IdleSettings (settingsType) Element

Article
12/11/2020

Specifies how the Task Scheduler performs tasks when the computer is in an idle state. For information about idle conditions, see Task Idle Conditions.

<xs:element name="IdleSettings"
    type="idleSettingsType"
    minOccurs="0"
 />

The IdleSettings element is defined by the settingsType complex type.

Parent element

Element	Derived from	Description
Settings	settingsType	Contains the settings that the Task Scheduler uses to perform the task.

Child elements

Note

The Duration and WaitTimeout settings are deprecated. They're still present in the Task Scheduler user interface, and their interface methods may still return valid values, but they're no longer used.

Element	Type	Description
RestartOnIdle	boolean	Specifies whether the task is restarted when the computer cycles into an idle condition more than once.
StopOnIdleEnd	boolean	Specifies that the Task Scheduler will stop the task if the idle condition ends before the task is completed.
Deprecated: Duration	duration	Specifies how long the computer must be in an idle state before the task is run.
Deprecated: WaitTimeout	duration	Specifies the amount of time that the Task Scheduler will wait for an idle condition to occur.

Remarks

For script development, idle settings are specified using the TaskSettings.IdleSettings property.

For C++ development, idle settings are specified using the ITaskSettings::IdleSettings property.

Examples

The following XML defines a settings element that allows Task Scheduler to wait 24 hours for an idle condition and then allows only 10 minutes {IdleDuration) to initiate the task.

<Settings>
    <IdleSettings>
        <StopOnIdleEnd>false</StopOnIdleEnd>
        <RestartOnIdle>false</RestartOnIdle> 
        <!-- WaitTimeout and Duration have been deprecated -->
        <Duration>PT5M</Duration>
        <WaitTimeout>PT24H</WaitTimeout>
    </IdleSettings>       
</Settings>

Requirements

Requirement	Value
Minimum supported client	Windows Vista [desktop apps only]
Minimum supported server	Windows Server 2008 [desktop apps only]