Win2K Task Scheduler

Check the status of scheduled tasks. To obtain information about a task's status, select the Details view of the Scheduled Tasks window. Figure 6 shows this view; Table 2, page 104, explains the notations that can appear in the view's Status column. You can also check the log file to see detailed information about tasks' performance. To access the log file, open the Scheduled Tasks window and choose Advanced, View Log from the menu bar. You can also open the log manually from Notepad. The log file is \%systemroot%\schedlgu.txt.

Modify scheduled tasks. To change properties for an existing task, open the Scheduled Tasks window, and select the task. Then, open the task's Properties dialog box and make the needed changes.

Delete scheduled tasks. To delete a scheduled task, open the Scheduled Tasks window and select the task. Then, press the Del key, click the Delete icon on the toolbar, or choose File, Delete from the menu bar. (You can also right-click the task and select Delete from the shortcut menu.) Task Scheduler sends deleted tasks to the Recycle Bin. If you don't want a task to run but think you might want to use the task later, disable the task instead of deleting it.

Setting Global Options
Task Scheduler's Advanced menu offers options for manipulating the way scheduled tasks operate. To access this menu, open the Scheduled Tasks window and click Advanced from the menu bar. Then, choose from the following options.

Stop Using Task Scheduler. Select Stop Using Task Scheduler to disable all scheduled tasks and prevent Task Scheduler from running automatically when you start Win2K. To return Task Scheduler to normal operation, select Start Using Task Scheduler.

Pause Task Scheduler. Select Pause Task Scheduler to temporarily halt running tasks and to prevent scheduled tasks from starting. This command is useful for stopping tasks while you install software. To resume scheduled tasks, select Continue Task Scheduler. Any tasks scheduled to run while Pause Task Scheduler was active will run at the next scheduled time.

Notify Me of Missed Tasks. Contrary to its name, the Notify Me of Missed Tasks option notifies you only of Task Scheduler's failure, not of individual missed tasks. Tasks that fail to run because of corrupt or missing executables don't kick off a notification.

AT Service Account. Select AT Service Account to change the user account under which tasks scheduled with the At command will run. (The default account is System.) Selecting this option opens the AT Service Account Configuration dialog box. To change the account, select This Account, enter a user account, and enter and confirm the password for that account.

View Log. Select View Log to open the task log in Notepad. You can then use the log to track the success or failure of your scheduled tasks.

Working with Remote Computers
If you have the appropriate permissions, you can delete or modify jobs on a remote computer. Even if you don't have permission to access tasks on another computer, you can send tasks to someone who does have those permissions.

Viewing and modifying remote tasks. When you work with tasks on remote computers, you need to understand the difference between the remote computer's Scheduled Tasks folder and the Tasks folder in the remote computer's \%systemroot% folder. The Scheduled Tasks folder can be misleading.

When you view a remote computer in My Network Places, Windows Explorer, or My Computer (by using the Folders view), you'll see a folder named Scheduled Tasks. If you select that folder, the contents will look familiar because you're actually looking at the contents of your local machine's \%systemroot%tasks folder. If you delete a job from the remote computer's Scheduled Tasks folder, you're actually deleting it from your computer's Tasks folder. The system won't let you drag jobs between your Tasks folder and the phantom remote Scheduled Tasks folder because you can't drag a job to itself.

To view another computer's Tasks folder, you must expand the remote computer's \%systemroot% folder and select Tasks. Use the Details view to get the most information. The \%systemroot%tasks folder can't be shared, so to access the remote Tasks folder, you must have access permissions either on the \%systemroot% folder or on the drive.

When you can access the target computer's Tasks folder, you can drag or copy a task from your computer to the remote machine. The quickest method is to right-click then drag the task from your local Tasks folder to the remote Tasks folder. (If you left-click and drag, you'll move the job instead of copy it.) Choose Copy Here from the menu that appears when you release the right mouse button. Alternatively, you can use the Copy and Paste commands to copy jobs between folders.

If you can't access the remote computer's Tasks folder, you can place the job outside the \%systemroot% folder on the target computer. Then, you can let that machine's user move the file into the Tasks folder.

Using email to send and receive tasks. You can email a task file (i.e., taskname.job) as a standard email attachment. The recipient can then drag or copy the file to the target computer's Tasks folder.

The file on which the job depends (e.g., an executable or document file) must exist on the target computer. You might also need to adjust the job's properties to reflect the application file's path on the remote computer.

Getting on Schedule
Win2K's Task Scheduler provides a quick and efficient way to automate routine tasks. The tool's ability to save these tasks as files in \%systemroot% gives you plenty of options (e.g., run the tasks locally, email the tasks to remote computers).

Task Scheduler doesn't replace the At command; rather, the new tool builds on the At command's functionality and simplifies task scheduling. (To learn more about the At command in NT, see Mark Minasi, Inside Out, "Where It's AT," March 1998.)

Take advantage of this new tool's extensive configuration options. Then you can watch your scheduled tasks run like clockwork.