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WinCron (C)1997-2000 Steve J. Gray ======= FREEWARE Version: 1.40, Apr 22/2000 Please see the readme file for program history and requirements. Introduction ------------ WinCron is a Windows task scheduler/runner/controller. It can run Windows or DOS programs, or batch files (EXE, COM or BAT). Tasks can be set up to execute manually, on startup, or on a scheduled basis. A schedule can be a specific day or range of days, specific days of the week, or during specific months. Tasks can be set to run once or at specific intervals between two times, or excluded between two times. Tasks can be individually enabled or disabled or all tasks can be disabled. When run, tasks can be recorded in a log file for later verification. Special internal WinCron commands allow automated messages, log comments, and log backups. Command-line variable substitutions allow passing of date/time/count etc to commands or batch files. WinCron scripts can be used for advanced application control. Window Layout ------------- When run, the program window will appear. On the titlebar is the current date. Below the Titlebar is the current time, enable box, and busy indicator and buttons for general options. Enable - Is the MASTER enable box. When checked tasks may run. Busy - Lights RED when a task is running. Event Log - Runs the Notepad program to display the "wincron.log" file. Please note: If you are viewing the log and a logged event occurs the log file will be changed in the file but NOT in Notepad! If you then SAVE the log file those events will be lost. Msg Log - Displays the Messages log window. Options/Docs - Displays program options and documentation. Save - Saves task information, including "last run" info. Below is the Tasks list with several columns that display the tasks and some of the most important task settings. You may adjust the width of the columns or rearrange them using the mouse. Below the list are buttons that modify the task list: Add - Adds a task to the list. Edit - Edit currently selected task. Del - Deletes currently selected task. Copy - Copies the currently selected task and it's settings and adds it to the bottom of the task list. The "Last Run" and "Run Count" are reset. Up - Moves the task up the list Dn - Moves the task down the list Run Now - Runs the currently selected task. Note: Always runs the task regardless of schedule settings. The UP and DN buttons can be used to change the order that tasks are run. Tasks at the top of the list are run first. You may need to adjust the order of tasks if one task depends on another (ie: if you start a program in one, then send keys to it in another). Adding or Editing a Task ------------------------ When you click on the Add or Edit button another window will appear where you can define the task and schedule. In the top half of the window you specify a description for the task, the command to run, when to run it and how it appears on the screen. You can also define whether the task is enabled or disabled and if the task should be recorded in the event log. * Desc Description of the task. * Command Command to execute. May include a command line string if needed. Click on the "..." button to browse the computer to find the executable file. The command can be left blank to record comments (the description) in the log file at specific times. Commands can contain variables in the form %NAME% that will be substituted with the appropriate value when the command is executed. See the VARIABLES.TXT file for details. To execute special "internal" WinCron commands, start the line with a "$". See the COMMANDS.TXT file for details. NOTE!: WinCron can NOT execute INTERNAL DOS commands directly. Internal DOS commands are those that are part of COMMAND.COM (like COPY and DIR). To use internal DOS commands you must run them in a batch file, or use the equivilent WinCron command! * When Specifies when the event should run: * Manually - only when "Run Now" clicked. * At Startup - when WinCron first runs. * Scheduled - as specified in bottom section * At Shutdown - when WinCron is exited. Note: the bottom section is hidden when not required * State Determines how commands are displayed when run: * Hidden with Focus * Original Size with Focus * Icon with Focus * Maximized with Focus * Original Size (no focus) * Icon (no focus) * Record in Log Enables event recording in log file. * Enable Event Enables event to run when scheduled. * Run Count The number of times the task has run. * Reset Button Reset the run count. * OK Button Uses the settings. Updates the task info or adds the task. * Cancel Button Ignores any changes or additions. If "When" is set to "Scheduled" the event window will expand to display the bottom section, where you may set the dates and times that the task will be run. * Date Valid Specifies the range of dates that the event may run. To specify a date you must enter the year, month and day in exactly the following format: YYYYMMDD. IE: Tue Oct 20,1998 would be entered as 19981020. From - The first day the event is valid (00000000=any day). To - The last day the event is valid (00000000=any day). * Activation Specifies month and day, or month and day range that the event will run. Month and Day values are separate. Under each column there is a checkbox to enable the column. If not checked, the column will be ignored. IE: if the DD column is not checked ANY day will be valid. If the DD column is checked then the day must match the specified day or day range. From - specifies the FIRST valid month and/or day. To - specifies the LAST valid month and/or day. - If the "To" Checkbox is NOT checked then the "From" month and/or day specify a single date. If checked then the month and/or days become a range. * TIP: the MM and DD values are separate therefore / FROM: 01 05 \ \ TO: 03 07 / would NOT mean all days from Jan 5 to Mar 7, but rather only the days 5 to 7 in the months Jan to Mar. IE: Jan 5,6,7, Feb 5,6,7, and Mar 5,6,7. (If you need Jan 5 to Mar 7 then those dates should be specified in the date range and the "from" and "to" should be left un-selected!) NOTES: * When using a single day, an entry of "99" can be used to specify the "last day of the month". * When using a day range, if you need to run a task to "the end of the month", use "31" in the day "to" field. * HHMM Specifies the time or time range for the event. Times must be specified in 24-hour format (ie: 1pm=1300). * Time and Frequency The dropdown menu beside the "From" time determines if the time is a single time or a range and if the event is kept or deleted after it runs: * Once a day, Anytime: - Once per day (At midnight if wincron is left running, or shortly after WinCron first runs each day) * Once a day, Specified Time: - Once per day at the exact time, provided WinCron is running at that time. * Intervals, Between Times: - One or more times between From/To range. * Intervals, Outside Times: - One or more times, NOT between From/To range. * Once Only, Specified time: - Once at the specifed time provided WinCron is running. - The event is recorded then never runs again (provided tasks are saved). * Once Only, then delete task: - Once at specified time provided WinCron is running. - The event will be marked deleted in the task list then will be deleted when the task list is next saved. * Once a day, within Time Range: - Once per day provided the time is inside the time range - The dropdown menu beside the "To" time determines the frequency of events: * Every 1,2,5,10,15,20 or 30 minutes. * Every 1,2,4,6,8, or 12 hours. * Custom * Custom Interval (minutes) When "Time and Frequency" is set to custom. - any value from 001 to 999 * Day (of week) Specifies valid days for the event: * Any Day - Any day of the week. * Weekday - Monday to Friday. * Weekend - Saturday and Sunday. * Selected- Only the days that are indicated. NOTE: Be careful when combining day and day-of-week settings! IE: if you set an event to happen only on the first of the month but also set the day-of-week to Monday then the event will ONLY occur if the first is a monday. Drag and Drop Adding (32-bit version only) -------------------- You can add a task to the tasklist by dragging a file from explorer, a directory window or the desktop TO the task list area in the WinCron window. A new task will be created with the name of the dropped file in the command field. This is equivilent to clicking the ADD button from the main window then the "..." browsing button in the task window and browsing to locate a file. Prefs Window ------------ This window displays the WinCron documentation and lets you set the program options. Options are saved automatically. * Show Tray Icon (32-bit version only): - Displays an Icon in the sytem tray on the taskbar. * Minimize on Startup: - Hides the main window when first run. * Save task list when changed: - Saves the entire task list whenever you add/edit/delete a task. * Save task list on exit: - Saves the task list when WinCron exits. * Confirm Task Deletes: - If selected, a popup window asks you to confirm the action. * Disable Messages: - Stops messages from appearing for invalid internal commands. If the tray icon is enabled and you minimize the main window a button will NOT appear on the taskbar. Left-clicking on the tray icon will re-display the main window. Right clicking on the tray icon will display a menu with the following options: * Enable Tasks - enables task execution * Disable Tasks - disables all tasks * Preferences - Display preferences window * View Log - View Log file * Close - Exits WinCron Preference settings will be saved when WinCron is exited. The "enable" setting as well as main window position and size will be saved. Command-line option ------------------- If you want WinCron to use a task list other than the default (wincron.dat) you can specify the name of the task list file on the command line. To do this create a shortcut to the WinCron executable then edit the command line by appending the filename to the end. Example: WinCron50.exe newlist.dat Task lists must have an extension of "DAT". Operation --------- When run, the program will look for the file "WINCRON.DAT" (or the one specified on the