Copyright: Copr. © 1996 Symantec Corp.
Citation: Copr. © 1996 Symantec Corp.


How To Set Message Tasks
Setting Message Tasks

If you want to schedule a new task, choose New Task from the Task menu.

If you want to edit or delete an existing task, double-click on it, or choose Properties from the Task menu.

Tip: If the NC Scheduler's overview pane is open, you can drag applications (or any file associated with that application) into the pane. The Set Schedule dialog box will automatically appear.

To set a message task:

1	Choose New Task from the Task menu. A requester appears, asking whether you want to run a program or see a message at the scheduled time. Choose Message and click on OK or press Enter.

2	The Set Schedule dialog box appears. The dialog has six tabs: What, When, Advanced, Sounds, Semaphores, and Run After. The What tab will always appear first.

3	Type your message in the Message textbox.

4	The first 28 characters of your message are taken as the default description.

6	There are seven option checkboxes on the What tab. You can use them for greater flexibility in launching your tasks:

Option	Result

Notify if task does not start	Check this if you want the NC Scheduler to warn you if the scheduled task does not occur.

Disable task after execution	Check this if you want to disable the task (but not delete it) after one occurrence.

Delete task after execution	Check this if you want the NC Scheduler to delete the task after one occurrence.

Skip next scheduled time	Check this if you want to disable the next scheduled occurrence only. Following occurrences will be launched as scheduled.

Disable task	Check this if you want to wait before deciding to allow the scheduled task to occur.

Insert program icon in taskbar tray 	Check this if you want the Norton Commander to place the program’s icon in the Windows taskbar tray. Putting the icon in the taskbar tray will make the program available every time you start Windows. The icon appears in the tray throughout each Windows session.

6	Click on a Run Program radio button to choose how to run your program: Normal (default), Maximized (full screen), Minimized (icon in view on the taskbar) or Hidden (icon not visible).

7	Proceed to the When tab to schedule your task.

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How To Set Program Tasks
Setting Program Tasks

If you want to schedule a new task, choose New Task from the Task menu.

If you want to edit or delete an existing task, double-click on it, or choose Properties from the Task menu.

Tip: If the NC Scheduler's overview pane is open, you can drag applications (or any file associated with that application) into the pane. The Set Schedule dialog box will automatically appear.

To set a program task

1	Choose New Task from the Task menu. A requester appears, asking whether you want to run a program or see a message at the scheduled time. Program is the default.

2	Click on OK or press Enter.

3	The Set Schedule dialog box appears. The dialog has six tabs: What, When, Advanced, Sounds, Semaphores, and Run After. The What tab will always appear first.

4	Type the path to the desired program in the textbox, or locate it by clicking on the directory icon.

5	Locate the programs’ directory and click on the desired program. When you do this, the NC Scheduler automatically enters the program's name in the Description textbox, and the program's directory in the Working directory textbox.

If you want a different description, type it in the Description textbox.

If you want a different working directory, type it in the Working Directory textbox.

6	There are seven option checkboxes on the What tab. You can use them for greater flexibility in launching your tasks:

Option	Result

Confirm task execution 	The NC Scheduler asks you if you want the scheduled task to occur. A confirmation dialog will appear before the scheduled task.

Notify if task does not start	Check this if you want the NC Scheduler to warn you if the scheduled task does not occur.

Disable task after execution	Check this if you want to disable the task (but not delete it) after one occurrence.

Delete task after execution	Check this if you want the NC Scheduler to delete the task after one occurrence.

Skip next scheduled time	Check this if you want to disable the next scheduled occurrence only. Following occurrences will be launched as scheduled.

Disable task	Check this if you want to wait before deciding to allow the scheduled task to occur.

Insert program icon in taskbar tray 	Check this if you want the Norton Commander to place the program’s icon in the Windows taskbar tray. Putting the icon in the taskbar tray will make the program available every time you start Windows. The icon appears in the tray throughout each Windows session.

7	Click on a Run Program radio button to choose how to run your program: Normal (default), Maximized (full screen), Minimized (icon in view on the taskbar) or Hidden (icon not visible).

