Creating Tasks

Before you create a task, you should create a new folder under the Task Scheduler Library to store the new task. To create a new Scheduled Tasks folder, follow these steps:

1. Select the Task Scheduler Library and then click New Folder in the Actions pane.
2. Enter the name of the new folder and click OK to complete creation of the new subnode.
3. Select the new folder to start creating a new task.

You can create tasks by using the Create Basic Task Wizard or manually by using the Create Task interface. To create a new task using the Create Basic Task Wizard, follow these steps:

1. Right-click the folder you created to store your tasks and select Create Basic Task to display the Create Basic Task Wizard, or select Create Basic Task in the Actions pane.
2. Enter the name of the task, provide an optional description, and then click Next.
3. On the Task Trigger page, specify when you want the task to start and then click Next. Some choices may require additional information to further define the trigger.
4. On the Action page specify an action for your task to perform and then click Next to specify action details.
5. Options displayed on the next page depend on the action you selected in step 4.
6. After specifying the appropriate action details, click Finish to create the task and close the wizard.

To create a new task manually, follow these steps:

1. Select the folder that the task will reside in and either right-click the folder and select Create Task or select Create Task in the Actions pane. Either action will display the Create Task dialog box with several tabs for the different task details. The General tab defines general information about the task.
2. In the Name text box, enter a name for the task.
3. In the Description text box, you can enter an optional task description.
4. Under Security options, select the appropriate options for the task:
   • By default, the task will run under the security context of the currently logged-on user. To select a different security context, click Change User Or Group.
   • Select either Run Only When User Is Logged On or Run Whether User Is Logged On Or Not. If you select Run Whether User Is Logged On Or Not and check the box Do Not Store Password, the task will use S4U and will not be able to access any resources outside the local computer.
   • Select Run With Highest Privileges if the task must run with the highest privileges that the specified user account can obtain. If this box is left unchecked, and if the user account is an administrative account, the task will run under User Account Control (UAC) with partial privileges.
5. To hide the task from view by default, select the Hidden check box. You can still view hidden tasks by opening the View menu and selecting Show Hidden Tasks.
6. By default, tasks are configured for Task Scheduler 2.0 (Windows Vista or later versions) compatibility. For backward compatibility, the list allows you to select Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, or Windows 2000 to define a task that is compatible with Task Scheduler v1.0.

Options on other tabs that are used to define task details are discussed in later sections of this tutorial.