Is it possible to use Outlook to start another application at a specific time?

Hmmm... read on, and I'll explain why Outlook isn't the right tool for this job. But before I do, let's explore what you can do with Outlook.

First, Outlook can launch another application. The best way to do this is through rules. You can have a rule, that when triggered, will execute the "Launch an application" action. Just go into your rules interface.

Outlook also understands time, in that you can set an appointment to trigger at a certain time. But you can't set an appointment and have it do anything other that pop-up or play a sound. This has always been a disappointment to me -- I've long wanted Outlook to send me an email reminder message instead of popping up, but that's just not the case.

So, how do you start another application at a specific time? The answer is to step outside Outlook. Outlook, of course, runs on Windows. Windows has a scheduler program. Go to Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Scheduled Tasks.

The task scheduler works (mostly) wonderfully. I use it on many different machines to trigger applications and batch files. Instead of launching an application from Outlook at a specific time, use Scheduled Tasks.

David Gewirtz is the author of How To Save Jobs and Where Have All The Emails Gone? For more than 20 years, he has analyzed current, historical, and emerging issues relating to technology, competitiveness, and policy. David is the Editor-in-Chief of the ZATZ magazines, is the Cyberterrorism Advisor for the International Association for Counterterrorism and Security Professionals, and is a member of the instructional faculty at the University of California, Berkeley extension. He can be reached at david@zatz.com and you can follow him at http://www.twitter.com/DavidGewirtz.