8	Proceed to the When tab to schedule your task.

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How To Choose a Schedule
Choosing a Schedule

If you want to make launching the task conditional upon another event, use a semaphore (a user-defined flag). Choose the Semaphore from the If Semaphore [YOUR SEMAPHORE] is on pull-down listbox.

Note: If you want the task to be conditional upon a semaphore, use the If Semaphore is On drop-down listbox. You must first set a semaphore before you can use it.

Choose how often you want your task to be launched. The left-hand side of the dialog box shows different frequencies for your task to occur: Once, Hourly, Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Variable, and Boot. Once is the default value.

Tip: Once you have set the What and When tabs, you can click on OK and your task is ready to go. The other four tabs are optional.

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How To Set a Task to Run Once
Setting a Task to Run Once

1	A 24-hour clock and a calendar appears in the dialog box. Type the time and click on the date you want the task to start at.

2	Use the slide control to change the month.

3	Check the Launch task every year checkbox if you want the task to occur yearly.

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How To Set a Task to Run Hourly
Setting a Task to Run Hourly

1	Click on the Hourly radio button. A slide control appears in the dialog box.

2	Set the number of minutes after the hour you want the task to occur.

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How To Set a Task to Run Daily
Setting a Task to Run Daily

1	Click on the Daily radio button.

2	Type the time you want the task to start at. The Which days checkbox allows you to have the task occur only on certain days, e.g., Monday to Friday.

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How To Set a Task to Run Weekly
Setting a Task to Run Weekly

1	Click on the Weekly radio button.

2	Type the time you want the task to start at. The Which day checkbox sets the day of the week the task is to occur on.

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How To Set a Task to Run Monthly
Setting a Task to Run Monthly

1	Click on the Monthly radio button.

2	Type the time and click on the date you want the task to start at.

3	If you want the task to occur on the last day of every month, click on: #.

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How To Set a Task to Run in Boot Mode
Setting a Task to Run in Boot Mode

1	Click on the Boot radio button.

2	Boot tasks can be configured four ways: At Startup, At First Startup, At End of Session, and Continually. Check the radio button of your preferred choice.

Warning: A continual task must be flagged with a semaphore, otherwise it will launch continually or not at all.

If you want the task to be conditional upon a semaphore, use the If Semaphore is On drop-down listbox. You must first set a semaphore before you can use it.

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How To Set a Task to Run at Variable Intervals
Setting a Task to Run at Variable Intervals

1	Click on the Variable radio button. Tasks can be launched at regular or irregular times, configured by the user.

2	Set the slide controls for Minute(s) and Hour(s), and choose Day(s), and Month(s) with the calendar.

To set more than one occurrence, insert a comma between entries. You can also use the wildcard * to launch a task every hour or every minute.

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How To Use Advanced Options
Using Advanced Options

Advanced options give you more control in configuring your task. You can set early warnings of tasks, as well as deadlines and conditions based on the state of your computer.

To set Advance options:

Click on the Advanced options tab.

The three options in Task Start are:

 Display reminder - x minutes before the task is scheduled to launch

 Launch only if the computer has been idle for x minutes

 Don't start if the computer is running on batteries and not mains power

If you want to use these options, use the checkboxes beside the ones you want, and (where appropriate) set the slide controls to the desired number of minutes.

If the task is unable to be launched, you can also instruct the NC Scheduler to keep trying for x minutes before it stops. Type the variable in the Task deadline textbox.

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How To Set Sounds
Setting Sounds

The NC Scheduler will play a sound in the event of tasks being launched, launched successfully or unsuccessfully, and/or failing to run. You can also limit the sound to play at certain events and not others, for example, only on successful launches. These are configured with pull-down listboxes.

To choose a sound to play:

Click on the Sounds tab.

The default sounds are set to run. You can:

 Choose another sound using the drop-down listbox.

 Configure a new sound by typing in a new name.

 Set no sound by entering a blank string.

Your default sounds choices are:

 Sunrise chimes

 Sunset chimes

 On launch

 On success

 On failure (if the NC Scheduler tries but cannot launch the task)

 If task does not run (if the NC Scheduler or your computer is not running)

Go to Sounds Properties in the Windows Control Panel to select the particular sound you want. Scroll the Events list to NC Scheduler, and configure sounds for the events listed.

