Copyright: Copyright © 1994 Brian K. Freese


Auto Task Help Contents
Auto Task Version 1.0 Help Contents

This file contains all the necessary information to use Auto Task Version 1.0.  For information on to use help, press F1 or choose "How to use help" from the Help menu.

Overview

Package Contents

System Requirements

License Agreement

Liability Disclaimer

Limited License To Copy Software

Evaluation And Registration

Version History

How To Get Help

Order Form

Menu Options

File Menu

View Task Log...

Task Manager...

Scheduler...

Preferences...

Options Menu

Enable Task Processing

Help Menu

Index

About Auto Task...

Other Information

Messages

Common Questions


Overview

Auto Task Version 1.0 is an automated task processor/manger for Windows.  Auto Task lets you schedule any MS-DOS or Microsoft Windows application to run at a specific times without user intervention.  Individual tasks can be scheduled to run on a per minute, daily, weekly, or monthly basis.  Task processing can be monitored using the automated task manager which provides information on current tasks running, or those still waiting to run.  Task processing can be enabled or disabled globally, or on a per task basis.   In addition, task logging can be activated which will write the status of each processed task to file.

While Auto Task is SHAREWARE, it is not limited in any way.  The version of the program you currently have is the version you would receive as a registered user.  Please read the LICENSE AGREEMENT section for more information on how to register Auto Task.


Package Contents

ATASK10.ZIP should contain the following files:

AUTOTASK.EXE	Auto Task executable

AUTOTASK.HLP	Auto Task help file

AUTOTASK.WRI	Auto Task Installation & Users Guide

FILE_ID.DIZ	BBS Identification file

REGISTER.TXT	Registration/Order form

LICENSE.TXT	License information file

PACKING.TXT	Packing list file


System Requirements

- >	An IBM PC/AT or compatible or a PS/2 personal computer

- >	MS-DOS 5.0 or greater

- >	Microsoft Windows v3.0*or greater

*While Auto Task will run under Windows 3.0, TOOLHELP.DLL is required.


License Agreement

(a) GRANT OF LICENSE:  You are granted the right to use one copy of the SOFTWARE program on a single terminal connected to a single computer.  You may not network the SOFTWARE or otherwise use it on more than one computer or computer terminal at the same time.

(b) COPYRIGHT:  The SOFTWARE is owned by Brian K Freese or its suppliers and is protected by the United States copyright laws and international treaty provisions.  Therefore, you must treat the SOFTWARE like any other copyrighted material.  It is protected by the copyright laws of the United States, and the State of Illinois.  You may not make any changes or modifications to Auto Task or any portion of this documentation.  You may use Auto Task on a thirty (30) day trial basis only, provided you do not violate the protection afforded the licensed software by the copyright laws, and you agree to the terms of the license agreement.  If you use Auto Task past the 30 day evaluation period you are required to purchase it by paying the registration fee.

(c) OTHER RESTRICTIONS:  You may not reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble the compiled SOFTWARE.


Liability Disclaimer

SOFTWARE is provided on an "as is" basis.  Brian K. Freese disclaims liability for direct, indirect or incidental damages arising from the use of this software, including but not limited to the interruption of service, loss of business or potential profits, legal actions or other consequential damages even if Brian K. Freese has been advised of the possibility of such damages.


Limited License To Copy Software

- You are granted a limited license to copy Auto Task  ONLY FOR THE TRIAL USE OF OTHERS subject to the terms of this software license agreement described herein, and that the conditions described below are met.

- No fee, charge or other compensation may be accepted or requested by anyone without the express written permission of Brian K. Freese.

- Public Domain Disk Vendors May NOT CHARGE a fee for Auto Task  itself. However you may include Auto Task on a diskette/CD-ROM for which you charge a nominal distribution fee. The purchaser of said diskette must be informed in advance that the fee paid to acquire the diskette does NOT relieve said purchaser from paying the Registration Fee for Auto Task if said purchaser uses Auto Task.

- The statement of SHAREWARE registration requirements MUST be printed on a label, or other form, that is directly attached to the distribution media.

- Operators of electronic bulletin board systems (Sysops) may post Auto Task for downloading by their users without written permission ONLY AS LONG AS THE ABOVE CONDITIONS ARE MET.  A fee may be charged for access to the BBS AS LONG AS NO SPECIFIC FEE IS CHARGED FOR DOWNLOADING Auto Task  files without first obtaining the expressed written permission from Brian K. Freese to charge such a fee.


Order Form

Payment can be in Cash, money order & checks, Payments in checks must be in US dollars.