command line) which must be in the same directory as the WINCRON.EXE file. This file contains information for each task in the list. WinCron updates the clock each second. When the seconds gets to "00" the entire task list is checked from first entry to last and all tasks that are currently set to "enabled" will be performed provided all the specified conditions are met: Date range, month range, day range, time range, day of week and/or frequency etc. When a task is performed it runs concurrently (at the same time) as any other tasks that may be running. WinCron does NOT wait for programs to exit before continuing. If a program can not be found there will be NO error messages displayed. If "Record in Log" is enabled the current date and time as well as the description will be recorded in the file "WINCRON.LOG". If the program starts then "OKAY" will be recorded, if not then "ERROR" will be recorded. If you want to disable all events (IE: to verify scheduled tasks) simply un-check the "Enabled" box in the main window. If the "Save task list when changed" option is NOT enabled you must click on the SAVE button to save the event information. Tasks can be added, edited or deleted while WinCron is running and will be acted on immediately, however any changes will be lost when WinCron exits unless they are saved! Clicking the SAVE button will also record the date and time each event was last run, which will be displayed when a task is selected from the task list. NOTE: The "last run" info is saved with the task list, however the task list is NOT saved when a task is RUN. Therefor, to ensure the last run info is saved, you might want to create a task that is run once a day or when WinCron is exited to save the task list (use the $SAVE internal command). Lastly, if not obviously, tasks will not and cannot be run unless WinCron is actually runnning! Tasks that were scheduled and missed when WinCron is not running will NOT be performed when WinCron first starts again. If WinCron is vital you might consider adding it to the STARTUP menu. Tasks that are missed can be run manually at any time by selecting the task from the list and clicking the "Run Now" button. Scripts ------- Scripts are similar to DOS batch files. A script is a text file containing a list of commands to be executed in sequence. Scripts can contain "external" DOS commands, or Windows commands. Unlike DOS batch files however, scripts can also contain special WinCron commands ($ commands) and internal WinCron variables. To use scripts in WinCron use the $RUN internal command. The syntax is: $RUN {scriptname} Where {scriptname} is the name of the script file. Script files can be called anything you want (IE: script.txt, test.scr, wincron.wcs) etc. I recommend you use the extension "WCS". You can also associate specific extensions with WinCron so that double-clicking a script from explorer will launch wincron, run the script, then exit. When you use the EDIT button to edit a task you can use the "Edit script" button to edit your scripts using Notepad. The following commands are useful in scripts: $EXISTS - Checks if a file exists. Sets condition. $PROMPT - Gets YES/NO reponse from user. Sets condition. $YES - runs a command if the condition was TRUE $NO - runs a command if the condition was FALSE $SEND - sends keystrokes to a specified window $KEYS - sends keystrokes to the currently active window $DELAY - delays execution for a specified time (milliseconds) $WAITSEC- waits until the time gets to the the specied second $STOP - stops script processing $SKIPTO - jumps forward to the specified line IMPORTANT!!!: WinCron runs WinCron ($) commands in sequence (IE: the next command runs only AFTER the first is finished, however, DOS and Windows commands are started as separate tasks. This means that the command may still be loading/running when the next command is executed. If you intend to send keystrokes to a windows application you should use the $DELAY command to give the windows application enough time to load and respond to keyboard input! CAUTION: If a script contains many $DELAY commands and the task takes more than one minute, it may cause other tasks to be missed! NOTE: WinCron scripts can NOT use DOS batch-only commands such as IF, FOR, GOTO, EXISTS, ERRORLEVEL, SHIFT, or %1 to %9, nor can it use INTERNAL DOS command such as DIR, DEL, MKDIR, COPY etc. Most internal DOS commands are duplicated with internal WinCron commands (ie: $COPY, $MKDIR, $KILL etc). Timers ------ There are 10 general-purpose timers available in WinCron. Timers can be used to co-ordinate tasks that must be performed after specific intervals. For example, when the computer turns on you might want to start processing something that takes 10 to 15 minutes to complete. Then 15 minutes later you want to run another task that depends on the results of the first task. You wouldn't be able to schedule the second task at a set time, because you don't know when the first task started. The anwser is to use a timer in the first task (set to 15 minutes) then in the second task (say set to run every 5 minutes) check the timer