Note: If you want to change or delete a sound, choose Customize from the Options menu and click on the Sounds tab.

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How To Set Semaphores
Setting Semaphores

Semaphores can be used to control the order in which a group of tasks may be launched, or control whether a task or group of tasks is launched at all. Semaphores can be switched on or off at three intervals: at the start of a task, on the successful completion of a task, and on the failure of a task. Semaphores are user-defined.

You can use any alphanumeric character in semaphores, including spaces. It is recommended that you use words that have some relation to the semaphore's function. For example, a semaphore to stop disk backups in certain conditions could be called “Stop Backup”.

To set semaphores:

1	Click on the Semaphores tab.

2	Type the name of a semaphore in the pull-down listbox at the interval you want. The NC Scheduler will then remember this and all semaphores for any future task.

3	Set the flag to On or Off.

Note: If you want to edit or delete a semaphore, choose Customize from the Options menu and click on the Semaphores tab.

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How To Launch Tasks on a Conditional Basis
Launching Tasks on a Conditional Basis

You can set other tasks to launch x number of minutes after another task has either succeeded or failed.

To use the Run After options:

1	Click the Run After tab.

All existing tasks that are in the NC Scheduler, enabled or disabled, are listed in two pull-down listboxes, On Success and On Failure.

2	Choose a task from either listbox, depending on whether you want the new task to run if the previous task was successfully completed, or if it was not.

3	Set the interval that the new task should launch after the event by using the slide controls at the right.

Tip: On Failure could mean either an unsuccessful launch or that the task did not run. If you anticipate that the first task might not be able to be launched, you can click on the Advanced tab and set a Task Deadline to keep trying to launch the second task for x minutes.

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How To Customize the NC Scheduler
Customizing the NC Scheduler

You can customize the look and feel of the NC Scheduler. You can also use customization to remove sounds and semaphores you no longer need.

To customize the NC Scheduler:

Choose Customize from the Options menu.

This Customize dialog box appears. There are four tabs: Display, Chimes, Semaphores and Sounds. The Display tab is the default.

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How To Customize the Display
Customizing the Display

Customizing the display

On the Display tab, you can configure:

Grid Settings - change the intervals in Day/Week view with the slide control.

Maximum Entries per Task - limit the number of entries per task in Day/Week View with the slide controls. This limits the number of times you see the same task displayed. The default is 60.

Activate Tray Programs - choose to run programs in the tray by single- or double-clicking.

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How To Customize the Chimes
Customizing the Chimes

Customizing the chimes

The NC Scheduler plays chimes on every hour. There are two chimes, one for daytime and one for night-time. Uncheck the Chimes Enabled checkbox if you don’t want to hear the chimes.

The NC Scheduler icon in the taskbar tray also changes between daytime and night-time. If you don’t want the icon to change, uncheck the Icon Animation checkbox.

You can change the daytime period. To set the Daytime period, enter the Sunrise and Sunset times in the Daylight Hours boxes, or use the slide controls.

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How To Customize Semaphores
Customizing Semaphores

Customizing semaphores

You can add, edit or delete semaphores on the Semaphores tab in the Customize dialog box.

Note: The New Semaphore dialog is for programmers only. If you have written an external application that uses semaphores, you can add those semaphores to the NC Scheduler.

To edit a semaphore, double-click on it or highlight it and click on Edit.

To delete a semaphore, highlight it and click on Delete.

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How To Customize Sounds
Customizing Sounds

Customizing sounds

You can add, edit or delete sounds on the Sounds tab in the Customize dialog box.

To edit a sound, double-click on it or highlight it and click on Edit.

To delete a sound, highlight it and click on Delete.

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How To Edit Tasks
Editing Tasks

Double-click on the task you want to edit, or choose Properties from the Task menu to edit the currently highlighted task. Then change the message/program, times, sounds and conditions as you wish.

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How To Delete Tasks
Deleting Tasks

Highlight the task you want to delete, and select Delete from the Task menu or click on the Delete icon on the Toolbar.