Send To:

Brian K. Freese

860 Lakeside Drive, #1A

Vernon Hills, Il 60061

USA

Site licenses:  A site license for Auto Task entitles an organization to receive one copy of the distribution package and duplicate the distribution disk for the specified number of copies.

Auto Task Single Copy:  	____ 	@ $15.00 each: ____

Auto Task Site License

2 to 9 computers:	____ computers at $10 each =	 ______

10 or greater:	____ computers at  $5 each =	 ______

                         	Total payment:	 ______

      Media Type: [ ] 3.5"  [ ] 5.25" [ ] NONE: Ship via E-MAIL

      NOTE: If shipment is requested via E-MAIL, you must provide an

            account on America On-Line, CompuServe, or GEnie.

            Name: ______________________ Date:___________

         Company: _______________________________________

         Address: _______________________________________

City, State, Zip: _______________________________________

         Country: _______________________________________

       Day Phone: ______________  Eve:  _________________

  E-MAIL Address: ________________________________

Suggestions for future versions:

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Scheduler...

The Scheduler is the core of Auto Task.  In order to ensure task database integrity, task processing must be disabled before entering the Scheduler.  When selected, the scheduler displays a list of previously entered tasks.  Select Add to enter a new task, Edit to modify an existing task, or Delete to remove a task.

When adding or editing a task, the task editor is displayed.  The following options are available:

Task Information

Window State:  Specifies the initial state of the task application when executed.  Tasks can initially be Minimized, Maximized, or Normal (default).

Task Description:  Specifies the descriptive name of the task.

Command Line:  Specifies the command line used to execute the task.

Command Parms.:  Specifies the command line parameters used when executing the task.

Startup Directory:  Specifies the initial directory used when executing the task.

Schedule Types

Interval:  An interval task is executed every x number of minutes as defined by the user.  The interval range can be from 1 to up to 60 minutes.

Daily:  A daily task is executed once per day at a specific type as defined by the user.

Weekly:  A weekly task is executed once per week, on the specific day and time as defined by the user.

Monthly: A monthly task is executed once per month, on the specific week number, day, and time as

defined by the user.


Evaluation and Registration

 This is not free software.  This license allows you to use this software for evaluation purposes without charge for a period of 30 days.  If you use this software after the 30 day evaluation period a registration fee of $15 US Dollars is required.  Payment can be in Cash, money order, checks Payments in checks must be in US dollars.

 Payments should be sent to:

Brian K. Freese

860 Lakeside Drive, #1A

Vernon Hills, Il. 60061

USA

Quantity discounts are available, as described in the file REGISTER.TXT.


Version History

Auto Task Version 1.0

- Initial release


How To Get Help

If you have any problems which can not be resolved by reading the user documentation, help is available from the following sources:

Write to me at the following address:

Brian K. Freese

860 Lakeside Drive, #1A

Vernon Hills, Il 60061

If you have access to the internet, or other electronic service, you can E-MAIL me at:

America On-Line (preferred): BFREESE1

GEnie: B.FREESE

Compuserve: 73422,3117

Internet Address: BFREESE1@AOL.COM

If a you do find a bug, or have a technical question, please provide detailed information regarding your system configuration, including:  the hardware you are using, operating system,  the version of Auto Task you are using, and the exact steps required to duplicate the problem.


View Task Log...

This option displays the contents of the task log file.  When active, the task log provides detailed information as to the status of tasks which have been processed since the last time the file was viewed.  The task log indicates the date/time a given task was executed.  Any error which is encountered while executing a task is also logged.  When you are finished viewing the task log file, you have the option of deleting it.


Task Manager...

The task manager provides you with information regarding the current state of all the tasks which have been entered into Auto Task.  While in the task manager, several options are available.  It is important to remember that the following options can only be used on tasks which are not currently running.

Enable:  Enables a previously disabled task.

Disable:  Disables (suspends) a task which is currently waiting to be processed.

Trigger:  Forces a task to execute.  A task is triggered by changing it's "trigger time" to the current date/time.

Cancel:  Exits the task manager.


Preferences
Preferences...

The preferences dialog allows you to make some global decisions on Auto Task will operate.  The following options are available.

Maximum Concurrent Tasks:  Specifies the maximum number of tasks which will be executed at the same time.  Up to 99 tasks can be executed at any single time.

Enable Task Processing At Startup:  Select this option to enable or disable task processing when Auto Task is initially loaded.

Minimize Window At Startup:  Select this option to minimize the main window as Auto Task is initially loaded.

Enable Task Logging:  Select this option to enable or disable task logging.  If enabled, Auto Task will write status information to the log file specified as each task is executed.

Task Editor:  Specifies the text editor/viewer used to display the task log when the View Task Log menu option is selected.  This defaults to Windows Note Pad.

