Working with Tasks

Royal TS offers powerful task automation using Command Tasks and Key Sequence Tasks.

A Command Task is a definition of a program (executable or batch file), the command line arguments and a working directory. Command Tasks are always executed locally, where Royal TS is running. Using tools like PsExec you are also able to execute tasks remotely.

A Key Sequence Task can be used to invoke keyboard input in one or more active connections to easily automate command execution.

By using special replacement tokens you can pass connection specific variables (like $URI$ or $CustomField1$) to the task upon execution.

See also: Command Task and Key Sequence Task

Create a Command Task

In this example, a ping task is created:

1. In the Navigation panel, select a folder.
2. On the Home tab, in the Edit group, click on Add.
3. Click on Command Task in the drop down menu.
4. Type "PING (cont.)" in the Display Name box.
5. Click the big star-shaped icon at the upper right corner of the properties dialog to mark the object as a favorite command task.
6. Check the No confirmation required check box.
7. Click on Command.
8. In the Command text box, type: %windir%\system32\ping.exe
9. In the Arguments text box, type: \(URI\) -t

Tip

Use the fly-out button on the right to display a list of available replacement tokens.

10. In the Working Directory text box, type: %windir%\system32
11. To add the Command Task and exit the dialog, click OK.

Create a Key Sequence Task

In this example, a task to send a simple command like ls -al is created:

1. In the Navigation panel, select a folder.
2. On the Home tab, in the Edit group, click on Add.
3. Click on Key Sequence Task in the drop down menu.
4. Type "ls -al" in the Display Name box.
5. Check the big star-shaped icon at the upper right corner of the properties dialog to mark the object as a favorite key sequence task.
6. Check the No confirmation required check box.
7. Click on Key Sequence.
8. In the text box, type: ls -al
9. Click on Insert and select Enter

Tip

The Insert drop down button provides access to a list of all available replacement tokens and special keys (like Enter, Tab, etc.).

10. The text box should now read: ls -al{ENTER}
11. To add the Key Sequence Task and exit the dialog, click OK.

Share Tasks within a Team

To share tasks, create a dedicated shared document containing all shared tasks. If there's already a shared document for connections, you may also use the existing file and add all tasks you want to share. Tasks are available as soon as the document containing the tasks is opened.

Execute Tasks on Demand

By default, tasks are executed when they are double-clicked in the Navigation panel as well as in the Tasks panel or by executing them using the Favorite Tasks menu.

In this example, the previously created ping task will be executed against a selection in the Navigation panel:

1. In the Navigation panel, select a Remote Desktop connection
2. On the Home tab, in the Clipboard and Favorite Tasks group, click on Command Tasks
3. Click on PING (cont.)

This example shows how to execute a task against multiple connections:

1. In the Navigation panel, select a folder containing multiple Remote Desktop connections
2. In the Dashboard panel, select two or more Remote Desktop connections
3. On the Home tab, in the Clipboard and Favorite Tasks group, click on Command Tasks
4. Click on PING (cont.)
   Note that one task is executed for each selected connection.

Note

Key Sequence Tasks can only be executed when active connections are selected. Inactive connections are ignored.

Connect and Disconnect Tasks

The following example assumes that you already have a Connection and Command Task created:

1. In the Navigation panel, select a connection.
2. On the Home tab, in the Edit group, click on Properties.
3. In the connection properties dialog, click Tasks.
4. In the Connect Task tab page, open the Task drop down box.
5. From the Task drop down list, select the Command Task you want to execute before this connection will be established.

Tip

Use the Add button to create a new Command Task and use the Edit button to open or change the properties of the selected task.

6. Optionally configure to wait for the task, only run the task if no other connection of the folder is active or to abort the task if it fails. These settings might be useful for scenarios where you want to establish a VPN connection automatically.
7. To apply the changes and exit the dialog, click OK.

The above procedure also applies to Disconnect Tasks, which are executed after a session was disconnected.

Execute Key Sequence Tasks after Connect

The following example assumes that you already have a Connection and Key Sequence Task created:

1. In the Navigation panel, select a connection.
2. On the Home tab, in the Edit group, click on Properties.
3. In the connection properties dialog, click Tasks and switch to the Key Sequence tab page.
4. In the Key Sequence tab page, open the Key Sequence Mode drop down box and select Use an existing key sequence task.
5. From the Task drop down list, select the Key Sequence Task you want to execute right after the connection is established.

Tip

Use the Add button to create a new Key Sequence Task and use the Edit button to open or change the properties of the selected task.

6. To apply the changes and exit the dialog, click OK.

Execute an Ad Hoc Key Sequence

The following example assumes that you are working on an active connection or you have selected one or more active connections in the folder dashboard:

1. On the Home or Actions tab, click the Key Sequence Tasks drop down button.
2. Click on Ad Hoc Key Sequence. The Ad Hoc Key Sequence dialog is shown.
3. Enter a key sequence to be sent to the selected active connections. Use the Insert button and select any special keys or replacement tokens from the connection objects if needed.
4. Click OK to send the key sequence to all selected active connections.

Tip

Check the option Create a key sequence task to preserve the task and save it in one of your documents.