Don’t dismiss Task Scheduler as an outdated legacy software on your PC. The user interface isn’t intuitive and looks like something from the 2000s, but it gets the job done by efficiently scheduling tasks on your PC.
Press the Windows key, search for Task Scheduler, and hit Enter. Right-click on Task Scheduler Library, select New Folder, and give it a relevant name. Select Ok. Right-click on a folder and select Create Basic Task. Give it a relevant name and description, then click Next. Pick one of the task Trigger frequencies. You can schedule it for daily, weekly, monthly, when the computer starts, upon user login, or when a specific event is logged. Let’s select
Create automation using Power Automate
Power Automate is basically a Task Scheduler on steroids. It looks modern and lets you create complex scripts as well. First, download Power Automate from the Microsoft Store and follow the steps below to create automation.
Launch Power Automate on Windows. The software offers a bunch of beginner templates to get started. We recommend exploring these examples to create an ideal flow in a short time. For now, select New flow and give it a relevant name. Select Create. It opens the Actions menu. Select Tools at the top, expand browser extensions, and select Microsoft Edge. Head to Microsoft Edge to install the Power Automate extension to your account. Go back to Power Automate.
Search for Launch at the top. Drag and drop Launch new Microsoft Edge to the side pane. You need to specify whether to launch a new instance of Microsoft Edge or attach it to an existing one. Select Launch new Instance. Specify URL. I will add https://airtable.com/ here for my use case. Select Window state. Let’s keep it Normal. You can expand Advanced and specify to clear cache and cookies and set timeout on webpage load. Click Save.
Search for Word, drag and drop Launch Word to the pane, and specify that you want to launch it with a blank document. Select Save. Search for Outlook, drag the Launch Outlook action to the panel, and hit Save from the pop-up menu.
Exploring other automation options
Apart from system-level tools, you can also find automation options in Microsoft 365 apps like Excel, Word, and PowerPoint, as well as in third-party apps like Photoshop. As for Office apps, Microsoft refers to them as macros. You can write Excel, PowerPoint, and Word macros to automate specific actions with a single click.
In our quest for productivity, every second counts. That’s why harnessing the power of automation to manage your PC can be a game-changer. These unsung heroes not only streamline your workflow but also reclaim hours of your day. What are you waiting for? Go ahead, record scripts and macros so that you can focus on what truly matters.
Microsoft also offers a long list of ready-to-use scripts in the Examples menu. They are neatly divided into Excel, Desk...
