Scheduling Backups

Scheduling Backups

Scheduling WinZip Backups

WinZip Pro and WinZip Enterprise feature

Scheduling WinZip Backups

This dialog allows you to create, modify, or delete the schedule for automatically running WinZip® backups.

To schedule the backup

Choose the run frequency (Daily , Weekly , or Monthly) from the Frequency or Schedule job list. The dialog will then show the required information for the type of schedule you have requested.
Fill in the scheduling information according to your desired schedule.
Enter the computer\username under which the task or job should be run, along with the user password. If Hide the password is checked, the password will display as asterisks, and you will need to type it twice in order to guard against typing errors.

Important : Windows will not run scheduled tasks for a user account that does not have a password.

Click OK.

To unschedule the task

Simply choose Never in the Frequency or Schedule job list and click OK.
Note: This option may not be available in some versions of this dialog. In that case, you can unschedule the task using the Windows Task Scheduler.

Notes regarding scheduled WinZip backups

The backup will be scheduled or unscheduled when you click Finish in the Job Wizard.
The computer user name and password are not stored with the WinZip job. They are required by the Windows Task Scheduler when the Job Wizard schedules the job. Remember that Windows will not run a scheduled WinZip backup or any other task for a user account that has no password.
Backup scheduling via the Job Wizard is provided as a convenience only. It does not support all of the options that are available from the Windows Task Scheduler. For more demanding needs, advanced users may want to consider using the Windows Task Scheduler directly. Hers is the command line that you should provide to the task scheduler:

For 32-bit WinZip:

  "C:\_path1_ \winzip32.exe" /autorunjobfile "C:\_path2_ \_jobname_.wjf"

For 64-bit WinZip:

  "C:\_path1_ \winzip64.exe" /autorunjobfile "C:\_path2_ \_jobname_.wjf"

where _C:_path1__ is the drive and folder where the WinZip program is located, and _C:_path2\jobname.wjf__ is the drive, folder, and file name of the WinZip job description file. * The WinZip Job Wizard may not be able to delete or modify a schedule that was created or edited with the Windows Task Scheduler. * Please read and understand the security considerations of running WinZip backups.

Scheduled WinZip Backup does not run

WinZip backups (jobs) have some very powerful capabilities. Before changing WinZip's default settings for running job files, please be sure to consider all of the security implications.

In order for WinZip backups to run unattended, they need to be approved by the account that will run them.

Normally, when you run a backup that has not been scheduled, a dialog will display. This dialog cautions against running jobs (backups) that did not come from a trusted source (etc) and asks what you'd like to do: Run, Edit, or Cancel the job. You have the option, here, to check the box next to Don't ask me again about this job. When you check this box, you are effectively approving the backup and allowing it to run unattended thereafter.

Whenever you successfully schedule a backup via the WinZip Job Wizard, WinZip automatically pre-approves the backup for you so that it can run unattended.

WinZip's backup approval is based on the job's contents, tied to its name and location, and stored in the Windows Registry at the user level (HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Nico Mak Computing\WinZip\ApprovedJobs) for the logged on account. Any changes to the backup (if you modify it, or move it to another location, for example) will result in the need to re-approve it, either by checking the box or re-scheduling the backup via the Job Wizard.

Because the backup approval is stored at the user level for the account that either scheduled the backup or checked the Don't ask me again box, that backup approval information will not be available to other accounts on the system. Running the backup under another account, then, will cause the Run/Edit/Cancel dialog to display (or try to display). Therefore, it is best to run the Job Wizard and schedule the backup while logged on as the account that will ultimately run it.

Note: WinZip's default settings for running job files favor the protection of your data over convenience. If you are comfortable with always running the WinZip job files without first approving them individually via the Run/Edit/Cancel dialog, you can eliminate this dialog altogether by clearing the Prompt before running WinZip jobs box that appears at the bottom of the General tab in the WinZip Options dialog. After you click OK to save the change, WinZip will no longer caution you about any job file you double-click or otherwise elect to run.

There is another option, also on the General tab, that allows you to change the default action, when double-clicking a job file; from Running the job to Editing the job. If you make the first configuration change, above, you may also want to consider making this configuration change as well, to prevent any unwanted jobs from inadvertently being run.

A related issue can occur if you have configured your backup to upload the Zip file to a cloud service. Your backup may run and create the Zip file, but then fail to upload it to the cloud service. In Step 3: Specify Options you must fill the box next to Do not show progress meters. If you do not, WinZip will attempt to display a dialog to show that your Zip file is uploading. If the scheduled job is running while you are logged off, it will be unable to display that dialog and the upload will fail. Configuring the backup by filling the box described above will prevent WinZip from trying to display the dialog and the upload will proceed without a problem.

If you have any questions about this information, please submit a Technical Support ticket.

Compiled from the official WinZip Knowledge Base (https://kb.winzip.com/)