Navigation:  Detail explanations > Templates for AutoTasks

Overview:

AutoTasks are a feature for advanced users, that want to use Easy2Sync on a large number of PCs. This feature allows you to define a certain frame for new tasks. When a new PST file that matches this frame is created on your hard disk, automatically a new task will be created to handle this file.

 

Creating:

Use the menu item "Templates for AutoTasks" in the menu to create a new AutoTask. Easy2Sync recognizes AutoTasks by its name which has to start with "[Template: AutoTask]". If such a task is started automatically or manually, then no synchronization is run, but Easy2Sync is looking for PST files that match the information in this task and are not yet covered by another task. If Easy2Sync finds such a file, it creates a copy of the AutoTask and adapts the paths to the PST file correspondingly. This allows you to define many properties for the later tasks (for example the task type or the exceptions) with the AutoTask.

 

Paths:

The paths of the AutoTask define where Easy2Sync is looking for new PST files and where the second file shall be stored. An AutoTask may not use any profiles but must use PST files as type for the two memory locations.

 

The path of the first data storage defines where to search for new PST files. It must end on "\___", "\..." or "\*.pst". If the data storages ends on "___" or "..." then the subdirectories will be scanned, too. If you use "..." then the directory structure will be mirrored on the target side for new tasks. For "___" all PST files will be stored directly in the target directory, the filename will contain the folder names, separated by underscores. If the data storages ends of "*.pst", then the subdirectories will not be scanned.

 

Examples for the first memory location:

 

The second data storage must indicate an existing path and PST file. This file serves as a template for new PST files and at the same time defines the path where the new PST files are synchronized to. Example of the second memory location:

x:\backups\template.pst

 

An AutoTask always assumes that only the first of the two files that are needed for a synchronization exists so far. The second file is created automatically. If the newly found PST file is not opened (therefore not locked) by Outlook, a binary copy is created in the path of the second data storage. The file name that was used for the second data storage is ignored in this case. If the newly found PST file is locked, however, a copy of the file from the second data storage will be used for the task. This way or that way, a new file will be created in the directory of the second data storage. Its name is derived from the name and path of the newly found PST file.

 

Automation:

The new task has by default the same properties for the automatic start as the AutoTask. If the AutoTask is started daily at 13:00 then the produced copy will be started at the same time. This is unfavorable if you have several PST files. It is therefore recommended to use car tasks into combination with task collections.

 

Task collections:

Every time an AutoTask makes a copy of itself, it checks whether there is a task collection which contains the word "AutoTask" in the name. If this is the case, then the new task is automatically added to the task collection and existing details on the automatic start are removed from the new task. The new task is not started together the AutoTask any longer, but the task collection now defines the starting point. Furthermore the task collection can easily handle multiple tasks and will simply run them consecutively.

 

Complete example:

The PST files of your users are stored in an unspecified subdirectory of "c:\my files". You want a backup for every user at 12:30 into the target folder "x:\backup" (a user-specific network drive). Perform the following steps:

 

---

Synchronize Outlook