Knowledge base

powerJobs Processor

How-to

How to start powerJobs Processor automatically

powerJobs Processor should be started automatically when a user logs on, the workstation restarts or on a daily intervall

If you want to automatically start powerJobs Processor you will need at least version 22.0.3. An automatic login feature was implemented in that version.

In order to actually start it the Windows Task Scheduler can be used.

Open Task Scheduler

Press WIN+R
Run taskschd.msc

Create Folder

If not already done create a new folder for your tasks

In Task Scheduler folder tree right click on folder "Task Scheduler Library"
Select "New Folder..." and create a folder "coolOrange"

Create a restart script

Create a new file "C:\Scripts\RestartPower.Jobs.ps1" with the following content

if(Get-Process -Name JobProcessor -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue) {
    Start-Process -FilePath "C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Vault Client 2022\Explorer\JobProcessor.exe" -ArgumentList @("/stop")
    Start-Sleep -Seconds 120
}
Start-Process -FilePath "C:\Program Files\coolOrange\powerJobs Processor\powerJobs.exe"

The script uses Vault 2022 paths and needs to be updated for other versions

Restart Daily

Create a new task

Right click on folder "coolOrange"

Select "Create Task..." and call it something like "restart_pjp_daily"
In tab "General" press "Change User or Group..." if you want to change the user that will be running powerJobs
In tab "General" select "Run only when user is logged on"

Set Triggers

In tab "Triggers" press "New..." and select "Daily" and press "OK"

Set Actions

In tab "Actions" press "New..."
Select action "Start a program"
In Program/Script textbox type "PowerShell.exe" without the quotes
In the "Add arguments (optional):" textbox type "C:\Scripts\Restart.PowerJobs.ps1" without the quotes

Restart when computer starts

Previously we described how to start powerJobs Processor in a non interactive user session when windows starts.

We removed those instructions as we run into multiple issues with DwgTrueview and MS Office automation due to the non interactive user session.

If you are still using this, please consider switching to user logon.

In case you absolutely need to run powerJobs Processor on computer start you'll have to configure your computer to sign in a user on system start.

Turning on automatic user login is a security risk as everyone with physical access to the computer gets access to it and all the network resources connected.

Restart at logon

Create a new task

Right click on folder "coolOrange"
Select "Create Task..." and call it something like "run_pjp_on_logon"
In tab "General" press "Change User or Group..." if you want to change the user that will be running powerJobs
In tab "General" select "Run only when user is logged on"

If you also have a "run_pjp_on_startup" task this must be the same user. The restart script will not work properly and you also might get this issue.

Set Triggers

In tab "Triggers" press "New..."
In the "New Trigger" window in "Begin the task:" select "At log on"
Select "Specific user:" and press "Change User..." and use the same user as in the "General" tab

Do not use "Any user". The restart script will not work properly when powerJobs is run by a different user

Set Actions

In tab "Actions" press "New..."
Select action "Start a program"
In Program/Script textbox type "PowerShell.exe" without the quotes
In the "Add arguments (optional):" textbox type "C:\Scripts\Restart.PowerJobs.ps1" without the quotes

The option "Start on Windows Logon" in the jobProcessor "Administration" tab currently does not work with powerJobs! When enabled it starts the jobProcessor.exe

Automatically start the jobProcessor.exe

If you can not install at least powerJobs Processor 22.0.3 you can use the jobprocessor.exe instead.

You can either do this by checking the "Start on Windows Logon" setting in the "Administration" tab of the Jobprocessor window or by using a batch file during startup. Please refer to the Microsoft and Autodesk documentation for information how to automate the Jobprocessor(ADSK KB).

When using Jobprocessor.exe instead of powerJobs.exe you will lose the following powerJobs Processor features:

powerJobs Processor log window
Automatic update of configuration files. (Just start powerJobs.exe one time after adding/removing script files. The configuration changes carry over when using Jobprocessor.exe)
Time triggered jobs