Automatic disk-space history
A scheduled scan gives you a history before the next disk-space problem happens. SizeTrend creates a Windows Task Scheduler task, runs without opening the main window, and saves the result with your other scans.
Open the Scan ribbon and click Schedules. Click Add, give the schedule a useful name, and choose the local folder or drive to scan. The results folder is assigned automatically so scheduled results stay with SizeTrend's other saved scans.
Choose Once, Daily, Weekly, or Monthly, then set the starting date and time. Weekly schedules can run on selected days. Monthly schedules can use a day of the month and optionally the last day.
Run whether user is logged on or not uses Windows S4U, so Windows does not store your password for the task. Scheduled scan paths must be fully qualified local paths. Mapped drives and UNC paths are not supported, and a logged-off task cannot read EFS-encrypted files.
Run with highest privileges is useful when the scan needs access to protected files and the faster direct-volume reader. SizeTrend must be running as administrator when it creates that task. You can clear the option for a non-elevated scan when administrative access is not appropriate.
On a laptop, you can require AC power and stop the scan if the computer switches to battery. Wake the computer to run this scan lets Windows wake a sleeping machine when the hardware and power policy allow it.
Run as soon as possible after a missed start is useful for machines that are often asleep or turned off at the scheduled time. It does not guarantee an immediate run if Windows Task Scheduler is disabled or the computer remains unavailable.
Keep latest results controls how many results the schedule retains. The default is 12. A weekly schedule therefore keeps roughly three months of history without growing forever.
SizeTrend may store a later scheduled result as a compact delta when that saves space, with a full scan as its base. Use SizeTrend's saved-scan manager to remove results so dependent scans are handled together. Do not delete an unfamiliar base scan directly in Explorer.
Use the Reports box to choose Overview report, File tree, Largest files, Newest files, Modified files, or Duplicate files. Choose None when the schedule should save only the scan snapshot.
The Overview is saved as a self-contained HTML report. The data reports can be saved as an Excel workbook or UTF-8 CSV file. SizeTrend puts generated reports in the schedule's Reports subfolder and retains report runs with the corresponding scheduled scan results.
A report is generated only when the scan completes without skipped or inaccessible items. A partial scan is still saved so you can review what was accessible, but SizeTrend does not turn incomplete results into a report.
The Scheduled Scans window shows the next run, last run, last result, and current status. Select a schedule and click Run now to test it, then use Refresh after the task finishes. View scans opens the saved results.
A result can report success, skipped items, a missing path, a save failure, a licensing problem, or another Task Scheduler state. A completed scan with skipped items is still worth reviewing because inaccessible folders may make the snapshot incomplete.
Renaming a schedule also changes the automatically assigned results-folder name when SizeTrend can do that safely. If the scan is running, another schedule is using storage, administrator access is required, or the folder is outside SizeTrend's managed Scheduled folder, the schedule can still be updated while the old results-folder name is kept. SizeTrend shows a warning when that happens.
Remove is destructive. It removes the selected Windows tasks, stops selected scans that are running or waiting, and permanently deletes their saved results. You can select more than one schedule, but the confirmation applies to every selected schedule and cannot be undone. Any task or results folder that could not be removed is reported afterward.
Scheduled scans and their automatic reports are available during the first 14 days and with a SizeTrend Professional license. You can still add, edit, or remove schedules without a current license, but the scheduled scan and report will not run after the evaluation ends. Removing a schedule still permanently deletes its saved results and reports, so review the confirmation carefully.
Build the history before you need it.
Scheduled scans make gradual growth and sudden changes much easier to explain.