In my previous article I've shown what Task Scheduler does, how to navigate between existing tasks and see all the properties of a task. The next step is to show how to create a task. Task Scheduler provides you with two ways of creating a task: using a simple wizard or, by setting up all the properties of a task, allowing you to customize more thoroughly the new task. In this tutorial I will guide you through all the actions required by the 'Create Basic Task' wizard, using simple examples.

Where To Find Task Scheduler

Open Task Scheduler in one of the two ways. Go to 'Start Menu -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System tools -> Task Scheduler'.

Second option is to type task in the Start Menu search bar and, under Programs, choose Task Scheduler.

How To Open The Create a Basic Task Wizard

From the Task Scheduler, click on 'Create Basic Task' under the Actions column.

In a previous article I've talked about Disk Cleanup. Therefore I propose to create a task that will run a Disk Cleanup at a certain point in time. In the first step of the wizard, you are required to enter a name for your task and a description. When done, press the Next button.

How To Choose When Your Task Takes Place

You now have to choose when you want the task to take place: every day, week, month, only one time, when the computer starts, when you log on or when a specific action occurs. This is called the task's trigger - what needs to happen in order for the task to run. Pick your desired option and press Next.

If you have chosen one of the options: every day, week, month or only one time, the next step is to select when this task can be scheduled. For example, if I want my task to occur every Wednesday at 8PM, I will choose the option Weekly and make the following choices:

• Set as starting date and time next Wednesday at 8PM;
• In the 'Recur every' box I will put 1;
• Choose as day of the week Wednesday.

If you choose your task to be executed Monthly, apart from the starting date and time, you have to choose the month in which the task will happen. You can select several specific months, all the months in a year or just one month, by clicking the Months drop-down box.

Then you have to pick the day(s) of the month by selecting the Days options and clicking the drop-down box.

Or, you can go for a specific day of a certain week. For that, click on the On option and, from the first drop-down box, choose the number of the week and, from the second, the day of the week. You can choose, let say, to have a task run in the first day of Monday of every month. Or, for example you can choose multiple days: if I want my task to be executed in the second and last days of Monday and Thursday, my choices will look like in the screen below.

How To Select What Action to Take

The next step is to indicate the action to take: start a program, send an e-mail or display a message. For my example - run Disk Cleanup - I have to click 'Start a program' and then Next.

Select the program or the script you want to run by clicking the Browse button, add the arguments and start in time, if needed. In my case, I browsed for the Disk Cleanup utility. All the other optional fields can be left empty. Press the Next button.

After you have chosen the task action, you will see a summary of the tasks properties, according to all the settings for the new task that you have just established. Click on the Back button if you want to change anything or on the Finish button if you think you are done.

As seen above, you can also choose as action 'Send an e-mail' or 'Display a message'. Let's say you want to be notified each time your child logs in. You can log in to the computer with his/her account and create a new task, select task start 'When I log in' and, as the action to perform, 'Send an e-mail' and press Next.

In the next window, fill in: from and to addresses, the subject, the e-mail's text, any attachments you wish to send, and the SMTP server (which can be found in the properties of your e-mail account). Click the Next button when you have finished.

If you choose as action 'Display a message', you will be required to write the title of the message and the text that you want to be shown.

Conclusion

As you can see, creating a basic task using Task Scheduler's wizard is not very complicated. The wizard allows you to make a wide range of settings regarding a task's triggers and actions. If you want a more detailed and technical way of creating a scheduled task, stay tuned for my next article about this tool. In the meantime, if you have any questions don't hesitate to leave a comment.

Related articles:

First Steps in Working With Task Scheduler
Advanced Users - Task Creation With Task Scheduler
How to Manage Existing Tasks in Task Scheduler
Wake the Computer to Run a Microsoft Security Essentials Scan