Windows Tip: Scheduled Task

Have you ever wanted to instruct your computer to start a program or run a backup command automatically? At a specific time in the future? On a recurring basis? This can easily be accomplished via a Windows Scheduled Task. This brief article will show you how.

Windows Scheduled Tasks can effectively open a document, open a program, or run a batch file automatically, on almost any schedule. We use Scheduled Tasks heavily to initiate backup scripts, but they can be used to initiate almost anything including the opening of Excel documents that when opened run macros, stop or start services, run csv downloads, import data, and much more.  Scheduled Tasks essentially “open” a file or application, batch files included. You can access the Scheduled Tasks window through the Control Panel or by Start > Accessories > System Tools > Scheduled Tasks. Once the Scheduled Tasks dialog is open, simply use the Browse button to locate the file, application, or batch file you wish to automatically open, as seen in the screenshot below.

Once you’ve identified the application or file to open, selecting the Next button allows you to specify the recurrence, if any as shown below.

The next step is to identify the time, as shown below.

Finish out the wizard and your computer (assuming it is on) will execute your application or file at the time and date selected. Enjoy.