Classes Overview

Each Release contains a full help file (TaskSchedulerHelp.zip) which is an MSHelp file that documents every class in detail.

The TaskService class represents the machine specific instance of the system task scheduler. It provides access to information about the service, access folders (2.0 only), and can quickly add or retrieve a task. If you only need to use the library for very intermittent periods, wrap the TaskService instantiation in a using statement to easily disconnect at the end of your use. However, if you plan on using the connection to the Task Scheduler repeatedly, use an assembly level field to store the TaskService instance as connecting and disconnecting is an expensive operation. If you only need to use a local instance that runs in the current user's context, use the static property TaskService.Instance.

Tasks are accessed and can be enumerated through a TaskFolder. For systems supporting only the 1.0 library, there is only the root folder. The 2.0 library supports a hierarchal structure similar to a file system. The Tasks property exposes a TaskCollection instance which can enumerate tasks and provides an indexer which allows access to individual tasks by name. The TaskCollection class also has methods that allow for the creation/registration and deletion of tasks and subfolders by name.

A task is represented by a Task instance. The Task class provides information about tasks state and history and exposes the task's TaskDefinition through the Definition property.

A TaskDefinition exposes all of the properties of a task which allow you to define how and what will run when the task is triggered. A task must have at least one action defined.

Each task has a list of triggers that determine when the task will be run. These are accessed through the Triggers property of a task definition which exposes a TriggerCollection instance. TriggerCollection provides an indexer which allows access to individual triggers by their position in the list. The TriggerCollection class also has methods that allow for the addition and removal of triggers. TriggerCollection implements the IList interface so you can also enumerate all tasks using the foreach construct.

The Trigger class is an abstract class that forms the foundation of the different types of triggers that can be specified for a task. There are 10 different specializations that provide different ways to specify the time a task will run. Not all specializations work with the 1.0 library. See the help file for details about each of the trigger classes. The Trigger Documentation has some examples of how to setup each kind of trigger.

The Action class is an abstract class that is the foundation for four different actions. On 1.0, only the ExecAction specialization is available unless the PowerShellConversion option is enabled (see Action Documentation for more information). These actions determine what the service will do when a trigger is fired. The Action Documentation has some examples of how to setup each kind of action.