I have a python script which I would like to run at regular intervals. I am running windows 7. What is the best way to accomplish this? Easiest way?
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see this: blogs.esri.com/esri/arcgis/2013/07/30/scheduling-a-scripGoingMyWay– GoingMyWay2016-03-28 15:24:59 +00:00Commented Mar 28, 2016 at 15:24
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3 Answers
You can do it in the command line as follows:
schtasks /Create /SC HOURLY /TN PythonTask /TR "PATH_TO_PYTHON_EXE PATH_TO_PYTHON_SCRIPT"
That will create an hourly task called 'PythonTask'. You can replace HOURLY with DAILY, WEEKLY etc. PATH_TO_PYTHON_EXE will be something like: C:\python25\python.exe. Check out more examples by writing this in the command line:
schtasks /?
Otherwise you can open the Task Scheduler and do it through the GUI. Hope this helps.
1 Comment
Paolo
"/RU system" will let you have the script run even when the user is not logged in, useful for servers, etc.
You can use the GUI from the control panel (called "scheduled tasks") to add a task, most of it should be self-explanatory, but there are two things to watch out for:
Make sure you fill in
C:\python27\python.exeas the program path, and the path to your script as the argument.If you choose
Run whether user is logged on or notI get an error:The directory name is invalid (0x87010B). ChoosingRun only when user is logged on"solves" this issue.
This took me quite a bit to figure out ...
2 Comments
endolith
This doesn't work for me. How do you see what the error is?
Martin Tournoij
@endolith It's been years since I posted this answer, and don't really have a Windows machine for testing :-) From memory, I think you can see it in the same screen where you set the tasks somewhere... If you can't find it, it's probably a good topic for another question ;-) (maybe best posted on SuperUser.
A simple way to do this is to have a continuously running script with a delay loop. For example:
def doit():
print "doing useful things here"
if __name__ == "__main__":
while True:
doit()
time.sleep(3600) # 3600 seconds = 1 hour
Then leave this script running, and it will do its job once per hour.
Note that this is just one approach to the problem; using an OS-provided service like the Task Scheduler is another way that avoids having to leave your script running all the time.
2 Comments
Danijel
What's the advantage of this compared to Task Scheduler? Or other way around, why mess with TS, this seems cleaner and easier.
nyan314sn
With this approach, there is no guarantee that the task is done once every hour... This only make sure there is one hour between tasks.. could make a difference if your task takes more than few seconds.