for Running the Task

Apart from the trigger, you can specify several conditions for when the task is run based on: idle time passed, computer power or network, that must be true, etc. To set them, click on the Conditions tab.

If you want your task to not interfere with your work, you can set it to run only when the computer is idle. Click the check-box 'Start the task only if the computer is idle for', and choose one of the available time periods. From the time you have set the task to start, you can choose to wait for the computer to switch into idle state for a certain period of time or 'Don't wait for idle'. Once the computer is not on idle state, you can decide to stop the task, and restart it if the idle state resumes. As a possible usage scenario, these idle options are useful when you know that your task might require a lot of memory. In this case, you will not be bothered by programs that jam or work slowly because of this task eating up most of your computer's memory.

Since a task might run for a long time, the Task Scheduler allows you to condition the task so it starts only when the computer is on AC power, and to stop the task if you switch to battery power. Moreover, if your computer is on sleep mode and the time to run a task comes, you can put the computer to wake to run the task.

If you know that you need a specific network connection for the task, check the box 'Start only if the following network connection is available' and choose from the drop-down box the connection that you are interested in.

Set the Task's Failure Behavior

Task Scheduler allows you to make settings which come in handy in special scenarios such as: task failure, task stopping or not ending. For such settings, go to the Settings tab in Create Task window.

You can make the following settings:

• Allow the task to run on demand, otherwise, it will only be run when both the triggers and conditions are met;
• If the task is based on a schedule which is missed, you can set the task to be run as soon as possible;
• For the cases when the task fails, you can set it to be restarted every 1, 5, 10, 15, 30 minutes, or 1-2 hours. The restart can be attempted for a number of times that you can also set;
• If you think that something has gone wrong with your task, and it runs longer than 1, 2, 4, 8, 12 hours, or 1-2 days, you can set it to stop;
• If a task is not scheduled to run again, you can set your computer to automatically delete the task after 30, 90, 180, 365 days or immediately.
• If the task is already running and the time comes to be run again, you can choose one of the options by clicking the drop-down box:
• Do not start a new instance - just the first task will be run;
• Run a new instance in parallel - the first task will continue to run and the new task also starts;
• Queue a new instance - after the first task finished, the new task will be created and started;
• Stop the existing instance - the first task is stopped and the new task is created.

Conclusion

As you can see, the Task Scheduler offers a very large number of settings which help you create the most advanced tasks. While note all options seem easy to understand at first, by carefully reading this article and experimenting on your own, you'll get the hang of it. If you have any questions or problems, don't hesitate to ask and I'll do my best to help.

Related articles:

How to Create a Task With The Basic Task Wizard
First Steps in Working With Task Scheduler
How to Manage Existing Tasks in Task Scheduler
Wake the Computer to Run a Microsoft Security Essentials Scan