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How To Close the NC Scheduler
Closing the NC Scheduler

Disabling the NC Scheduler

You can disable all NC Scheduler functions, either temporarily or permanently. Both options are available from the Options menu.

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How To Use Suspend/Resume Mode
Using Suspend/Resume Mode

Suspending the NC Scheduler temporarily is useful if you will be away from your computer and do not want tasks to be launched while you are absent. The NC Scheduler continues to run, but launches no tasks.

To suspend the NC Scheduler:

Choose Suspend Scheduler from the Options menu, or click on the Suspend/ Resume icon on the toolbar.

To Re-enable the NC Scheduler:

Choose Resume Scheduler from the Options menu, or click on the Suspend/ Resume icon on the toolbar.

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How To Shut Down the NC Scheduler
Shutting Down the NC Scheduler

You can also shut down the NC Scheduler so that it does not run at Startup. This removes the NC Scheduler icon from the taskbar tray.

To shut down the NC Scheduler:

Choose Shut Down Scheduler from the Options menu. A requester will appear, asking you if you really want to shut down. Click on Yes.

Note: To re-launch the NC Scheduler, you must again choose Schedule from the Norton Commander Commands menu or the Windows Program menu.

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How To Suspend the NC Scheduler
Suspending the NC Scheduler

Suspending the NC Scheduler temporarily is useful if you will be away from your computer and do not want tasks to be launched while you are absent. The NC Scheduler continues to run, but launches no tasks.

To suspend the NC Scheduler:

Choose Suspend Scheduler from the Options menu, or click on the Suspend/ Resume icon on the toolbar.

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How To Resume the NC Scheduler
Resuming the NC Scheduler

To Re-enable the NC Scheduler:

Choose Resume Scheduler from the Options menu, or click on the Suspend/ Resume icon on the toolbar.

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How To View Scheduled Tasks in the NC Scheduler
Viewing Scheduled Tasks

The NC Scheduler provides three type of panes: Overview (default), Day View, and Week View. Day View and Week View can be displayed as a list or as a grid (array).

To view tasks by day or week:

Choose Day View or Week View from the View menu, or click their respective icons on the toolbar.

The Day/Week View for the current day/week is displayed in grid form, showing any tasks and their times.

The default interval in the grid is 30 minutes.

To view another day or week, click on the calendar. To see another month, use the slide control.

To view a simple list of the day’s or week’s tasks, in the View menu toggle Grid to Off (no checkmark). To restore the array, toggle Grid again.

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Welcome to the NC Scheduler

The Norton Commander Scheduler can launch programs, perform tasks and remind you of important meetings and appointments at predetermined times.

You can schedule tasks to run once, at regular intervals or at specific, irregular times. The NC Scheduler handles minor tasks quickly and easily, such as reminders or running timesheets, as well as more complicated or conditional tasks.

After being opened for the first time, the NC Scheduler runs every time you start up your computer, unless you decide to shut it down. The icon resides in the Windows taskbar tray.

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Getting Started with the NC Scheduler

You can open the NC Scheduler from the Commands menu or from the Windows Programs menu.

To open the NC Scheduler:

1	Choose Schedule from the Commands menu

—Or—

1	Click on Start in the Windows taskbar.

2	Choose the Programs menu.

3	Choose the Norton Commander.

4	Choose the Norton Commander Scheduler.

The main Scheduler pane is called the NC Scheduler Overview. You can see all scheduled tasks in this pane.

Note: Once you have started the Scheduler for the first time, you can call it again by single-clicking on the icon in the taskbar tray. If you choose Schedule from the Commands menu, the Scheduler will appear minimized on the Windows taskbar.

The NC Scheduler's interface integrates a command menu with Windows features such as a toolbar, radio buttons and drag & drop. The toolbar covers every item on the menus.

Setting the NC Scheduler

1	If you want to schedule a new task, choose New Task from the Task menu.

2	If you want to edit or delete an existing task, double-click on it, or choose Properties from the Task menu.

The Set Schedule dialog box appears.

Tip: If the NC Scheduler's overview pane is open, you can drag applications (or any file associated with that application) into the pane. The Set Schedule dialog box will automatically appear.

