VisualCron is a

job scheduler A job scheduler is a computer application for controlling unattended background program execution of jobs. This is commonly called batch scheduling, as execution of non-interactive jobs is often called batch processing, though traditional ''job' ...

and automation tool for Windows.

Overview

VisualCron is a replacement for the

Windows Task Scheduler Task Scheduler (formerly Scheduled Tasks) is a job scheduler in Microsoft Windows that launches computer programs or scripts at pre-defined times or after specified time intervals. Microsoft introduced this component in the Microsoft Plus! for W ...

and a similar

cron The cron command-line utility is a job scheduler on Unix-like operating systems. Users who set up and maintain software environments use cron to schedule jobs (commands or shell scripts), also known as cron jobs, to run periodically at fixed ti ...

job scheduler in

Unix-like A Unix-like (sometimes referred to as UN*X or *nix) operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a Unix system, although not necessarily conforming to or being certified to any version of the Single UNIX Specification. A Unix-li ...

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common daemon (computing), services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems scheduler (computing), schedule tasks for ef ...

s. The software is split into

client Client(s) or The Client may refer to: * Client (business) * Client (computing), hardware or software that accesses a remote service on another computer * Customer or client, a recipient of goods or services in return for monetary or other valuabl ...

and

server Server may refer to: Computing *Server (computing), a computer program or a device that provides functionality for other programs or devices, called clients Role * Waiting staff, those who work at a restaurant or a bar attending customers and su ...

parts, with the former being invoked by the user on demand and the latter always running as a

process A process is a series or set of activities that interact to produce a result; it may occur once-only or be recurrent or periodic. Things called a process include: Business and management *Business process, activities that produce a specific se ...

in the background. Due to the client-server architecture of the program, the administrator can use a single client to manage several servers over the network. The client side of VisualCron is a graphical program that allows the administrator to manage jobs and view logs of the software's activities. The log viewer also allows searching for events based on queries, defining event type, time of execution, message content and other parameters.

Jobs

A VisualCron job consists of six elements: triggers, tasks, notifications, time exceptions, conditions, and timeouts. Like the Windows Task Scheduler, VisualCron allows user to bind several options for each job. The program provides the set of triggers and task types that the administrator can choose among; after the job is run, the user-configured notification is issued. The built-in tasks include file operations, SQL queries, system restart, and executing user-defined macros.

Reception

Reviewing the program, Joshua Hoskins of

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praised the flexibility of the program while noting the difficulties of setting up the jobs: "The setup of the VisualCron monitors was slightly more difficult that expected. This was understandable though due to the massive power difference I was using. It was very quickly apparent that this tool was magnitude of power greater than the solution I was currently using." Codrut Nistor of

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also noted the high quality of the program's documentation, though he said that "Beginners may not find this program useful and easy to learn, while people who don't need to enable advanced scheduled tasks may find the 47price tag a bit high."

References

External links

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Change log
{{DEFAULTSORT:Visualcron Job scheduling Windows administration Windows services

Overview

Jobs

Reception

See also

References

External links