Task scheduling for Windows platforms seems to have had a long and arduous history. Microsoft has developed at least four different applications for this purpose (System Agent, Scheduler, Task Scheduler & the AT command). Some Windows 95 users will not be able to receive automatic updates to the SolarSoftWare archive because none of the Microsoft task scheduling applications are included with the operating system. Because Windows 95 is outdated, it is recommended that users purchase an upgrade to Windows 98. In spite of this, many software packages will provide task scheduling functionality as a part of their operation. Some methods are listed below to help users obtain task scheduling capabilities:
Third party shareware scheduling utilities, notably LaunchPad or Metz Scheduler, can be purchased inexpensively. Another program called Wincron is a freeware application. These and other scheduling utilities can be found using a good shareware search engine such as http://www.shareware.com .
Users who have installed the Microsoft Software
Development Kit (SDK) will also obtain the Task
Scheduler API. You can download SDK free of charge from the SDK
setup page. Users who wish to download SDK solely for the purpose of
scheduling tasks should select the custom installation from the SDK setup page
and choose only the Task Scheduler API component for download. If the Microsoft ftp server on the SDK
site is busy try these mirror sites: ftp://sunsite.doc.ic.ac.uk/Mirrors/ftp.microsoft.com/developr/platformsdk/july2000/
http://www.mirror.ac.uk/sites/ftp.microsoft.com/developr/PlatformSDK/July2000/
Overview of Task Scheduler
Task Scheduler is a tool that enables you to schedule tasks (such as Disk Defragmenter) to run regularly, when it’s most convenient for you. Task Scheduler starts each time you start Windows and runs in the background. When Task Scheduler is running on a computer with Windows 95 or later, an icon appears next to the clock on the taskbar.
On computers running Windows 95 or later, you can double-click the Task Scheduler icon on the taskbar to open Task Scheduler. On computers running either Windows 95 or later or Windows NT, you can also open Task Scheduler by double-clicking My Computer and then double-clicking the Scheduled Tasks folder.
Opening Task Scheduler enables you to:
a.) Schedule a task to run daily, weekly, monthly, or at certain times, such as when the computer starts or is idle.
b.) Change the schedule for or turn off an existing task.
c.) Customize how a task will run at its scheduled time.
Overview of Scheduler
The installation of the Offline Browsing Pack, a component of Internet Explorer 5, on a computer running Windows NT 4.0 replaces the
Schedule service with the Task Scheduler service. This article explains the differences between the two services.
Prior to Task Scheduler, tasks needed to be configured using the AT command and the Schedule service. By default, the Schedule service is installed with System credentials in the "logon as" section of the startup properties for the service. The "logon as" credentials needed to be changed to a valid domain/local account if the command required domain/user authentication to run. The "logon as" field is not available for the Task Scheduler service.These credentials do not need to be configured for the Task Scheduler service because each individual task can be configured with unique credentials for the privileges required. When the task is originally created, the user is prompted for the credentials required for this command. After the task has been created, the credentials can be changed in the "run as" field on the task properties.
Using Task Scheduler with the Windows 95 Plus! System Agent
Windows 95 Plus! contains a task-scheduling tool named System Agent. If Plus! was installed on your computer when you installed Internet Explorer, System Agent was automatically upgraded to Task Scheduler. All tasks previously scheduled by using System Agent were converted to Task Scheduler tasks and appear on your Task Scheduler task list.
Task Scheduler works with Plus! applications in the same way that System Agent did; for example, once you upgrade or compress a drive using DriveSpace 3, Task Scheduler schedules Compression Agent to run at regular intervals, just as System Agent automatically scheduled Compression Agent in the same situation.
Although System Agent has been upgraded to Task Scheduler, Help for System Agent still appears in your Windows 95 Plus! Help file. This Help is no longer valid.
Using the AT command on Windows NT
If your computer runs Windows NT, you can also use the AT command to schedule tasks automatically. (The AT command is not available on computers running Windows 95 or later.) Task Scheduler is not the same as the AT command, but the two work together. When you schedule a task by using the AT command, it appears in the list of tasks in the Task Scheduler window.
You can use Task Scheduler to modify the properties of a task scheduled by using the AT command. However, if you do, you must continue to use Task Scheduler to access the task. You will no longer be able to access it by using the AT command. To specify the user account to be used to run tasks scheduled by the AT command:
a.) Double-click My Computer
b.) Double-click the Scheduled Tasks folder
c.) On the Advanced menu, click AT Service Account.