Log File Name:  Specifies the name of the file used when task logging is activated.  This defaults to AUTOTASK.LOG.


Enable Task Processing

The Enable Task Processing menu item enables or disables task processing.  When enabled, all tasks will be "rescheduled" based on the current date and time.  When disabled, no tasks will be processed.


Index

The help index provides detailed information regarding the usage of Auto Task.


About Auto Task...

Displays information regarding the version of Auto Task you are currently running.


Messages

The following are some of the messages that you may encounter in the course of using Auto Task.  A brief description of what might have caused the message to appear and the action that should be taken when you see this message on your screen is listed.

Unable to exit while automated tasks are running.

Task processing must be disabled before entry into the Scheduler is allowed.

All active tasks must be terminated before entry into the Scheduler is allowed.

The evaluation period for this product has expired.  If you find this product of use, please register it as outlined within the help file.  Auto Task has been disabled.

The Description field must be filled for each task.

The Command Line  field must be filled for each task.

Error opening log file.

Error writing to log file.

Memory allocation error.

Event initialization failed.

Unable to register notify callback.

Event execution failed.

Error writing to event database.

Error reading event record.

Bad event number.

Invalid event database file.

Database initialization has failed.

Error reading from event database.


Unable to exit while automated tasks are running
Unable to exit while automated tasks are running.

You are trying to exit Auto Task while tasks are still running.   Disable Auto Task 	processing and terminated all running tasks before attempting to exit again.


Task processing must be disabled before entry into the Scheduler is allowed.

You are trying to enter the Scheduler while task processing is still enabled.  Disable Auto Task processing and try again.


All active tasks must be terminated before entry into the Scheduler is allowed.

You are trying to enter the Scheduler while tasks are still running.  Disable Auto Task processing and terminate all running tasks before attempting to enter the Scheduler again.


The evaluation period for this product has expired.  If you find this product of use, please register it as outlined within the
The evaluation period for this product has expired...

You are currently running the SHAREWARE version of Auto Task past the 30 day evaluation period.   Register the product for a licensed version of the product if you find this product of use.  Without of registered version of the product, Auto Task will leave itself in a "disabled" stated.


The Description field must be filled for each task.

You attempted to save a task which does not have a description.  Enter a description and attempt to save again.


The Command Line  field must be filled for each task.

You attempted to save a task which does not have a command line.  Enter the command line and attempt to save again.


Error opening log file.

An error occurred while writing to the status log file specified.  Ensure the Log File Name entered contains a valid path.  Ensure the volume you are saving the log file to has enough free hard drive space.


Error writing to log file.

An error occurred while writing to the status log file specified.  Ensure the Log File Name entered contains a valid path.  Ensure the volume you are saving the log file to has enough free hard drive space.


Memory allocation error.

A memory allocation occurred during task initialization.  Close out any un-used applications.  Reduce the number of concurrent tasks allowed.  Reduce the total number of tasks.


Event initialization failed.

Either the task database is corrupt or you are attempting to initialize multiple instances of the task database.  Ensure you are running only on instance of Auto Task on a single machine.  File a bug report.


Unable to register notify callback.

Auto Task was unable to register the notify callback function.  Selectively close out any un-used applications and try to run Auto Task again.


Event execution failed.

Auto Task was unable to execute the current task.  Ensure the command line parameters of the failed task are correct.  Reduce the number of tasks which are allowed to execute concurrently.


Error writing to event database.

Auto Task was unable to save the current task entry.  Ensure you have enough free drive space to save the file.


Error reading event record.

Internal error.  File a bug report.


Bad event number.

Internal error.  File a bug report.


Invalid event database file.

Internal error.  File a bug report.


Database initialization has failed.

Internal error.  File a bug report.


Error reading from event database.

Internal error.  File a bug report.


Common Questions

I am trying to run a MS-DOS application minimized, but Auto Task won't minimize it.  What's wrong?

I find that tasks which should have executed have not.  If I look at their status in the Task Manager, they are disabled.  What's wrong?


I am trying to run a MS-DOS application minimized, but Auto Task won't minimize it.  What's wrong?

Auto Task cannot minimize MS-DOS applications directly.  In order to run an MS-DOS application minimized, create a Windows PIF file for the application, which can be configured to run minimized.  Launch the .PIF file instead of the MS-DOS application directly.


I find that tasks which should have executed have not.  If I look at their status in the Task
I find that tasks which should have executed have not.  If I look at their status in the Task...

If you don't have task logging enabled, enable it to see if there is an execution error which may be logged.  If a task execution fails, Auto Task will automatically disable the task to prevent it from repeatedly attempting to re-run it.  Ensure the command line parameters for the task are correct.