Setting an application to autorun on startup?

Cantdance_2

Hey everyone...

Following on from your excellent advice about making my PC startup and shut down at times of my choosing using a timer switch, I now need to work on getting the PC to do the things I need it to automatically once it switches itself on.

I've tried using the Task Scheduler to run programmes at a given time but for some reason this doesn't want to work.

Also, one of the programmes I want to run on startup will automatically do what I want it to as soon as it runs, but the other one needs a couple of key presses to make it start doing exactly what I need it to.

So, can anyone advise:

-How to make programmes run automatically on startup (step by step please if this involves DOS prompts or Registry editing!)

-How to make my PC enter some commands into one of these programmes in order to get it to start working properly without me being there?! I guess I'd need to run some kind of Macro but I don't know anything about these...

Any helpful posts will get a thanks!!

Cheers

James

EDIT: Should add that I'm running Windows XP SP 2.

Chippy_Minton

Put a shortcut to the program in the Startup folder. You can open the Startup folder by clicking Start - All Programs - right-click Startup and click Open All Users.

For the 2nd problem, which program is it exactly? Does it accept command line arguments?

Cantdance_2

LOL... it's that easy is it? Don't I look like a novice now!!

Thanks for that...

As for the second thing - the programme is called Filezilla and it's an FTP client. What I need it to do on startup is start processing my FTP download queue which it doesn't do automatically, you have to go into one of the menus and select 'Process Queue'.

There are also a couple of other settings around multiple connections that seem to need to be manually changed from one of the menus every time the programme starts up, ideally I'd want these to get changed as well.

Any ideas?!

Cheers!

James

Chippy_Minton

For Filezilla command line options see:

http://sourceforge.net/docman/display_doc.php?docid=24746&group_id=21558 and http://filezilla.sourceforge.net/cmdline.htm

No idea if any of the options will process your download queue though.

albertross_2

If the command line options don't work, you could use a vbs script..

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/scriptcenter/guide/sas_wsh_hilv.mspx?mfr=true

e.g.

Save this as sendkeys.vbs

Set objShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
objShell.Run "Notepad.exe"
Do Until Success = True
Success = objShell.AppActivate("Notepad")
Wscript.Sleep 1000
Loop
objShell.SendKeys "This is a test."


and run it.

Cantdance_2

Thanks again guys!

So if I could figure out keyboard shortcuts for all my menu options then I could write a VBS script to make Filezilla do what I want it to...

How would I make the VBS Script run on startup - can I add it to the Startup menu like a programme?

James

albertross_2

yes just add it to startup.

Chippy_Minton

Cantdance wrote:

So if I could figure out keyboard shortcuts for all my menu options then I could write a VBS script to make Filezilla do what I want it to

As with any Windows application you use the Alt key to access menus using the keyboard. E.g. to process the queue in FileZilla, press Alt followed by Q followed by P. The character underlined in the menu options shows which key to press to get to that option.

Cantdance_2

Great, thanks... just been having a quick look at the link you provided and it seems pretty self explanatory, except I'm not entirely clear where I should be typing in this VBS script... into a Windows tool of some kind?

Chippy_Minton

Open Notepad and type/paste it in.

albertross_2

Type it into notepad, and save it as filezilla.vbs (make sure it doesn't append .txt to the end of the filename), and just click on the resulting file to run.