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About the When Tab

These are the available frequencies for setting tasks:

Frequency	Procedure

Once	A 24-hour clock and a calendar appear in the dialog box. Type the time and click on the date you want the task to start at. Use the slide control to change the month. Check the Launch task every year checkbox if you want the task to occur yearly.

Hourly	Click on the Hourly radio button. A slide control appears in the dialog box. Set the number of minutes after the hour you want the task to occur.

Daily	Click on the Daily radio button. Type the time you want the task to start at. The Which days checkbox allows you to have the task occur only on certain days, for example, Monday to Friday.

Weekly	Click on the Weekly radio button. Type the time you want the task to start at. The Which day checkbox sets the day of the week the task is to occur on.

Monthly	Click on the Monthly radio button. Type the time and click on the date you want the task to start at. If you want the task to occur on the last day of every month, click on: #.

Variable	Click on the Variable radio button. Tasks can be launched at regular or irregular times, configured by the user.

Set the slide controls for Minute(s) and Hour(s), and choose Day(s), and Month(s) with the calendar. To set more than one occurrence, insert a comma between entries. You can also use the wildcard * to launch a task every hour or every minute.

Boot	Click on the Boot dependent radio button. Boot  tasks can be configured four ways: At Startup, At First Startup, At End of Session, and Continually (see Warning below). Check the radio button of your preferred choice.

Warning: A continual task must be flagged with a semaphore, otherwise it will launch continually or not at all.

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NC Scheduler: Troubleshooting

Error Message:

A task that was scheduled to run at the end of your Windows session is still running. You cannot end your session until it has completed.

Problem:

The task may be taking too long and thus preventing Windows from shutting down. Either remove the task from the Scheduler or re-schedule it.

Error Message:

A Task X, which was scheduled to run, did not start on time. Would you like to run it now?

Problem:

There may have been a conflict with another program, or your computer and/or network may have been down at the scheduled time.

Error Message:

The data on the When tab is incorrect.

Problem:

Using the current data on the When tab will cause the task not to run. Re-check the data to resolve the problem.

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Write your message here.


Check these options if you want them to be enabled.


Type a description of the task, the path to the program, and the directory you want the program to begin with in the textboxes. You can use the browse icon to find the application you want.


Check these options if you want them to be enabled.


Choose how you want your program to run.


Check this checkbox to place the program task in the Windows taskbar tray.


Choose how often you want your task to run.


Choose a semaphore if you want your task to be launched conditionally upon another task.


Choose the time and date for your task to be launched. Check the Launch task every year checkbox to run it every year.


Choose the minute of the hour you want the task to be launched.


Choose the time you want your task to be launched.


Choose the days of the week you want your task to be launched.


Choose the time you want your task to be launched.


Choose the day of the week you want your task to be launched.


Choose the time you want your task to be launched.


Choose the day(s) of the month you want your task to be launched.


Choose the minute(s) you want your task to be launched.


Choose the hour(s) you want your task to be launched.


Choose the day(s) of the month you want your task to be launched.


Choose the month(s) of the year you want your task to be launched.


Check the options (at least one) to launch your task.


Check these options if you want them to be enabled.


Your computer will play a sound on these four conditions. You can choose an alternative sound from the drop-down listbox, or choose no sound at all.


You can set semaphores to switch on or off on these three conditions.


You can set another task to be launch on these two conditions. Type in the task's name and set a time interval.


Choose the grid interval.


Limit the number of times an oft-repeated task appears in the grid.


Choose how to activate programs in the taskbar tray.


Check whether you want the chimes enabled and/or the Scheduler icon to be animated.


Choose the times for your sunrise and sunset chimes. The Scheduler icon will change from day to night and vice-versa at these times.


Programmers can call external semaphores to be used with the NC Scheduler.


Type a description of the semaphore and its External Name.


You can add new sounds to the NC Scheduler, or change existing ones.


Type a description of the sound and its path and name, or locate it using the browse icon.


Choose to schedule either a program or a message.


Choose the day(s) of the week you want your task to be launched.


Choose the day of the month you want to view.