Invoking script via time of day?

[gephry]

Is it possible to run a script at a certain time everyday? I need a script that will update/shuffle data around daily.

[dkemme]

There are a few plugins available, check out filemaker.com and search plugins. I once used ScheduleIt with great success.

[Fenton]

If this in an all-Mac environment there is also the free CronniX, which is a GUI interface to the built-in Unix cron. It cannot directly call a FileMaker script, but it can run a small AppleScript(s) which can.

http://h5197.serverkompetenz.net/cronnix/docs/index.html

[gephry]

Ahh, fantastic! Thanks.

It also just occurred to me that it might be possible to use Automator in Tiger . . . I haven't upgraded yet but I wonder if that could do the trick? Then again, using Automator wouldn't be cross-platform compatible.

Thanks again

[comment]

I am curious what advantage CronniX has over iCal?

[comment]

Bump.

In case it wasn't clear, that was a question, not an opinion.

[Fenton]

I personally don't really know. I've only messed about with CronniX. I've also set an alarm with iCal, and it works also. So either would work.

I ran across this little tidbit someone wrote about iCal recently, which I didn't know, and which I think is different between the two:

"Create an appointment for the time you want to launch the app and then choose the "Open file" as the alarm option. Select the application or script from the popup menu or select "Other..." and navigate to file to choose it.The application/script will be launched at the scheduled time, OR, if the computer is off or asleep, it will launch the next time you log on or the computers to wake up."

I believe CronniX will just run your app the next time that time comes around. It won't launch it just because the computer wakes up. It depends whether this is good or bad.

[comment]

Ah, the sleep thing... I remember reading some lengthy debates about how to schedule the waking of a sleeping machine, but I don't recall a solution being found. Incidentally, the System Preferences panel allows scheduling of START UP, so no doubt there is a clock a-ticking at all times.

In any case, this would probably be irrelevant in a business situation. Seems to me setting up an iCal alarm would be much easier to implement - no download, no install, no AppleScript, just a small calling file - and the set up is via GUI.