Schedulable Tasks

Schedulable Tasks allow you to automate Student Manager operations — such as emailing reports, running imports/exports, backups, and system maintenance — on a recurring schedule using Windows Task Scheduler. Tasks run unattended in the background without requiring user interaction.

Accessing Schedulable Tasks

Open the Schedulable Tasks list from the Student Manager menu. From here you can view, add, edit, and delete tasks.

Task Types

The following task actions are available:

Action	Description
Email Report	Runs a report and emails it to specified recipients
Run Special Procedure	Executes a custom procedure file (.FXP)
System Lockout On	Puts the system into lockout mode; users will be disconnected within 2 minutes
System Lockout Off	Lifts system lockout and allows users back in
Reindex	Packs and reindexes the database
Backup	Makes a backup of data and settings
Saved Import	Executes a previously saved import configuration
Saved Export	Executes a previously saved export configuration

Creating a Task

1. Navigate to Tools > Database Admin > Schedulable Tasks
2. Click Add
3. Enter a Task ID — a unique identifier (up to 20 characters, no spaces)
4. Enter a Description for the task
5. Select the Action type from the dropdown
6. Configure any Task Parameters specific to the selected action (e.g., report selection for Email Report, or procedure path for Run Special Procedure)
7. Enter a Notify Email address if you want to receive notifications when the task completes
8. Check Active to enable the task
9. Click OK to save

Setting Up Task Authentication

Before a task can run unattended from Windows Task Scheduler, you must set up the Student Manager login credentials on the computer where the task will execute.

1. Open Schedulable Tasks
2. Right-click and select Set user for Schedulable Tasks on this computer
3. Enter a valid Student Manager username and password
4. Click OK

These credentials are stored encrypted on the local machine and are used to authenticate when the task runs without a logged-in user.

Important

This step must be completed on each computer that will run scheduled tasks. If the Student Manager password for the configured user changes, you must update the task credentials as well.

Running a Task from Windows Task Scheduler

Once your task is created and authentication is configured, set up Windows Task Scheduler to trigger it automatically.

Command Format

sm9.exe TASK:YOURTASKID

For example, if your Task ID is DAILYREPORT:

sm9.exe TASK:DAILYREPORT

Windows Task Scheduler Setup

1. Open Windows Task Scheduler (Start > Task Scheduler)
2. Click Create Task (not "Create Basic Task" — this gives you more options)
3. On the General tab:
   • Give the task a name
   • Select Run whether user is logged on or not
   • Check Run with highest privileges if needed
4. On the Triggers tab:
   • Click New to add a schedule (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.)
5. On the Actions tab:
   • Click New
   • Program/script: Browse to your sm9.exe file (e.g., C:\SM9\sm9.exe)
   • Add arguments: TASK:YOURTASKID
   • Start in: The folder containing sm9.exe (e.g., C:\SM9)
6. Click OK and enter the Windows user credentials when prompted

Paths with Spaces

If your Student Manager installation path contains spaces, Windows Task Scheduler handles the quoting automatically. No additional formatting is needed.

Task Security (Allow List)

You can restrict a task to only run on specific computers or by specific users. This prevents a task from accidentally being triggered on the wrong machine.

On the task's Security tab, enter one or more entries in the Allow List field using this format:

COMPUTERNAME # WindowsUsername

For example:

MAINSERVER # SMAdmin

To allow multiple computers, separate entries with commas:

SERVER1 # Admin, SERVER2 # Scheduler

If the Allow List is empty, the task can run from any computer with valid authentication configured.

Monitoring Task Results

Each task tracks the following information from its last execution:

• Last Run — date and time of the last execution
• Last User — computer and user that last ran the task
• Results — success message or error details from the last run

You can view this information by opening the task from the Schedulable Tasks list.

Tips

• Test first — Run the task manually from the Schedulable Tasks list before setting up the Windows schedule. This confirms the task works correctly before automating it.
• Use descriptive Task IDs — Keep them short but meaningful (e.g., NIGHTLY_BACKUP, WEEKLY_REPORT).
• Check results regularly — Review the Last Run and Results fields periodically to ensure tasks are completing successfully.
• Notify Email — Set up a notification email address so you are alerted if a task fails.
• One task at a time — Avoid scheduling multiple tasks at the exact same time. Stagger them by a few minutes to prevent conflicts.