Task Scheduler in Windows is a legacy utility and hasn’t received much attention with the adoption of apps and new features. Still, Task Scheduler is built into Windows 10 and 11, and once you dust it off, you can automate many things from the mundane to fun and exciting. Once you know the basics of creating automated tasks with Task Scheduler, you will be ready to automate tasks on your system. Some you might not have thought of.
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5
Schedule Disk Cleanup
Automate drive maintenance to reclaim space
While Windows boasts the Storage Sense utility to help regularly reclaim drive space, the classic Disk Cleanup utility still exists. It arguably does a better job, and you can use Task Scheduler to automate the process.
Create a basic task, choose how often it will run, and select Start a program on the “Action” screen. In the “Program/script” field, type: C:\Windows\system32\cleanmgr.exe or browse for it, and type: /sagerun:1 in the “Add arguments” box. Follow the on-screen wizard to finish, and Disk Cleanup will automatically run at the time you selected.
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4
Set custom notifications
Automate reminders for things apps don’t
Apps remind you of upcoming daily events, like forthcoming calendar events. However, you might want to receive a custom message at a specific time. The Task Scheduler tool can achieve this.
Create a basic task, and type msg in the “Program/script” field. Add your custom message to the “Add arguments” box. For instance, I want a message reminding me to record a WWE event. In this example, I typed: * “Record WWE Royal Rumble.” The message can be whatever you want; just add an asterisk and a space and put quotes around the message. Another cool thing is setting the message to appear when you log in. It could be a perfect reminder if you need to do something immediately.
3
Launch an app at a specific time
Startup apps increase boot time
Your PC slows down when you have apps set to start at boot. You don’t always need some of them, anyway. However, you might want an app to start at a specific time during your workflow. Instead of launching it during startup, you can save resources by opening it when needed.
Create a basic task in Task Scheduler. Follow the wizard and set a time for it to open. For the “Action” section, select Start a program. In the “Program/script” field, enter the path to the app you want to schedule. In this instance, I am setting Spotify to open at a specific time. Enter optional preferences and complete the wizard. Once the time you set is reached, the app will open on the desktop. Note that you can do this for one or multiple apps — you just need to set a different task for each one.
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2
Make Windows play a specific song or video when you log in
Start the day off right
When you sign onto your Windows computer, you need to open a music or video app and find the right file to play it. But wouldn’t it be cool if you could have your favorite song play automatically when you sign in? With Task Scheduler, you can use a music or video file from your local collection.
Create a basic task and select When I log on for the trigger. For the “Action,” choose Start a program and browse to the location of the music player you want to use. For my example, I am using VLC, but you can use Windows Media Player. In the “Add arguments” field, enter the full path to the media file you want to play when you log in. Be sure to include the extension file type, such as MP3, WAV, FLAC, etc. The next time you log into Windows, VLC (or WMP) will start playing your selected music file.
For best results, ensure the file is on the same drive and there are no spaces in the music file’s path. Otherwise, VLC is prone to throwing errors. Also, the task will run each time you log in, not just the first time you power on your system.
1
Automate tabs that open in your browser
Start the day with the sites you want to read
Opening the websites you want to read each morning can be tedious. The Task Scheduler tool lets your favorite browser open the sites you want to read. Of course, they don’t have to be news sites. You can have it open your email, calendar, CMS, Google Docs, or whatever.
Create a basic task and set the “Program/script” path to your favorite browser, in this case, Chrome. Set the time for when you log onto your PC in the morning. In the “Add arguments” field, type in the URLs for the web pages you want to open automatically. For example: “https://www.xda-developers.com/,” “http://www.cnn.com,” and others. You can type in as many as you want, but separate each URL with a space.
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You can automate a lot of processes with Task Scheduler
Whether you automate mundane tasks, get creative with media, or make your PC an alarm clock, the Task Scheduler is a powerful utility on Windows. Sure, it’s a legacy tool, but it is one of the most convenient for making things happen on your PC. There’s a lot more it is capable of, and hopefully, the above examples help you think of interesting and unique ways to get things done.
#automate #Task #Scheduler #Windows
source: https://www.xda-developers.com/things-automate-task-scheduler-windows/