to see if it's been 15 minutes or more. If it has, do the task, if not just skip it. For example: (NOTE: do not type in the comments!) * Task1: longtask.exe ;run the task $countup 0 ;start/enable timer#0 * Task2: $IFTIMER 0 ;check if timer1 enabled $NO $STOP ;no, so forget it $CHECKTIMER 0 15 ;has 15 minutes elapsed? $IFLESS $STOP ;no, bye again nexttask.exe ;yes, run the other task $TIMER 0 STOP ;disable the timer! The same thing using a count-down timer: * Task1: longtask.exe ;run the task $countdown 1 15 ;set timer#1 to countdown from 15 minutes * Task2: $ifzero 1 nexttask.exe ;if the timer is 0 do it ; note: the timer is automatically disabled Some Example Tasks ------------------ Here are some example tasks and what need to be set. "[*]" indicates checkbox is checked. "(N/A)" indicates setting not used. A) Record each time WinCron runs: Desc=WinCron was started Command= (leave empty) [*]Record in Log When=On Startup State: (N/A) [*]Enable Event ---------------------------------------------------------------- (Event schedule info will not be shown) B) Run a tape backup every Sunday at 1pm: Desc: Backup system to tape Command: "C:\tape\backup.exe" -auto [*]Record in Log When: Scheduled State: Original Size with Focus [*]Enable Event ----------------------------------------------------------------- Date Valid: YYYYMMDD Activation: MM DD HHMM From: 00000000 From: 00 00 1300 Specified time To: 00000000 To: [ ] 00 00 0000 [ ][ ] Day: Selected [*]Sun [ ]Mon [ ]Tue [ ]Wed [ ]Thu [ ]Fri [ ]Sat C) Display the message "Work Harder!" once every Hour from 9am to 5pm during the week just before a big deadline on Friday Nov 21, 1997: Desc: Reminder Command: $MSG Work Harder! [ ]Record in Log When: Scheduled State: (N/A) [*]Enable Event -------------------------------------------------------------- Date Valid: YYYYMMDD Activation: MM DD HHMM From: 00000000 From: 00 00 0900 Intervals, Between Range To: 19971121 To: [ ] 00 00 1700 Every Hour [ ][ ] Day: Weekday [ ]Sun [ ]Mon [ ]Tue [ ]Wed [ ]Thu [ ]Fri [ ]Sat D) Perform a task via batch file every 10 minutes starting 1 minute past the hour except between noon and 7pm every day during the months of May to July starting in the year 2001 and ending in the year 2010 but don't record them: Desc: Menial tasks in PROCESS.BAT batch file. Command: C:\JUNK\PROCESS.BAT [ ]Record in Log When: Scheduled State: (N/A) [*]Enable Event -------------------------------------------------------------- Date Valid: YYYYMMDD Activation: MM DD HHMM From: 20010101 From: 05 00 1201 Outside Range To: 20101231 To: [*] 07 00 1900 Every 10 Minutes [*][ ] Day: Any Day [ ]Sun [ ]Mon [ ]Tue [ ]Wed [ ]Thu [ ]Fri [ ]Sat FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions -------------------------------- Q: When I run a batch file the MS-DOS window remains open. A: You must enable the "close on exit" option in the properties for the batch file. Q: My events don't seem to run. A: Check that all events are enabled, then check that the event itself is enabled. The event may actually be running but is set to run "Hidden" so it won't appear on the screen (use CTRL-ALT-DEL to check if the application is running but not visible). Q: Can I use WinCron to run tasks on a Windows NT server without anyone logged in? A: You can make WinCron a service (see the NT resource kit for details). NOTE: Microsoft advises against making VB programs into services. Use at own risk! I will not support WinCron run in this way. Q: An application doesn't work when run from WinCron. A: It may need to be started with a batch file, because it might need to access files from a default directory or drive. A: The program may already be running hidden and may not operate as expected or at all (like when attempting to run WinCron twice). Q: When I send keys to an application nothing happens. A: The application may not be designed to handle keyboard input, or it is performing an operation that does not respond to input at that time. A: The titlebar of the application may have changed. A: The application may have a "fake" titlebar (WinCron won't know where to send the keys!). WinCron Stealth Control Program (32-bit version only) =============================== The WinCronSC program is an additional 32-bit program that enables or disables WinCron's "stealth" mode. When stealth mode is enabled WinCron will run entirely in the background with NO user interface. This can be useful for public access workstations that must perform periodic tasks but remain invisible to the user. In order to be useful all tasks and preferences should be set BEFORE enabling stealth mode. To make WinCron's operation invisible while in stealth mode you should set the State for all tasks to "Icon" so that they are not visible and not the focus (the program that receives input). To change settings you must disable stealth mode before running WinCron. If WinCron is already running you can shut down WinCron using the Task Manager (CTRL-ALT-DEL). If you do not want WinCron's stealth mode to be changed simply remove WinCronSC.exe from the machine after setting the stealth mode to the desired state.