Daily Trigger Example (XML)

The XML in this example defines a task that starts Notepad at 8:00 AM every day. The example also shows how to set a repetition pattern for the trigger to repeat the task.

To register a task that is defined in XML, you can use either the ITaskFolder::RegisterTask function (TaskFolder.RegisterTask for scripting) or the Schtasks.exe command-line tool. If you use the Schtasks.exe tool (located in the C:\Windows\System32 directory), then you can use the following command to register the task: schtasks /create /XML <path to the XML file containing the task definition> /tn <task name>.

To define a task to start Notepad every day at 8:00 AM

The following XML example shows how to define a task with a single execution action (starting Notepad), a single calendar trigger (starts the task every day at 8:00 AM), and several other task settings that affect how the task is handled by Task Scheduler.

<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<!--
This sample schedules a task to start on a daily basis.
-->
<Task xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/windows/2004/02/mit/task">
 <RegistrationInfo>
 <Date>2005-10-11T13:21:17-08:00</Date>
 <Author>AuthorName</Author>
 <Version>1.0.0</Version>
 <Description>Notepad starts every day.</Description>
 </RegistrationInfo>
 <Triggers>
 <CalendarTrigger>
 <StartBoundary>2005-10-11T13:21:17-08:00</StartBoundary>
 <EndBoundary>2006-01-01T00:00:00-08:00</EndBoundary>
 <Repetition>
 <Interval>PT1M</Interval>
 <Duration>PT4M</Duration>
 </Repetition>
 <ScheduleByDay>
 <DaysInterval>1</DaysInterval>
 </ScheduleByDay>
 </CalendarTrigger>
 </Triggers>
 <Principals>
 <Principal>
 <UserId>Administrator</UserId>
 <LogonType>InteractiveToken</LogonType>
 </Principal>
 </Principals>
 <Settings>
 <Enabled>true</Enabled>
 <AllowStartOnDemand>true</AllowStartOnDemand>
 <AllowHardTerminate>true</AllowHardTerminate>
 </Settings>
 <Actions>
 <Exec>
 <Command>notepad.exe</Command>
 </Exec>
 </Actions>
</Task>

TaskScheduler Schema Elements

Here are some important elements to keep in mind when using this example.

• RegistrationInfo

  Contains registration information about the task.

• Triggers

  Defines the trigger that starts the task.

• CalendarTrigger

  Defines the daily calendar trigger. In this case, four child elements are used: the start and end boundaries that specify when the trigger is activated and deactivated, the daily schedule, and the repetition pattern for the task. The StartBoundary element is a required element for calendar triggers.

• ScheduleByDay

  Defines the daily schedule. In this case, the interval is set to perform the task every day.

• Principal: Defines the security context that a task runs under.

• Settings

  Defines the task settings that Task Scheduler uses to perform the task.

• Actions

  Defines the actions the task performs (in this case, running Notepad).

Related topics

Using the Task Scheduler