Execute Program on Idle

Is it possible for a computer to automatically execute a program after the computer is idle for 10 minutes?

thanks
Ray

 

Some software has this sort of feature built in to it, but not as many as should for maximum usefulness. Exactly what software do you want to run like this? Which operating system are you running? I'd imagine there must be software to do this sort of thing as it's essentially what a screensaver does -- keeps a timer running and starts the software, the screensaver, running after a specified interval of inactivity. The trade off would be that, like a screensaver being turned on, the program timer running is going to gobble up some cpu cycles if it's running all the time watching for the chance to start it's associated program running.

 

Hmmm....I hadn't thought about the CPU usage. I run virtual desktops. You can use the commands:

"C:\Program Files\Dexpot\dexpot.exe" /w: 1

Or

"C:\Program Files\Dexpot\dexpot.exe" /w: 2

to switch from deaktop 1 to desktop 2. I want deaktop 1 to always be default. So, if I switch to desktop 2, and then go away from the computer without manually switching it back to desktop 1, I want the computer to do it for me. I'm running Windows XP Home. I tried to do a Google search, but couldn't figure out how to search this kind of thing.

Thanks
Ray

 

The additional load on the cpu is small though, so unless you often do cpu instensive work (or have an old system with a slower cpu and not much RAM) the few additional cycles a timer demands might not be a problem. Word processing and surfing the web, for example, don't usually demand a lot of processing power. On the other hand, many games which put a heavy load on the cpu often suggest that the user turn off their screensaver option in order to free up a few more cpu cycles and the same principle would apply to any sort of timer program. But as long as you can turn it off easily when you need to, just like a screensaver, that might not be a problem either.

Is it that you wish to save yourself the hassle of having to open a command line interface to switch back to your "default" desktop? Is that why you want to implement the timer running the command to switch back to the default desktop?

If so, there are a lot of other virtual desktop programs around for various versions of Windows and some of them, I believe, allow switching between desktops by just pressing a key combination or by a key combined with a mouse click. Or perhaps even by just making a selection from an icon in the system tray. For that matter, have you looked through the instructions for your virtual desktop software to see if you may have overlooked an easier method for switching between desktops than typing a command? Since the main point of having multiple virtual desktops is to make using Windows more productive by allowing the creation of multiple desktops for different types of tasks it seems strange to me that someone would write virtual desktop software without including a quicker and easier method to switch desktops than having to open a command line interface and type in a command.

PowerDesk, a good file management utility, used to include a Toolbar program that I really liked and, among many other features, it allowed the creation of multiple desktops you could move between with just a mouse click. But the newest versions of PowerDesk only include the file management software and no toolbar software.

Still, if you search with google or altavista or whatever on "virtual desktop software" or maybe even "free virtual desktop software" I'll bet you can find something good that doesn't require a command line interface to switch between desktops, assuming that's what you're trying to avoid with the timer idea. Also try going to the download section here at majorgeeks -- majorgeeks.com -- and search (at the bottom left of the main downloads page) for "virtual desktop software" to see what's available here.

On the other hand, if you really like the virtual desktop software you're using now or don't want the hassle of having to configure several desktops all over from scratch with new software, then as long as you're not usually making heavy demands on your cpu, a timer program that executes a simple batch file with the command to start your default desktop should be a workable solution I'd think.

You might try starting another thread with a title/subject heading like "Need help with timed execution of a batch file." Then describe what you want to do (or link to this thread) and describe your system hardware and what OS you're running.

I bet someone here can help you with that or suggest better virtual desktop software that's either free or very cheap that doesn't require use of a command line to switch between desktops.

Good luck!

 

See this utility to execute a program after a user specified idle time.

http://www.snapfiles.com/get/idlemonitor.html

 

Better yet, this capability is built into Windows.

Open your Scheduled Tasks window (Start / Accessories / System Tools / Scheduled Tasks)

# Double-click on Add Scheduled Task.
# Use the wizard to schedule your task (defrag, antivirus scan, or whatever) to run daily.
# Check the box titled Open advanced properties for this task when I click Finish.
# Click Finish.
# Click the Schedule tab near the top of the dialog that pops up.
# Pull down Schedule Task list.
# Choose When idle.
# Click OK.