How to run a scheduled FTP script in the background

The ScriptFTP integrated scheduler is used to set a script to be run at given times. Once a script is scheduled the Windows Task programming service will automatically launch ScriptFTP.exe with the appropiate parameters and a window will pop-up in the user desktop and do the file transfer. Some users find this annoying and want the FTP script to be run in the background. This post covers this issue.

To set up a script this way first you have to schedule it normally:

1. Open ScriptFTP and click on the Scheduler button
2. Then Click on “Add script” and select your script file
3. Finally set the script to run at a given time and click the OK button
   

At this point, the Windows Task Scheduler will open ScriptFTP on the user desktop daily at 9:00 AM. To set it to be run in the background you have to open the Windows task scheduler itself, where many other options are shown. Beware that the screenshots below may not match exactly to what you see in your computer. Depending on the version of Windows you may find them slightly different.

Note that you must click the OK button in the previous window to save the task! Otherwise you will not find it under the Windows Task Scheduler program

1. Open the Windows task scheduler clicking the link shown in the bottom right of this ScriptFTP window. You can also open it from the Windows start menu:
2. Click the root folder (Task Scheduler Library) and on the right panel our ftp script should be listed. Sometimes this list is full of other programs stuff. Right click on your script and select “Properties”
3. A dialog is shown with our task settings. Check “Run wether user is logged in or not”
4. Finally, click on the Actions tab, then on the Edit button and add “/HIDE” to the ScriptFTP arguments. Just after “/AUTOCLOSE”.
5. After clicking OK and saving our modified settings the Windows Task Scheduler may ask you for the user password for security.

And done. Now you have your FTP script ready to be run without annoying the user with a ScriptFTP window poping up.

You may find useful the ScriptFTP logging feature if you want to track what have happened (no window will be shown, remember). Also you can take a look at the ScriptFTP command line parameters, the “/HIDE” parameter we used here is listed there among others you may find interesting.

Another interesting documentation topic useful if you are setting this up for a server computer is the command line version of ScriptFTP (ScriptFTP_console.exe)