To schedule the MDP operations Add/Overwrite or Merge data for automatic execution, so that you do not have to interactively run MDP each time you want to populate a set of data into the namespace, do the following actions:

• Create a configuration file in MDP by using the Save button.
• Run the Microsoft Scheduled Tasks program on your Windows system to schedule the operation. 
  When you open the Scheduled Tasks program, you need to specify
  
  • the name and path of the configuration file that you created in the MDP utility
  • how often you want the operation to run
  • what time you want the operation to run 
    This setup information directs the Scheduled Tasks program to execute the MDP program at the appointed time and frequency using the configuration file, which specifies the location of the UIE output files to Add/Overwrite or to Merge.

Scheduling a task for automatic operations

The Microsoft Scheduled Tasks program enables you to schedule the MDP operations to execute automatically according to the start date, time, and frequency that you specify. You can have it run daily, weekly, or monthly. You can set this tool to start up when you log on to Windows. The Scheduled Tasks program runs as a background task. 

After you do the setup for your operation, you can forget about it until you want to change or discontinue the operation. 

To set up automatic MDP operations using the Scheduled Tasks program, you must first open the Scheduled Tasks program. (Refer to the Microsoft Help on your system for full details about using the program) 

To open the Microsoft Task Scheduler on Windows 2000

1. Click the Start button at the bottom of your Windows screen and choose Settings or double-click the My Computer icon on your desktop.
2. Double-click Control Panel.
3. Double-click Scheduled Tasks.
4. Double-click Add Scheduled Task.
   The Scheduled Task Wizard opens.

To open the Microsoft Task Scheduler on Windows XP

1. Click the Start button at the bottom of your Windows screen.
2. Double-click Control Panel.
3. Double-click Scheduled Tasks.
4. Double-click Add Scheduled Task.
   The Scheduled Task Wizard opens. 

 
After you have opened the Scheduled Task Wizard, perform the following steps: 

1. Click Next.
   
2. Click Manual Data Populate as shown in the figure or, if you do not see that entry, click Browse and navigate to the folder where you installed PPM and click the following path Program Files==>PASM==> PPM==> NSPopulate.exe to open the NSPopulate.exe file that runs the Manual Data Populate utility.
3. Click Next if you selected Manual Data Populate. If you opened the NSPopulate.exe file, the next page opens automatically. 
4. Click the radio button that indicates how often you want to perform the automatic operation and then click Next.
   
5. Use the scroll bar to enter the Start time and the list box to enter the Start date. You also have the opportunity on this page to change the frequency of the operation, if you choose.
   
6. Click Next..
7. Enter a user name and password. The user who is currently logged on appears in the Enter the user name field by default.
   
8. Click Next.
9. Check the box Open advanced properties for this task when I click Finish and click Finish . 

When you open the advanced properties dialog box, you specify the name of the configuration file that you created in the Manual Data Population utility. The dialog opens on the Task tab. 
The location of NSPopulate.exe appears in the Run field by default as shown in the following example: 

The location where you installed PPM appears in the Start in field. If the configuration file is not in the path specified by the Start in field, you need to enter the correct path and enclose the file specification in quotation marks as shown in the sample page. You should also enclose the file specification in quotation marks if it includes spaces, for example, " C:\ Program Files \" . 

If you need to enter a different path than what is specified, use the Browse button to navigate to the correct path. 

1. In the Run field, just after NSPopulate.exe , add the following commands to specify the configuration file:
   /c <config_filename> /s 
   where: 
   /c means that the configuration file name will follow
   /s causes the program to execute in silent mode, which means that the program dialog will not be displayed 
   For example: 
   "C: \Program Files \ PASM \PPM \ NSPopulate.exe "/c "test.mdp" /s 
2. Enter a comment about the operation or schedule, if you choose.
3. To run the task when you are not logged in to the PPM system, enter your domain and user name in the Run As field. Click the Set password button and specify your account information. Use the same information that you specified in the previous procedure.
4. Check the Enabled box and click Apply .

5. Click the Schedule tab.
   If you are happy with your current schedule and settings, you need do nothing other than click OK to exit the dialog box that opens. 
   

   The title of this page and other pages may be NSPopulate if you initially opened NSPopulate instead of Manual Data Population back in Step 1 of the Scheduled Task Wizard. NSPopulate is the executable file for the Manual Data Population utility. You can set up your scheduled task by using either name. 

6. (optional) If you want to specify more detail on the schedule shown, you can do so and click Apply.
   You can also check whether you want to see multiple schedules created for that task as shown in the sample dialog. This dialog also provides an Advanced button that opens the following dialog where you can specify a start and end date that includes the month, the time and duration limits for the tasks, and whether you want to stop the task if it exceeds those limits. 
   
   
7. (optional) Click the Settings tab if you want to specify special instructions about starting and stopping the task and managing power when running the task with laptop batteries as shown in the following dialog box.
   
8. (optional) Click the Security tab to add or remove users who can schedule and run the task and to assign their permissions as shown in the following dialog box.

 
The Advanced button on this dialog opens the Advanced Security Settings for Manual Data Populate dialog box, where you can fine tune user accounts, set up auditing, or change the ownership for the task.